The God who Reveals | Daniel 2:1–49

Good morning church! Go ahead and grab your Bibles and head on over to Daniel 2. We’ve got quite the task in front of us this morning to tackle this whole chapter, but I’ve got high hopes and high expectations.

Because this is such a lengthy text I’m going to tackle it just a little differently. Instead of reading the whole thing up front and then working back through it I’m going to read it in sections and then seek to unpack it as we go. I think that’ll help us be a little more efficient with our time. Ok? So with that, I know Ms. Moe just prayed, but for my own heart and mind I want to pause again real quick and ask for the Lord’s help. Help for me to be clear and faithful, but also help for you to hear from Him. This is God’s Word, church. He has spoken. So would you join me in praying for us to have the right posture as we approach this text, but also the right expectation as we listen. I’m going to give you just about 20 seconds to sit in quiet and come to the Lord and then I’ll pray and we’ll dive into it.

Let’s pray.

Life is full of uncertainty, is it not? Pick your area and there’s a whole mountain of unknowns. Who’s going to win the Super Bowl? What’s for lunch? Will we make it home from church today? What’s the stock/commodity market going to do? Will my children turn out like I hope? Why are my parents the way the are (not my parents—they’re great)? When will I get out of debt? Am I going to survive this? Why is my body failing? is my business going to make it through this season? Where will help come from? Should I date or marry this person? How much time is left? Some of you in here aren’t too worried about that thing you’re uncertain of just because it’s not pressing at the moment. Some of you aren’t anxious because your faith is in God—praise the Lord for that. But some of you, I suspect a lot of us if we’re truly honest, have some sense of anxiety about whatever that pressing question is. Regardless of where you are I have some good news for you. God’s Word is for you today. Daniel 2 gives us hope and instruction on how to deal with the uncertainties that sit in front of us. You don’t have to be driven by anxiety; you don’t have to live in fear; you don’t have to chase after answers, because what Daniel 2 instructs us to do is to Live in light of God’s revealed kingdom. That’s our main point this morning: Live in light of God’s revealed kingdom. That’s what we do and this passage is going to show us 3 ways to do that. You live in light of God’s revealed kingdom by Stopping, seeking, and responding. That’s your 3 actions to take.

Now, before we see those 3 things I want to tackle one other thing up front. This passage—like the rest of this book—is super interesting. It contains both narrative—story, and apocalyptic prophesy. We’re going to look at a dream that Nebuchadnezzar has, heretofore to be referred to as King Nebby thanks to Ricky. This dream tells of a future time, but it’s set in a story. So, there’s 2 different things going on here: dream and story. Which means that we could focus on 2 different things. We could focus on the dream and spend a whole sermon there, and we could focus on the story. I’m sure to some disappointment, I’m going to try and tackle both, but with very little focus on the dream aspect. Here’s why: there’s a lot of uncertainty regarding what all the dream means. There’s not any uncertainty regarding the narrative. I’m not afraid of the dream, but I don’t think it’s the main point of Daniel 2. We’ll tip our hat to it and see what the primary point of it is, but we aren’t going to spend time getting caught up in the weeds. That’s what Will is for. If you’d like clarity on what all the symbolism is then talk to him. He has the answers.

So with that note, what do we stop? Point #1:

Stop looking for answers in wrong places.

Read with me Daniel 2:1-11

Daniel 2:1–11 ESV

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

So King Nebby here has this crazy dream that brings about this intense sense of anxiety, so he calls his wise guys and doesn’t only ask them for the interpretation of the dream, but also asks them to recount the dream itself. Now why would he ask for both of those things? This is where some uncertainty lies because the narrative doesn’t tell us. Some people think that Nebby forgot his dream. He couldn’t remember the details of it to report it to his wise guys, and in ancient culture if you had a dream, especially as a king, and couldn’t remember the details and get them interpreted then you were in trouble. Like the black cat crossing the street, it was considered a bad omen and that you were doomed. Maybe King Nebby was anxious for that reason.

The other idea is that he didn’t truly trust his advisors. The magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans served at the pleasure of the king, and you can see here from Nebby’s instruction that if they didn’t perform that he’d kill them and their families, so then their answers better always please the king. In other words, they were known flatterers. They would tell him what he wanted to hear, because if they didn’t they’d die. But what other option did Nebby have? So he seeks counsel, he seeks revelation and clarity about this terrifying dream from the smartest people he knows. The psychiatrists, the therapist, the doctors, and the Rhoads scholars are his cabinet of advisors.

As I sat an reflected on this there arose a couple questions in my mind. The first was this, what is causing anxiety in my heart? I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but Nebuchadnezzars dream and anxiety were all about the uncertainty of his kingdom.

You & I might not be kings of kingdoms, but what do we spend the overwhelming majority of our lives doing? Seeking to build our kingdom! We’re trying to grow our businesses; sure up our bank accounts; raise our children; leave behind a legacy—not bad things, right? They’re good things, and even things God calls us to do, but we tend to grab ahold of these things and make them into god things. Things that we’re seeking to find our purpose and identity in, but the problem is the uncertainty of every one of those things. So church I want to pause and ask you, what is driving the anxiety in your heart this morning? Maybe it’s boiling over and affecting others, maybe it’s just on a slow burn, but is there something right now that’s troubled your spirit?

Now, what happens when anxiety sets in? We can respond in a thousand different ways, but ultimately, we try to find answer to our issues. Ole King Nebby did the same thing. He called in the smartest people he knew and said tell me the dream and what it means. Settle my spirit& if you don’t, then explosive anger—I’ll rip your limbs off and burn your houses down. But notice what the wise guys say, they actually get this part right. Daniel 2:10-11

Daniel 2:10–11 (ESV)

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

King Nebby, you’ve asked too much. There isn’t a man on earth who can do what you’re asking. The answer to all of this is found with the gods and they don’t concern themselves with things like this and we can’t communicate with them. The solution to your problem can’t be found.

Now, here we are 2600 years later still with uncertainty and anxiety not just about dreams and their interpretation, but about life, about the future. So the second question that came to my mind as I thought about Nebuchadnezzar and his issues was, where am I seeking answers to the anxieties that have built up in my heart? Am I running to the smartest people I know? Maybe we don’t have magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers—at least I don’t think there’s any of those in the room, but there are people who look at astrology & horoscopes for answers and clarity. I remember I was in a class one time and the professor looked at us and said, “I’m not the smartest person in the room. There are questions that are beyond me, but do you know who the smartest person is? Google.” We live in a world now where if you want an answer just ask Siri or Alexa. Am I trying to find clarity to my questions through Google or youtube? Am I functioning and making decisions based off of my own previous success or what feels right?

Do you know what the problem is with trying to find answers about the uncertainties in our life from those types of things? They’re like the magicians and enchanters and Chaldeans. They’re limited in their scope, in their knowledge, and in their wisdom. They can’t tell you what you need to know. They can’t answer your greatest questions. So stop looking for answers in the wrong places.

What then do we do? Well let’s go back to our story and see what happens next. Daniel 2:12-18

Daniel 2:12–18 ESV

Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

If we’re to stop looking for answers in the wrong places, these verses show us we’re to seek the God who reveals. That’s our second point.

Seek the God who reveals.

King Nebby doesn’t get the answer he wants so naturally his solution is to just kill ‘em all, but when they come to get Daniel and his buddies to bring to the execution Daniel recognizes the urgency of the moment and starts telling them to pump the breaks. Daniel responds with prudence & discretion. He goes to the guy in charge and gets him to to explain what all is happening and then Daniel charges in to the king to set up a day and time for when he would give him the interpretation

Now, you may recall the book of Esther, but what would happen if you walked into the Kings quarters uninvited? Unless the King grants favor, you’re going to die. But what does Daniel have to lose? His head is on the chopping block anyways, so he presses in instead of running away. His pressing in wasn’t through mounting a coup, it was going directly to the source of the problem, and the way in which he went about this and the wisdom that he displayed actually did for Daniel what it didn’t do for the wise guys. Remember, what did they want? Time. What did Daniel get? An appointed time.

With that secured, what’s the first thing Daniel does? He goes straight to friends, he finds biblical community, and says, beg God for mercy. Mercy? In a moment where he needs an answer he asks for mercy. He needs divine revelation to know things that are humanly unknowable, Daniel asks for mercy. Why? It’s at the end of verse 18. Because outside of the mercy of God there is nothing but destruction. But church there’s good news: God is a God of mercy who does hear the cry of his people and he does reveal answers. Let’s keep pressing in to the story to see what it means to seek the God who reveals. Pick back up with me in Daniel 2:19-30

Daniel 2:19–30 ESV

Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.” Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

What does Daniel need? Mercy & revelation. What does God give? Mercy shown by his revelation. Does he do it because Daniel is this super unique person that has some sort of special wisdom or ability? Sure, he might’ve stepped towards Arioch with prudence and discretion & he might’ve shown some courage to approach the king, but he tells us that God didn’t reveal this to him because he had more wisdom than that of the kings advisors. Yet, in his pursuit of mercy what does God give Daniel? He gives him revelation that Daniel actually ties back to wisdom. Isn’t that what we see in the psalm Daniel writes after God’s revelation? V21 “he gives wisdom.” V22 “He reveals deep and hidden things.” V23 “You have given me wisdom and made known.”

Do you see what this all tells us? It tells us that human wisdom falls short. The Chaldeans and the rest of the wise guys that Nebby had on his team were literally the brightest people on the planet. They either knew the answer or where to find it, yet they couldn’t really give him the answers he needed. But divine wisdom is something more than knowledge of facts or how to even rightly apply those facts. I love this statement from Tremper Longman:

The divine origin of wisdom means that at its foundation wisdom is not a lesson to be learned but a relationship to be enjoyed.

Tremper Longman III

Church, we chase after answers in all the wrong places when the all of our hearts’ greatest questions are found in a relationship with God. So how do we have that? How do we gain revelation and wisdom? Well, how did Daniel do it? First, he recognized that he lacked what was needed for life. He recognized that he didn’t have the answers and he couldn’t fix the troubled spirit of the king. There wasn’t any practical wisdom, any magical remedy, any sort of incantation that would help him sleep.

Second, he took a step in faith. He moved toward the king uncertain of what would happen, but trusting that God would somehow and in someway provide.

Then he immediately went an found biblical community. He had the invaluable resource of a community of believers to walk with him through the most perilous of times.

And fourth, what did he do with that community? He prayed. “Daniel’s wisdom, contrary to that of the smartest Babylonian wise guys, did not come from their books of dream interpretation; instead it came from a conversations, a prayer, with God himself.” He engaged the one who discerns both thoughts and motives and who knows both past and future.

So how do we seek the God who reveals? By recognizing what we lack, stepping forward in faith, being a part of biblical community, and engaging the Lord in prayer. These aren’t the only ways, I certainly would add being in the Scriptures, but they’re the ways this passage tell us. So church here’s my question for you, when you look at your own life are you doing these things? Is that how you’re seeking answers to your questions or are you looking in other places?

Now, before we move on, I want to offer a word of encouragement here. We may really stink at doing those things. You might be stronger in one area than in another. You might not be doing any one of them. What did Daniel seek? Mercy. God is the God of mercy. He knows you won’t do all of them perfectly, but he is in His mercy calling you to them today. Will you take steps to obey?

Daniel took the steps and God honored and answered his prayers. He gave Daniel wisdom by revealing to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the meaning of it. Now Daniel, I suppose could’ve kept quiet on it. He could’ve used this as leverage for something. He could’ve responded a lot of different ways to this revelation, but notice what he did do. Daniel responded appropriately to God’s revelation. That’s our third point and the final calling of this text.

Respond Appropriately to God’s revelation.

We’ve already actually read Daniel’s initial response to God’s revelation. Look back to verses 19-23. The narrative would’ve flowed really smoothly if the author would’ve left this psalm out, but he didn’t. This tells us something—that the first appropriate response to any revelation from God is to worship. It’s to go back to the revealer and bless his name just like Daniel did.

After he’s worshipped, Daniel then takes this newfound information and goes to give it to the person who desperately needs to hear it. Now, with his own life in his hands Daniel tells the king what his dream was, but doesn’t do so in a way that takes any credit. Arioch tried to do that, “I have found a man,” he proclaims. Daniel immediately deflects and acknowledges that all that he has comes from God. Notice Daniel more than once proclaims I’ve got nothing. His proclamation of the dream pointed the dreamer to the dream giver. It forced his eyes off of Daniel and turned them to the Lord. Can you imagine if we all responded to God’s revelation in a way that caused others to look to Him? Daniel does so by the way he recounts Nebby’s dream back to him.

After the recounting then he explains the dream. Let’s pick back up in Daniel 2:31-49 and read the rest of this story.

Daniel 2:31–49 ESV

“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

The dream has been told and interpreted. Now there is some clear interpretation—that Nebby you’re the head of gold, but after you is coming another kingdom and after that another kingdom and after that another, but eventually a rock will come and destroy those kingdoms and an eternal one will be set up. What’s the point? The point of the dream is to point out that the kingdoms of the earth won’t last. They’re appointed for a time and season by the sovereign God, but the sovereign God will strike them down and establish one that will last.

Here we stand on the eve of the inauguration of the 47th president of the US. What a privilege that we get to live in a country where every 4 years we can duly elect the leader of our country. I’m so grateful for that. But church, even the US has an expiration date on it. I hope it’s when the Lord returns, but it seems like as more time goes on that we feel the impermanence of our country. So don’t put your hope in the next president. He isn’t going to bring about a kingdom that will last. I pray he does serve our country well and that we all flourish under his leadership. But our hope isn’t in the president.

I opened this sermon though with building our own kingdom. It’s not just political kingdoms that will fall, it’s also our own personal kingdoms. What we spend our lives building, anxiously hoping our children build on that and theirs on that, won’t last forever. So instead of seeking to build temporal kingdoms, what does Jesus call us toward? We spent a whole sermon series on this this time last year. We’re to be kingdom people, because the rock that was foretold in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the rock of Christ. He has come to bring about a new kingdom. One that isn’t just political but one that is spiritual. One that lasts for eternity on the rule and reign of God himself. He has promised this kingdom, and though we only experience it in part now, the day is coming when we will see it in it’s whole.

That’s the kingdom we’re to live in light of. We’re to live in light of the revealed kingdom of God. The eternal kingdom of King Jesus. We can do that now by stopping to look for answers in the wrong places, seeking the God who reveals and now we see he’s also the God who reigns, and responding appropriately to that revelation. We do that through humility, in prayer, with community, knowing that His kingdom will come and his will will be done. We respond appropriately by calling for people to turn their eyes from us to the God who reveals. Inviting them into the kingdom.

But Daniel shows us one more way to live for the eternal kingdom. Daniel shares the dream & its interpretation, and Nebby falls on his face and confesses the truth: The covenant God of Israel is God of gods & Lord of kings. He does establish rulers in their places. He is the one who reveals. It might look like Nebby is worshipping Daniel, but really he’s honoring the God of Daniel. On face value it almost appears as if Nebby is beginning to believe in Daniel’s God, but 3:1 shows us that he isn’t. The very next chapter he builds a golden image. It’s possible to act like we believe in God, yet not truly submit to his lordship. That’s what Nebby does.

Then Nebby honors Daniel and made him a ruler. The Lord uses this extremely precarious moment to put Daniel into a position of influence that we can’t quite fully grasp the impact of. Daniel, though, sees the window open for not just him to be of influence, but his buddies, so he requests that they too receive new positions. Here’s what’s amazing to me: what does their influence serve? Do they secretly try to undermine the kingdom so that they can break away? No. Their influence serves for the flourishing of a pagan kingdom and the preservation of God’s people.

Jesus said to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt preserves what is good and it brings flavor. It enlivens the taste of things. IF you’re in Christ, if you’re a part of his eternal kingdom, then you are salt. He doesn’t say become salt. He says you are salt. Preserve and enliven. Use whatever position of influence God has given you for the flourishing of those around you and the promotion of the eternal kingdom. We are to be a blessing to our homes, our workplaces, our communities, and our nations—even if they’re led by pagan kings. Are you using the places that God has currently given you to to serve the good of those around you and to witness to the revelation of God in your life?

Our hearts long for peace. Our hearts long for rest. God has revealed that there is a kingdom coming and we’re to live in light of that. In that kingdom there will be nothing but peace. It is an eternal kingdom with an eternal king who wants to be known by his people. As a king of mercy he desires to draw near to his people; so much so that he was willing to come after us on the cross. The rock that came to destroy the fragile earthly kingdoms was destroyed on our behalf. He was crushed so we didn’t have to be. Yet he rose to life establishing a kingdom that cannot be overthrown. Live in light of that. Do so by stopping, seeking, and responding. Stop looking for answers in the wrong places. Seek the God of mercy who reveals. And respond appropriately to His revelation.