Digging Deeper: Daniel 2

Daniel 2:17–23

17 Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel said: “Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.”

First, I want to address that Daniel did not pray alone, he asked his friends to pray with him. This is something we need to remember when we are going through a difficulty in life.

Second, I want to remind us that this was not his normal ritual of prayer. Daniel was one who would go out and pray regularly.

Daniel 6:10 “10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.”

Vs 20 Describes what he has

Eternally blessed name

Wisdom

Power

Vs 21-22 Describes what he can do

Vs 21

Changes times and seasons

Deposes and sets up kings

Gives wisdom and knowledge

Vs 22

Reveals deep and hidden tings

Knows what’s in the darkness

Light dwells within him

Vs 23 Describes Daniel’s response.

Thanksgiving and Worship and why!

Daniel 2:31–35

31 “You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all 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 statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

The Vision -

The statue:

Head of fine gold

Chest and arms of silver

Middle and thighs of bronze

Legs of Iron

Feet partly of iron and partly of clay

Rock (not cut by human hands) struck the statue at it’s feet

Statue became like chaff of the summer threshing floor - completely gone.

The rock become a great mountain the filled the whole earth

Daniel 2:36-45

36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, 38 into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 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 strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”

The Interpretation -

What we know for sure!

Each of the Parts of the statue correspond with Kingdoms. The only one named is Babylon as the head of Gold.

The rock that destroys the statue and lasts forever

What we don’t know for sure!

Who the other parts of stature correspond to…

Two prominent theories

Babylon - Medo-Persia - Greece - Rome (believe Daniel was prophetic and written during Daniels lifetime).

Babylon - Media - Persia - Greece (Believe Daniel was not prophetic and written before Roman dominance).

When we look at the rest of Daniel (chapters 7 & 8) we see that the second theory doesn’t held up under scrutiny.

Two things to consider with this dream.

The unnamed kingdoms that follow the head of gold will be inferior to Babylon as with each subsequent kingdom. While human beings operate on the idea that we get better and stronger with time, God’s vision undercuts our understanding, informing us that the opposite is true.

The stature is see as something made with human hands and ingenuity whereas the rock, identified as the Kingdom of God, is said not to be the result of human hands or ingenuity.