Dazzled By God Dan. 2:20-23

Daniel, a middle aged teen is in exile in Babylon with three friends, of course many more too. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this is a divinely designed happening. Daniel has an appointment with a pagan king. This king Nebuchadnezzar is the most powerful man in that region. He is king of a vast empire that he has largely been the mastermind of, though we know that it was really God who has put him in place, v.21. God has chosen to give this king divine revelation (via a dream) that he cannot understand and is greatly disturbed about. Which ought not surprise us, because we know that the unbeliever cannot understand the things of God (). So the king seeks the counsel of his wise men, those who are supposed to have a connection with the spirit world. And they do, just not with the one who reveals the truth. In his anger at their inability to discover the revelation and give an interpretation, he condemns them all to death. And by the way, You cannot expect an unbeliever to know what is the revelation of God, much less, give a correct understanding of it.Let me give you another verse to support that, tells us that Jesus had to open the minds of the two men on the road to Emmaus to understand the Scriptures as to who He was, though He was standing right there with them and had taught them for the last 3 years.

Anyway, Daniel is informed about the soon to be carried out executions of all the wise men including himself and his friends. So he wins a reprieve with the promise of discovering the truth. This makes perfect sense. A true believer knows the truth and is able to understand the truth of God’s Word. And this dream the king had is God’s Word. Make no mistake about that. It is Divine revelation. It is going to revealed and recorded in Scripture by divine inspiration of Daniel. It is directly from God to the King via Daniel. But the unbelieving King needed a believer to reveal it to him, to give him an understanding. This we know is the work of the Holy Spirit who gives the sense of the Word to those who believe, “he shall teach all things.” “he will guide you into all truth.”

This is like the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading the Scriptures but didn’t understand. The king new the dream (Scripture to him) but didn’t understand it and was greatly disturbed. Philip came along by Divine guidance and revealed to the Eunuch what it meant and he believed. In the same way, Daniel comes along by divine guidance and reveals the dream and its interpretation to the King.

So then, Daniel and his friends pray to God for revealing of this secret and God in His grace and mercy gives them what they needed. And here we are at our text. Daniel’s joyous, grateful response in a prayer of praise.

This prayer has three parts: it begins and ends with praise and in the middle taking up the bulk of the prayer a description of God. We will spend a brief time on the first part, the bulk of our time on the middle part and then a little bit on the last part.

A visual of the prayer might look something like this:

SLIDE:

1.Praise be to God, v.20a

Praise be to God, v.20a

wisdom and might are his

He controls the events of life, v.21

regarding kings and kingdoms

regarding the granting of His revelation

He reveals hidden things, v.22

darkness and light are the same to Him

Thanksgiving and praise to God v.23

You can see from this slide the structure of what Daniel is saying and the emphasis He puts on God.

We need to understand that Daniel has been saved through the revelation of God. If it were not for this Daniel and his friends and all the wisemen would have been executed on orders from the King. But instead, because of the Word of God revealed to Daniel they are saved from death. Doesn’t that sound like the gospel to you? It is.

Daniel is extremely grateful but he is not specifically praising God for saving him, but rather for who God is and what He does. His emphasis is on God Himself who is worthy of our praise. His praise is God focused, centered, not human centered.

I. Praise to God,

He starts out by saying “blessed be the name of God forever and ever.” The ‘blessed’ is a way of saying praise. To bless the name of God, ie. to praise His name is to lift up God. His Name is who He is. It is to regard Him as all worthy, as above all. That phrase blessed be the name of the Lord is found from David in in response to the offering that was brought in for the building of the Temple of God. It was out of heartfelt joy in God.

To bless the name of God, ie. to praise His name is to lift up God. His Name is who He is. It is to regard Him as all worthy, as above all.

That phrase blessed be the name of the Lord is found from David in in response to the offering that was brought in for the building of the Temple of God. It was out of heartfelt joy in God.

then again in

Psalm 72:18 ESV

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

and

Psalm 113:2 ESV

Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore!

The name of God represents His person. and He is eternal, as is intended by the idea of ‘forever and forever.’ God is supremely and everlastingly worthy of our praise.

The name of God represents His person

So in kind Daniel is overjoyed at the revelation God gave him regarding his request for revealing the dream and its interpretation. LXX says that “he cried out.” This was no soft response, like someone kicking the dirt and saying, “Oh, gee thanks.” No this was a huge deal. This was more a shout, a cry of acclamation and praise to God. He was excited.

I think this is the response of anyone who is truly saved. They are excited about what has happened to them. They can’t help but respond with praise.

Think of the believers at Pentecost in “they gladly received his word.” it doesn’t say ‘glumly or sadly received it. In v.47 they were praising God. Then again in the lame man saved was “leaping, and praising God” in the temple. And then in Daniel skip ahead to v. 46, and 3:28 and 4:34. Folks this is the normal reaction of those who truly get saved, who truly become believers.

Think back to when you became a believer. Was there not an overwhelming sense of joy and praise to God, that you could not contain within yourself?

Daniel Praises God. And then in this second part describes the God who reveals mysteries.

II. The God who reveals Himself, v.20b-22

A. He is Eternal, “forever and ever”

Here is the God who always is and always will be. He is forever, and those who worship Him will worship Him forever.

B. He owns wisdom and might,

They belong to Him. He holds them and distributes them to those who are His. He is all powerful and all wise. He knows all things and does all that He has decreed in His wisdom to do. There is nothing that He does not accomplish. All are in subjection to His power. The Bible tells us that He does what He pleases in Heaven and earth. None can thwart His plan or outsmart Him.

Jesus proved that as we read about the times men tried to trap Him in his own words. They always went away amazed at Him.

C. He directs, v.21

“changes times and the seasons” what does he mean here? Does God change His mind? Look at chapter 3:19 the kings face changes in anger at the three Hebrews. Or 3:27,28 their coats were not changed by the fire, and have changed the kings word. Change has the idea of alter then doesn’t it? So you get the idea here that the word refers to altering the course of history. I don’t think he is talking about setting the four seasons in order, but rather the course of events. They serve His purpose and His alone.

time- a definite time or appointed time as in “when you hear the sound of the horn . . ..”

seasons- also a word for time, usually a specified time as in festival. So both time and seasons, or time and time, the idea is that of redundancy showing emphasis, thus there is nothing that is outside of God’s power to shift or change or alter.. It is not like God changes His mind, as though He planned one thing to happen and then something else happened that prompted Him to change his mind and thus change His plan. I could say it like this, It is not that God set an appointed time, then later realized that time would not work so He changes it. He makes no mistakes, He always accomplishes His plan ( “He works all things according to the counsel of His own will”) , He does all that He pleases, He is the same yesterday today and forever. He knows all, He is all wise. Just that latter idea of being wise. If He suddenly had to change the appointed time, that would undermine His being wise, because it would show he didn’t plan correctly in the first place. So on the surface, this idea of changing the times and seasons cannot mean what we humanly think it means.Though it may appear that way.

He makes no mistakes, He always accomplishes His plan () , He does all that He pleases, He is the same yesterday today and forever. He knows all, He is all wise. Just that latter idea of being wise. If He suddenly had to change the appointed time, that would undermine His being wise, because it would show he didn’t plan correctly in the first place.

So on the surface, this idea of changing the times and seasons cannot mean what we humanly think it means.Though it may appear that way.

Rather, we can find help to understanding this by seeing that the following verse clarifies what is meant, namely that this shows God is in complete control of the events of life.

Rather, we can find help to understanding this by seeing that the following verse clarifies what is meant, namely that this shows God is in complete control of the events of life. He sets up kings and takes them down. So Daniel will explain to the king that there are going to be great changes in the kingdoms showing that God is the God of time and events of this world. As far as man is concerned there are great changes, but God is the one who arranged them. He set those changes in place.

D. He appoints

He sets up kings and takes them down. So Daniel will explain to the king that there are going to be great changes in the kingdoms showing that God is the God of time and events of this world. As far as man is concerned there are great changes, but God is the one who arranged them. He set those changes in place.

It is like you setting up an itinerary for a trip or for your day. The difference being you may have to make changes to your trip due to unforeseen circumstances. But God never has unforeseen circumstances. He has ordered the itinerary of History and all goes according to His plan. Nothing changes to Him. So He sets one king and kingdom up for this period of time, then removes Him and sets another in place just as He planned it.

The Bible is full of support for this: in the life of Joseph, Pharoah of Egypt during the Exodus, even right to our text and the kings dream. God shows Daniel the dream and what it means because He is the one who set it all up according to His plan.

We also have support in the NT of this in ; .

Acts 1:7 ESV

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

1 Thessalonians 5:1 ESV

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you.

He passes over kings, ie. takes them away or deposes them, and He does so right on time. see and the kings time as a cow for an example of this. He also stands kings up. he puts them in place, He raises them up or establishes them for a time to accomplish His purposes. If He does that with kings, He does that with all of us.

That is declared in in the second half of this verse,

He passes over kings, ie. takes them away or deposes them, and He does so right on time. see and the kings time as a cow for an example of this.

He also stands kings up. he puts them in place, He raises them up or establishes them for a time to accomplish His purposes.

Another way this is illustrated

the statement

E. He gives insight,

He is the one who gives יהב wisdom to the wise

He is the one who gives יהב wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding

and knowledge to those who know understanding

the concept is wise and discerning, but he is not talking about human wisdom, but that which is received by revelation from God. So that only believers have this kind of wisdom and discernment. As we have seen before the natural man does not understand or even pursue the knowledge of God, or true wisdom, . So Daniel praises God because He granted them wisdom and knowledge since their need was to know the king’s dream and they could only know that by God’s revelation.

F. He reveals the light in darkness, v.22

So Daniel praises God because He granted them wisdom and knowledge since their need was to know the king’s dream and they could only know that by God’s revelation.

revealeth-galah-means to scratch or scrape as in scraping a beard, to scrape off, thus revealing something underneath. Something hidden. deep things hidden things

deep things

hidden things

He then elaborates on what he means:

He knows what is in the dark

and light dwells with him

the Aramaic word sara means to loose, as in knots(metaphorical for difficult questions), so it also came to mean to loose the burdens on a beast, as those who turn in to an inn for the night. So it is translated here to dwell. But one cannot help but notice the idea also that God is the one who has untangled the knot of the dream and interpretation of the king.

This is reiterated in , that light is with him.

We can also look to ; , “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”

1 John 1:5 ESV

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”

1 John 1

All 6 of these contribute to the revelation of the dream to Daniel at this time in history: God is eternal so He knows all and has His plan, God is all wise and powerful so He has planned and carries out that plan, He directs all things to accomplish His plan, He appoints kings so He has the exact king in place that He wants and has appointed Daniel to be the one through whom He reveals His will, He gives insight to Daniel to both know the dream and its interpretation, and finally exposes to the light what was in darkness before this in the mind of the King.

God is

, ; regarding light.

So then move to the third part,

III. Gratitude and praise to God, v.23

I thank thee and praise thee,

Is that not the most natural thing to do when something so special and magnificent happens to you. Who wouldn’t give thanks. Remember in your reading that Jesus healed 10 lepers, only one, a Samaritan returned to give thanks to Him. Ingratitude is such a smack in the face to the benefactor, in this case God.

He calls Him “the God of my fathers.” He is of course speaking of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with whom God has a covenant. God had revealed Himself to all three of them, and He reveals Himself to Daniel through His word, both in Scripture, which the dream revealed becomes. The Covenant God gives understanding of His will to one of His chosen ones. That is the way it is done.

God speaks through His word to you and I. He clearly marks out His will for us, all we need do is to read it and pray for understanding as we study and apply it to our lives.

Notice it also said, “who has given me wisdom and might.” where have we seen that phrase? v.20 as a possession of God. It stands to reason that He who possesses all wisdom and might would give those same elements to His chosen ones. He is the one who gives us power to become the sons of God. He has endowed all believers with the Holy Spirit by whom He reveals Himself. In Daniel’s case it is not his own wisdom and power that has enabled him to decipher this dream. Rather that was the work of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit and the Word we have all things we need for life of Godliness. If any lack wisdom let him ask of God.

Daniel asks and God has revealed it. “he has made known to me what we desired of thee; for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.” What was the King’s matter? or what was the matter with the king? He had the word of God but couldn’t make head nor tails of it. He couldn’t decipher it, nor could anyone else in his advisors. Except God has providentially placed one of His own through whom He intended to reveal His will.

Conclusion

People today are in a similar predicament as the King, they know there is something more to life, and they don’t understand it. They can’t trust anyone to tell them truth because they have been lied to over and over. They might consult the Bible, or a church but to no avail. They might try the daily horoscope to guide their daily life, or the palm reader or call the 1-800 psychic network in order to see what their life is all about. But while they may find some peace, their life will still be like the kings in our text. It is only when someone comes with the truth from the Bible and reveals it and explains it that the eyes of their heart are opened and they believe and are saved. It is only then they come to a realization of the truth they are helpless and hopeless and in need of the Savior. This is “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

It was the same then, it is the same today.

Has God revealed Himself to you in His word? Think of it, the God of all Creation has chosen to reveal Himself to you and me. We should be in Awe. He has saved us. This should be an ongoing relationship of Joy in Christ. Do You? If not why not?

But maybe God is revealing Himself to you for the first time today. You realize for the first time you deserve death. You are mixed up and have been deceived by the things of the world and now this is what makes sense. It is the only thing that makes sense because it is the truth. It is not a dream. God has chosen to reveal to you that Jesus died on the cross in your place and you just need to repent and believe in Him. Then you will be saved. And He will continue to reveal Himself in the Word of God to you.