The Kingdom Endures

ME:

Mankind has always been enamored with building

It starts as a child with legos

or many of us have attempted to play Jenga

building the tallest tower we can, without it falling

or if you go a little further back, it was erector sets

Whic

Ads for erector sets in the 1920s would read, “Boys Today, Men Tomorrow!”

And that gets at one of the dangers of mankind and buildings

Because building in and of itself isn’t enough

Our pride would not allow it

This was the case for the Titanic

Considered a modern marvel of construction

The largest and most luxurious passenger vessel

Famously said to be unsinkable

That pride, ultimately led to the ships demise

God Himself could not sink this ship, a crewmember had said

After the ship sunk, a Senator was quoted saying about the ships captain

Overconfidence seems to have dulled the faculties usually so alert

But it wasn’t just the Titanic

Being the country or city or architect credited with the tallest building became an egotistical ambition for mankind

dating back to the early 1900s, primarily in NYC

In 1909 the Metlife Tower became the biggest building at 700 feet

Shortly after finishing construction, the Woolworth building broke ground, completed in 1913 at 792 feet

Then simultaneously in 1930 the Bank of Manhattan and the Chrysler building were being built in NYC

The Bank of Manhattan finished being built first at 927 ft

But the Chrysler building stile the crown, being the first building over 1000 ft at 1,040ft

Meanwhile, however, the Empire State Building was being constructed and when it finished the next year, it became the worlds tallest building at 1454 ft.

And that held for 40 years before the World Trade Center took the crown at 1728 ft.

If you didn’t think these architects were competitive

Two years later, the Sears Tower in Chicago topped out 1 foot higher than the World Trade Center, becoming the tallest building for 30 years

And now it is getting bonkers

in 2010, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai towered up to 2,717 ft

And two towers currently in construction expected to be completed in the next two years

the Jeddah Tower, is expected to be 3,307 ft

and the Dubai Creek Tower is expected to be a mind-numbing 4, 413 ft.

But again, this is nothing new for mankind

Sure the technology has gotten better

But mankind trying to make a name for ourselves by building towers up to heaven dates all the way back to with the Tower of Babel

Whether we are building a physical tower or a kingdom

God is not amazed by our accomplishments

God is not amazed by our accomplishments

He has proven that the pride of man leads to our demise

This morning we are in

In vs. 35, we see what God thinks of our human kingdoms

they “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.”

Or as the band Kansas would say;

“Dust in the Wind. All they are is dust in the wind. Everything is dust in the wind.”

All the kingdoms of the world are here today but gone tomorrow

But there is a kingdom that endures

in vs. 44, we see “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.”

We will see this morning that we can fear less

Because, we will see in , God reveals His Kingdom endures to King Nebuchadnezzar in a dream

But only God’s servant, Daniel, is able to interpret the meaning of this dream

Because, as we saw back in ;

Daniel 1:17 ESV

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

God gave Daniel understanding in visions and dreams

This morning we are really getting to see how valuable this gift from God is

Because this gift saves Daniel’s life, the lives of his friends, and the lives of all the wise men, magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers in Babylon

So join me in prayer as we prepare to look at together this morning

WE: The Dream & The Demand (vs. 1-16)

Let’s begin by looking at where we see The Dream & The Demand;

Daniel 2:1–16 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.” 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.

The start of this chapter is a narrative that continues to build our timeline through Daniel

Last week we saw Daniel chapter 1 began in 605BC

His education ending in 602BC

And the start of chapter 2 takes place relatively close to the end of his training in 602BC

And the start of chapter 2 takes place in 595BC

Chapter 2 to chapter 7 of Daniel is structured in such a way that enhances our understanding of what God is teaching us

It is written in a parallel structure

Chapter 2 and Chapter 7 both have visions about four earthly kingdoms and God’s Kingdom

Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 both include a story about God’s people being faithful in the face of death

Then Chapters 4 and 5 both include a story about royalty being humbled

Notice in vs. 4 where it says the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic

Chaldeans is an ethnic term for Babylonian people

So this is likely a reference to Babylonian priests, astrologers, or wise men Nebuchadnezzar used as government counsel

Immediately after that line

the language shifts from Hebrew, the language of the majority of the OT

to Aramaic

And the Aramaic continues through this entire parallel section

until

Daniel 7:28 ESV

“Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

And where the quote ends, Aramaic ends

Then Chapter 8 returns to Hebrew

The purpose behind this section being in Aramaic has been debated amongst Bible scholars for years

Looking at , Andrew Hill proposes a potential reason;

“It would be only logical for the wise men to communicate with a language common to all, since the wise men are a racially and ethnically diverse group.”

If Hill is correct, that would imply an intentional missional focus of this portion

Showing God’s revelation to the Gentile nations

So Hill’s theory is that

A reality of God extending salvation to the Gentiles fully realized in the NT, through Christ

Our chapter starts with the king of Babylon having dreams that troubled him to the point that he could not sleep

He could not understand the dream and it likely concerned him because he may have thought it was his gods trying to communicate something about his kingdom

At the beginning of the Aramaic portion, in vs. 4 and also in vs. 7, we see the Chaldeans, or magicians, or sorcerers

Repeatedly asking the king to tell them his dream

Each time, in vs. 6 and 9, we see Nebuchadnezzar’s demand

He demands them to not just interpret the dream that he tells them

but to tell the dream AND its interpretation

Nebuchadnezzar used this as a test

If they weren’t able to even tell him his dream

Then how would they be able to interpret it?

This dream was not any ordinary dream

it was a vision

a vivid revelation

a witness to something supernatural

something that can not be seen by the naked eye

and it is related to God’s working

The Easton Bible dictionary defines a vision as a “trance-like event where a person sees or understands a communication from a supernatural being.”

GOD: The Prayer & The Praise (vs. 17-23)

YOU: The King & The Kingdom (vs. 24-45)

WE: The Proclamation & The Promotion (vs. 46-49)