At the Corner of Broadway and Babylon - 3

At the Corner of Broadway and Babylon – 3

Daniel 2:1-49

Introduction

One of my favorite hobbies is finding funny pictures online. Someone happened to be somewhere at just the right time and snapped a picture that freezes a great moment in time. Some of my favorite pictures are those that innocently and happily show something else in the background. In these, you have a completely normal thing in the foreground, but something else entirely in the background.

- Pic 1 – dog as a cat

- Pic 2 – cat as a dog

- Pic 3 – pregnant woman

- Pic 4 – shadows kissing

As we come to Daniel 2, this very thing is happening. We are presented with a straightforward account of a very important event in King Nebuchadnezzar’s life, and thus a very important event in Daniel’s life. However, in the background, there is another story entirely being presented. But unlike the pictures, this other story, this bigger story, is being intentionally told. In fact, the bigger story in the background is the very point of this story.

Daniel 2:1-11 - In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 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. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5 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. 6 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.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 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— 9 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.” 10 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. 11 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.”

Nebuchadnezzar has a scary dream (which we will learn about it shortly) and calls in all of his spiritual leaders and advisors. In the ancient world, dreams were believed to be shadows of the future, messages from the gods. And these spiritual advisors are supposed to be able to interpret the signs from the gods. So, in come the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans were once just a part of the Empire but came to identify a specific group of people. Abraham in Genesis 12 is from Ur of the Chaldeans…this is an ancient culture known for their expertise in magical lore and dream interpretation.

They are happy to help out the king. Just tell us the dream and we will interpret it for you. We are here to serve. Except Nebuchadnezzar is having none of that. Apparently, this dream frightened him enough that he does not want to have a false interpretation. How do you ensure you get one of those? Demand that they tell you the dream, and then the interpretation. Absolutely impossible without divine intervention. And that is what they tell the king. But he is clear…tell me the dream and the interpretation and I will give you rewards beyond imagination. If you don’t, I will take your life.

They try to persuade him one more time, and in their final words we hear the first whisper of the bigger story. Look back at verse 11 – 11 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.” Yup, that’s true. The Babylonian gods do not dwell with flesh. Mainly because they are not real. Yet, there is one God, the one true God, who absolutely does dwell with flesh.

Isaiah 57:15 – 15 For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

But here is the bigger story, the first of three shadows of him…John 1:1,14 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

We worship the one true God, who not only dwells with his people in a metaphorical, “I am with you” sense, but in the literal sense of becoming flesh so that he could save us. Jesus is the bigger story that Daniel simply points to.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar is mad now. They have defied him and confessed their incompetence. The solution? He sends out an order to kill all the wise men of Babylon. Just one problem…that includes Daniel and his friends, who had not been invited to this little shindig because they were Jewish and not Babylonian.

Arioch, the Captain of the King’s Guard, goes out to execute them all. When he gets to Daniel, Daniel inquires what is happening. He tells Arioch, “Set up an appointment between me and the king. I will tell him what he wants to know.” Quite a bold statement considering God has not revealed anything to Daniel yet. And if God does not deliver, Daniel and his friends will pay with their lives.

Daniel 2:19-23 - 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. 21 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; 22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. 23 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.”

God delivers, and Daniel worships. Daniel is ushered into the king’s presence by Arioch. He has shown amazing courage in coming into the presence of the king who seemingly the day before angrily called for his execution. This is his moment. Daniel has trained for three years. He had immersed himself in his learning and completed his training with excellence. The king saw much potential in him. Now is Daniel’s time to shine. He can gain influence; he can get incredible rewards. All he has to do is tell the king what he wants to know.

Daniel 2:26-27a - 26 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?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No…

Wait a second! That is the wrong answer! You don’t get to this moment and say NO! Why would Daniel take such a risk? Remember, this is a battle of the gods. This story is not about King Nebuchadnezzar or how awesome Daniel is. This story is about the one true God, the God who is sovereign over all. Babylon’s gods couldn’t tell what the future holds. But God can. Look at how Daniel continues in verse 27-28 - 27 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, 28 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:

Daniel will go on and tell him the dream…you saw a great image that was blindingly bright. The image has a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron w/ feet a mixture of iron and clay. But then a small stone that was not of human origin, struck the image on the feet and it obliterated the entire image, like chaff in the wind. No remnants of the image remain, but the stone becomes a great mountain that fills the earth. Quite a dream! No wonder Nebuchadnezzar was so frightened.

What is he to make of such a dream? Daniel gives the interpretation…the image is a series of kingdoms to come. Babylon is the golden head…strong in glory and splendor. Then will come a silver kingdom, the Medo-Persians who will defeat Babylon. Then the bronze…the Greeks will take over the world. Finally, the iron strength of Rome will rule. Notice the decrease of value in the metals, but an increase in their strength and durability.

The progress of history, of kingdoms, of nations…is not up into glory, but down into ruin and destruction. As the kingdoms come and go, there will be a noticeable decrease in glory and splendor, but an increase in power. Babylon rules for 70 years; Medo-Persians for 200; the Greeks for 300; Romans for 450. But as their strength increased, so did their moral decay. The history Daniel gives is shockingly accurate. So much so that some liberal scholars are so skeptical, precisely because Daniel is so accurate, they say that no way Daniel could’ve been written in the 7th century BC. It had to be written in the 2nd century AD, once all this had actually come to pass. But here is what those people miss…God is sovereign over the Earthly City. He controls, and therefore knows, what is to come.

And here, once again, we get a glimpse, a whisper, of the bigger story. What about the stone that crushes the image and becomes a mountain? Daniel 2:44-45 - 44 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, 45 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.”

In the days of the Roman Empire, God himself will set up an eternal kingdom with an eternal ruler. That stone will come and supersede all the kingdoms of the world. All things will unite under his rule. That kingdom will start small, with a handful of people in Jerusalem, but God’s Kingdom will grow to encompass people from every tribe and language and nation in the world.

Luke 20:17-18 – 17 But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Ephesians 1:9-10 - 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar is happy to hear what Daniel has told him. It’s always good to be told you are the golden head of this whole thing. Daniel 2:46-49 - 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 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.” 48 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. 49 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 king definitely delivers on his promise of reward. But he doesn’t just shower Daniel with gifts, he acknowledges Daniel’s God. But don’t mistake the king’s kind words for conversion. “Your” God…all the king has done is declare that the God of Israel is one of the many gods that Babylon can worship. But it’s a start. It will conclude in chapter 4.

And in the midst of all this, we find our third and final whisper, shadow of the bigger story. Notice the end of v. 48 - made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel is now in charge of so much…including all the wise men he just saved.

In Matthew 2, right after Jesus is born, a group of wise men from the East come to visit Jesus. We three kings of Orient are…they come to Jerusalem and ask for the King of the Jews. King Herod freaks out because that’s his title. There is another king, a higher king, a King of Kings, who they have come to worship. They bring him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They worship Jesus and go back home to the East.

It’s a weird story because they just come out of nowhere. How did they know? When they saw that star rise in the sky, how did they know that it represented that the Greater King had been born? Why were they even looking for that King? Because Daniel had told the wise men 600 years before of the Greater King, the King of Kings, who would be born and rule over all. So they come from the East, from Babylon, to worship the true King.

Friends, let’s never forget that the book of Daniel is not a book about following the moral example, or the courageous example of Daniel and his friends. That isn’t a bad thing, just incomplete. This book is about Jesus. Because all of human history points to him. We don’t place our hope in kingdoms and nations. They only progress towards death and decay. Instead, we hope in an eternal ruler over an eternal kingdom.

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