AN ENDURING KINGDOM

Daniel 2:31–35 ESV

31 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image 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, 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. 35 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.

Daniel 2:44–45 ESV

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.”

I. THE DREAM AND ENSUING EVENTS

A. (Review the chapter)

B. High points for focus.

1. The King’s demand: 2:2-3, 5-6, 8-9

2. The response of the Chaldean’s: 2:4, 7, 10-11

3. The King reacts: 2:12

C. Daniel hears and responds: 2:13b-16

D. A Prayer Request: 2:17-18

E. God Responds and Daniel Praises Him: 2:19-23

F. Coming before the king: 2:24-30

G. “At this juncture, we should note Daniel’s demeanor in approaching the king, which is to deflect all credit from himself to the Lord. The narrator has highlighted this for us by contrasting Daniel’s humility with the words of Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard. Arioch approached the king and declared, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means” (Dan. 2:25). Actually, Arioch did nothing of the sort. He was ready to execute Daniel, along with the rest of the wise men. It was Daniel who went and found Arioch, not vice versa (2:24). Yet Arioch was eager to claim at least some of the credit for this stunning turn of events for himself. This is the way the world works, isn’t it? Pass as much of the blame for your failures on to other people and claim as much credit as you can for other people’s success!”[1]

II. OUR GREAT GOD

A. Our God gave dreams to a pagan ruler to reveal His sovereignty over the nations and the times of men.

Daniel 2:37—38

Daniel 2:37–38 ESV

37 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, 38 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.

B. He is the giver of dreams and their interpretation.

Daniel 2:27-28

Daniel 2:27–28 ESV

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:

III. THE DREAM AND ITS INTERPRETATION

A. The Dream (2:31-35). (Given around 602BC)

B. A great image. (Think about later in chapter 3 – the image Nebuchadnezzar made of gold)

C. The image of goldreflects the enormous statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, except it is made entirely of gold, as if Nebuchadnezzar were asserting that there would be no other kingdoms after his. It was sixty cubits (90 feet/27 m) high and six cubits (9 feet/2.7 m) wide. Its location on a plain in Babylon recalls the location of the Tower of Babel (also on a plain, Gen. 11:2), as does its purpose to provide a unifying center for all the peoples of the earth.[2]

D. The image decreased in quality as the description moved from the head to the feet.

E. A stone (2:34) was cut out with no human hand involved.

F. The stone reduced the image something like chaff which the wind easily blows away from the threshing floors at harvest time.

G. The stone becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.

H. The Interpretation (2:36-45)

I. The image represents 4 Kingdoms.

J. The Kingdoms are normally identified as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

K. In the days of the Roman kingdom, God set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed.

L. Mark 1:14–15 (ESV) — 14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

M. Jesus is the living stone of God.

N. 1 Peter 2:4–8 (ESV) — 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

O. Jesus is the stone that obliterates the kingdoms of this world.

P. They will be reduced to chaff, dust, that the wind blows away.

Q. Only his kingdom will remain.

R. The dream should humble the hearts of all mankind and all the hearts of the kings and rulers of this world.

S. God alone reigns over all the kingdom of this world.

T. Psalm 47:5–8 (ESV) — 5 God has gone up with a shout, the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. 6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises! 7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! 8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

U. Let us rejoice in our great God and King. Let us exalt the name of Jesus. To His kingdom there will be no end.

[1]Duguid, I. M. (2008). Daniel. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & I. M. Duguid, Eds.) (p. 33). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing. [2]Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1591). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.