Focus: God reveals himself as Ruler over all, whose kingdom will never end.
Function: To encourage the people to see themselves as citizens of God’s rule, called to be ambassadors of Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Kingdoms come and kingdoms go. That’s history’s overriding lesson to all generations. Egypt’s mighty Pharaoh’s have come and gone. Their pyramids and mummies testify to their one-time greatness. Once feared Greek emperor Alexander the Great conquered the entire known world in his days—only to die young. Ruins in Asia, Egypt, Greece and elsewhere testify to his one-time greatness. But Alexander’s kingdom is gone.
Rome appeared on the scene of history. Caesars—young and old, brutal and kind—paved the way for Latin culture to spread throughout Rome and for the gospel to take inroads into Europe. But the Caesars are gone. The Roman Empire now tells its story in her ruins and roads and robust architecture of water channels, bridges, and theaters.
Much later in history, Napoleon popped up his head and armies—but eventually found their downfall in Russia and Waterloo. Then came Hitler and his Third Reich. Though brutal and horrendous, it lasted—not a thousand years—but only about two decades. Kingdoms come and kingdoms go.
Nebuchadnezzar is King over a vast empire in the days of Ezekiel and Jeremiah and Daniel, the prophets of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar has subdued the southern Kingdom of Judah; he sacked Jerusalem, he robbed the golden vessels in the temple of God; and Nebuchadnezzar has taken into exile the “cream of Israel’s crop,” including Daniel and his friends.
Nebuchadnezzar is king! Who dares to doubt, who dares to question, who dares to oppose his authority? Is there any sovereign ruler out there that can bring Nebuchadnezzar to his knees and submit to an authority greater than Nebuchadnezzar?
Yes, there is! In Daniel 2:24-49 God reveals himself as Ruler over all, whose kingdom will never end. In this story about a frazzled King in Babylon and a frantic staff of advisors in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, we hear the unmistakable voice of God’s prophet, Daniel, say to Nebuchadnezzar, and to the Israelites at home and in exile, as well as to us today, that God is King. Are we listening to that voice today?
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In response to the prayers of Daniel and his friends, the Lord God reveals to Daniel the dream and its interpretation. Daniel darts to the palace of Nebuchadnezzar and he does three things:
a.
He asserts the truth that God is able! The king’s
counselors had it partially right: Revealing dreams is a divine work. No human
being can reveal dreams; nor can the gods of Babylon do so, because they live
far removed from people, even from their priests and wise men. Daniel makes sure
that Nebuchadnezzar understands that only Daniel’s God—the God of
Israel—reveals and interprets dreams. And thus he says: (vs. 27) “No wise man, enchanter,
magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but
there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.”
b. Daniel clarifies his relationship to Israel’s God and his relationship to King Nebuchadnezzar: (vs. 30) “As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men….” You see? Daniel wants the spotlight on God, not on himself. Daniel wants King Nebuchadnezzar to come to grips with the God of Israel, whose temple he ruined, whose vessels he robbed, and whose people he exiled. Daniel wants Nebuchadnezzar to bow before the King of kings and Lord of lords.
c. Daniel
emphasizes the purpose or intent of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: Listen (vs. 28b) “(God)
has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come….” (vs. 45b) “The
great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is
true and the interpretation is trustworthy.”
Thus we notice: God is
able! God reveals! And God holds the future in his hands. In other words: God
rules over all; He is King!
Now the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar involves a statue consisting of various metals, including clay. It also features a Rock that shatters the statue and its members, and that grows and expands into a boulder so large that it fills the entire earth.
The meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is clearly stated by Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar’s empire will eventually fall; so will other rulers that are to come after King Nebuchadnezzar. But as kingdoms come and kingdoms go, as history unfolds, God will build and expand and establish his very own kingdom. That kingdom will last forever. That kingdom is pictured in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream by that rock that shatters empires and fills the whole earth. That Rock is Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, whose kingdom is here, is coming, and will be firmly established at the end of time, when Christ comes again.
Clearly, God reveals himself as Ruler over all. We see it also here in this story. For as Nebuchadnezzar’s heart and disposition to Daniel is one of grace and favor, Daniel and his friends end up administrating provinces of Babylon, thus protecting the exiles from Israel, thus trumpeting the power of Israel’s God in foreign lands, thus conveying the message that God rules sovereignly and advances his blessings and promises to his people even in times of exile and great distress.
Kingdoms come and kingdoms go—God’s hand is always at work in the midst of these kingdoms. God’s hand sovereignly unfolds his own design with the ultimate goal of establishing his heavenly rule here on earth.
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We need to
hear this good news especially today. In the face of relentless acts of terror,
Christians declare: God is King! In the face of rogue nations, threatening to
wipe other nations off the planet with their military might and atomic bombs,
Christians pray: “Lord, your kingdom come!”
In the face of turmoil in the Middle East between Hamas, Hezbollah and the Israelis, Christians declare that God is King in Christ Jesus, and we pray for the peace of Jerusalem—that is, for the peace of all God’s people, especially for those persecuted for their faith in Christ.
In light of Tuesday’s inauguration of our next president, Mr. Obama, in light of a new administration, and in light of presumably new policies and political priorities, we declare with confidence, in humility, and with great conviction that God in Christ is Ruler over all. To him we belong! Before him we bow; in Him we trust!
And in light of national stress--with the decline and downturn in our economies, in our values, and in our culture’s moral perceptions and sense of right and wrong, Christians of all stripes cry out to God, the King: “Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!”
So, listen to the voice of God, spoken through Daniel, spoken to King Nebuchadnezzar, his wise men, and spoken to the people of Israel at home and in exile: “The Lord—He is King! “
Then, go home, go to work, go on and live as ambassadors for the King! In Christ, God’s kingdom has come, is coming, and will be firmly established. Now and always. Amen.