Wise Guy
Daniel 2
Preachers make a lot of mistakes
-one of the more common goofs is trying to improve upon a Bible
story...sure we may tell the story, but then we try to add so much
stuff of our own that the facts of the story are lost
--it would be a perfectly legitimate sermon if I simply read
Scripture to you—you’d probably think I was lazy, but I
guarantee you that neither you nor I could improve upon it
This morning, and actually for the next few weeks, I will face head-on
the temptation to make the story take a backseat to my insightful
“points” and illustrations and applications
-and with the strength of God, I will overcome!
--and I pray you will hear more of His wisdom than my wittiness
I’ll be reading Daniel 2 from The Message
-first, some background
--Nebuchadnezzar,
king of
---these Jews are living in exile in a hostile, foreign land
--despite the less-than-ideal conditions, God orchestrates events
that lead to four Jewish men to find favor with the king
---they are educated in Babylonian culture, language, and
literature...and God blesses a young man named Daniel
with the ability to interpret dreams
-considering their circumstances, things are working out pretty well
...that is, until the king orders them to be executed
Read Daniel 2:1-4
This is pretty standard stuff
-all of these men—the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and
fortune tellers—do this for a living
--they may be asked to advise the king on matters of war,
international policy, domestic law...the usual stuff
-interpreting dreams may be is the easiest of their tasks because—
think about it—they can never be wrong
--You, O king,
have had a dream about flying over
purple dragon while eating sushi?
---piece of cake! your ability to fly clearly indicates that you
are a superior ruler to that silly Persian king
----the dragon symbolizes the awe and fear you strike in
the hearts of all who foolishly dare come against you
----and the sushi is a simple reminder of the potential
health hazards of eating raw or undercooked fish
-and if you’re the king, how could you dispute any of that?
But Nebuchadnezzar is no stooge—he knows exactly how that game
is played...and because this particular dream is giving him fits, he’s
not interested in joining their charade—he wants the truth
-and he has a little surprise up his sleeve for the astrologers
Read Daniel 2:5-11
To cut them some slack, the king’s demand does seem unreasonable
-it’s like playing “Twenty Questions” except you don’t get to ask any
questions—you only get to guess...once...because the king is
going to know immediately if you are bluffing
--does he really expect them to tell him what he dreamed? yes
-like I said, Nebuchadnezzar is no dummy
--and his patience with these so-called “wise men” is running out
Read Daniel 2:12-18
Boy, now that’s a literal deadline!
Notice what Daniel does
-he approaches Arioch with “wisdom and tact” [NIV]...then he
speaks personally with the king, asking for a little time
--what does he do next?
-Daniel gets his three friends together and they have, I would
imagine, a pretty intense prayer meeting
What do Daniel’s actions tell you?
-listen to God first when you are dealing with other people
--when Jesus tells His disciples about the last days, He warns
them about the certain persecution that is to come
--but at the same time He gives them hope and tells them they
have no need to worry
--Read Luke 21:10-15
--in Acts 6, right before Stephen is arrested, the Bible tells us that
a large group of Jews begin to argue with him, but Acts 6:10
says à but
they could not stand up against his wisdom or the
Spirit by whom he
spoke.
---God gives wisdom, James 1:5 promises, to everyone who
asks in faith
-Daniel’s need to pray also reveals his utter dependence on God
--he is well aware that on his own he is just as helpless as the
Babylonian astrologers when it comes to telling and interpreting
this dream
---he turns to God—smart move, wise guy
--in Genesis, God gives Joseph the wisdom to interpret dreams
--Psalm 44:21 à He
knows the secrets of the heart
--Psalm 90:11 à The Lord knows the thoughts of man
--Luke 16:15 à but God
knows your hearts
--and the Gospels tell us of several occasions when Jesus knows
what the disciples or the Pharisees are thinking and then He
tells them exactly what is on their minds
Needless to say, if my life is on the line, I’m going with God
-I’m also going with God because I believe in this instance God is
causing the king’s dreams and sending him a clear message
Read Daniel 2:19-30
What an incredible testimony of God’s faithful prophet
-what does Daniel do when God reveals the dream and its meaning?
--he praises God
---he glorifies God for His power, His sovereignty over time, over
nations and kings, over all His creation
-what does Daniel do when he has another audience with the king?
--he praises God
---he is confident in what God has shown him and he makes
sure that Nebuchadnezzar isn’t confused about Who
possesses true wisdom...and it’s neither one of them
----no one can do what you’ve demanded, Daniel tells him,
...but there is a God in heaven...!
If Daniel can make that claim with such conviction...imagine how that
could change your perspective on some things in your life
No one can save my marriage...but there is a God in heaven!
No one can reach my friend...but there is a God in heaven!
No one can end the war in
No one can keep
but there is a God in heaven!
No one can give me true peace...not with what I’m going
through...but
there is a God in heaven!
And because there is a God in heaven...a God who reveals Himself
to us...a God who loves us so much that He would sacrifice His only
Son for us...there is no situation, no person who is hopeless—
because there is a God in heaven
Read Daniel 2:31-35
Daniel has passed the first, more critical test
-imagine what the king is thinking now
--I can guarantee one thing: Daniel has Nebuchadnezzar’s
undivided attention, that’s for sure
Read Daniel 2:36-43
The dream begins well, at least as far as Nebuchadnezzar is
concerned, but the reality is that his kingdom—like every one before
and every one to come—is only temporary
-while one nation may dominate its part of the globe, there is
always another king and another army poised to topple them
How does the dream play out in history?
-it depends on how you understand biblical prophecy
--if you believe, like I do, that some prophecy is predictive of future
events...then the general consensus of scholars is that the head
represents
and the legs
symbolize the
-but as impressive as the statue and the sequences of empires may
appear, don’t forget: looks can be deceiving
Read Daniel 2:44-45
Some people like to get worked into a frenzy about the details of the
dream...why particular metals are mentioned, the symbolism of the
various body parts, the identification of the ten toes
-I can remember years ago when preachers were convinced the
ten toes represented the ten nations of the European Common
Market and that the Anti-Christ would come from out of there
--but today the Common Market has been replaced with the
European Union and is comprised of 27 countries...hmmm
Perhaps none of that is the point
-perhaps the point is that while God establishes kings and kingdoms
(notice v. 37)...yet none of them shall stand
--like the statue, they were formed with human hands, human
minds, and human skills
But there is a rock, not cut by human hands, that will be hurled at the
statue, strike its feet, and bring the entire thing crashing down
-in the meantime that rock will become an enormous mountain that
will consume the entire earth
--that rock
is the
endure for all eternity
Imagine this interpretation reaching the ears of Daniel’s fellow Jews
who
are in exile in
-imagine their reaction to the message that the evil they now
experience is not the end of the story
--Nebuchadnezzar is not god...his kingdom cannot stand
-in spite of how things look right now, God will utterly defeat the
forces that rule over them
--v. 35 leaves us with a vivid image of their ultimate destiny à
Then the whole thing fell to pieces—iron,
tile, bronze, silver,
and gold, smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old
newspapers in a vacant lot in a
hot dry summer, blown every
which way by the wind, scattered to
oblivion.
-in the last
century we have watched
Union rise in its place only to collapse...the sun now does set on
the British
empire...the world influence of
world powers they once were a generation ago...and the United
States? —well, the jury (or better yet, the Judge) is still out
--but I can assure you that there is coming a day when the
same verdict will be handed to her as to every other kingdom
who once lived under the illusion that they ruled the world
If God has, can, and will reduce the nations of the world to dust, then
why do you worry?
-isn’t your faith in Daniel’s God?
-as we sang
earlier, isn’t He immortal, invisible,
God only wise?
-why do you fear? isn’t our God the same God who created this
world...who holds it all together...who gives us life...who has
conquered death, hell, and the grave...and who will someday
redeem and restore His creation?
--Psalm 27:1 à The
Lord is my light and my salvation—whom
shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom
shall I be afraid?
Read Daniel 2:46-49
What will it take for God to get your attention so that you will finally
believe that your life is in His hands?
-if you are a Christian, you are eternally secure there—even death
itself cannot separate you
If you are not a Christian, however, being in the hands of God is not a
comforting thought...because the Bible is perfectly clear that those
who are not His will face eternity separated from Him in hell
-that’s not to intimidate you or to frighten you...that’s to tell you the
truth and to warn you
--because of Jesus, however, you can know life...eternal life