Reading For Tuesday Daniel 2:26-49
Daniel was quickly ushered into the king’s presence. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know if he could make known the dream itself and then interpret it. Daniel made it a point to remind the royal court that only the God of heaven can reveal the mysteries of what would take place in the latter days, and he had given Daniel the ability to make it known to the king. Daniel began his presentation by revealing the circumstances of the dream, which included the details about Nebuchadnezzar on his bed contemplating what would take place in the future. God had revealed to the king that which he longed to know. However, Daniel, would not accept any personal honor which might have been bestowed upon him, rather he immediately gave credit regarding the revelation toGod, who wanted the king to know the thoughts of his mind. He wanted the king to understand that this was the gracious work of God.
The king’s dream centered on a statue that represented the worldly government. The head of the statue was made of gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, and its legs of iron. The feet of the statue were partly iron and partly of clay. This seems to symbolize in some sense a deterioration of the power, might, and majesty of the kingdoms of this world.
Next, the king then saw a strange sight as a stone was being cut out of a mountain without hands. The stone struck the statue on its feet of iron mixed with clay, and the entire image fell, rendering all the valuable metals of the upper body powdered. The wind carried away the dust until there was no trace of the gold, silver, bronze or iron. However, the stone became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Daniel proceeds to explain the dream and the predictive interpretation of it. The head of gold symbolized Nebuchadnezzar whom God had given sovereignty over the world. Many believe that the rest of the statue is representative of Media, Persia, and Greece. The stone cut out of the mountain without hands represents the kingdom of God which will stand forever. Nebuchadnezzar was overwhelmed by this presentation by Daniel, responding by falling on his face and paying homage to him. He ordered his servants to present Daniel with an offering and incense. These acts recognize Daniel as the representative of the God of gods. The Prophet would not have accepted these offerings had he thought they were directed to him rather than his God. Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel to be ruler over the whole province of Babylon and gave him gifts as tokens of his appreciation. Daniel did not forget his friends and requested that they be given greater responsibility within the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to administrative positions in the province of Babylon but Daniel himself remained in the court of the king.
Things To Consider:
- What do you think it was like to stand before the king after the decree had gone out for you to be executed?
- Are you ever tempted to take credit for something that God has done in your life? Why or why not?
- What would it be like if someone was able to tell you exactly what you were thinking when you were alone?
- Was it was a fearful thing to tell a king that his position did not come through his birthright or effort?
- How does an everlasting kingdom point us to Jesus?
- Have you ever been in a difficult situation and forgotten about your friends or drifted away from them?
- In God's sovereignty, he placed Daniel in the king's court as the ruler over the whole province of Babylon. What does this teach us about God in relationship to his people who were being punished?