Chapter 4 of Daniel is a long narrative about King Nebuchadnezzar. In this chapter, Daniel is asked to interpret another dream the king had. The text of the chapter is pretty plain about what happened to the king, but I am wondering why it is there. The king essentially has a major confrontation with God Himself. In that confrontation, the king, who was probably the most powerful human alive at that time, was forced to recognize that life was not for his own aggrandizement.
To me, this chapter just shows the awesome power of God. Even the most powerful man alive was forced to recognize that God was the ultimate power in the universe. I’ve been trying to think of something else to say on this chapter for the last 15 minutes, but I can’t think of anything other than that.
If your life were put on the line would you have what it takes to take a stand and not deny God? That is the question that faces us today in chapter three of the book of Daniel. In this book, King Nebuchadnezzar made it a decree that everyone in his kingdom had to worship an idol he had created. Most people in the kingdom did out of fear for their lives. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused, however, because they worshipped the one true God. Given a second chance to comply with the king’s decree they declined once again. As a result, they were given the punishment of being thrown into a furnace to be burned alive.
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. 24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." – Daniel 3:19-25
There is some speculation that this fourth person walking in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego was none other than Jesus Himself. The Bible does not explicitly say if it was or not. The important part is that those three stood firm in their beliefs. They did not compromise simply for the sake of their lives because they knew their lives were not theirs to give. Ultimately, we are in God’s hands. He will use us as He sees fit to accomplish His goals. In that, we are protected from anything until those goals are met.
It is not fun to be the bearer of bad news. If you are the subordinate to the person you must tell this news to, it can potentially be bad for you. In these days, a person might just lose their job in such a circumstance. Back in biblical times, however, a person was often executed for telling bad news. That is the situation we see here in Daniel 2. In this chapter, the king of Babylon has a dream he wants people to interpret truthfully. Those that could do so, however, were afraid to because they didn’t want to face the king’s wrath. They felt that by doing nothing they would be safe. Instead, the king ordered their death because no one would step forward.
Once Daniel found this out he stepped forward though. He knew that God gave him not only the power to interpret the dream, but God also had the power to protect him. This is an act of great faith on Daniel’s part. In human terms, his situation was hopeless, yet God could deliver him. God offered His protection to Daniel if he only stepped forward and did His work.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven – Daniel 2:14-19
When Daniel first went to the king he did not know what the dream meant. As we see here, it was revealed to him after he had asked for time with the king. By merely stepping forward when no one else would, God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel. He was rewarded for his faith and because he later still had faith to tell the king, he was rewarded again with a position of power.
I don’t know where you are in your life. It may be a position where you think everything around you is hopeless. I know I feel that way this morning. There seems to be no way out of the life I have found myself in. Still, I am striving to keep my faith. I probably won’t be asked to interpret a dream, but it is my prayer each that I will have the strength to step forward, like Daniel, when my time is called to do whatever it is I am called to do. In the meantime it can be frustrating. I feel useless and like I am a spectator of life, but I must remain faithful.
Over the next few weeks I wanted to step back into the Old Testament for a bit and write about the book of Daniel. Daniel is a book that has a lot of hope during a very dark time for the people of Israel. It takes place during the Babylonian exile, yet it centers on Daniel’s faithful service to God in a time where he was captive by a completely different culture. In this book, Daniel is tempted many times to abandon his faith, but he stays faithful to God through it all. At each turn, God rewards his faith with continued guidance.
8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your [c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you."
11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 "Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. – Daniel 1:8-14
This is an example of how our response to God in difficult situations can make all the difference. It would have been easy for Daniel to go along with the Babylonians and accept the gifts given to him, but he took a stand. He asked for a test and God gave him the strength to pass said test. Not only that, but God also gave him the ability to interpret dreams and visions. This resulted in Daniel having an even higher place in the king’s court during the Babylonian exile.
So how does this carry over to today? Sometimes, we don’t find ourselves in the best of situations. When there, the temptation to take the first way out is strong. Sometimes this isn’t always the best way. It can lead to an even worse situation because we took the easy way instead of the way God wants us to go. There are lessons to be learned even in suffering. Discipline can be one of them. We would do right to learn from Daniel’s discipline and devotion to God shown here.
This book is very brief, but it still carries an important message. This is another reminder from John that we must always walk in faith and reach out to those that are even strangers. I hope that is what I am accomplishing by writing here in this blog. I only know of a handful of people that read it, but it is my hope that anyone who does come across it will see God’s fingerprints on it.
5Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you. 6They have told the church about your love. You will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. 7It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. 3 John 1:5-7
This is the most important thing that I can take from this. We must always be moving forward and act kindly toward everyone we meet. As Christians, we are living examples of Christ’s love. We are the representation of his earthly ministry, and therefore we are always on the front lines advancing His kingdom. By living Godly lives and helping those around us we only further His ministry, which is our reason for being.
I have decided to finish this week by writing about 2 and 3 John, especially since I did 1 John much earlier. It seems like a fitting cap to the week since I have two days left to go over two very short books.
2 John is something I needed to read, as well. It can be easy to overlook some of these shorter books in the Bible. This is one that is so short it seems a little incongruous, but it is there for a reason. In this book, we are reminded to always be on the lookout for false teachers, but there is something more as well. There is a lesson in love that I sometimes forget. I am glad it was brought home again today.
5And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. – 2 John 1:5-6
I was recently asked to work in a call center for two weeks. To me, this type of job is a fate worse than death. I hate customer service work, yet I am consistently given jobs like this because it is the best I can do. This one was particularly frustrating because the training I was given was very poor. I could not provide assistance on at least half of the calls I received because I had no idea what I was doing. In frustration, I often ended up giving up on helping those calling in.
In my actions, however, I wasn’t walking in love. I was thinking only of myself and my own frustrations. This is a sin I am constantly guilty of. I admit that I need to work on it not just from a professional standpoint, but a personal one as well. After four and a half years of constant professional frustration my view is often so narrow that I cannot see those around me. I resolve to work on that and try to walk in love for others from now on. It can only benefit me, as well as others.
This is the final chapter in the very short book of 2 Peter, but it serves as another warning against complacency. In it, Peter challenges us to think. His opening verse even says he wrote this letter to stimulate our wholesome thinking. This world today does not want us to think. It wants us to blindly follow what we are told. I struggle with this, as it seems I run into many jobs and people that don’t think. To me, not thinking is the same as being dead. You’re just about as useful to society if you’re not thinking. I encourage you, as Peter does here, to always think.
14So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. – 2 Peter 3:14-15
I think this is ultimately what we seek in this world. It is a dark and scary place. If we follow Christ, we know we are not of this world. Therefore, it can be very difficult to find peace. I think that is what we seek in this life more than anything. We seek peace because otherwise our lives are restless from fighting against a world to which we do not belong.
