URC Daily Devotion 19 August 2024

Daniel 2: 17-45

Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel said:

‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
    for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
    deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
    I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
    and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
    for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.’

Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: ‘I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered the king, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these:  To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

‘You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all 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 statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

‘This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything,  it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay.  As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.  As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.  And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever;  just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.’

Reflection

Daniel dared to go the Arioch and tell him not to kill the wise men but to take him to the king and he, Daniel, would interpret the dream.

The interpretation speaks of four great empires, these are the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires.  The city of Babylon was vast and magnificent.  A German archaeologist Robert Koldewey spent several years excavating the remains of the city.  He writes about how the remains show it was a grand city with high walls and large buildings far greater than any others that have been excavated (Robert Koldewey: “The Excavations at Babylon” MacMillan & Co, 1914). 

Despite the power of the king Daniel was not afraid to speak the truth that God gave him to speak.  He spoke of how the king’s empire would be succeeded by others.  It must have been dangerous to tell a powerful king that his kingdom would end.  Daniel was true to God when he spoke to this king.  He was not afraid to speak the truth.

Perhaps the most important phrase is “in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed”.  We know that about 600 years after Daniel Jesus was born and the greatest Kingdom was established.  Christianity has reached far more places that any previous empire and we also know that this kingdom cannot be destroyed.  Daniel was certain of what God had given him to say, the passage ends with his saying “The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy”.

It is good that we can still have this certainty.  Just as God spoke clearly to Daniel.  He speaks to Christians all over the world today.  We need to follow Daniel’s example and listen to what God says and share it with others knowing that it is the truth.
 
Prayer 

Almighty God,
I thank you that you spoke to the prophets of old,
I thank you that You still speak today,
I thank you that you will never be silenced.
Speak to me clearly and help me to speak to other about you,
help me to share the good news that Jesus is my saviour.
Amen