God is Wise

Open your Bibles, if you would please, to Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

! It's on page 737.

We'll continue our study this morning in the book of Daniel,

! Looking at the life of Daniel.

Now, I wonder this morning if, like me, sometimes you wonder,

well, I love the story of Daniel.

It's one of my favorites.

I love learning about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and how God used them.

But I wonder, really, what is the connection?

I mean, after all, Babylon is literally thousands of miles away,

and in a time that was a couple thousand years from today,

how relevant, really, is the message and the life that we learn about in this book?

So as we look into the Word of God, as we come to understand the God who is the same yesterday,

today, and forever, really the purpose of looking at the Old Testament

is for us to come to terms with the fact that the God of Daniel in 600 B.C.

in Babylon is the same God of 2024 here in America.

And the truths and the principles of that God, the character of that God,

the things that were true for Daniel,

in helping him navigate the situations and the circumstances that he encountered,

are the same truths that we need today.

And the God who was evident in the life of Daniel in seeking to reveal himself to King Nebuchadnezzar

is the same God who seeks to make himself known through your life,

your witness, your testimony in the here and now.

I think about today we're going to learn about the God of wisdom, the God who is wise.

And as I consider the fact that God is wise,

and especially as it relates to our culture today,

I think about the fact that there could be no greater truth for our culture today

than understanding a God who is wise, a God of wisdom.

After all, the world wants answers.

The world wants to make sense of the things that are happening in their here and now.

The world wants to know where they belong.

They want to know how to find happiness in this life.

And even in this week, as I was kind of considering and researching

some of the main questions that are asked of contemporary culture,

here are some of the questions that this world is seeking to find answers to.

First, how did life begin?

What is the purpose of life?

Are we alone in the universe?

What makes us humans?

What is consciousness?

Can we live forever?

What happens after you die?

And of course, as the world is searching for answers to these important questions,

we as God's servants, as God's people,

have those answers because we know the God who authored it all.

The God who is all-wise.

The God who is over all.

And as agents of God's revelation,

the word of God that comes through the lips of his people,

we are able to be the gateway, as it were,

to help point and direct people to come to see and to understand

and encounter in some way the God who is all-wise,

who is over all.

We have this incredible opportunity,

this incredible privilege,

as Daniel has and his friends had,

to be the catalyst for the gospel, as it were,

the catalyst for bringing the understanding of who God is in contemporary culture.

There is something that we would be familiar with

as it relates to conventional wisdom.

Conventional wisdom is defined this way,

quote,

the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and or experts in a field.

And so there is conventional wisdom as it relates to things like health

and parenting and investment and education and business or employment.

But there is a wisdom that is settled.

There is a wisdom that is sure,

a wisdom that is fixed,

not the conventional wisdom that changes in generation after generation,

but a wisdom that is firm

because it is a wisdom that comes from the unchangeable God.

And it is a wisdom that this world can only come to understand

and know as the people of God.

Embrace the wisdom of God

and reflect that wisdom to the world.

Paul speaks about that wisdom in 1 Timothy 1, verses 15 and 17.

1 Timothy 1:15

When he says this,

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance

that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,

of whom I am chief.

However, for this reason I obtain mercy,

that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering

as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible,

the God who alone is wise,

be honor and glory forever and ever.

Amen.

And then as Paul will say in Romans,

Romans 16:25–27

chapter 16, verses 25 to 27,

he says,

Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel

and the preaching of Jesus Christ,

according to the revelation of the mystery

that was kept secret for long ages,

but has now been disclosed

and through the prophetic writings has been made known

to all nations,

according to the command of the eternal God,

to bring about the obedience of faith

to the only wise God be glory forevermore

through Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The wisdom that is available to the world

is a wisdom that comes from God alone

and it only comes through the gateway of the gospel.

We are the conduit of wisdom to the world

through the message of wisdom

that is the gospel of God.

Do you know the wisdom of God?

Do you know the God of wisdom?

And is your life so centered,

so aligned to the wisdom of God

that it is evident in how you live?

It's evident in the decisions you make.

It's evident in the priorities that you set

that when people see you,

they see the wisdom of God.

The challenge so often

is that our lives

seem so unsettled

in following after the wisdom of this world

rather than following after the wisdom of God.

And we're going to see from the life of Daniel

that Daniel becomes

a faithful servant of God

to Nebuchadnezzar

by helping to point and direct

Nebuchadnezzar's heart

to see the one true God,

the God of wisdom

through his life.

And it comes,

we're going to see this morning,

through a character

that believes in God

and reflects the character

of God in the world.

And as Daniel

believes and trusts

in the wisdom of God,

and as he embraces that wisdom

and applies it to his life,

he becomes a gateway

for Nebuchadnezzar

to actually see God

and God's wisdom.

In the same way,

we can be the same catalyst,

the same gateway

for the people of this world

to encounter and experience

the God of wisdom

as we follow Daniel's example.

So I hope you're already there.

Turn with me to Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

We're going to begin our study this morning

in verse 16.

And we're going to see

that Daniel

will consistently point

to the God of wisdom.

Our first point this morning

is that Daniel's,

excuse me,

God's wisdom

is made known

through Daniel's faith.

God's wisdom

is made known

through Daniel's faith.

Notice

in verse 16.

And Daniel went in

and requested the king

to appoint him a time

that he might show

the interpretation

to the king.

Then Daniel went to his house

and made the matter

known to Hananiah,

Mishael,

and Azariah,

his companions,

and told them

to seek mercy

from the God of heaven

concerning this mystery

so that Daniel

and his companions

might not be destroyed

with the rest

of the wise men of Babylon.

Then the mystery

was revealed to Daniel

in a vision

of the night.

Then Daniel blessed

the God of heaven.

We see

in this

short couple of verses

we see the faith

of Daniel

in his friends.

First,

the faith of Daniel

in standing before the king.

Daniel has committed himself

to see

that God is in

these circumstances.

God is in

this vision.

He recognizes

that God is orchestrating

even these

very events

to showcase

the wonder

of who God is,

the wisdom

of God.

And Daniel sees

and understands

and is willing

in faith

to be a representative

of the God

of wisdom

by standing

before the king.

If you were here

last week,

you recognize

or know

that Nebuchadnezzar

had a dream.

That dream begins

there in

the first parts

of the chapter.

And Nebuchadnezzar

has come to

appreciate

or recognize

the fact

that this dream

is not something

that is

of himself.

It is something

that is significant.

He recognizes

that this dream

has come

from beyond,

from the gods

as it were.

And actually,

it came from

the God

of heaven.

And so he

calls in

his counselors,

his magistrates,

he calls them in

and asks them

to tell him

what the dream is

so that he can

know for sure

that they also

understand

the interpretation.

The king understands

and knows

that his request

to the counselors

is impossible.

But he doesn't want

an approximate answer.

He wants

the message

from God.

He wants

to ensure

that these wise men

not only know

what the dream is,

but they can

accurately

tell him

what the dream

means.

So he sends

for these experts

and he

commands them

to tell him

what the dream

is.

But of course,

the experts

can't do this.

They tell the king

in verse 10 and 11,

the Chaldeans

answered the king

and said,

there is not

a man on earth

who can meet

the king's demand.

For no great

powerful king

has asked

such a thing

of any magician

or enchanter

or Chaldean.

The thing

the king

asks is difficult

and no one

can show it

to the king

except the gods

whose dwelling

is not with flesh.

You see,

God is setting up

a showdown.

God is trying

to help

Nebuchadnezzar

to recognize

his place.

Nebuchadnezzar

who believes

that he is

the most powerful,

that he is

the most wise

emperor

who's ever lived.

his kingdom

is now

set against

the backdrop

of the true king,

the true,

all-wise,

and powerful

God.

And so to establish

his servant,

God is calling out

Daniel and his friends

in this unique way

so that

Nebuchadnezzar

can see

who is

truly the God

of heaven.

For all of

Nebuchadnezzar's

military might

and his

engineering genius,

he is helpless

to find the answer

to this dream.

The power

and wisdom

of God

versus the power

and wisdom

of man.

Nebuchadnezzar

did have power

and did have

a measure

of wisdom

but it was

limited.

Evident

in the

massive walls

of Babylon

that some

historians

say were

300 feet tall

and 85 feet

wide.

likely an

exaggeration

but it was

meant to convey

this impenetrable

nature of the

walls,

how

formidable

they were,

how invincible

they seemed.

But also

the hanging

gardens which

were considered

one of the

ancient seven

wonders of the

world,

this

engineering

genius

of

King

Nebuchadnezzar

and his

associates.

And already

throughout this

short book

of Daniel

we've seen

this call

or attention

given to

wisdom

going all the

way back

to chapter

one.

In Daniel

chapter one

verses three

and four

we find the

king

who commanded

Ashpenaz to

bring some

of the people

of Israel

used without

blemish

and of good

appearance

and skillful

here it is

in wisdom

endowed with

knowledge

understanding

learning.

And then in

verse 17

of chapter

one

as for

these

youth

God

gave them

learning

and skill

in all

literature

and wisdom.

And then

Nebuchadnezzar

in chapter

two

verse two

the king

commands

that the

magistrates

enchanters

sorcerers

and Chaldeans

be summoned

to tell

the king

the dream.

And then

verse 12

because

of this

the king

was angry

and very

furious

and commanded

that all

the wise

men

of Babylon

be destroyed.

There was

attention

given

to wisdom

and God

is calling

attention

to their

deficiency

and his

absolute

supremacy

as it relates

to wisdom.

And in one

event

all of the

accumulated

wisdom

of Babylon

the brightest

minds

in the ancient

world

trained at

the best

schools

of Babylon

were to be

completely

wiped out.

A huge loss

for a proud

king but

a necessary

price

to save

his empire.

But God

was getting

Nebuchadnezzar's

attention.

God's

wisdom

and power

will put

Nebuchadnezzar

in its

place.

God will

do this

through the

testimony

of Daniel

his servant

and through

his friends

Hananiah,

Mishael

and Azariah.

Daniel stands

before the

king

which gives

Daniel

an opportunity

to convey

his faith

in the God

who is able

to reveal

this mystery

to the king.

Daniel's

faith in

God

was meant

to help

Nebuchadnezzar

understand that

God alone

is the God

of wisdom

and Daniel

was willing

to stand

in this

place.

But Daniel

doesn't

rely on

his own

wisdom.

As soon as

he gains

time we find

in verse

17 and 19

he not only

stands before

the king

but his

faith

is expressed

now

in kneeling

before the

Lord.

Because Daniel

knew where

wisdom was

going to

come from.

Notice

verse 17

Then Daniel

went to his

house

and made

the matter

known to

Hananiah,

Mishael,

and Azariah,

his companions

and told them

to seek mercy

from the God

of heaven

concerning this

mystery

so that Daniel

and his

companions

might not

be destroyed

with the rest

of the wise

men of Babylon.

Then the

mystery

was revealed

to Daniel

in a vision

of the night.

Then Daniel

blessed the

God of heaven.

Daniel goes

home.

He gathers

his friends

to pray.

Daniel

demonstrates

that his

faith is

dependent

not on

himself

but his

faith is

dependent

upon God.

God alone

who can

answer

his prayer.

You find

this is

built in

to the

normal

routine

of Daniel's

life.

This daily

regular

commitment

to seek

the Lord

in faith

as we'll

find several

chapters later

in Daniel

Daniel 6:10

chapter 6

verse 10.

Daniel knew

the document

had been

signed.

He went

to his

house

where he

had windows

in his

upper

chamber

open

towards

Jerusalem.

He got

down

on his

knees

three times

a day

and prayed

and gave

thanks

before his

God

as he

had done

previously.

I want

you to

appreciate

the magnitude

of what

is happening

in our

text this

morning.

As I

have studied

and I

would

welcome

other

study

as well

but as

I've

studied

through

the

Old

Testament

this

past

week

I

believe

this

is

the

only

time

in

the

entire

Old

Testament

where

God's

people

come

together

to pray

in this

kind

of way.

Now

there is

corporate

prayer

in the

Old

Testament.

It

happens

very

seldom

throughout

the

Old

Testament

but in

every

single one

of those

examples

it is

led

by a

leader

either

by a

priest

or a

prophet

or a

king

but not

the kind

of prayer

that we

see

happening

here in

Daniel

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

where Daniel

goes back

and his

friends

and the

three of

them

unite

in aligning

their

hearts

in yearning

and asking

God

for prayer

this is

a special

occurrence

that we

find

in our

chapter

this

morning.

It

demonstrates

that faith

can happen

independent

of age

and I

want to

just encourage

the students

who are

here

and the

children

who are

here

you don't

have to

wait

until you

grow up

to be

a person

of faith

you can

be a

person

of faith

at age

14

15

16

as we're

finding

here

and even

earlier

and God

can use

your faith

as a

means

by which

the world

around you

can see

the wisdom

of God

the power

of God

as you

anchor

your heart

to trust

him in

this way

of course

we believe

that God

is wise

of course

we believe

that wisdom

only

comes

from

him

and so

as we

believe

those

things

to be

true

the heart

of one

who

believes

is the

heart

of one

who

shows

faith

Hebrews

11

6

says

without

faith

it's

impossible

to

please

him

for

whoever

would

draw

near

to

God

must

believe

that

he

exists

and

that

he

rewards

those

who

seek

him

we

cannot

please

God

without

faith

and so

we

cannot

be

a

gateway

for

others

to

see

who

God

is

unless

our

own

lives

demonstrate

a commitment

to God

in

faith

whatever

situation

you're in

right now

whatever

challenge

you're

facing

whatever

crisis

is

happening

in your

life

right now

it is

a

unique

way

for

God

for

you

to

demonstrate

your

faith

in

God

in

this

moment

and

thus

put a

smile

on

God's

face

you

will

get

other

opportunities

you

will

God

will

provide

other

avenues

for

you

to

express

faith

but

you

will

never

get

this

specific

moment

to

demonstrate

faith

in

God

than

you

have

right now

this

specific

instance

to

demonstrate

that

you

believe

God

in

this

moment

with

this

particular

crisis

you

can

please

God

through

your

faith

and

it

can

be

a

way

a

means

by

which

you

can

invite

others

to see

the

God

of

wisdom

the

God

who

is

trustworthy

the

God

who

is

faithful

to

be

believed

in

you

see

we

don't

have

to

we

don't

have

to

defend

his

principles

we

don't

have

to

soften

his

gospel

we

can

preach

the

word

and

the

word

of

God

is

able

to

transform

is

able

to

save

we

don't

have

to

be

ashamed

of

the

gospel

of

Christ

it

is

the

power

of

God

for

salvation

to

everyone

who

believes

we

live

in an

age

of

deconstruction

!

the

word

of

God

and

seek

to

turn

them

upside

down

seek

to

reconfigure

them

and

to

paint

them

in a

way

that

would

make

God

look

oppressive

and

immoral

Christian

deconstruction

is described

as the

process

by which

Christians

critically

reevaluate

the tenets

and doctrines

of traditional

Christianity

and

emerge

with

a

different

perspective

on

their

faith

which

turns

out

to

be

completely

abandoning

the

faith

altogether

but

those

of

us

who

believe

in

the

wisdom

of

God

those

who

believe

in

the

sufficiency

of

the

scripture

those

who

believe

that

what

we

have

been

given

is

not

only

sufficient

but

authoritative

for

life

and

we

don't

have

to

explain

it

or

excuse

it

or

accommodate

it

to

our

world

we

can

trust

that

the

word

of

God

is

living

and

active

that

it

will

pierce

to

the

dividing

asunder

of

soul

and

spirit

and

joints

and

marrow

it

is

a

discerner

of

the

thoughts

and

intents

of

the

heart

it

alone

can

transform

and

we

can

trust

the

wisdom

of

God

we

don't

have

to

make

excuses

for

it

and

that's

what

Daniel

does

Daniel

is

committed

to

a

God

who

alone

is

wise

and

he

stakes

his

claim

and

he

wants

Nebuchadnezzar

to

know

that

God

is

trustworthy

so

he

stands

before

Nebuchadnezzar

and

then

he

kneels

before

his

God

and

pours

out

his

heart

and

wouldn't

you

know

that

the

God

who

says

that

he

will

answer

did

that

very

thing

ask

and

you

receive

seek

and

you

find

to

the

glory

of

God

Daniel

asked

and

God

answered

God

revealed

the

mystery

as

God

alone

can

do

God

was

able

to

answer

Daniel's

request

for

his

glory

so

the

wisdom

of

God

might

be

made

known

to

Nebuchadnezzar

but

Daniel

doesn't

stop

there

Daniel

is

not

only

a

man

of

faith

but

God's

wisdom

is

also

made

known

by

Daniel's

praise

made

known

by

Daniel's

praise

notice

verse

20 to

23

here's

what

it

says

Daniel

answered

!

and

said

blessed

be

the

name

of

God

forever

!

and

ever!

to

whom

belong

wisdom

and

might

he

changes

times

and

seasons

he

removes

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

oh

God

of

my

fathers

I

give

thanks

and

praise

for

you

have

given

me

wisdom

and

might

and

have

made

known

to

me

what

we

ask

of

you

for

you

have

made

known

to

us

the

kings

matter

Daniel's

faith

was not

a blind

faith

Daniel

believed

that

God

was

able

to

reveal

because

Daniel

knew

that

God

was

the

one

who

gave

this

dream

to

Nebuchadnezzar

and had

a plan

to use

this

dream

to make

much

of who

God

was

Daniel

knew

what

God

had

said

about

the

revelation

of

God

going

all

the

way

back

to

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 29:29

chapter

29

verse

29

where

it

says

the

secret

things

belong

to

the

Lord

our

God

!

but

the

things

that

are

revealed

belong

to

us

and

to

our

children

forever

that

we

may

do

all

the

words

of

this

law

Daniel

knew

that

God

could

reveal

these

secret

things

and

that

he

would

do

it

for

a

purpose

to

make

much

of

himself

and

the

truth

is

that

Daniel

he

recounts

through

this

song

of

praise

draws

attention

to

this

working

God

this

God

who

is

active

there

in

Babylon

we

phrase

after

phrase

that

are

just

drawn

straight

from

the

scriptures

and

so

as

Daniel

is

praying

this

psalm

of

praise

back

to

God

his

heart

is

full

it's

clear

that

his

heart

has

been

saturated

by

the

scriptures

his

faith

has

been

founded

and

undergirded

by the

truths

of the

scripture

and

so

there's

no

surprise

that

as

Daniel

now

praises

Lord

he's

praising

God

in

expression

of the

truths

that

he

knows

from

the

word

of

God

Daniel's

reflex

is

to

praise

God

notice

he does

not

immediately

get up

and go

to the

king

he's

not

immediately

concerned

about

the

preservation

of his

life

he is

concerned

about

the

glory

of

God

he's

concerned

about

thanksgiving

and

throughout

this

prayer

Daniel

points

to

this

active

hand

of

God

up

until

this

point

in

the

narrative

in

chapter

one

and

chapter

two

it

seems

as

though

Nebuchadnezzar

and the

forces

of

Babylon

are the

ones

who are

pulling

all the

strings

but

woven

throughout

these

two

chapters

we see

the

active

hand

the

active

working

of

God

in

Daniel

chapter

one

verse

two

notice

and

the

Lord

gave

Jehoiakim

king of

Judah

into

Nebuchadnezzar's

hand

in

Daniel

chapter

one

verse

nine

and

God

gave

Daniel

favor

and

compassion

in

the

sight

of

the

chief

of

the

eunuchs

in

Daniel

117

as

for

these

four

youth

God

gave

them

learning

and

skill

in

all

literature

and

wisdom

and

now

prominently

through

this

psalm

of

praise

Daniel

points

to

the

active

working

of

God

at