True Power and Wisdom in a Crisis

Welcome back to our service this evening as we continue to look at the book of Daniel and especially we're going to see how the crisis, the personal crisis of King Nebuchadnezzar provides an opportunity for God to receive glorious, his greater power and wisdom this evening.

And I hope that will encourage us as we think about the crises that we face in our lives.

Let me also encourage us from God's word with our call to worship.

Jesus speaking to the crowds in Matthew chapter 11.

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

May each one of us come to know true rest from Jesus as we find that our lives are connected to him, that we receive strength and love and grace from him.

Now, let's read together from Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

Now, we're going to read the first 23 verses, but we'll be thinking about the whole chapter together.

So here's Daniel chapter 2 at verse 1.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams.

His mind was troubled and he could not sleep.

So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed.

When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, I have had a dream that troubles me, and I want to know what it means.

Then the astrologers answered the king, May the king live forever.

Tell your servants the dream and we will interpret it.

The king replied to the astrologers, This is what I have firmly decided.

If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.

But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honour.

So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.

Once more, they replied, Let the king tell his servants the dream and we will interpret it.

Then the king answered, I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realise that this is what I have firmly decided.

If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you.

You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change.

So then, tell me the dream and I will know that you can interpret it for me.

The astrologers answered the king, There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks.

No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.

What the king asks is too difficult.

No one can reveal it to the king except the gods.

And they do not live among humans.

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.

So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death.

And men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

When Ariach, 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.

He asked the king's officer, Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?

Ariach then explained the matter to Daniel.

At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time so that he might interpret the dream for him.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

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.

During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said,

I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors.

You have given me wisdom and power.

You have made known to me what we asked of you.

You have made known to us the dream of the king.

So Daniel chapter 2, we're going to see one king's crisis reveals the true king's glory.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

And again, I really hope that this encourages us today.

Because we stand as a world in need of hope, don't we?

We're together in this global crisis.

And we really feel especially a sense of concern for those who are seeking to lead us through it.

We're praying for wisdom for our politicians and our leaders.

But I think too, we probably recognise, especially perhaps in the church,

that we need more than simply a timetable for ending lockdown to give us a hope that lasts.

We need something bigger than a plan for economic recovery.

We need more than simply a return to normal.

What we need is a hope that comes from the word of God and the God of the word.

For us as Christians, for the people of God, we have great hope.

Even in this chapter, we've been reminded that the Lord who sits on the throne of the universe,

loves his people, he loves us.

That the almighty Lord has not stayed distant from us, rather he has revealed himself to us.

And we see him in creation.

And we see him in his word.

And especially in Jesus, the word who became flesh and made his dwelling among us

so that we would see the glory of God in the face of Jesus.

And we understand that the Lord is building his church.

He is establishing a kingdom that is extensive, that is enduring, that is eternal, that is hope.

And we see it all in Daniel chapter 2.

Daniel 2 · chapter mention

So my prayer for you and for me, for all of us this evening,

is that we take hope as we behold our God.

But we begin with the king's personal crisis in the first 11 verses.

Dreams are funny things, aren't they?

Some are very vivid, some are just plain bizarre, some are quite unsettling.

Some, the first thing when you wake up, you want to share it with somebody else.

Others, you're trying to grab hold of the details because you know there was something exciting or interesting

you want to share and you can't quite get there.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar, he has a forgotten dream.

And effectively, he says to his advisors, tell me my dream and what it means and I'll make you rich and give you glory or I'll burn your house down.

It's very extreme for a forgotten dream.

Why?

Well, in his culture, dreams were often regarded as signs pointing towards the future.

But for Nebuchadnezzar, he can't remember this dream.

He doesn't know whether his future looks good or whether his future looks bad.

So he calls in the gurus of verse 2, the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers.

So the interesting thing about these guys is that they used dream manuals.

So, OK, tell us your dream.

Ah, OK.

So like 150 years ago, another king, he had a dream that was similar.

And if you look at his history, these events happened.

So I think the dream means this.

That's how it worked for them.

But if they get no knowledge, they get no hope.

And they're honest about that.

Verse 10.

There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks.

I love verse 11.

God's always looking for opportunities to reveal his glory.

And don't we see here, verse 11, what the king asks is too difficult.

No one can reveal it to the king except the gods and they do not live among the humans.

Their experience of the gods, the false gods of Babylon, our gods are distant.

Our gods don't speak.

Our gods are not going to be able to offer any help.

We can't help.

So there's no prospect of help.

In this crisis, a contest is going to develop.

A contest because it's so one-sided.

But we're being invited to ask the question, whose wisdom is greater?

The wise men or Daniel and the gods of Babylon or the true God

that they represent?

Whose God is the true God?

And chapter 2 of Daniel, the whole story of Daniel, really,

and indeed the whole Bible shows,

for the one true God, nothing is impossible.

The one true God is a God who reveals himself.

He speaks.

He speaks.

He acts.

He demonstrates his saving power and grace towards his people.

He is available for them.

And of course for us, we know that in Jesus he becomes one of us

and we see his glory in their most remarkable way.

I also find it encouraging to recognise that in God's providence,

the crisis of the king becomes a chance for Daniel to do gospel ministry,

to speak the truth to King Nebuchadnezzar,

and to show where true glory and honour lies,

to point to the power and wisdom of the one true God

rather than the false gods.

God is working.

God is always working for his glory.

He is still looking to, as it were, lift the roof off,

to remind people to look up,

to show the limits of the gods that we make

compared to the one true God.

And so maybe even here there is an encouragement for us

in our gospel ministry.

No crisis quarantines the gospel.

I find it really encouraging this week to read about the church in Iran.

So Iran, which is part of where the Babylonian Empire would be,

the people who are still around today,

and in Iran, the church is persecuted.

The church is under attack.

It faces a crisis.

But they have learned to do effective gospel ministry.

They've used technology.

So there are many stories of people going on to Facebook

and finding Christian groups

that they can sensitively connect with

and have their questions asked and answered

and people coming to faith in Jesus

through the internet and through social media.

And I think that's an encouragement for us

as we think about our ongoing ministry

of looking to show our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues

the wonder of Jesus.

That's the king's personal crisis.

And that, of course, then leads us on to Daniel's response.

So if you remember, if you were with us last week,

Daniel's crisis of conscience,

would he eat the king's diet or not?

This is a more significant crisis for Daniel

in terms of his life or death

because Daniel and his three friends

are told in verse 13

that they are also on the king's death list,

part of his royal advisors.

So they're all due to be killed.

Now, how do we see Daniel's faith in this crisis?

Well, first of all, we see that he keeps calm.

He goes to speak to Ariah,

who's responsible for bringing the message.

And then in verse 16,

he goes to face the angry king Nebuchadnezzar

to ask for more time.

And God gives him favour

and he gets the chance for more time.

And what does he do with his time?

And this is what his faith really shines.

He prays.

He calls his three friends and say,

let's pray, let's pray for God's mercy.

So verse 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.

He's concerned not just for himself,

but for everybody else

that's part of the death list.

But what does he pray for?

He prays that the true God

would reveal the mystery to Daniel.

Daniel.

And that night,

the answer comes.

And again,

how does Daniel respond in the morning?

In verse 19,

we're told that he praised God.

When we pray and God answers,

we should be thankful.

We should pray to him

and we should give him thanks.

We should praise him.

And then Daniel gives us a reminder of that.

And as we look at Daniel's prayer,

what does he focus on?

He praises God

because God is on the throne.

Because God sits over all history,

deposing some kings,

raising others up.

Because God has wisdom and power.

But not only that,

this God who has wisdom and power,

verse 23,

I thank and praise you,

God of my ancestors,

you have given me wisdom and power.

God who makes himself available

for the needs of his people.

God who gives that wisdom and power to Daniel

when he needs it.

So again,

the crisis is showing really powerfully

the true God versus counterfeit gods.

And maybe today,

you're sitting at home

and you realise,

do you know,

I've been planning

and been pursuing goals

without really thinking about God.

I'm not sure that he would really be

the centre of my identity.

Perhaps you're thinking,

I need more than this.

I need more than those foundations

that I had built my life on

before this crisis.

I see that they are weak

and God is strong.

Well,

here is an invitation

to turn

or return to God

through faith in Jesus.

To recognise that he is

the one who is powerful for you,

who will be your strength and weakness.

To recognise that he is all wisdom

and he can be your wisdom

in times of confusion.

So turn to him,

return to him

with all your heart

and keep pursuing Jesus

who is the wisdom of God,

who is the power of God.

Read your Bible,

pray to enjoy fellowship with him,

make him your treasure

and delight.

Because we have the one true God

revealed to us in the Bible

and revealed to us in Jesus,

the Son.

And we need to trust him

to have a hope that lasts.

After praising God,

Daniel then

goes to the king's court.

So he gives the king his dream

and its meaning in verse 25

to 45.

And what we see here again

is more parallels

to the story of Joseph.

Another king,

the Pharaoh,

had a dream.

Nobody could interpret it

except for Joseph.

Joseph is brought in,

it reveals the dream

and he has raised

a place of honour.

Same story for Daniel.

And again also,

when the king speaks to Daniel

at first and he says,

are you able to tell me

what I saw in my dream

and interpret?

Daniel obviously,

like Joseph,

had the chance to claim

some personal glory

and honour for himself,

but doesn't take it.

Rather,

he honours God.

No wise man,

enchanter,

magician or diviner

can explain to the king

the mystery,

but there is a God

in heaven

who reveals mystery.

You want revelation?

You want wisdom?

Don't look to me,

Daniel says.

Look to my God.

There is no contest

in this wisdom contest.

The true God

is the only one

who reveals mysteries.

And perhaps Nebuchadnezzar

was so anxious

because he really wanted

to hold on to power.

Perhaps he was afraid

and wondering

whether his latest conquest

would succeed.

And what he needs

to understand

is that the answer

to his anxiety

and the answer

to all our anxieties

is to recognise

there is a greater king.

There is one

far greater than him.

Maybe one of the struggles

that you have

with lockdown

is that sense

of loss of control

where we want

to know the plan

and we want

to know the timetable

and we want

to know it will

be successful

because we want

to make our own plans

and we want

to know what our timetable

is going to look like

and it can be desperately

hard to live

day by day

when every day

feels the same

and it seems

there's no end

in sight.

Well,

one answer to

that anxiety

is certainly

to behold

our God.

to recognise

here is the God

who's in control.

Here is the God

who is working

all things for good

for those who love him.

Here is the God

whose love

for his people

remains constant

and in a crisis

he has wisdom

and power

that is for you.

Now we get to the dream.

Let me read this.

We didn't read it earlier.

Let me read

the dream.

Your majesty

looked

and there before

you stood

a large statue

an enormous

dazzling statue

awesome in appearance.

The head of the statue

was made of pure gold

its chest

and arms of silver

its belly

and thighs of bronze

its legs of iron

its feet partly of iron

and partly of baked clay.

While you were watching

a rock was cut out

but not by human hands.

It struck the statue

on its feet

of iron and clay

and smashed them

and then we're told

the rock

that struck the statue

became a huge mountain

and filled

the whole earth.

So there's this statue

with four levels

and it's top heavy

because the top level

is made in gold

but it doesn't topple

in and of itself

rather it is smashed

by a rock

a rock

not cut by human hands

and that rock

then becomes

a universal

mountain.

So what's

going on

in that dream?

well Nebuchadnezzar

is told

in verse 37

that he was

the head

of gold

you are the king

of kings

the God of heaven

has given you

a dominion

and power

and glory

God has given it

to Nebuchadnezzar

but as the dream

makes clear

that will not last

his empire

will not last

neither will

the other empires

there is one

that will last

and that's God's

verse 44

in the time

of those kings

the God of heaven

will set up a kingdom

that will never

be destroyed

nor will it be left

to another people

it will crush

all those kingdoms

and bring them

to an end

but it will

itself endure

forever

this is the meaning

of the vision

of the rock

cut out of a mountain

but not

by human hands

God will set up

his kingdom

and that kingdom

will never end

that kingdom

will never be

overtaken

that kingdom

will not be small

but will be universal

in scope

and that kingdom

will be built

on God's rock

and the New Testament

picks that up

and says

the rock

is Christ

for the exiles

in Daniel's generation

and for those

in later generations

who suffer persecution

and opposition

there is hope

this will not last

God's king

and God's kingdom

will

the Messiah

of the line of David

would come

as promised

and his kingdom

would endure

so hold on

and take heart

for the persecuted

church in the world

today

for the persecuted

church in the region

of Babylon

here is hope

that to trust

in Jesus

as God's king

is to place

our hope

and identity

and security

in a kingdom

that is eternal

and enduring

for you and me

today

here is living hope

because the rock

is Christ

Jesus came

and he preached

the kingdom

of God

is near

because he

is the king

who is drawn near

those miracles

that we spent

so much time

focusing on

are signs of

signpost to

the kingdom

of glory

a kingdom

without illness

and suffering

and death

and disease

and virus

and despair

a kingdom

marked by love

and joy

and peace

and fellowship

with God

forever

and then there's

the promise

of Jesus

that he would

build his church

on the gates

of hell

no opposition

no foreign empire

would ever be able

to destroy

that church

and that church

would be built

on his words

the gospel message

the message

that comes from

Jesus

and that's about

Jesus

that centres on

his death

and resurrection

is where

the foundation

of the church

the kingdom

of God

the eternal

extensive

enduring kingdom

is built

for you and I

when we don't know

what institutions

in our country

will survive

what savings

will be left

in our bank

accounts

what shape

our nation

will be in

here is

encouragement

to invest

our energy

and find

our joy

in a kingdom

that lasts

to live as a

citizen of heaven

even as we seek

the welfare

of Babylon

as we seek

the welfare

of Edinburgh

and Scotland

and beyond

our hope

lies in

an eternal

enduring

extensive

kingdom

when our

hope

is in

Jesus

the eternal

son of God

our king

and our saviour

the chapter

ends with

the king's

gratitude

it's no surprise

really that he's

so pleased

he discovers

that he's the

head of gold

and he's going

to have a

secure and

glorious empire

for his

lifetime

and what he

does

verse 46

to 49

is he

praises

Daniel

and he

raises him

to a place

of honour

again

just like

Pharaoh

did with

Joseph

and what

we need

to understand

is that

God is

behind all

of this

God is

working

so that

his glory

will be

seen

even in

the suffering

of exile

God is

working so

he will

have glory

among the

nations of

the world

even in

this king's

personal

crisis

God is

working

so that

he will

have

glory

God's

desire

is that

he would

be glorified

we are

made

to give

God glory

to live

for his

glory

so we

find our

great joy

when we

see

and delight

in the

glory of

God

and books

like Daniel

can really

help us

to see

that

so that

we might

praise God

just as

Daniel

did

and it's

interesting

we said

this in

our overview

and we'll

see it

time and

again

here is

king

nebuchadnezzar

a pagan

king

praising

Daniel's

God

verse 47

the king

said to

Daniel

surely

your God

is the

God of

gods

and the

Lord of

kings

and a

revealer

of

mysteries

a pagan

king is

used to

speak the

truth

probably

speaking

more truth

than he

realised

but here

is that

reminder

in the

context

of the

gods

only one

God

has true

and absolute

power

only one

God

has wisdom

and graciously

reveals

who is

available

to us

who is

strong

and mighty

to save

so this

king's

crisis

in the

end of

the day

led him

to praise

give glory

to the

true king

may

may that

be true

for us

whoever we

are and

whatever our

circumstances

however we're

finding

lockdown

may it

be true

for us

that this

crisis would

lead us

to praise

to trust

to show

loyalty and

dependence on

our God

and king

on Jesus

our king

that we

would look

to him

the wisdom

of God

the power

of God

that in

our weakness

with our

burdens

we would

come to

him

and find

rest

so that we

might

just like

Daniel

give God

praise

and glory

a

day

he

he

he

he

he

he

he

he