[0:00] Good morning. As you've already been told, I'll be reading out of and preaching from the book of Daniel chapter 2.
[0:11] ! We'll be looking at the first 23 verses.! In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
[0:40] Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, I had a dream and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
[0:56] Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream and we will show you. We will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word for me is firm.
[1:12] If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor.
[1:27] Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream and we will show its interpretation.
[1:39] The king answered and said, I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time because you see that the word for me is firm. If you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you.
[1:52] You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore, tell me the dream and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered the king and said, There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand.
[2:07] For no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult and no one can show it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.
[2:23] Because of this, the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out and the wise men were about to be killed and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.
[2:36] Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Ariok, the king's captain, Why is the decree of the king so urgent?
[2:52] Then Ariok made the matter known to Daniel 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.
[3:14] 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.
[3:25] 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.
[3:37] 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 the light dwells with him.
[3:48] To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise for you have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what I asked of you. For you have made known to us the king's matter.
[4:04] If you will, pray with me. Heavenly Father, as we read your word and we come to you, God, asking that you will reveal yourself in it.
[4:16] Lord, I stand here and could easily be filled with anxiety, but I know that it is not my strength or what I might do today, God, but what you will do with me.
[4:30] And Lord, I pray that you bless my words, God, that I will only speak your truth. And God, that your word will be made known to the hearers. And Lord, that our hearts will be open and we will be willing and that we will be changed, God, that our faith will be strengthened, that we will know you better.
[4:48] And Lord, that you will change hearts, Lord, and draw us to repentance. And those that do not know you, God, that they will see who you are and fall on their knees before you, Lord.
[4:59] And that they, they too, Lord, will seek you with all of their lives. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Well, I can't imagine that anyone out here has been anticipating this moment as I have, but, uh, I've been invited to opens God word, God's word with you all on a couple of other occasions.
[5:23] And I was unable to because of illness in my family or with me. So I'm very grateful. I'm thankful that I have this opportunity today and I thank you for your prayers as, uh, we go forward.
[5:36] But in the reading of Daniel 2, there in the part that we have read so far, what I hope to convey with that and some other scriptures, um, is something that you, some three topics, three things that you have, uh, been made familiar with in the preaching of the past couple of weeks.
[6:00] Um, those things are the, the, the, the, the rise and fall of Nebuchadnezzar and the immovable sovereignty of God and the resilient, resilient faith of Daniel in a hostile world.
[6:16] Uh, these, uh, these, in order to convey better, uh, the rise of Nebuchadnezzar, then if you would turn to second Kings chapter 24 and 25, um, I'm not going to read this in its entirety, but, uh, we'll reference a couple of points in here as we go forward.
[6:43] So maybe you want to keep a finger there as we go back to Daniel momentarily. But what we want to see about Nebuchadnezzar is that he was no weakling of a King.
[6:55] He was not, um, as far as the, the world's measure goes, there was no one more powerful than Nebuchadnezzar. Uh, he had, he was a great and conquering King.
[7:09] And as we, if you were to read 24 and 25 in its entirety, you would see that he went into Egypt and took all the possessions of the Egyptian King and took him effectively off of his throne.
[7:22] And then to Judah and then Jerusalem, and then in Jerusalem destroyed the temple of the God of heaven. And, and all of these things he did with great power and might, he was an overwhelming force in the land.
[7:40] And he found himself to be a King maker because in each of these conquests, he would step in and depose a King, appoint another King.
[7:52] And when that King or governor stepped out of line, he would remove him and replace him once again. And so as you can see, if you, if, as like I was mentioning, if you read through 24 and 25 of second Kings, which, uh, you may not want to do that at this moment, but I was, maybe that's homework.
[8:12] But you, as you see this, you can see how he moves through the land and how he manages to do these things. He even changes the names of some to suit himself.
[8:25] But he was still only a man, which brings us to, I'll say one of his falls, but which brings us to the fall of Nebuchadnezzar.
[8:40] And we can, like I say, keep your finger maybe over there in 24 and 25 second Kings. But if we go back to Daniel chapter two, then we can see the fall of Nebuchadnezzar.
[8:54] We see that he was a troubled King. We see that in verse one, that he had had a dream and that his spirit was troubled and that he was losing sleep over the matter.
[9:07] The troubled King over a great kingdom and a lost King. Because as we continue to read, as you travel down, we'll go to verses eight and nine even.
[9:25] And it says that he says he knows with certainty that they're trying to gain time, that they're stalling. He puts before them not only the opportunity to bring these things to a rest and to save themselves, but he says that he's had these dreams and that he is troubled in his spirit, that he is losing sleep.
[9:47] And then he tells them, he throws a bit of a curve ball. It's not what they're used to. The Chaldeans and the sorcerers and these others were likely the same men that gave counsel to Nebuchadnezzar's father.
[10:05] They are in this place and they are known by reputation. In fact, it is their job to call upon the gods and into the supernatural so that they can bring revelation to kings.
[10:16] And these dreams that we speak of about Nebuchadnezzar, these dreams almost always were foretelling. It was something about the future of the king and his kingdom.
[10:28] So this had great weight. This was so when he has this, it says dreams. It's in the plural that he has a he's having these dreams and his spirit is troubled to know the dream.
[10:40] And he's losing this sleep. And then he turns. Who does he turn to? He turns to the ones that his father turned to. These men that are supposed to be able to counsel him in a time like this.
[10:53] But you can see perhaps in his desperation or his paranoia. You see, he grow. He's grown suspicious. When you get in to verses eight and nine, he says, I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, that you are stalling because you see that the word for me is firm.
[11:13] He is threatened to tear them. And to destroy their homes if they cannot do what he has asked. And this was not uncommon, uncommon among the Babylonian kings and the kings of this time that they would do something so brutal and so ruthless.
[11:30] So they believed him. They feared him. They certainly wish they could please him. But when this time comes and they live under threat of life.
[11:47] Life or death. And that they may be torn from limb, limb from limb and their homes be laid in ruin. Then this curveball comes that the king is asking something that they see is impossible.
[12:02] That not only does he want them to interpret a dream. Because frankly, I thought about this when I was reading. I could interpret someone's dream because I could tell them that it means whatever I choose for it to mean.
[12:13] But the curveball here is that he wants them to tell them not only the interpretation but the dream itself. As I read different commentaries on this, there were some that believed that he forgot his dream.
[12:28] And that's why he needed them to tell it. But that is not what I get. I mean, other commentaries said what I tend towards is not that he had forgotten the dream.
[12:38] But through sleeplessness and the paranoia, I guess. There's probably a better word I could use for that.
[12:50] But he was certainly vulnerable. And he grew suspicious of these that were trying to give him counsel. I believe that certainly if he was sleepless for nights on end.
[13:01] Then I imagine Nebuchadnezzar could certainly be out of his mind to some extent. In this desperate time where he has a dream and he knows that the future may rely on its interpretation.
[13:13] And he is losing trust for them. Thinking that they're stalling. And even that what he asked, it was almost as if he knew himself that they would not be able to come through and answer this for him.
[13:32] So, almost lost my place. But he says that there's one sentence for them. And he says that you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change.
[13:47] As if they could stall to the point that perhaps he would find relief elsewhere. Or that he would regain his sleep or find rest in another fashion.
[13:58] But they've agreed to speak lying and corrupt words. Because if we are frank. If we think about where the only truth.
[14:10] The only place truth lies. Is in the God of heaven. Then everything that they might be able to say to him. Would be lying and deceitful.
[14:21] Because they would be so uncertain. In what they were saying. They would certainly be corrupt. But. So. This lost king who is desperate and paranoid.
[14:34] We've established that he's ruthless. Well, at this time he's vulnerable. Even with all of his wealth. He turns to an inept council. And then they call them false gods.
[14:45] We read in verses 10 and 11. That the Chaldeans answered the king. And said there's not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand. For no great and powerful king has asked such a thing.
[14:56] Of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asked is difficult. That seems to be an understatement. And no one can show it to the king.
[15:07] Except the gods. Whose dwelling is not with flesh. So they're calling on false gods. So we have a king. That lives in darkness.
[15:17] And he calls on the darkness. And all he gets from the darkness. Is darkness. There's more about that later. But what they're identifying with here.
[15:29] Is that the gods. Whose dwelling is not with flesh. That these are impersonal. Little g gods. These are not gods that. They have a relationship with.
[15:40] These are not gods that answer. They're certainly not gods. That have given them full revelation. Of the past and the future. They're powerless gods. Because they're man made gods.
[15:52] They're made with human minds. Or made out of human minds. With human hands. They're gods with eyes that can't see. And ears that can't hear. And there's no real answer.
[16:03] Going to come. From darkness. Nathan touched on that recently. That. Or actually. Well. That.
[16:14] You get no light from darkness. That's an abbreviated version. But. So. We have a desperate. And scared king. In verse 12. Who.
[16:25] Has a. Hopeless act. Or. He says. Because of the. Because of this. The king was angry. And very furious.
[16:36] And commanded. That all the wise men of Babylon. Be destroyed. When I read this. It. It. Led me to think of. How does this profit the king. What profit can come from destroying.
[16:47] All the wise men of Babylon. The answer would be. None. There is no profit from that. There is no peace or rest.
[16:58] That comes from. These. Chaldeans. Or the sorcerers. Or. These false gods. And there is no rest. No rest in. False gods.
[17:10] And darkness. So. What we see is. Nebuchadnezzar has a perceived control. But then he comes face to face with. Actual control. He actually is in control.
[17:23] Of none of these things. Which brings us to our second point. Is the immovable sovereignty of God. And I had mentioned. Keeping your finger.
[17:34] In second kings. And this is why. And I am going to go rather quickly. But if you kept your finger there. Then you can probably keep up. But. There are several verses.
[17:44] That we see. In chapter 24. Of second king. That shows us. The sovereignty of God. Sovereignty of. The God. Of heaven. The true king maker.
[17:56] If we look at. Chapter 24. In verse 2. It says. And the Lord. Sent. Against him. Bands of Chaldeans. And bands of Syrians. And bands of Moabites.
[18:07] And the bands of the Ammonites. And sent them against Judah. To destroy it. According to the word of the Lord. That he spoke by his servants. The prophets. Continuing in verse 3.
[18:18] It says. Surely this came upon Judah. At the command. Of the Lord. So we see. In these verses. That the rise. Of Nebuchadnezzar. Was not by his own hand.
[18:30] It was because Nebuchadnezzar. Perhaps unbeknownst to him. Or definitely unbeknownst to him. Was actually. Working out the plan. Of the sovereign God.
[18:41] That it was by the command. Of the Lord. That Judah. Was destroyed. Because he wanted. The inhabitants of Judah. To be removed. Out of his sight.
[18:52] For the sins of Manasseh. According to all that he had done. So it was judgment. Upon God's people. That God was using Nebuchadnezzar for. And as you.
[19:04] Continue reading. Then you. See in other verses. In verse 13. It says. In 13.
[19:15] The second half of 13. It says. That as the Lord. Had foretold. That these things. That all of the treasures. Of the house of the Lord. And all of the other. Things that had transpired.
[19:25] Leading up to this. As these treasures. Of Jerusalem. Were being carried away. This was all. Being done. By the hand of the Lord. They had foretold. That it would happen.
[19:36] And it was happening. So he had. These things took place.
[19:46] He had. Cast them. Out of his presence. And then. You don't need to turn there. But perhaps. Write this down. For the sake of memory. But in Proverbs.
[19:57] 21. 1. It said. The king's heart. Is a stream of water. In the hand of the Lord. He turns it. Wherever he will. So this is. The sovereignty of God.
[20:08] Throughout. All of Nebuchadnezzar's. Conquest. Where he is. This very day. The reality. That he. Is having this dream.
[20:19] That his spirit. Is troubled. All of these things. Are being done. For the glory. Of the sovereign God. Of heaven. All these things. Are being done. For the good.
[20:29] Of Daniel. And other believers. Throughout the centuries. God's plan. Is prevailing. It always has. And it. Always will. So these things.
[20:40] Are taking place. And as. We see. The sovereignty. Of God. Realized. By Daniel. In his prayer. If you go back. To Daniel. Chapter 2. And. We look.
[20:51] At the verses. Coming. Where Daniel. After. This. Mystery. Had been revealed. To Daniel. He says. Blessed be the name.
[21:02] Of God. Forever. Forever. This is in verse 20. Blessed be the name. Of God. Forever and ever. To whom belong. Wisdom. And might. He changes. Times. And seasons. He removes. Kings.
[21:12] 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.
[21:24] What is in the darkness. And the light. Dwells with him. So in these verses. I. Say. That that was. Realized by Daniel. This is. A revelation.
[21:35] To all of us. About. God. Managing. Circumstances. In Daniel's life. There's another. Text. That we. We don't. I won't turn to the text.
[21:47] But in Genesis. When we. See Joseph. In the hands of Potiphar. And Pharaoh. You see a very similar. Circumstance. Taking place. And the same. Thing is occurring. With Joseph.
[21:58] Where. God is leading him. Through. The trials of life. In the most difficult. Of situations. And Joseph. Remains true. And faithful. Daniel. As we. Continue forward.
[22:09] We will see his. In his resilient. Faith. Daniel. Is doing the same thing. And it's all. By the power. In the hand of God. So. We're moving around.
[22:20] A little bit. We're going to move back. To chapter. Verses 14. In this. In chapter. Two here. To see. Daniel's reaction.
[22:32] When he learns. That. This. Worldly king. That is the. Worldly king. Of worldly kings. Has determined. That all the wise men.
[22:45] In Babylon. Are to be. Destroyed. So this comes to. Comes to Daniel. Comes to his. Conscience.
[22:57] Or consciousness. I should say. But because of the king. The king was angry. And very furious. And commanded all the wise men. Of Babylon. Be destroyed. This is in verse 12. It says. So the decree went out.
[23:07] And the wise men. Were about to be killed. And they sought Daniel. And his companions. To kill them. And then. Here in verse 14. We see the calmness. Of Daniel.
[23:18] He replied with prudence. And discretion. He knows who his God is. And he knows. That he. He needs not fear men. Because his life.
[23:30] And death. All of his days. Are numbered by God. In heaven. So this. Takes place. He replies. With prudence. And discretion. And. As Ariok. The.
[23:40] The captain. Of the king's guard. Comes to take his life. He stops him. And he declares. To Ariok. Why is the decree. Of the king. So urgent. And Ariok.
[23:52] Made the matter. Known to Daniel. And then. We see. In. The. Faith. In faithfulness. In the faith. Daniel's faith. In the faithfulness. Of God. He speaks.
[24:05] Even now. He says. He went in. Requested. The king. To appoint him. A time. That he might show. The interpretation. To the king. He knows.
[24:16] That his God. Is faithful. He rests. In the faithfulness. Of his God. And he knows. That his salvation. Lies in the hands. Of the God of heaven. So he.
[24:28] Is already. Saying. I will interpret. The dream. Or. Give me opportunity. To show. The interpretation. Is probably. A better way. For me. To put that. And then.
[24:40] Immediately. After that. He goes. To his companions. To. Heron. I. Michelle. And. Azariah. And he. Tells them. To pray. To seek. Mercy.
[24:50] From the God. Of heaven. Here again. You notice. He does not. Address. Nebuchadnezzar. He does not. Run. Into Nebuchadnezzar's. Throne room. Begging his mercy. But he. And his companions. Pray.
[25:00] To the God. Of heaven. And his. Boundless. And endless. Mercy. And grace. They can. Relive.
[25:12] So can. He goes. They pray. Concerning this mystery. So that. He and his companions. Might not be destroyed. With the rest of the wise men. Of Babylon.
[25:24] So he calls on the one true God. And then. The mystery was revealed. In verse 19. To Daniel. In a vision of the night.
[25:36] So this revelation. Comes. He calls on the one true God. And God delivers. And before he even. Goes. To the king.
[25:49] The worldly king. To. Reveal what God has revealed. To him. He recognizes. God's worthiness. To be praised. And he goes to him.
[25:59] And. Speaks of the revelation. And the thanksgiving. In thanksgiving. And these are in verses. 20 through 23. The prayer. It says. And Daniel. Blessed the God of heaven.
[26:10] Daniel answered. 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.
[26:22] And knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep. And hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. And the light dwells with him. To you. Oh God of my fathers.
[26:32] I give thanks and praise. For you have given me wisdom. And might. And have now made known to me. What we asked of you. For you have made known to us.
[26:43] The king's matter. So he goes in. To the throne room.
[26:53] Of the almighty. Instead of running and pleading with Nebuchadnezzar. He pleads. With. Our sovereign God. Our unchanging God. And the God that he goes to.
[27:05] Is the same God. That we worship today. There is. Never a change. In him. So. With these things.
[27:17] I hope that. You are. As you listen to these things. That you see some. Contrast. Between. Nebuchadnezzar. And between Daniel.
[27:28] You see. Nebuchadnezzar. The one who thinks he is in control. And thinks he is sovereign. Over his own world. And then you see Daniel. Who has become very comfortable. And restful.
[27:38] And peaceful. In his helplessness. He knows where his power comes from. And I pray. That. We in this room. Also know that. That there.
[27:49] We are. We are powerless. In ourselves. That we. Are under. We are under the law of man. In so many areas of our life.
[28:01] There are so many. That make decisions for us. It is. Easy to believe. That. There's a man out there somewhere. That has authority over whether you live or die.
[28:13] But the reality is. That's. That's not their hand. That can move to kill us. Or to take our lives. Or to even change our lives. But it is the hand of God. That works. These things.
[28:25] He is sovereign over all things. So. The. Also you might have picked up on the contrast. Between the darkness and the light.
[28:36] The darkness of Nebuchadnezzar. And. I would also. Just kind of as a. Side note on that. Is I hope that no one sat in judgment over Nebuchadnezzar. Because.
[28:48] If it weren't by the grace of God. We are all capable. Of equally despicable things. And it's quite easy. To fall into. Into fear and anxiety.
[28:59] Similar to Nebuchadnezzar. And. At the same time. Though we can be very thankful. That. We serve a sovereign God. That. Never removes his hand from us.
[29:11] That we are protected. By him. And. That. We. Need not fear man. So there's. Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. Darkness and light.
[29:21] And then there's lies. And truth. Nebuchadnezzar lived in a dark place. He sought. His answers in darkness. And he got back from darkness. Nothing but darkness.
[29:32] Just lies and deceit. It was corruption. But then you see Daniel. And he goes to the God of light. And he gets. The answers that.
[29:43] He needs. And. His faith. Is strengthened through it. So in closing. I'm going to. Close this time.
[29:55] With. Just some reading. Of scripture. With. With. Little. To no. Explanation. Because I think it takes us home. Very nicely. If you.
[30:06] You can turn with. Or you can just listen. But John chapter 8. Verse 12. Says. Again. Jesus spoke to them saying.
[30:16] I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me. Will not walk in darkness. But will have. The light of life. I think you'll see.
[30:28] Also. Application. From today's. Text. When you read. Revelation. Chapter 21. 22. Through 27. Says.
[30:39] And I saw no temple. In the city. For its temple. Is the Lord God. The Almighty. And the Lamb. In the city. Has no need. Of sun. Or moon. To shine on it. For the glory of God.
[30:51] Gives it light. And its lamp. Is the Lamb. By its light. Will the nations walk. And the kings of earth. Will bring their glory. Into it. And its gates. Will never be shut. By day.
[31:01] And there will be. No night there. They will bring. Into it. The glory. And the honor. Of the nations. But nothing. Unclean. Will ever enter it. Nor anyone.
[31:12] Who does. What is detestable. Or false. But only those. Who are written. In the Lamb's. Book of life. And lastly. In 1st Timothy.
[31:24] Chapter 6. Verses 13 through 16. It says. I charge you. In the presence of God.
[31:35] Who gives life. To all things. And of Christ Jesus. Who in his testimony. Before Pontius Pilate. Made the good confession. To keep the commandment. Unstained.
[31:45] And free from reproach. Until the appearing. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Which he will display. At the proper time. He who is. The blessed. And only sovereign.
[31:56] The king of kings. And lord of lords. Who alone. Has immortality. Who dwells. In unapproachable light. Whom no one.
[32:06] Has ever seen. Or can see. To him. Be honor. And eternal dominion. Amen. So these. New Testament.
[32:17] Verses. Speak. Of Christ. That he is the light. Of the world. That he is. The sovereign. He is the king. Of kings. This is the Christ.
[32:31] That we believe in. That we put our faith in. That we know. That we. Do not walk through this life. In fear. Is. This king.
[32:42] That chose. To give himself. That he. Left his throne. In heaven. And came as a man. To this earth. To die.
[32:52] For the sins. Of the lost. To take on the wrath. Of God the father. That he took the penalty. For the sins. Of those. That believed in him.
[33:06] And that he was buried. And rose again. Three days later. And in that resurrection. He showed his. Absolute divine power. Over death. And in believing this.
[33:18] And repenting. Of your sins. And believing. These facts. And trusting. Putting your trust. In the Lord. The sovereign Lord. The God of Daniel.
[33:31] It is through him. That you have salvation. So. Thank you for. Reading along with me. In the text. And hearing these things. But. If you leave with anything.
[33:42] Just know that. Our salvation. Is in the Lord Jesus. It's not in man. And in.
[33:52] We are to. Seek our wisdom. Seek our truth. Seek light. Not in darkness. But in the God of light. Let's pray.
[34:05] Let's pray.