Daniel 5

The picture painted for us in Daniel 5 should not surprise us. We see a proud king, drunk and showing off to his visitors. We see a wealthy man who is overly-pleased with himself, taking satisfaction in “his own accomplishments.” We see a son who had not learned from his father’s mistakes. This is the glimpse we see of King Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar.

While feasting and partying with his guests, officials, and women of choice, he calls for the gold utensils which had been used in the Israelite temple so that they may drink from them. While doing so, they worship their false gods of precious metal and other materials. Should it surprise us that the one true God responds? A hand appears and the fingers begin to write in the wall of the palace: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. Belshazzar is quite rightly frightened out of his wits. In a scene reminiscent of chapter two, the king calls for his wise men and promises a reward to any who can interpret the writing. Like the magicians in chapter two, none are able to tell the king the interpretation. Fortunately for Belshazzar, the queen knows of Daniel and has him called before the king to interpret the writing. Unfortunately for Belshazzar, Daniel does not bear good news.

First, Daniel tells the king that he has no interest in the reward. Secondly, he prefaces the interpretation with this observation: The one true God had blessed Nebuchadnezzar. When Nebuchadnezzar had become proud, God had brought him low until he recognized God’s authority. Then Daniel drops a bomb by saying “You his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. . . And you have praised the gods. . . which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath,. . . you have not honored.” At this point, I can only imagine that Belshazzar feared what Daniel would say next, and rightly so.

Daniel interprets the meaning one word at a time: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom. TEKEL, you have been weighed and found wanting. PARSIN, your kingdom will be divided between the Medes and the Persians. God had been merciful to Nebuchadnezzar, sparing his life and allowing him to rule again once he had learned God’s authority. His son, on the other hand, had witnessed his father’s rule and had not learned. It would seem that this fact is at least part of why God’s judgment was so sudden and complete. Belshazzar was killed that very night and Darius the Mede received his kingdom. Once again, Daniel is there to warn and advise arrogant kings, pointing them to the God who reigns over all. This Israelite of the tribe of Judah, exiled to a foreign land, is an excellent example of teaching the world about the King above all kings.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Hard Lesson

Nebuchadnezzar had to learn a lesson the hard way. He thought he was god. He thought he was the god of all he built and all he conquered. But…, he is about to learn who God Most High really is. The lesson of who God Most High really is will be learned in the school of the hard knocks. He is going to be put out to pasture.

Consider, one of the things the pagans would do to demonstrate the greatness of their god, is they would put their shrines up on the highest hill, as if to say, “Look how high our god is.  That’s the only place suitable for him, up here on this high hill. He is a high god.”  Nebuchadnezzar did something like this in the last chapter.  He built an idol, 90 feet tall, put it out on the plain of Dura and said, “Worship my towering god.”  However, what Nebuchadnezzar learns today is that Jehovah’s rule and power is higher than any hill in the world. Further, it is more towering than any idol ever built. He is the Most High God.  Nebuchadnezzar is a life-sized model of all sin.  At the base of all sin is pride.

Oh, what a dream! He dreams of a tree. It grew tall and strong, but it will be cut down. All that will be left is a stump.  Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that is him. Furthermore, it does not stop there. He will also have the heart of an animal and live on the grass for a period of time. Nebuchadnezzar is going to learn the hard way that Jehovah is God Most High. However, there is some good news. After that period of time, God will restore his sanity. Nebuchadnezzar has reason to be terrified.

Let’s learn the lesson from Nebuchadnezzar. Pride is repugnant to God. Pride is a kind of plagiarism.  It attempts to grasp for ourselves the glory that belongs to another. The king took all the glory for the greatness of his kingdom.  He did not give the glory to God, who was the one who gave it to him in the first place. Pride denies the truth that prosperity comes from God, as a gift of His grace.

I believe one of the most telling signs of what God thinks of man’s pride is the punishment God chose for this proud man.  He humbled him by taking away his sanity and making him like an animal.  Also, I believe the message God is wanting us to get is pride is a form of insanity. Insanity is a condition in which one loses touch with reality.  When we are proud, living as if there is no God, and no judgment, and we are in control, we are living out of touch with reality.  Our pride is a form of insanity. 

When we refuse to submit ourselves to God, as creatures made in His image, we are in grave danger of descending to the level of an animal.  They have no consciousness of God.  They are incapable of worship.  They are not destined for eternity.  And when we are proud, we are not conscience of God, we will not worship Him, and we are living like beasts that do not have an eternity. 

Why does God hate pride so much?  Because it brings such untold pain, suffering and destruction on those who live by it.  Peter put it this way, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:5-6).

Bringing it home: One lesson this story teaches us is that God desires our reaction of praise.  When the king gave up on his pride and saw God for who He is, the reaction was one of praise.  Notice, it was not that he just praised God behind closed doors, but he used his position to make sure his praise of God was heard throughout the world. 

Daniel 3

Today’s chapter is a memorable story of conviction and courage. We’re not exactly sure how much time has taken place since chapter 2. The Septuagint states that 18 years have passed between chapter 2 and chapter 3. In chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar is shown a statue made of different elements – the head was made of gold and represented the Babylonian empire. Here in chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar has made a statue out of gold. Perhaps this is his way of saying that he didn’t believe in that dream. He didn’t believe there would be other nations that would come after him. Instead he believed that he would be the sovereign ruler and Babylon would stand forever.

This chapter focuses on the three friends of Daniel. Though we’re given their Jewish names in chapter 1, in this chapter they are only referred to by their Babylonian names – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. One of the questions we have from this is – where is Daniel? Was he away on business? Was he not invited? We simply don’t know. What we do know is that if he were present, he would have been standing with his friends.

Nebuchadnezzar has this statue built, and orders for all the people to bow down and worship this image. It seems to be his way of unifying the people under his rule (v. 4). This posed an immediate problem for these Jewish young men. God’s law stated that His people were only to worship Him. Nebuchadnezzar placed some extreme warnings on this worship (v. 6) – those who didn’t worship when it was expected were to be immediately thrown into the fire. He ruled with force, with dominance, with fear. The time comes, the horns sound, the people bow – all except the three Jewish young men. When they are reported to the king, he gives them another chance – perhaps because he saw such value in them.

Here are young men, who are far from home, who are facing this trial alone, and yet notice their response (v.16-18). Our God can save us, and even if He does not we will not bow down and worship you. What courage! What conviction! They were willing to face the furnace, to lay down their lives demonstrating their faithfulness to God.

These kind of moments will happen. Culture will draw a line. If you see like they see, speak like they speak, stand for what they stand for, then there will be some consequences. Perhaps the loss of a friend. Perhaps socially shunned. Perhaps slammed on social media. It could be more severe – fired, threatened, wounded physically or emotionally. It’s the test of fire. It’s one thing to be faithful to God in the green pastures, but what about when we face the valley, when there are risks and dangers on the line?

These young men stood for God, and God stood with them. God had noticed their faith. And from this miraculous event Nebuchadnezzar notices too. Never underestimate the difference your example can make in the lives of others. Even when its hard – even if you’re the only one – even if it brings consequences – we face the fire and stand with God.

Oh God most High – glory and honor and praise be given unto Your name. I thank you for the inspiring example of these young men. From this reading today I am reminded that though these men were tempted to compromise on their convictions, though their faith was tested, though they stood alone – You were there. You were with them. You saved them from the fire, and proved to that pagan nation that You are the one true God. Help me to have that same kind of steadfast faith and commitment to You. Help me to trust that there is no pain, no punishment for following You that could possibly compare to pleasing You on Earth, and living with You in Heaven. May my life and my devotion to You be a light in this world and lead others closer and closer to You!

Daniel 2

In our reading of Daniel chapter 2, we cannot help but be impressed with the young protagonist. The chapter begins with King Nebuchadnezzar being troubled by dreams, losing sleep over a vision that he could not understand. He summoned his enchanters and sorcerers and presented them with what seems to be an impossible task: tell the king his dream. Interpreting a dream was one thing, but telling the king what dream he had was an entirely different challenge – one that the enchanters said “not a man on earth” could accomplish. Enraged, Nebuchadnezzar ordered that all the wise men of Babylon were to be killed.

Enter Daniel. Upon receiving the news of the king’s decree, he asked the king to choose a date and time and Daniel would be there to answer the king’s request. Daniel’s next course of action is exemplary. He and his companions prayed, asking God to be merciful. God revealed the dream and interpretation to Daniel in a vision and Daniel rightly praised God for his wisdom and might.

What follows might be my favorite line of the entire book. King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel “Are you able to tell me both the dream and the interpretation?” And Daniel’s response was “No.” However, he did not leave it there. He went on to repeat what the other wise men said, “not a man on earth” could do what the king requested. “But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries,” said Daniel, “and this mystery has been revealed to me in order that you may know the thoughts of your mind.” This young man who had been transported far from his home and his heritage had the chance to impress the king. But that was not his priority, instead he wanted to bring glory to God. Directing the king to where the power really lay, Daniel revealed to him both dream and interpretation.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is one that many are familiar with even today. It contained a striking image and conveyed a powerful Messianic prophecy. The dream was of a statue (or image) made of multiple materials, which would indeed be a strange sight to behold. The statue’s head was made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its stomach and thighs were made of bronze, its legs were made of iron, and its feet were made of an iron and clay mixture. If that image was not strange enough, a rock was carved and struck the statue on its feet and the whole giant image disintegrated, leaving just the rock, which began to grow and continued to do so until it filled the entire world.

Daniel explained that each material in the statue stood for a different kingdom, beginning with Babylon as the gold head. Things got really interesting when Daniel explained the rock. This rock was going to be the kingdom set up by the God of heaven, never to be destroyed or taken over. Instead, it would stand forever, spreading over the entire creation. Reading this now with the entirety of God’s Word at our fingertips, it is not difficult to see that this kingdom Daniel spoke of is the kingdom Jesus came to establish through his death, burial, and resurrection. This eternal and indomitable kingdom of heaven is the kingdom we get to be a part of today. Let us praise God for his providence in this!

Daniel Purposed In His Heart

When Nebuchadnezzar offered Daniel and his friends his meat and drink, he was not trying to be mean to them. Everything from the King’s table was a delicacy. Daniel and his friends just could not and would not eat what the king offered. Daniel would have no part in that which was from the table of the king. However, there were consequences to that decision. He could not sit at the king’s table and say, “I am not going to eat that nor drink that” without severe repercussions. No one did that. No one toyed with the king’s offerings.

How could Daniel say, “I am not going to eat nor drink what the king is offering?  He had purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself. What courage! He is not being obstinate, nor rude. He does not intend to insult Nebuchadnezzar. The bottom line for Daniel is, I have already determined what my choices will be.  He was not going to be defiled. So really this is about Daniel’s respect for God and God’s rule. He had already determined in his heart that he would not violate God rule. Daniel did not say, “When in Rome do what the Roman’s do.”

We live in this world and we begin to advocate we will not draw any lines. We say, “We have to be in this world and fit in.” We are people who claim to be Christians. To whom But do we bear more resemblance, to the pagan world or being “of Christ?” People fail because they fail to determine in their heart what they will do when this world came calling.

Daniel made up his mind before the plan was put in operation. Before the pressure mounted. We must do that too!

Bringing it home: If we do not determine beforehand what we value we will decide, but it will be a decision that grows out of emotions, not reason. I must determine beforehand I will not defile myself. If we do that, we will not be ashamed to look in the mirror.