God Rules over the Nations
Daniel 2:19-22 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
Contrary to popular opinion, the rise and fall of nations is not by the will of man. No, not at all. Although the shaping of events seems to a great degree to be determined by man’s power and by man’s ambition, or even by random chance, that is not at all the case. In the Bible the curtain is drawn aside, and through its pages we catch a glimpse of the providential workings of Almighty God above, behind, and through all the play and counter-play of human interests and power and passions, ever so surely working out His will in this world of ours.
This is the essence of what the prophecy of Daniel 2 reveals — A God who is in absolute control of the events of human history. Nothing happens that God is not already aware of and has not allowed. We may not understand what is happening in our world today, but Daniel tells us clearly that God is in control.
Prayers of Praise
Daniel 2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.
This was an occasion to praise God, and that is exactly what Daniel and friends did. They immediately offered up praise to God for being so gracious in revealing the dream to them. The prayer Daniel and his friends prayed asking to know the kings dream is not recorded, but their thanksgiving and praise to God is. And there is a lesson in that for us. God is honored by our praise to Him and for the things he has done for us. We all need to be more like Daniel in this respect.
Spare the Wise Men
Daniel 2: 24-25 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
Daniel’s first plea was for the wise men of Babylon. “Do not destroy them, the kings secret is revealed.” The wise men were saved because a man of God was among them. And so it ever is. For the sake of Paul and Silas, all the prisoners with them were set free. (Acts 15:26). For the sake of Paul, the lives of all that sailed with him were saved. (Acts 27:24). Time and again the wicked are saved from destruction by the presence of the righteous among them.
What holds the world back from total destruction? For whose sake is it still spared? For the sake of the few righteous persons who are left. How long would the wicked be allowed to go their way if the righteous are taken out of the way? No longer than the antediluvians were allowed to go on after Noah entered the ark, or the Sodomites after Lot departed from their presence. If only ten righteous persons could have been found in Sodom, Gomorrah and all the cities around them, the whole multitude of their wicked inhabitants would for their sake have been spared. Yet the wicked will despise, ridicule and oppress the very ones on whose account it is that they are still permitted life and all its blessings.
Dreaming of Things to Come
Daniel 2:26-30 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof? Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Instead of being totally absorbed in the here and now, instead of thinking only of himself, the king apparently truly desired to know what the future held. It may be for this reason that God gave him the dream.
Yet though he gave the dream to the king, he sent its interpretation through one of His own people. God works in this world though His church. We are His messengers.
Giving God the Glory
Daniel did not take any credit for the interpretation of the dream but went to great lengths to show that all the praise and glory should go to God. If there were more people in the world like Daniel, who would give the credit to God where it is due, instead of trying to glorify themselves, we would see far more manifestations of God’s power in this world than we now do. But God can’t do this, not because he is unwilling, but because we would glorify ourselves saying. “look at what I have done.”
In chapter 1 we saw how God gave Daniel and his companions wisdom and knowledge. And now Daniel acknowledges before all that he has nothing, no ability, no wisdom, that he did not receive from God. “But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living” In other words, to God be all the glory. This should be the attitude of every Christian.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing.
The Bible tells us: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3).
Proverbs 3:6-7 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes.