Daniel 2: King Neb's Vision of the Statue

This chapter of the book of Daniel made me question whether or not I should have started preaching this book. :) The arguments for the four different kingdoms are both complex and many. On Sunday I took the traditional view that the four kingdoms represent Babylon/Neb. (Head of Gold); Medo-Persia (Arms & Chest of Silver; Greece (Thighs and Belly of Bronze); Rome (Legs of Iron); and future Rome mixed with other nations (Feet of Iron & Clay). There's good evidence that gold dominated the Babylonian era, while silver dominated the Medo-Persian era. Bronze, however, was the unique fitting of the Greecian army. In addition to that, the arm/chest combination fits well with the two-kingdom alliance of the Medes and Persians, while the two body part description of the belly and thighs fits well with the Greecian empire which was divided into the north and south (even though it was ruled by four generals, it was still two main divisions - Israel's neighbors to the north and to the south); the two legs of iron fits well the divided nation of Rome (East and West); and it seemed that the feet that were a mixture of iron and clay fit well with a one-world empire of the future that was a combination of races and nations (which was its inherent weakness since nations do not mix in the same way that clay and iron do not mix). They may unite for various purposes, but they will be divided when it comes to waging war against Christ and his Kingdom when he comes to reign on the earth during the Millenium. Psalm 2 and various other Scripture passages teach us that the nations will come together under the power of the antichrist to wage war against Christ and his Kingdom - But, (and I LOVE this): "Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. 3 "Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them." God's not worried. He's got his feat up on a chair and he's scoffing at the nations in their pride. That's because he knows he can overthrow them with the breath of his mouth. How awesome is that! Of course this passage finds its partial fulfillment in the trials of Jesus Christ where Rome and Israel conspired together against the Lord's Anointed, but, as is the case with many other prophetic Scriptures, it will find its ultimate fulfillment in the second advent.

However, I will say this: There are truths I have become convinced about that I will never change my mind about (justification by faith, deity of Christ, virgin birth, authority/inerrancy of Scripture, literal hell, male leadership, etc.), but there's another second category: truths I have become convinced about that I am willing to change my mind about if and when sufficient evidence is presented. This particular issue (the identification of the four kingdoms of Daniel 2), as of now, belongs to the second category. Overtime my conviction may grow and it may be placed in the first category. But for now, it remains in the second. (And there is actually a third category: truths I know very little about; these are usually issues that are quite speculative in nature and matter very little to the message of Scripture - like the identification of the Nephilim of Genesis 6 - but are fun to think about but never argue or divide over).

So, in all humility, this is the interpretation I'm holding to and have confidence in preaching, but, the identification of the four kingdoms, though important and necessary, is really secondary to the primary message of Daniel 2, which is the triumph of God's Kingdom over the Kingdom's of men and what that should produce in our lives: Number one, Humility. Number two, Hope. Number three, worship. And number four, repentance. As we read apocalyptic literature and study eschatology, we must remember the primary intentions of these writings: the fostering of humility, hope, worship, and repentance. Identification of times and places and circumstances is secondary. It's important and we should study those things. We ought not pridefully declare that we don't need to dwell on time and places and circumstance concerning the second coming because we know that the prophets of old dwelt on those things eagerly and with great care concerning Christ's first coming. In addition to this, apocalyptic literature like Daniel 2 and Revelation wouldn't be so specific if God didn't want us to understand a number of specific details concerning his return. We cannot just say, "The secondary matters are unimportant". Instead we say, "The secondary issues are very important, but secondary." Indeed, meditating on them leads to the four elements listed above and explained below.

First, the picture of Neb's statue was intended to foster humility. As we meditate on these matters, we are humbled about how little the scope of our knowledge really is. It's so easy to allow knowledge to make one proud. I know! But when excellent exegetes come before apocalyptic literature, they are humbled. They realize that God has some secrets (Duet.29:29) that he's simply not revealing at this time.

Secondly, Neb's vision was intended to produce hope. If you are familiar with the history of Israel, you would know that the events of Daniel 1 would have caused them to doubt God's promises and covenants to them. The glory of God had departed from Israel (as Ezekiel describes - "Ichabod": the glory has departed), the sacred utensils in Israel's temple had been carried of to Babylon's temple (a sure sign in the ancient near east that your god had lost to another nation's god and/or had abandoned you), Jerusalem had been desecrated, and now they had basically reverted to the time in their history before God had gathered them as his people when they were slaves of a foreign power (back then, Egypt; now, Babylon). All the signs pointed to the fact that God had abandoned them and forgotten them and their history had in fact come to an end (concluding this however would have meant you were doubting God's promises through the prophets, particularly Jeremiah, that God was going to restore Israel after their exile). So, they were hopeless. This dream puts everything back into perspective: God had not abandoned Israel, their enemies would face a demise, and God's Kingdom was indeed still to come. Kingdoms were going to grow increasingly evil (thus the downgrade in the quality of the metals on the statue: gold - iron) and kingdoms were going to grow increasingly stronger (thus the upgrade in strength of the metals on the statue: gold - iron), nevertheless, God's kingdom was going to destroy all other Kingdoms and grown larger than any other Kingdom - it would spread throughout the earth and remain there forever, for it is an eternal kingdom, not a temporary one like the others. So, while these visions may be scary and complex, they also offer hope to God's people.

Third, this vision was intended to foster worship. As we see how great and awesome God is, we are moved to worship him and love Him more. As we see how He is the One in control of human history, we understand that He alone is God and there is none like Him. His sovereignty moves us to stand in awe of him and desire to know this God more and more. Who is the God who controls history? Who is this God that even the winds and waves obey Him? He is the God of Heaven - the God who presides over all other "gods" who are really no gods at all. When we see his awesome power and sovereignty, we are to grow in our awe of him. We are to look at him as the disciples looked at Jesus in the boat after he had commanded the wind and waves to cease: utter amazement, fear, awe, and wonder. He is the lamb of God, but he is the Lion - great and fierce.

Fourth, this vision was intended to foster repentance. Once again, we see another sad case of someone (King Neb) encountering the undeniable awesome power of God, yet only responding with 2/3rds of repentance. Repentance is the process of confession, contrition, and change. Those are the three inherent elements to repentance. Confession is agreeing with God's assessment of us our situation, the world, and truth. When a person sees these things and agrees with them, he then admits them. That's confession. The word literally means "to say the same thing". To say the same thing as who? God, that's who. You agree with God - that you're a sinner through and through, that He's the One with all power and wisdom, or perhaps, that the only reason you're on a throne is because he put you there (i.e. King Neb). King Neb at the end of Daniel 2 confesses. In addition to that, contrition is necessary. I think King Neb only goes half the way here. He's moved emotionally by the situation, but he's not grieved over his sin and his pride. The third aspect to repentance is change. One cannot say they've repented unless they change. This where King Neb falls short. He confesses, he's even moved emotionally to a certain degree, but despite all that, he refuses to change. It isn't until he's reduced to animalistic behavior in chapter four that he finally changes. This is so often the case. We hear the truth, we encounter the power of God, we agree with it, we are moved emotionally, but we simply don't change. You know who else did this? Surprisingly, the Pharisees did during the ministry of John the Baptist. They would come to him to be baptized. They would confess they were in need of God's forgiveness. They would be moved emotionally. But inside, they really didn't want to change. And so they didn't. But they kept coming down the isle, they kept coming back to John to be baptized. And so finally, John the Baptist blows his lid one day and says to them, "You brood of vipers. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." In other words, prove your repentance by what you do - by changing. The only way anyone can prove they've repented and turned to God is through their changed lifestyle. What they say (confession) and how they feel (contrition) is important, but it's not the thing that proves they've repented. What they do (change) proves their repentance. As the apostle Paul said in Acts 26, "I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds." How often to we admit the truth, grieve over the truth, but never change.

This vision was intended to produce repentance in King Neb. It was intended to produce humility and worship and hope. God offers all of these things to us as we come before the King of Kings, the God of heaven, the One who dominates world history and bow before Him. And this we must do, lest we be thrown into a fiery furnace ourselves and lose out on an eternity of love and peace and joy. All power and wisdom belong to Him.

Refusing To Compromise: Daniel 1

Chapter One (Sunday, July 1^st, 2007)

Main Point: God’s people do not need to compromise their faith in order to survive and prosper because God is in control of their lives.

Background
Israel’s judgment has come. Having overthrown Assyria, Babylon is now the world’s dominant power. They now march on Israel and begin the process of taking them into exile. In order to keep Israel from rebelling, King Nebuchadnezzar takes Daniel hostage (along with a number of other elite Hebrew youths). They will be trained for three years to serve the King. This will require them to live in the King’s court, which in turn will require them to eat the King’s food, which is considered defiled by the Hebrews since much of it isn’t kosher and has been sacrificed to pagan gods.

Daniel’s Dilemma
And therein lies the quandary of chapter one: Does Daniel need to compromise his faith in just this “one small area” in order to survive and prosper in this position? The decision isn’t an easy one.

For one thing, it wasn’t Daniel’s fault that he was put in this position. This was God’s doing. V.2 makes that quite clear: “The Lord gave…” Israel into Babylon’s hands. God put Daniel there, how can He expect Daniel to follow the ceremonial laws of the covenant in a foreign land?

Secondly, all the evidence indicated that God had abandoned them. For instance, v.2 says that King Nebuchadnezzar took the articles from Israel’s temple and placed them in the temple of his gods. In the ancient near east that meant one of two things and maybe both: 1.) Your god is weaker than my god, and 2.) Your god has abandoned you. So, Israel (a supposedly righteous nation) had been defeated by Babylon (a nation that was far less righteous). In addition to that, their temple was looted and it appeared as if Yahweh had abandoned them and broken covenant with them. This is when we are most susceptible to compromise our faith – when we feel God hasn’t held up his end of the bargain; when it appears as if God isn’t fulfilling his promises to us and doesn’t care about us.

Thirdly, we must remember that Daniel was just a teenager. How can you expect a teenager to NOT compromise his faith? How can you expect a teenager to NOT compromise his faith in a pagan land? How can you expect a teenager to NOT compromise his faith in a pagan land where he’s being intentionally brainwashed and stripped of his identity (vv.3-7)?

Fourthly, Daniel could have ruined his opportunity to fulfill the purpose to which God had called him: to be a light to the nations. That was Israel’s mission (cf. Gen.12:1-3; Matt.5:14). Here was a golden opportunity to be a light. If Daniel refuses the food, he risks offending and angering the Babylonians who had actually been treating him with great kindness, honor, and a lavish lifestyle.

Fifthly, Daniel’s boss (who treated him with kindness and compassion) could have lost his life if Daniel had refused to eat the King’s food (vv.9-10).

Sixthly, Daniel himself could have lost his life. King Nebuchadnezzar was a wicked man who was quick to anger and had no qualms with killing people for irrational purposes (cf. Dan.2:5; Dan.3).

Daniel’s Decision
There was a lot at stake here. Daniel had a laundry list of “good reasons” for compromising in “just this one small area” of his faith. Daniel, however, exemplifies shocking commitment to the covenant he had entered into with Yahweh by refusing the King’s food. His response to this situation is, however both creative (vv.11-14) and respectful (v.8 – note: Daniel “asks permission” not to eat King’s food).

Even though he is creative and respectful in his response, he is also righteously stubborn and bold as well. V.8 informs us that Daniel “resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine”. The Hebrew word for “resolved” indicated that nothing was going to change his mind. He had made up his mind about what he believed and how he was going to behave. He was going to “set his face like flint” as God told Ezekiel to do, and be righteously stubborn about this decision. In addition to being righteously stubborn, Daniel is bold. Notice the reason he gives his boss for refusing the food: “It will defile me” (v.8). Not, “I’m allergic” or “I’m dieting right now” or some other lie. He was honest: “Your food is impure. It’s been sacrificed to gods who really aren’t gods.” Daniel ran the risk of being offensive, but it was necessary for him to tell the truth in this situation in order to confront the culture’s false religion and deception.

How was Daniel able to be so shockingly committed to the covenant in the face of all these “good reasons to compromise”? We get a clue in v.2, v.9, and v.17. All three of those verses inform us that God was in control of everything. He was in control of Israel’s suffering and captivity (v.2), He was in control of Daniel’s boss, even causing him to like Daniel and be compassionate toward him (v.9), and He was in control of the earthly and supernatural knowledge that Daniel gained (v.17). Each verse says, “The Lord/God gave…” – the exact same expression in the Hebrew. The reason we, as God’s people, don’t have to compromise in order survive and prosper in a godless culture is because God is in control. He can manipulate nations, people, and learning in order to accomplish his purposes. All we are required to do is NOT compromise.

Daniel’s Reward
The story ends by showing how God will reward and provide for the person who refuses to compromise his faith. Daniel is given 1.) favor with his boss and the King, 2.) special knowledge (both earthly and supernatural), 3.) good health (despite only eating vegetables and water – a diet lacking all the necessary nutrients a youth needed to gain the physical strength the King required), 4.) success in his position, and 5.) a long career. The point however isn’t that God will give you good health, political favor, supernatural knowledge of dreams and visions, and a long career in the same position if you don’t compromise. The point is that if you refuse to compromise, God will provide you with what you need in order to accomplish the task he has called you to. Daniel needed supernatural knowledge, political favor, and good physical health in order to survive and prosper in his position. What an amazing truth.

Application
Therefore, we don’t need to cheat on our taxes – God will provide and prosper. We don’t need to lie when our boss asks us to, even though we may lose our job because of it – God will provide and prosper. We don’t need to cut out our time with the Lord in order to accomplish our daily duties – God will provide and prosper. We don’t need to water down the truth of the gospel for fear that we’ll be persecuted – God will provide and prosper. We don’t need to skip a month’s giving to our local church – God will provide and prosper because he has full control. He can manipulate and control events, times, and people in order to bring about his purposes. He sets up kings and deposes them. Kingdoms rise and fall under his command. Teenagers remained unharmed after being thrown into fiery furnaces. Prophets remain unharmed when thrown into lion’s dens. Why? As Daniel 2:20 says, “Wisdom and power belong to him.” Let us trust this truth.