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Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I’m glad we still set aside a day to remember those men and women who laid down their lives for the cause of freedom, although I wonder how many Americans remember this as they grill their burgers and brats and drink their beer. There was a time when the majority of Americans loved our country. Even school children were taught that God graciously provided and blessed America to become the greatest nation in the world and they were to love their country. Today the ruling class seems to be doing everything possible to destroy that love and appreciation. Memorial Day should remind us to deeply appreciate God’s sovereign providence in our country’s history and be thankful.
As we come to Daniel 2:14-30, we see what trust in divine providence looks like in four young men who were reared in the fear of God back home in their beloved nation of Israel. They are now in exile in this foreign, pagan land of Babylon and their very lives are at stake. The Chaldean (Babylonian) wise men were helpless to tell King Nebuchadnezzar his tormenting dream so he issued a decree to kill them all. That included Daniel and his three friends.
Daniel 2:13, So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
The story is now going to shift dramatically. What the Babylonians didn’t know but these four Jews knew without a doubt is this: there is a God in heaven. He is a real, living, personal and sovereign God who rules His universe and all the nations of this world. We call this “divine providence.” And what a glorious doctrine this is. The Westminster Confession of Faith defines it like this.
God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence; according to his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.
Daniel is going to teach us what it means when you know there is a God in heaven who rules over all things, world potentates and the lowest worms. We’ll break the passage down into five truths we can live on in our own day.
Every crisis is an opportunity to trust God.
Daniel 2:14-16, Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
How does Daniel handle this news that he and his friends are about to be executed? With his faith firmly fixed in his God in heaven, he doesn’t panic. If you and I really believe our God rules in the affairs of men, we wouldn’t be full of anxiety or panic when we get bad news. Daniel replies to Arioch with composure and confidence, with discretion and discernment. You can almost sense calmness in Daniel that affects this military warrior Arioch, the king’s chief bodyguard.
Daniel had already learned to trust God through the crisis of being removed from his homeland. He knew Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” We can all learn from our friend Daniel how to handle the crises that will come to us. Instead of running into panic palace, we need to face the crisis with confidence in our sovereign God.
Verse 16 tells of Daniel’s confidence that God would or at least could make known this dream. He knew God could do the unusual, even the impossible. In all his people’s history, God had done incredible things. And back in Daniel 1:17 God had given Daniel knowledge of visions and dreams. So he probably sees this as his first opportunity. This crisis is providing these Jewish youths an opportunity to trust their sovereign God.
Now Daniel convinces King Neb to give him time and assures him he’ll return with the interpretation. What is Daniel’s next move?
You go to God confident that He is able to handle the crisis.
Daniel 2:17-19a, Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19a Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
So there goes Daniel from the king’s presence into the presence of the sovereign King of the ages. They gather their hearts together to seek their Lord. Notice, they don’t come demanding God to answer their request, no “name it and claim it,” but they seek mercy or compassion from the God of heaven. All God does for us He does in mercy. They asked God to reveal the mystery and to not let them be slaughtered with all the others. I can’t blame them for that. Who wants to be torn from limb to limb when you’re only 17 or 18 years old, or any age!
In verse 18 they pray to “the God of heaven.” They reflect on the truth that their God was not a sun god or moon god, but the God who created all these things and is transcendent above them all. They had a high view of God. They knew there is a God in heaven. The mystery means this is something only God could reveal. They knew the king’s heart was naked and open before God and He could easily reveal the content of the dream.
Isn’t it wonderful that these young guys have kept and nurtured their faith all the time they were in pagan training? They didn’t think living for God was okay back home, but over here in Babylon we can forget it. No matter where you go, what your situation in your life, your family, work environment, academic pursuits, walk with God. Stay in the Word, prayer, and fellowship with other believers. You always need a solid diet of God’s truth to keep you strong in your faith. You always need that high view of God who rules sovereignly over all things. You always need other believers around you to encourage you and remind you of God’s truths.
Verse 19a bursts forth like the sun out of dark storm clouds. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision! God had compassion on them. He answered their prayer. Have you had an answer to prayer lately? Remember James 5:16, “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” Here there were four young godly men seeking the Lord, and He graciously answered. Psalm 50:15, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you and you will honor Me.” Daniel’s response to God’s compassion is fantastic.
You praise and thank God for His answer to the crisis.
Daniel 2:19b-22, 19b Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding. 22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. 23 “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Daniel exalts the name of God in this hymn of praise. The name of God speaks of all that God is, His essence, all of His attributes that are God. In the mid-1600s the Westminster Assembly composed of English and Scottish Puritans met to come up with an answer to the question “What is God?” As they gathered together contemplating the question, they all felt completely inadequate. They decided to ask the youngest member to make an attempt. They chose George Gillespie, who was twelve years younger than all the others. He asked the others to pray with him for God’s enlightenment for this huge assignment. He began his prayer, “O God, You are a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in Your being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” When he finished his prayer someone immediately wrote down that first sentence and they all decided this was the most perfect answer to the question, “What is God?”
Daniel’s view of God is similar as he extols his God in his prayer of praise and thanksgiving.
God is a God of wisdom and power (20b). His power is His infinite, eternal, with an unchanging capacity to pull off everything His wisdom decreed from creation to consummation. When you look up into the starry or moonlit sky, remember our little solar system is like one little flower in a vast field of flowers, a little sparkling speck on the black velvet expanse we call space. There is a God in heaven and He is infinitely wise and infinitely powerful. He is powerfully directing all things according to His perfectly thought-out plan to bring Him the greatest glory, especially magnifying His grace in the salvation of sinners and His justice in the damnation of those who reject His Son.
God controls human history from beginning to end (21a). He changes the times and the epochs. He never wonders what will happen next. He causes whatever happens next! The changes of nations are not regulated by chance or fate as pagans think, but by God Almighty. There is no “que sera sera” with Him. He has His purpose on the global level, the national and local level, and the personal level. All things work together for good to those who love Him. He controls all things coming into your life, both the good and the bad, and has purpose in them all.
Isaiah 46:10, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done, Saying, ‘My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
God removes kings and establishes kings (21b). How many men thought they achieved rulership by their own power and brilliance. The Assyrians thought they had Jerusalem in their pocket, except one night while they were camped around Jerusalem the angel of the Lord went out and killed 185,000 of them. The Bible says when they woke up the next morning, behold, they were all dead. No man rules apart from God’s plan. He often gives people their ruler as an act of judgment. As R. C. Sproul said, “God casts the deciding ballot.”
Psalms 75:7, But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.
God imparts wisdom and knowledge (21c). All the natural wisdom and knowledge of men and women are gifts from God. Who designed man’s brains? Who programmed the DNA in that little two-cell image bearer to multiply into a full-fledged human, with bones, muscles, lips, eyes, ears, taste buds, heart, lungs, brains and blood and cells to keep everything alive. The most brilliant human being on earth has that brilliance as a gift from God. Do most men or women recognize this? Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “What do you have that you didn’t receive?”
God in heaven reveals what is beyond human knowledge and hidden from man (22a). He knows if the corona virus started in a Chinese laboratory. The gospel itself is hidden from us until the Spirit of God opens our eyes to grasp the great truths of His grace in Christ. He sovereignly shines the light of the gospel into our dark hearts to show us our sin and Christ’s work on that cross for sinners. God must open our eyes, humble our hearts, bring us to see we deserve nothing but wrath, and then how Christ bore that wrath in the place of sinners. We need God to reveal these things to us, just as Daniel needed God to reveal the king’s dream. There is nothing hidden from God. He sees the darkness of our hearts as if in light of the noonday sun. There isn’t one dark corner in this vast universe that isn’t known by God!
Psalms 139:12, Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
And now in verse 23 Daniel bursts forth with thanks and praise for answering his prayer. He says, “Even now,” right on time, just when we needed Your answer, “you have revealed the king’s dream.” What a model Daniel is for us. He reminds us to think about God’s sovereign providence over all things and the wisdom and power God has given us in his Son. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think. How personal and real and amazing our God is. His ears are open to our prayers too.
You bring God’s truth to the crisis.
Daniel 2:24-27, Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.” 25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.
Daniel’s got a spring in his step. First he goes to Arioch asking him not to destroy the wise men. Then to the king we go. Arioch may be taking a little credit here, “I have found a man.” Actually Daniel found Arioch. The king is hopeful. Remember, he’s been tormented by this dream. “Can you tell me my dream and what it means?” Daniel first gets the other guys off the hook. No mere man can read another man’s mind. True: “I think we ought to get Azzip tonight.” “You read my mind; I was thinking the same thing.” That’s far from actually reading another man’s mind. Thankfully, that’s reserved for God.
You end up giving God all the glory.
Daniel 2:28-30, 28 “However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 30 “But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.”
“However.” And that’s a big however. Daniel has the wonderful privilege to give God all the glory as he tells the king his dream. “There is a God in heaven, Nebuchadnezzar.” Here’s the theme of the dream: “what will take place in the latter days.” The latter days refers to the times of the Gentiles all the way down to the second coming of Christ (Luke 21:24). God will providentially raise up and put down kings and kingdoms until Christ returns and establishes His great kingdom over the whole earth. God will not forget His promises to Israel.
Isaiah 2:2, Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it.
In verse 30 while Daniel relayed the dream with absolute confidence, he humbly and quickly admits that it isn’t in view of his special knowledge. “I’m no better than those wise men you sent packing. I’m a sinner, too. The only difference is that I know there is a God in heaven who can reveal mysteries and He has revealed your dream through me. I’m just the messenger!” We’ll see what Neb dreamed in a couple weeks, but here’s a sneak peek.
Daniel 2:31, “You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.
SO WHAT?
How do you handle the crisis when it comes into your life? Daniel and his friends went straight to God in prayer, trusting Him in their crisis. Keith Carter in his Sunday School class recently told us about a friend who lost first his daughter to leukemia, then his wife to cancer, and then his son in a motorcycle wreck. Was God involved? We don’t say believing in God’s sovereign providence makes hard things easy. God doesn’t always answer like He did for Daniel. But we know there’s a God in heaven and whatever comes your way is not just fate or bad or good luck. It’s God’s providential hand and, like Daniel, we are to thank Him and give Him the glory.