Daniel 2:31-49
Introduction: We are continuing our series in Daniel to learn from his example of exile in Babylon and understand how it can be significant for us today. The book of Daniel has a lot to say about going through tough times but remaining faithful to God at all costs. Daniel and his friends were exiled to Babylon after King Nebuchadnezzar conquered and ransacked Jerusalem. Though they faced temptations to fully assimilate into Babylonian culture, Daniel and his friends persisted in seeking the kingdom of God over the kingdom of man. This was not easy because it meant adjusting to a new normal. Not only did this new normal result in a political and spiritual crisis, but also a personal crisis. Like Daniel, we are exiles today adjusting to a new normal. The temptation for us is to trust in earthly kingdoms, but God reveals to us in the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar that it is his kingdom that we should ultimately place our trust in.
The Vision of a Kingdom Crushed
Dreams in Scripture can often be confusing and draw upon numerous themes that leave even the brightest scholars puzzled. Yet, we have seen in Daniel chapter two that God granted divine wisdom to Daniel to reveal and interpret a recurring dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel reveals this dream as a magnificent statue of different metals and clay that gets smashed to pieces by a stone. The terrifying interpretation of this dream is related to the dismal future of the Babylonian kingdom, and for King Nebuchadnezzar it tied directly to his legacy. We can only imagine how troubled we would have felt if we would have experienced a similar recurring dream in 2019 of how our aspirations for 2020 were to be crushed. The significance of this passage for us is that God wants to reorient us from living for a dream of a kingdom that won’t last to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.
1. The Kingdoms We Live In
First, the dream reveals to us the truth about the kingdoms we live in. We cannot escape the obvious political nature of the dream’s interpretation. Daniel reveals to King Nebuchadnezzar that the kingdom of Babylon relates to the head, and that after Babylon, numerous kingdoms will come. One temptation for us is to focus solely on decoding the dream in relation to a chronology of earthly kingdoms. Rather, the dream and its interpretation challenges us to take on a new perspective:
God is sovereign over the kingdoms we live in - Though this concept is difficult for us to comprehend, it nevertheless resolves one of our most fundamental questions: Is history (and my life) in the hands of the leaders and kingdoms of the world, or in the hands of a sovereign God? If it is in the hands of God then we have an ultimate answer to panic, despair, division, and the new normal. This is not to diminish our genuine struggles and concerns; it is to reorient us from placing our ultimate hope in the kingdoms we live in.
God’s purpose does not depend on the kingdoms we live in - The kingdoms of the world come and go, but God’s purpose will prevail beyond their existence. Our temptation is to trust in the politics of worldly kingdoms. Many Christians claim loyalty to the purposes of particular political parties and celebrate this as if it is equal to the purpose of God. Daniel’s interpretation gives us a new vantage point. In politically tumultuous times we must step back and reacquire our perspective on the vantage point of the existence of earthly kingdoms from the perspective of heaven.
2. The Kingdom That Will Last
The king’s dream shows us the difference between the kingdoms humans build and the kingdoms that God builds. The stone in the dream contrasts with the dazzling statue in a way that shows how we perceive earthly kingdoms in contrast to God’s kingdom. Earthly kingdoms often seem dazzling, glorious, and strong, but God’s kingdom can seem small, weak, and unremarkable - like a stone. For Daniel, this was good news because God was in control and at work to establish his kingdom – even though it didn’t look like it to Daniel and the exiles. For us, it is even better news because we know what the stone means today. Jesus relates the stone in this dream with the rejection he faced from his people. In Luke 20:17-18 Jesus says “What then is this that is written: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” The significance is astounding! Jesus is the stone that comes to crush human dreams of kingdoms that we make so that we might build our lives on the kingdom that lasts. We can often feel like our dreams are shattered and our hope is diminished based on the kingdoms and situations we see around us. But a gospel lens will help us see that, even in exile, the kingdom of God alluded to in Daniel has come to us in Jesus Christ, and it will one day come again to stand alone forever.
3. How God Gives Us Wisdom
There are certainly macro-level implications for kingdoms and nations of the world evident in the king’s dream, but what about for the individuals involved, like King Nebuchadnezzar himself? This was his dream after all. Following Daniel’s correct interpretation, he fell face down and worshipped Daniel. The immediate question is whether this was sincere or not. Sadly, the context makes it clear that it was not. In the very next chapter, we see King Nebuchadnezzar at work on building another statue. It was as if he was thinking that he could still do something differently in spite of his confrontation with the kingdom that lasts. The fact that he reacted this way may seem silly, but what do we do today when our dreams for the future are shattered unexpectedly? Don’t we often do the same thing as King Nebuchadnezzar? Though we see our own dreams for the future crushed we hold onto them anyway, sometimes in outright defiance and anger. Like the king, this is building upon the kingdom of self. God invites us to live not for the kingdom of self, but for His kingdom: the kingdom that lasts. This kingdom is not established by human effort alone and it may seem insignificant to us at the moment, but it is more powerful than any human kingdom. The kingdom of God lives on forever.
REFLECT OR DISCUSS
What about the message is most relevant to you today? How do you feel the challenge of the “new normal” has impacted you most?
Do you understand the political nature of the king’s dream? How does Daniel’s interpretation spark tension in how we think about earthly kingdoms and American politics?
Have you ever felt the need to question your loyalty to politics in light of God’s revelation of His own kingdom as revealed in Scripture?
Read Daniel 2:44-45. How might this picture of God’s kingdom inform how we think about the future of America and role as exiles in America?
The stone compared to a mighty statue seems small and insignificant. How does the kingdom of God share these qualities? Does it give you hope to reflect on how God chooses to use small things to accomplish great things? How does this give us hope in these hard times?
Read Luke 20:9-18. How does this parable of Jesus and his response to the chief priests relate to Daniel’s interpretation of the king’s dream?
How have your dreams been broken or shattered in 2020? How does this passage give hope and perspective for us when this happens? What would it look like to seek first His kingdom when dreams of our kingdom are crushed?