Daniel 7 | October 18, 2020 | Pentecost 20

Daniel 7

Chapter 7 marks a sharp division in the book of Daniel. The first 6 chapters were mainly historical narratives about important events in the life of Daniel. They also followed chronologically according to the kings that Daniel served under. The remainder of the book focuses on several personal visions that God gave Daniel about the coming years before the time of Christ.

Since the last chapters of Daniel are largely figurative and prophetic, it can be difficult to determine, at times, exactly what God was revealing to Daniel. There are some things that we aren’t given exact details on. So, in these last chapters of Daniel our approach with the content will be two-fold:

1. We will do our best to break down the parts of the vision and their meaning for Daniel, without adding to the Word. At times, we don’t know exactly what the vision represents.

2. We will attempt to understand the point of the vision and its meaning for our lives. Even without knowing all of the details, we can still gain valuable insight for our faith and certainly see the activity of God in Daniel’s time. Through this, the Holy Spirit surely can strengthen our faith and teach us equally important truths.   

So, our story today in chapter 7 takes us back a bit to the first year of Belshazzar’s reign. If you remember, Belshazzar was the last king of Babylon, so this account comes to Daniel as he is an older man. The vision given to Daniel is closely connected to the vision Nebuchadnezzar was given in chapter 2. The main identifier between the two is that God reveals the next kingdoms that would arise after Babylon.

Just as Nebuchadnezzar was given a vision about four sections of a great statue, so Daniel receives a vision about four beasts coming out of the sea. There is also some connection between this vision, and the others that Daniel speaks about in the coming chapters. The main connection between all of them centers upon the history that will take place up to the time of the Messiah. From the vantage point of Scripture, we could say that this vision deals with the remainder of the Old Testament period. Therefore, although the exact kingdoms are not specified in Scripture – at least in this chapter, we can say with a good deal of confidence that they match the major kingdoms at the tail end of the OT period.

Therefore, the first beast, the lion with wings – corresponds to the kingdom of Babylon, which at the time of this vision was still the major power. What makes this more convincing is that the winged lion was actually the emblem of the Babylonian empire.

The second beast, the bear, corresponds to the Mede and Persian empire, which, as found out in the last chapter, swept in and conquered Babylon. Many Bible scholars believe that the three ribs in the bear’s mouth are symbolic of the three major kingdoms that were toppled by the Medes and Persians – Babylon, Egypt, and eventually further to the West, the kingdom of Lydia.

The third beast, the leopard with four wings and four heads, corresponds the Greek empire, which would become the world leader through the conquests of Alexander the Great. The four wings and four heads are believed to be symbolic of the four partitions of the Greek empire following Alexander’s death.

The fourth beast is certainly the most unique and the one which is described in the greatest detail. It was also the kingdom that Daniel wanted to know more about. Following the chronology of this sequence, the fourth beast corresponds to the Roman empire, which was more dominant than all the others, and also which held power during the birth of Christ.

What are we to make of all the unique details given about the Roman empire? Well, many believe the 10 horns represent total power. The number of ten in the Scriptures often denotes completeness. Some have even attempted to trace the number to the Roman Caesars, but that seems less likely. Of greater importance to Daniel, and to us, is the identity of the single horn that grew out of this fourth beast. The vision depicts this final beast as not only the most powerful, but also that it would change in its nature. As week seek to understand the identity of this single horn, it helps to list the details that are given to us in the text: 

Here’s how Daniel described what he witnessed in this vision about the single horn:

·       Boasts – speaks words against the Most High

·       Eyes like human eyes

·       Shows strength over earthly kings

·       Comes out of the Roman empire (if indeed that is the fourth beast)

·       Persecutes the saints

·       Changes times and the law

·       Destroyed only by Ancient of Days - through the Son of Man (vv.13-14)

These are indeed specific details, but still no exact name is given to this single horn. However, when we consider the context of Daniel in both history and the rest of Scripture, the identity of this single horn fits best with the Antichrist. Now, the Antichrist alone is also a controversial topic. The Apostle Paul described this individual most specifically in 2 Thessalonians 2. Listen to what he said and trace the parallels with Daniel’s revelation:

2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

According to Paul, the Antichrist is a specific person who:

·       Stands in the place of God and is associated with the worship of God

·       Despite this, he is also someone who opposes God, even claiming to take the place of God.

·       Deceives people and who is active for quite a length of time

·       Will only be conquered by Jesus – at His final coming.

These details all fit with the single horn that Daniel saw. When you put it all together, there is only one fulfillment that fits the complete description – the papacy of the Roman Catholic Church. The Antichrist does not fit with any single pope, but it is characterized as an office that continues until the end of the world. The Antichrist does not fit with any earthly ruler – for he is someone who associates with God – at least, outwardly. The Antichrist is also someone who deceives people, persecutes believers, came out of the secular empire of Rome, has changed the law of God, displays power over earthly rulers, and takes the place of God through boastful words. These details, provided for us through Daniel’s vision and Paul’s letter – find a match only in the institution of the papacy. Only the papacy has both persecuted the saints and deceived many by false teaching. Only the papacy both came out of the Roman empire and holds temporal power over secular rulers. Only the papacy has been audacious enough to claim an equal status of respect and honor with God.

This is not a popular understanding today, but it fits with Scripture’s revelation. That we identify the papacy as the Antichrist does not give us freedom to judge and condemn Roman Catholic Christians, nor do we deny that the papacy has done good things for people at times in history. Popes today are seen as kind and benevolent. Others in the past certainly acted in much greater outward immorality. But human standards of holiness are set aside in God’s sight. He measures one’s faith and righteousness with His own standards, and through such, as delivered to us in Scripture, the papacy has been shown to be thoroughly corrupt and deceitful.

You may be thinking. This is interesting but what does it matter today? Obviously, the papacy isn’t mentioned in Scripture by name. Furthermore, these were things revealed to Daniel about things which already happened. What is the value in this text for our lives? Outside of a historical lesson from the past, what do we learn from it? Well, the answer is that we arrive at the same place God was leading Daniel – to assurance of the victory of Jesus. As I mentioned at the beginning, with each of these visions we’ll try to unlock what we can about the details, but the most important element is understanding the overall truth. And the overall truth of this chapter is abundantly clear – Jesus reigns!

God provides the historical details He does as a signal in time and space of when Jesus would arrive. But the entire lesson for Daniel was the same as it is for us – Jesus will take care of all foreign kingdoms and enemies that are against God and His people. Though we can’t pinpoint every detail of this vision with certainty – consider what we can say with absolute confidence: 

-Jesus, the one who would take the title of Son of Man, first given in Daniel’s vision, is already victorious now.

-We can see God’s deliberate plan in providing a Savior at the right time in history, just as Paul echoed in Galatians 4:4-5: But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

No matter how terrifying and powerful this last beast is – he is no match for God’s only begotten Son. Political power. Spiritual power. A combination of both. Wars and persecutions against believers. Using even the church to deceptively lead people astray. None of this falsehood and treachery can hold up against Jesus. He melts away the lying, the deceit, and the evil and ushers in truth, life, and peace under His cross. No wonder that Daniel records how all peoples, nations, and languages will worship Him and how His kingdom will be eternal. Mankind has continually striven and fought for power here on earth, and that lust will never go away as time endures. Jesus alone secured it in His own unique way – through His self-sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection over the grave. Nothing is greater than His power and love for fallen sinner – and He calls you to trust that His will is effective in your life.

What a message for Daniel! He surely knew what oppression and captivity under the kings of the earth felt like. By the point in his life he had spent so much time in a foreign land that his own cultural identity had surely changed. But Daniel’s identity as a child of God never changed – it only grew stronger.

So, it is with us. What a message in our day! A day when politics and earthly power reach their greedy fingers into just about every area of life. A day when Satan and the world tempt you with a bevy of personally chosen identities that exalt you and not God. A day when fear and anxiety spread in abundance about what ruler will come next. The stories of the past are in the past, but the lessons are repeated in the future. No matter what comes our way. No matter what enemy exalts against our faith. No matter how we are tried in the furnace of God’s refinement – Jesus reigns. His kingdom, which is yours today by faith, will never be defeated. Let us trust in Him and go forward with confidence. Amen.

Daniel 6 | October 11, 2020 | Pentecost 19

What would do if what you were meant to be in life only brought heartache and pain? What if, the more skilled you were at being the best you could be at something only made life more difficult for you? Think of any skill or calling. To be the best physician, the best auto mechanic, the best accountant, the best grocery bagger, whatever the profession – what would you do if the better you were at your calling – the harder life became for you?

We talked last weekend about how we are all weighed in the balance of God’s justice. Think of it that way, as an old-fashioned scale with two counterweights. The heavier one side becomes, the more it raises the other side. So imagine one side as your calling and the other side as your hardship level. The better you are at what you do, the harder life becomes – as a direct result of your ability and skill in what you are meant to do! If that were the case, wouldn’t you be tempted to neglect your obligation in order to save yourself from hardship and pain? Of course, we would all feel the impulse to do this – and yet at the same time we would still feel the impulse to do what we are called to do.

Sounds like the makings for complete insanity – but it’s more realistic than you might think. We see that very thing happen to Daniel in our lesson today. He was persecuted precisely because he was good at what God had called him to do. Verse 5 of the chapter says, Then these men said, “We will not find any accusation to bring against this Daniel unless we find something against him concerning the law of his God.” The adversaries of Daniel knew they could only trap Daniel by finding a way to outlaw what Daniel was good at – namely, following God faithfully. Was Daniel perfect? No. But his faith in God was strong. Daniel’s faith has been on display throughout our series, from the moment he arrived in Babylon as a teenager, to this man as an old man under the Medo-Persian empire. Daniel had built a reputation of faithfulness and obedience to the rulers he served, and to the one, true God. So, his opponents knew that they could not catch Daniel breaking the law unless they had the law changed.

So, very quickly, Daniel found himself in the exact situation that I just described. So far, Daniel’s entire life was about following the LORD and providing an excellent witness of his faith. This was his calling in life, and he was skilled at it. And now, after many years of serving God, everything Daniel had spent time working to hone and develop would now put him at risk of losing his life in a very horrible and painful way.

What if you were in the same position? What if, the situation was not just a matter a persecution – but martyrdom – life and death? Daniel didn’t seem surprised at that prospect. He knew what the den of lions was designed to do, and it wasn’t just to punish someone. The same was true of Shadrak, Meshach, and Abednego in chapter 3 – they were in the same situation. They knew what result was at the end of their faithful confession of the true God. So, what would you do? Hard to imagine such a scenario. That’s part of what makes it tough – how can a Christian prepare for such a thing – there is no way. The reality of Daniel’s situation may seem distant from your life, but it’s not – not in meaning anyway. Each day, your faith is tested and so also is your trust and faithfulness in God. A den of lions, or even physical death, may sound extreme, but something far more deadly awaits – spiritual death – separation from God. Sometimes we forget this because the world has changed the law so much that the truth is barely recognizable. The same thing happened in the OT.

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  

Amos 5:7 “You who turn justice to wormwood, And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

It’s also easy to forget because by nature, we want the scale to stay even. We don’t want to draw negative attention, even when it comes as a result of being faithful to God. We know there are plenty of outs to standing for God’s truth, easy ways to slip back into the world so that people won’t notice us anymore. After all, doesn’t the catchy saying tell us that the nail that sticks out is the one that meets the hammer? Who wants that to happen in life? Better to keep our balances between calling and hardship even. 

We must humbly recognize how both our hearts and the world have changed because of sin. Both entities are now subject to distortion and corruption. This world is a semblance of the one that God first created, but it’s all we know. From the moment your eyes first opened, and you took your first breath, true reality as God designed it has been elusive to your perception. We all have been raised in a system that is warped and broken – which constantly threatens to misrepresent truth, goodness, and happiness to us.

Even our hearts are shaped by this corrupted system. Therefore, when we attempt to weigh our lives – thoughts, words, and actions - in the balance of morality and God’s will, we are at an extreme disadvantage to finding the truth. Both we, and the world, are programmed to lie and deceive. So, when we see people like Daniel make the decisions that they do for the reasons that they do – it seems weird and foolish. It is foreign to the definition of reality that we have absorbed from our first day to the present day here on earth.

Likewise, it also seems misplaced that tremendous amounts of pain, hardship, injustice, and even loss of life would come upon a person precisely because they are faithful to God. Why would God design such a system? The answer is that He didn’t, at least in the entirety of the way that life functions today. God designed the world to be much different; it was mankind in their freedom who chose a different result.

When we combine all of these factors - life with God, and consequently life after this world, seem like an unachievable dream. And there’s a hint of truth to that because taken alone that point is a fact. We cannot undo this swarming evil in our hearts and the world around us. We cannot make straight what has long been crooked. We cannot see beyond the warped nature of the way our minds interpret reality to us.

There is only one force that breaks this damning cycle – and it is God’s Word. The Word of God is the source that first revealed God’s restorative plan to you and for you. The Word unapologetically declares the utter hopelessness of the situation that man created, but also the complete reversal of the same through Jesus Christ. And the Word which reveals these blessed realities is inseparable to the One who accomplished them. This is why Jesus is revealed to be the “Word made flesh.” Jesus is the hope of God in human form. Jesus is the reason behind the perplexed believer who is punished for following God. Jesus is the answer to the inquisitive skeptic who sees no value in a religion that offers pain and hardship to its most faithful followers. Jesus is all of these things, and more, because He is the One revealed by the Bible.

Indeed, you can find many other belief systems, some even called Christian, that will use the same Bible, yet reveal a different hope. But the same God who created the perfect world, the perfect human mind, and the spotless human heart, promises that when mortal men and women use the Bible as He intended, with eyes of faith and ears of respect – it is always Jesus that they will see through it.    

In fact, take a moment to look deeper at this text – and you’ll see Jesus more than you expect. What Daniel endured is unmistakably similar to Jesus’ act of atonement on the cross:

·       A righteous man who was hated without cause

Conspiracy set against this man – with false witnesses

·       Using a twisted version of the law against the righteous one. 

·       The truth that was plain and open for all to see, even the authorities

·       Wavering and regret in those authorities who committed injustice

·       A death sentence sealed (literally)

·       An unbelievable deliverance from death

·       A sign to the rest of mankind about who is in control

I think this is what you’ll see more often when you use God’s Word to give meaning to the events of your life. This doesn’t mean you force the Word where it doesn’t fit, but rather you trust that it is sufficient to guide you through every situation you face. And as you study the Bible more, you’ll find that what you see through Daniel really is not all that surprising – because your focus is shifting from what you and the world say is real, to what God promises is real.

We see believers who are being shaped and led in the same image as their Savior. Putting into practice what has been in their hearts – what has given them spiritual life and what has sustained them in this desolate veil of tears.

So, how does this translate to your life? Well, you don’t need to go out looking for death, or even opportunities to showcase your strong faith. Life is God’s gift and blessing – cherish it. But, start small to build more than just this life. Begin by seeking awareness of the trouble spots in your heart - in the way you think about and perceive the truth. Extend that to the world around you. Are you taking in harmful information? Is a person, habit, form of media changing the way God presents Himself to you through His Word? Cut those things out – treat them like you would treat a disease in your body.

Seek the LORD’s help through prayer. He offers it. Daniel used it. It sustained him. It brought the calm and peace of Jesus – even in the most intense moments. And most important of all – keep the Word of God as the source of your faith. What I mean by this is the thing that begets truth, substance, and hope to you. The need for such a cause is always present – if God does not fill that role something else will. When the Word is there – you are protected. You have the power of God to confront eternal enemies. You have an endless source of forgiveness. You have unlimited grace for struggle, hopelessness, pain, mistakes, and any other bump along life’s road. And – best of all – you will have Jesus – the Word made flesh. And before you know it, the Holy Spirit will be conforming your life away from the twisted world, and closer to Jesus – and you too, like, Daniel will mirror your Lord and Savior.

Paul was another believer beset with unbelievable trials like Daniel. He received pain and hardship because he was faithful to God. But listen to Paul describe his faith, and you’ll find he received something greater than unfair retribution from the world:

2 Corinthians 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This is the result of believer’s life tipping like a scale in favor of faithfulness to Jesus and from Jesus. Yes, it will be bring a host of troubles from those who hate submission to God. The stronger your faith – the harder they’ll come at you. But even more, it means the eternal weight of glory in heaven. May God give you strength to meet the challenges you face, to endure the trials that confront you, to remain steadfast when you are tempted to balance the scales of reality on your own. What may seem like an impossible task today, is soon made light and easy by Jesus. Amen.

Daniel 5 | October 4, 2020 | Pentecost 18

The soldiers moved quietly and slowly in the darkness. They had been patiently preparing for this day for months. The time was now. They crept into the city in the cover of darkness. They knew the plan well. They had to get to the palace at the inner part of the city quickly – without anyone noticing. But first, there were miles of houses, marketplaces, and other buildings to get past on the outskirts of the city. Speed and stealth were the key in preserving their lives and the lives of their fellow soldiers.

The darkness of night was on their side but not only that. There was a festival in the king’s palace – drinking and revelry were in abundance. No one was the wiser to the impending doom and the swift change of power that would soon be had. It was almost as if God Himself had planned it.

Those details describe the events of chapter 5 from the perspective of the Medes and Persians. But they aren’t recorded in the Bible – they come from the Greek historian Herodotus in the 400s BC. He wasn’t the only one to write about the fall of Babylon, either. King Cyrus compiled his own document as well as Xenophon, another Greek historian. It’s amazing that the details given in these records fit with Daniel’s description in chapter 5. It’s modern proof of Biblical inspiration at work.

Many wonder how the mighty city of Babylon could fall so quickly and unexpectedly. Indeed, Herodotus records that the Babylonians had food stockpiles to last years – which is why they retreated to the city after suffering and earlier defeat in open battle. The Babylonians planned to see if Cyrus could be as patient as they could. But the Persian king had already thought several steps ahead. He realized that the Babylonians could hold on much longer than he was able to. The Euphrates river ran beneath the capitol city, providing an endless water supply for drinking and growing crops. It was the lifeblood of the Babylonians, the source of their confidence just as much as their mighty walls. But it was also the very weakness that Cyrus exploited.

As Herodotus records, Cyrus had ordered his soldiers to dig several canals off the main river system long before. Initially, this was for the purpose of crossing the river, but in time it served a greater purpose. Over time, the mighty river which once flowed with such a stronger current that it would sweep away man and beast, slowly retreated to a more manageable depth that was about the height of a man’s thigh. The Babylonians probably were none the wiser, knowing that the river could never be fully damned up. And so, when the appropriate night came, the Persians executed their plan, and crept into the city through the river – and remained undetected all the way up to the King Belshazzar’s palace.

It’s quite an incredible story, right? But, Daniel provides us even more amazing details with an eyewitness perspective from inside the hall where the feast was taking place. While we don’t know the reason for this celebration, what was clear was that Belshazzar wanted to make this event very special. Therefore, he called his servants to bring the confiscated items from Solomon’s temple. When Nebuchadnezzar demolished the temple (586 B.C.) he brought back the sacred items that were contained inside. We have no reason to believe that Nebuchadnezzar would have sanctioned the disrespectful use of these items as Belshazzar currently was. For all we know, Nebuchadnezzar held them in high esteem and did not want to offend the Jewish people in his kingdom. When Solomon dedicated the Temple and all its furnishings, he declared that the sole purpose of these items was that all the peoples of the earth would know the name of the true God and follow Him by faith. Although the Temple itself was long ago destroyed, these gold and silver items still had this sacred significance. They had been ordained to serve God and honor His name, and they were now being used in drunken mockery.

This mistake by Belshazzar was really just the tip of the deeper pride that lingered in his heart. Daniel, in great boldness, chastised the king by reminding him that he should have known better, having been brought up with a knowledge of the true God’s mighty works in Babylon. Daniel said (v.22), But you, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this (the accounts of Nebuchadnezzar). And so entered the LORD’s sign of judgment – the writing on the wall.

What a change in the scenery took place at this pivotal moment. Belshazzar was content to trust in his power. He was presently partying, even with a foreign invader sitting outside his gates. Belshazzar was so confident he desecrated the Temple vessels as a sign of his power. He was communicating his control of the situation – probably seeking to portray an outward show of confidence. But in one instant, he was exposed for the coward that he was.

v. 6: Then the king's countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.

v.9: Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished. What occurred here had been depicted long ago in Psalm 2: Why do the nations rebel and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the LORD and His Anointed One: 3 "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints." 4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord ridicules them. 5 Then He speaks to them in His anger and terrifies them in His wrath.

This psalm was not directly prophesying of Babylon’s fall, but it accurately reveals the motivations and intentions of the human heart that were at the core. Soon, before the night was over, before the drunken state of the party had even ended, Belshazzar would be dead. His kingdom would be overthrown. Masters would become slaves. From man’s perspective it surely must have seemed like an event beyond anyone’s control – utter chaos and turmoil. But, God’s plan was unfolding in matchless perfection. He knew this day would come, even before His people became the subjects of Babylon. He knew how the Persians would fall too, and the next nation after them, and so on it goes up to our day.

Long is the list of people who have boasted in their moment, without considering God’s eternal perspective. Equally long is the list of people who have resorted to desecrating God’s Word as a sign of their personal power. How many people today openly defy God – claiming He doesn’t exist? How many more live their lives without a care in the world about whether He is real or not?

You must never underestimate the depravity and depth of human pride. You must never minimize the existence of such an evil in your own heart. How many lessons on pride have we seen – just in the first five chapters of Daniel – so far? How much more witness is present to its danger in the rest of Scripture? And yet, pride is often the very first sin we minimize in our hearts. “I’ll know better.” “I’ll be stronger.” “I’m a better Christian.” “I won’t treat God like that.” Long is the list of false assurances from lips and hearts of sinful men and women.

How might God act in our time? What might His tireless faithfulness demand that He show us to snap us out of our pride – what writing on the wall? Are we immune to His voice – to His power? Will we also be caught in the drunken stupor of self-reliance, care, and pleasure when the eternal King enters our city? Consider this. At every point in Scripture where God intervenes, where He chooses to enter time and space, to break and bend the natural way of things – the majority of people are caught off guard. Don’t become numb to such thinking. A life that is filled with wealth, ease, control, and self-chosen outcomes is the breeding ground for pride. And it is truly a measure of God’s love that He would act, even in stern judgment, to preserve us from such an end.

“Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.” The writing on the wall. The four simple words of divine judgment on King Belshazzar. Numbered. Weighed. Divided. Like a slab of meat on the butcher’s block, Belshazzar’s end had come. The long reign of Babylon was over. Their years of power were now exhausted. The Babylonians were weighed in the balances of God’s justice and found wanting – a conclusion no one desires. And the unity, wealth, and power they had accumulated would now be divided like the nations they had conquered years before. The defiance against God that filled Belshazzar at the beginning of the chapter, was now completely emptied at the end.

Whether or not you like it – you too stand in the balances of God’s justice.

Matthew 12:35-37 “A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good, and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil. 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to account for every careless word they speak. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Romans 14:11-12 "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." 12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Even today, you are weighed by God, an accounting of your life in view of His holy Word.

Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account.  

[By words we stand judged, but also by words we stand redeemed – the words of grace in Jesus]

A foreign invader prowls outside the doorway of your heart too – no nation, but the author of evil himself, Satan. He stalks like a lion – ready to pounce upon a hapless victim at any moment. This is not some fairy tale meant to inspire fear and obedience, but the stark truth of reality meant to scare you out of your pride. God doesn’t need to intimidate you into believing in Him – He uses a much better way – His love and forgiveness.

When your days are numbered and up, when your righteousness is weighed and found wanting before God’s justice, and when you are divided from all other constraints of mind and body – laid bare before the almighty and eternal God – there is One who steps in between you and the holy wrath of God – Jesus.

And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 

1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 

Where Jesus stands in – the debt it paid. The sinner is brought back to God. True unity with God is achieved and never broken. Leave pride behind.

Daniel 4 | September 27, 2020 | Pentecost 17

Theme: Nebuchadnezzar’s Failure and God’s Forgiveness

1. What it meant to lead

2. The proper use of wealth

3. The essence of humanity

At the time of our text, it was Babylon’s golden age. It was already well known throughout the world that Babylon was the major international power at this time. In chapter two, God even revealed that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was the head of gold on the figurative statue, greater than even the other kingdoms that would follow.

What we know from history and archaeology has confirmed the same thing. Consider some of these magnificent elements of ancient Babylon:

·       A wall around the main city more than 14 miles long and 136 feet thick.

·       The famed Ishtar Gate, decorated with 575 dragons, bulls, and lions.

·       The mysterious Babylonian Hanging Gardens, although never found, believed to have been one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

·       Nebuchadnezzar’s own throne, a spectacle 56 feet wide and 168 feet long.

·       And even the plot of land believed to have been the foundation of the Tower of Babel.

All of these finds, and more, confirm from archaeology and history what we see in the book of Daniel. Babylon was unrivaled in wealth and power, and King Nebuchadnezzar was the greatest of their rulers. It’s no surprise, then, that we’re told that Nebuchadnezzar was “carefree” in his house and “prospering” in his palace (v.4). It’s also no surprise that he remarked in verse 30: “Isn’t this the great Babylon that I built for a royal residence by my mighty power and my majestic glory?”

It’s no wonder that such wealth could go to a person’s head. Nebuchadnezzar was not the first, or the last, to succumb to such prideful behavior. And God certainly condemned such pride in this chapter. But pride and greed are often easy targets in the moral scope of modern human thinking. We still live at a time when such attitudes are eagerly called out, though such moralizing seems to do very little to actually stem any actual wickedness.

The deeper sin of Nebuchadnezzar was thinking of himself as an equal to God – the one true God. He had already said, in full view of the true God’s power, that Daniel’s God really was the only God. But, how easily the king’s thoughts shifted. How quickly he returned to his former beliefs. Here in chapter 4, even amid Daniel’s continued gifts and favor under God, Nebuchadnezzar sees the true God as nothing more than another deity in a long line. In great ignorance he says in verse 8:  Afterward, Daniel came before me (whose name is Belteshazzar, like the name of my god, and a spirit of the holy gods dwells in him), and I told him the dream.

We don’t know what Nebuchadnezzar believed at the end of his days. We hope that the lessons we study in the book of Daniel took root in his heart and caused him to repent and believe in the only God. But, in this immediate context, the lesson had not taken hold, and the LORD God Almighty humbled this king who had achieved so much in human terms.

This is the lesson. Earthly blessings – whether they be wealth, honor, glory, peace, or tranquility – mean nothing if the recipient is not also right with God in their heart. So many people continue to fall into the same pit as Nebuchadnezzar. They spend their lives accumulating their treasures only to neglect their life with God in the process. They see God not as their Lord, but as a rival competing with them for time, space, glory, and attention. And given the choice, which God allows, mankind so often chooses themselves. And is it any wonder? We continue to see pride, greed, and self-glory as true reflections of the world we live in – probably more so than at Daniel’s time.

Moralistic people pity stupid Nebuchadnezzar, who was cast down from king to cow, without realizing God is preaching the same message to them. Like the parable of the rich fool, people continue to find peace and hope in their accomplishments – resting on the laurels of the filled storehouses of acquired possessions and favor in the world. Yet without the slightest clue of the actual truth, that it is all gone in a moment – in the blinking of the eye – and we are left standing exposed before the eternal God.

We sit back and smile at the sheer ignorance and blindness of Nebuchadnezzar – what a fool! - that after all he had seen he still didn’t learn his lesson! But, so often we are walking the very same path in our lives – and doing so under the name of “Christian.”     

Nebuchadnezzar’s failures are brought to light in this chapter. His failure to lead. His failure to use wealth appropriately. And his failure to understand his purpose under the true God. May God bless us as we seek to learn from His Word, so that we may avoid repeating the same mistakes in our lives.

We consider the first two points together because they were connected for Nebuchadnezzar. His authority as king led to his acquisition of riches. And his vast riches granted him many long years on the throne. They were tied to one another. Nebuchadnezzar lived with the mindset that his authority was a tool to increase his wealth, and his wealth was a tool to extend his authority. His story is not unique in human history. Many individuals, leaders, organizations, and nations have risen and fallen upon the same principles.

But this thought is foreign to faith in the true God. God speaks a lot in His Word about leadership and wealth, but always for a special purpose. Leaders exist as servants of God to serve others. They are given their authority from God to help, bless, and care for others. Wealth is God’s gift to be viewed as the fruit of working hard and living a fair and decent life. It is within God’s design for us to enjoy life and to seek ways and opportunities at doing so.

When the Apostle Paul called upon Christians to pray for their leaders, he cited this reason: “that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.” Paul also wrote to the Romans with the same encouragement, saying, “The king is God's servant for your good… (Romans 13:4).” God ties together authority with happiness on earth and he calls on citizens to be respectful, and rulers to be caring, to that end.

But God’s way is foreign to human nature. If you think only people like Nebuchadnezzar, or other ruthless rulers, apply here – you’re wrong and you’re missing the point. The cause of this failure and distortion of God’s will lies at the core of each sinner’s heart. We love to abuse power. We love to turn wealth into an idol. In fact, many goals, dreams, and activities today are driven by those very reasons while conducted under the false veneer of piety, Christianity, and humility.

The better Ruler to focus on would be Jesus, who while owning complete and full authority in all the earth and heaven – willingly subjected Himself to serve and save us  - not because we’re free from corruption, but because our hearts are knee deep in it. And so, because Nebuchadnezzar had become so corrupted by wealth and power, and because he allowed these things to become more important than the one, true God – God provided a very explicit lesson that literally revealed the problem. And here’s where we see Nebuchadnezzar’s third problem.

Nebuchadnezzar’s image would be changed because he had changed God’s intended design. Nebuchadnezzar lost his humanity – because he was defiling that very gift from God. Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment was unique, but it was not unjustified, and it was not off-topic. There’s a lesson in the fact that this proud and mighty king was essentially turned into a farm animal. He became the physical manifestation of the way he was acting in his heart before the LORD. And it fit.

We see Nebuchadnezzar’s judgment continually echoed throughout the past and up to the present. People regularly become reflections of the way they treat God. As much as we try to hide what’s in our hearts, it eventually comes out for all to see. Many times, it involves the same failures as Nebuchadnezzar – ideas and lifestyles driven by the lust for power, control, wealth, and self-glory – all at the expense of God’s true intended design for humanity – to use our influence and power to serve Him.

We invest great amounts of time to ignore the truth, to contend with God’s will as if He’s our rival. We seek out attitudes and behaviors that numb us to the reality we don’t want to admit. These worldly therapies affect our attitudes, our attitudes develop habits, our habits turn into behaviors, and our behaviors become addictions. They all start with good intentions – the natural desire to avoid the uncomfortable, the inconvenient truth that we have issues and problems we can’t solve on our own. But these half-truth solutions become part of the problem – they further envelop us into the cyclical nature of rebellion against the one hope we have; the One who desperately calls us through His Word for deliverance. And deeper down we spiral, thinking of more ways to help ourselves, while becoming more and more like the beast with hair like eagle’s feathers and nails like bird’s claws – slinking away in the wet dew of our own schemes and plans.

If you came today to be commended as a Daniel, you came to the wrong place. We are a lot more like Nebuchadnezzar. We contend with God. We plan our own way. We lust for our own control. We use our blessings against others. We distort God’s intended design for our lives. Because we all have a fallen and corrupted heart. We so often become the very things in life that we despise most. And like Nebuchadnezzar needed, so we need the help of the only One who is up to the task – the one, true God.

God did not leave Nebuchadnezzar without witness of hope. God sent His servant, Daniel, to testify of repentance and forgiveness. So Daniel said, “Break away from your sins with righteousness and from your guilty deeds by showing mercy to the poor.” The message was to repent, and the fruit of that repentance would be stopping this continually rivalry with God and truly showing the works that accompany a heart that has been renewed by God’s mercy.

And, likewise, in our plight, God has not left us without a witness of hope. He has sent His Son and servant, Jesus – to testify to us of God’s grace and forgiveness and the need of repentance in receiving that renewal. God calls to us weekly, daily through His Word to “break away” from our sins  - our false humility, our hypocritical pretenses, our distortions of His design, our contention against His will – and to be changed from our primal, animal-like nature under sin to the transformed and perfect image of our Savior.

May we heed this lesson and diligently listen to God’s promise in Jesus – to His glory, Amen.