4-27-14. Daniel 2:31-49. A KINGDOM THAT WILL ENDURE FOREVER-my devotional

Daniel 2:31-49                                       Kevin E. Jesmer                                            4-27-14

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,” (44)

Dear Lord, thank you for your love and grace and forgiveness. I love you and need you in my life. There is a part of me that must live in your truth and grace and hope. I pray that you may reveal yourself the people across our land. I pray that you may guide our nation according to your will. I pray for a peaceful resolution to the political things that are going on in the Ukraine. Please illumine my heart with your words today. I thank you and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Part 1: Four Kingdoms (31-43).

God revealed the king’s dream to Daniel. This was a miracle of God. Verses 31-43, “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. 41 And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.”

God revealed the king’s dream to Daniel and Daniel in turn told King Nebuchadnezzar the contents and meaning of his dream. God is faithful. He is can reveal his truth to his people. He can heal his people even in the most difficult of situations. He will give us the words to say and wisdom on how to say it. With this faith we can cross cultural and language barriers to ministry the Gospel to all people.

Let’s think about the details of the dream. Look at verse 32-33 again, “32 The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.”

     The statue, which the king saw in his dream, symbolized four successive world powers: Babylon, the Persian Empire, Greece and finally Rome. What really excites me about this vision is the depiction of the Roman Empire. It is like iron. Iron is very tough and used in weapons of war. Rome was a military state. The Roman Empire was split into East and West. The remnants of the Roman Empire were a loose confederation of states that lacked the unity of the original empire. They were held together by oaths, marriages, regional ties, political intrigue, but they were not unified and as powerful as the original. Even the nations of Europe and the Western portions of the Middle East, which used to be part of the old Roman Empire, have disunity. The countries of Western Europe, that were remnants of the old western portion of the Roman Empire, have political relationships but they too lack the strength of the original Roman Empire. They are like the feet of iron and clay. This is so true and prophetic. This dream perfectly unfolds western history.

But there is a great hope. It is found in verses 34-36a, “34 As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. 36 “This was the dream.” This statue was decimated. It was destroyed by a huge stone that was not cut by human hands. This stone is the kingdom of God. It is not created at all by people, for it is a kingdom conceived and built and maintained by God himself. Jesus brought this kingdom to us, through the Gospel. The Kingdom of God will replace all worldly kingdoms. It will fill the whole world.

According to this passage, there will not be any other world empire in the western world. It will not happen. The armies of Islam, Genghis Khan, Napoleon, the Turks, the Communists, Hitler, tried their best to make it happen, but they could never do it, for it is not the will of God. The next Empire to fill the earth is the Kingdom of God. That is what the Bible says.

This passage also shows us the “passing nature” of the kingdoms of this world. The kingdoms of the world rise and then they inevitably fall. Human kingdoms never endure. This is by design, and happens in time according to the will of God and for his glory. All kingdoms will fall. We may think that the Western Culture with North America and Europe, will last forever. What could possibly happen to the USA? But we can see through the classroom of history all kingdoms will fall and give way to another. In light of this we must place all of our faith, hope and trust in God and live in his Kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ. Only what is done for Christ will last. We will explore this more in part 2.

Part 2: God Will Set Up A Kingdom (44-49).

Verses 44-49, “44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.”

God promised to set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed, but just like the rock cut out of the mountain, it would rule all things. Jesus is the fulfillment of the dream, for he was born at the time of the Roman Empire, but at the same time he rules over all things. He is our true king because he alone has overcome the power of sin and death.

Living in Jesus’ kingdom is the best life. Why pour out our energies on things that are perishing, spoiling and fading away, like all things in this world? It does not make sense. We should give our lives to Jesus and seek the expansion of his kingdom. Then the things that we give our hearts to, will last.

I thank God for providing the means to dedicating my heart to someone and something that is eternal and has eternal worth. In the past I have wasted so much time and energy on temporal things that do not last. What a waste! How sad it would be to end my life knowing that all the things that I have poured my energy into, literally, my life blood into, will not last. Ultimately, all we do in this world that is not of God, will perish, for one day the sun will engulf the earth and burn everything up. But we have Christ and the kingdom of God to live for. Praise the Lord!

God glorified himself through the faith and courage of Daniel. Look at verse 47 again, “The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” When the king heard the dream and its interpretation from Daniel, he suddenly fell at Daniel’s feet and honored God and him—his Jewish captive. Such a picture helps us to see God who is ruling. God has ways of bringing glory to himself. He has ways of touching the hearts of even unbelievers. We simply need step out in faith and courage and walk through the open doors that God has provided and see what God will do. He will surely bring glory to his name and also raise that believer up to influential positions in the world.

“Lord, I always have put my hope in perishing things. But what a waste. Help me to see, know and testify to the eternal hope in the kingdom of God and live for the expansion of your kingdom.”

One Word: Have an eternal hope in God who is definitely in control.