But let me first make a couple of general comments. One of the complaints against Biblical preaching – mine as well as others – is the lack of practicality. Expository preaching as we have been undertaking for several years now, can become nothing more than a series of glorified Sunday School lessons, with little more than an explanation – an exposition – of the verses in the text. No one likes elucidating, illustrating and interpreting scripture more than I do. Unfortunately not everyone feels the same way, and some of you may be among that number. Part of my job, and a part of yours if I fail to do my part, is to bring the scriptures to your house and heart. In one sermon Nebuchadnezzar is a picture of you – and as unpleasant as that might be, you must use these scriptures as a mirror of yourself – before you put on your make up. And then in the next sermon, Daniel is you – or at least we’d like him to be. Sure these events took place 2500 years ago – in a far and distant land. But the human heart has not changed one iota in the last 2½ millennia. And God has not changed either. So the principles of these scriptures are as true as they were when Daniel was living in Babylon.
Our task this evening, both yours and mine, is to put ourselves into Daniel’s shoes. We’ve touched on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in a couple of ways thus far. Now let’s think about Daniel as he relates to this chapter and this dream.
For whatever reason, no one offered an explanation, so after they were all finished in came Daniel. I’m going to say that Daniel was not invited in to comment on the dream, until the rest were finished. It could have been Nebuchadnezzar’s intention from the beginning – to hold the best opinion until the end. But I’m going to apply it to something which is far more common. In our day and in this hour of enlightenment, the unbeliever is going to consider the Christian’s opinion about just about everything – last – if at all.
Daniel is just a little too dogmatic or old fashioned when it comes to morals – don’t ask him about homosexuality or promiscuity. And what he thinks about evolution is so unscientific that it shouldn’t ever be considered at all. What does it matter what those Christians say about life after death, about Heaven and about Hell. Just ignore Daniel when he starts talking about the judgment of God, everyone knows that God is a kind, benevolent Heavenly softy. The Christian, with a Bible in his hand, is usually the very last person to be consulted about the things that really matter. We shouldn’t be surprised when we are treated in just the same way that Daniel was.
The problem may have been that Nebuchadnezzar didn’t want to admit that he needed Daniel’s God. He still didn’t want to have to admit that Jehovah was the “high God,” and that He governs all things. “Salvation is of the Lord,” but the unbeliever wants to try every other kind of salvation first.
Christian, don’t be surprised, even if the world calls you a “Christian,” and as an equal to its own holy men. There may be social situations, where you are acknowledged to be a religious person, but that only means that you are one of the many other religious people in the world. You are just like the Mormons or J.W.s. That man’s grandmother was a devout Roman Catholic, and you appear to be devout as well, so you must be just like her. To the uninformed, you have a Bible, just as the Muslims have a Bible. “The spirit of the holy gods is in thee” just as he is in other heavenly-minded people.
I know that it is thoroughly inconsistent on the unbeliever’s part, but that doesn’t change the fact that the world expects more of us. Even though that man may laugh at your faith, at your morals, and at the things which you believe, when push comes to shove, he will often expect you to be a better person than his wicked friends. He may ridicule your personal standards one minute, but in the next he expects you to be honest in your dealings with him. He may be ready to fire you for being honest with a customer and losing a potential sale, but he expects you to put a dollar in the office coffee kitty. And he wouldn’t dream of opening up a Bible to read about the end of the world, but he expects you to be able to tell him in detail what you expect that the Lord is doing. When a car crash takes the life of a little baby, he may reject what you have to say, but still comes to you for an explanation, while he ignores his drinking buddies. Despite hating who we are, the world still holds us up to a higher standard.
We shouldn’t be angry about his, we should rejoice in it. This gave Daniel another important opportunity to bring glory to the Lord.
As I suggested this morning, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was a message from the Lord. Yes, you and I shouldn’t be looking for the revelation of God in those dreams which we had last night. But in this case, Daniel’s God was trying to tell the king something important. In this case, the dream was like the Word of God. And it is the job of the Christian, to study the Word of God. It is not there for our entertainment; it is not just something which brings us together on Sunday evening. It’s not a religious substitute for some people’s Saturday night movie. This dream was a revelation from God.
And what was Daniel’s responsibility under these circumstances? This particular scripture was only seven verses long, but it was something new to God’s saint, Daniel. He had to spend some time meditating on it. What is meant by the tree? Is there some special significance in the birds and the beasts? Ah, the tree was cut down. That definitely means something important. Who are these watchers and what is their decree? These things and each of the other things in here had some meaning and importance. And here is a man who has asked me about what the revelation of God is saying.
In this case the answers were not obvious; Daniel couldn’t compare this scripture with others. That meant that he would have to do his studying on his knees before the Lord. “God, please guide me with your Spirit. I don’t want to give this man a wrong interpretation. I have no wisdom in this regard. I am totally dependent upon you.” We may have our commentaries, and our previous studies. Then there are always our opinions and our preconceived notions. But what is it that the Lord is trying to tell us here?
Without a doubt Daniel was a student of the Word – an Holy Spirit-guided student.
There are some servants of God, who delight in accentuating the bad news rather than the gospel. Look at Jonah going into Ninevah with news that God was going to rase the city to the ground. He even went out onto a hillside in order to watch spectacle. When the people repented and God held back his mighty arm – the prophet was thoroughly disappointed. There seem to be more Jonah’s in this world than Jeremiah’s – “the weeping prophet.” Some people would have been delighted to know that God was going to afflict Nebuchadnezzar. “He deserves a lot more than what he’s going to get right here.”
Daniel knew the king about as well as any outsider. He personally knew how cruel he could be, having experienced some of it himself. He knew how his friends had been threatened and afflicted. And still, Daniel was sorry to learn that he was carrying bad news about some upcoming judgment. With an attitude such as this, he had a testimony worth hearing. Our unsaved neighbors are far more apt to listen to us when we approach them in the manner of Daniel than of Jonah.
I remember a cartoon which I saw years ago – it showed Noah’s ark floating away on the rising tide. On the back was a bumper sticker reading, “Smile, God loves you.” That is the evangelistic approach that many people have toward the Nebuchadnezzars of this world. “Smile, God loves you, and has a wonderful plan for your life.” That may be true for God’s elect, but it is a lie as far as the rest of humanity is concerned. And the evangelist who approaches the lost with these words is not a worthy ambassador for the holy God. We are not police detectives, who have been given authority to lie and manipulate the truth in order to wheedle a confession out of the guilty man. It is our job to tell the truth with as much sympathy as our own wicked hearts can muster.
So, you tell me that you don’t like your current king – I mean president. You say that he is destroying many of things which you think are important to this nation. Do you despise him so much that you’d like him to die in office? Do you want to see him stand before the Great White Throne and be condemned to the Lake of Fire? Shame on you, Jonah. And do you still blame the Twin Towers on every Muslim that you see? Would you stubbornly refuse to give them the gospel even if they asked you about it? Are you really a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, who gave his life for you – his enemy?
The work of the Christian, the Christian prophet of God, is not theological, but eternally practical. Nebuchadnezzar give up your sins – repent – put your trust in the God who really is the “High God” over all things. This pride of yours & these unjust deeds against defenseless people under your power must be crucified. Even kings and presidents must repent of their sins. This is practical stuff; this is where we all live no matter how high on the hog we dine and how high on the ladder we have risen. Perhaps we can only lengthen the tranquility of people to whom we are ministering, but at least that is a place to start. Daniel was a practical servant of the Lord.
It can’t be said that Nebuchadnezzar’s praise of God at either end of this chapter came as a direct result of the ministry of Daniel, yet it his part in it can’t be ignore either. “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase” just as Daniel had said. “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”
Remember that the primary work of the Christian is to bring glory to our God and Saviour. Your primary work is to bring glory to the Lord.