Seeing God in the Book of Daniel
The chronological through-the-Bible reading scheduling I’m going
through has me in the Major and Minor Prophet books right now. I just finished
up Ezekiel and Joel, and am in the middle of the book of Daniel. Throughout
Ezekiel and Joel, one particular theme kept jumping out at me: over and over
again, God declares that “you will know that I am the LORD.” In its
most basic form, this statement reminds us that, whatever He does, God is going
to act in such a way that all who see it—whether the children of Israel, the
pagan nations around them, or even those of us who now hold the book in our
hands and read about it—will know who the Lord is!
Now that I’m in the book of Daniel, the theme seems to continue. The book of Daniel is filled with stories that were some of my favorites in Sunday school: the golden image and Daniel’s three friends thrown into the smokin’ hot furnace, Daniel interpreting the king’s dreams about the tree and the image, King Nebuchadnezzar living as a wild beast for 7 years, the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s party, Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den. However, unlike the books of Ezekiel and Joel where God says that all will know that He is the Lord, Daniel gives us actual events where individuals are brought to their knees(whether figuratively or literally) and worship the Lord as the one true God.
Think about it: in one way or another, each of these instances presents man trying to either exalt himself as god or exalt something else as god instead of worshiping the true God.
Let me explain what I mean:
1. For both of the king’s mysterious dreams, the king called for the magicians and sorcerers to tell him his dreams, but their struggle to tell him his dream made him anything but happy. Long story short, Daniel, through God’s divine provision, discerned and interpreted the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. It was an opportunity for the magicians and sorcerers to get the glory, but only Daniel could explain what the dream was all about.
So in the end, who got the glory? We read that, after Daniel interpreted the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar declared: “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries.” (Dan. 2:46)
2. The king soon grew arrogant and proud and demanded that all bow down and worship the massive gold image he had set up.
His goal? To cause all citizens to worship the image— an act that God had specifically said not to do.
When Daniel’s three friends refused to worship the image, and despite Nebuchadnezzar’s efforts to have the last say by throwing them into the furnace, the plan doesn’t work. God still gets all the glory.
In Daniel 3:28-29, we read King Nebuchadnezzar saying “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies to as not to serve or worship any god except their own God…there is no other god who is able to deliver in such a way.”
In a moment where the big event was supposed to have been the worship of the golden image, God’s name was made known throughout the land!
Don’t you love how God works?
Once again, God triumphs over man’s ways.
3. But King Nebuchadnezzar was a slow learner. When he saw his vast kingdom, he exalted himself and declared: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30) That was not a good move, Nebuchadnezzar.
You know the story: Nebuchadnezzar was made like a beast of the field, living as an animal for seven years. I love the testimony that he gives, after spending seven years out in the wild. We read that he “blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Dan. 4:34-35, 37)
There is no question there as to who got the final praise and glory.
I could give more examples of how God put His glory on display in the book of Daniel, but I think you get the idea.
And just think: He works in the same way today. Not necessarily doing such bold things as turning someone into a wild man or stopping the mouths of ravenous lion, but He does continue to act so that He gets the glory and praise in the circumstances of our lives!
Now that I’m in the book of Daniel, the theme seems to continue. The book of Daniel is filled with stories that were some of my favorites in Sunday school: the golden image and Daniel’s three friends thrown into the smokin’ hot furnace, Daniel interpreting the king’s dreams about the tree and the image, King Nebuchadnezzar living as a wild beast for 7 years, the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar’s party, Daniel being thrown into the lion’s den. However, unlike the books of Ezekiel and Joel where God says that all will know that He is the Lord, Daniel gives us actual events where individuals are brought to their knees(whether figuratively or literally) and worship the Lord as the one true God.
Think about it: in one way or another, each of these instances presents man trying to either exalt himself as god or exalt something else as god instead of worshiping the true God.
Let me explain what I mean:
1. For both of the king’s mysterious dreams, the king called for the magicians and sorcerers to tell him his dreams, but their struggle to tell him his dream made him anything but happy. Long story short, Daniel, through God’s divine provision, discerned and interpreted the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. It was an opportunity for the magicians and sorcerers to get the glory, but only Daniel could explain what the dream was all about.
So in the end, who got the glory? We read that, after Daniel interpreted the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar declared: “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries.” (Dan. 2:46)
2. The king soon grew arrogant and proud and demanded that all bow down and worship the massive gold image he had set up.
His goal? To cause all citizens to worship the image— an act that God had specifically said not to do.
When Daniel’s three friends refused to worship the image, and despite Nebuchadnezzar’s efforts to have the last say by throwing them into the furnace, the plan doesn’t work. God still gets all the glory.
In Daniel 3:28-29, we read King Nebuchadnezzar saying “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies to as not to serve or worship any god except their own God…there is no other god who is able to deliver in such a way.”
In a moment where the big event was supposed to have been the worship of the golden image, God’s name was made known throughout the land!
Don’t you love how God works?
Once again, God triumphs over man’s ways.
3. But King Nebuchadnezzar was a slow learner. When he saw his vast kingdom, he exalted himself and declared: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30) That was not a good move, Nebuchadnezzar.
You know the story: Nebuchadnezzar was made like a beast of the field, living as an animal for seven years. I love the testimony that he gives, after spending seven years out in the wild. We read that he “blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” (Dan. 4:34-35, 37)
There is no question there as to who got the final praise and glory.
I could give more examples of how God put His glory on display in the book of Daniel, but I think you get the idea.
And just think: He works in the same way today. Not necessarily doing such bold things as turning someone into a wild man or stopping the mouths of ravenous lion, but He does continue to act so that He gets the glory and praise in the circumstances of our lives!
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