The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Daniel 2:20-22,
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him."
Here is Daniel's response to the revelation God gave him regarding the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had. He dreamed of a statue and was perplexed with its meaning. He ordered all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he dreamed and the meaning of it. When they could not, he ordered their execution. Daniel and his friends were considered among that group and so prayed to God for the revelation of the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of a large statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron with clay, from top to bottom. The Lord revealed to Daniel, who revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, that the portions of the statue with the differing materials were the present Bablylonian world power and world powers to come: the Medo-Persian empire, the Greek empire, the Roman, and what follows Roman till the Lord returns. The dream was a perfect foretelling of the future periods of mankind to come.
The dream ended with God setting up a kingdom that will endure forever and will crush all the others. "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces." Daniel 2:44-45. I am reminded of Paul's quote of Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 in Romans 9:29, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."
Daniel's worship as quoted above in 2:20-22 is breath-taking in its broad and sweeping understanding of the things of God. It acknowledges that God is the One who, "made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." Acts 17:26. He destroys nations and raises others up. It is God who changes times and seasons. It is God who determines world history!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him."
Here is Daniel's response to the revelation God gave him regarding the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had. He dreamed of a statue and was perplexed with its meaning. He ordered all the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he dreamed and the meaning of it. When they could not, he ordered their execution. Daniel and his friends were considered among that group and so prayed to God for the revelation of the dream.
Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of a large statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron with clay, from top to bottom. The Lord revealed to Daniel, who revealed to Nebuchadnezzar, that the portions of the statue with the differing materials were the present Bablylonian world power and world powers to come: the Medo-Persian empire, the Greek empire, the Roman, and what follows Roman till the Lord returns. The dream was a perfect foretelling of the future periods of mankind to come.
The dream ended with God setting up a kingdom that will endure forever and will crush all the others. "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces." Daniel 2:44-45. I am reminded of Paul's quote of Isaiah 8:14 and 28:16 in Romans 9:29, "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."
Daniel's worship as quoted above in 2:20-22 is breath-taking in its broad and sweeping understanding of the things of God. It acknowledges that God is the One who, "made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands." Acts 17:26. He destroys nations and raises others up. It is God who changes times and seasons. It is God who determines world history!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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