Daniel: Dust to Glory with R.C. Sproul

SPROUL: We've noticed that the question that was facing those Jews who had been deported into Babylon was the question: How do we sing the Lord's song in a strange and foreign land? Now what they were experiencing at this point in history had been experienced much early in their history in the case of one man who had been exiled and deported to a foreign country, but in his case he was alone. He didn't have the communion of saints to support him in his captivity. And I'm thinking, of course, of the life of Joseph, in the Old Testament, when he had been sent into the land of Egypt, ended up in jail for many, many years; and the thing that was able to catapult him from a position of powerlessness in exile to being elevated to the realm of the prime minister of the land of Egypt was his God-given gift of the interpreting of dreams. You remember that that which liberated Joseph from his condition was the occasion when Pharaoh had a dream that disturbed him, and he couldn't understand it; and all of his magicians and counselors failed to give this interpretation until Daniel was called for -- excuse me, until Joseph was called for, and Joseph unraveled

the mystery for him. Now the same sort of event takes place early on in the book of Daniel. The conquering king of the Babylonians was Nebuchadnezzar, and Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that disturbed him and bothered him, and he wanted to know what it meant, but he didn't tell the contents to those who were assembled among his court to give their interpretation, and no one was able to unveil the secret of this dream. And we read in the book of the prophet Daniel, in the second chapter of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar and of Daniel's explanation of it. In verse twenty-four of chapter two we read this: "Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: 'Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.' And so Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said, 'I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.'

So the king asked Daniel, whom he called Belteshazzar, 'Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?' And Daniel answered and said, 'The secret that the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.'" And then he proceeds to tell him the content of the dream. In verse thirty-one he said, "You, O king, were watching; and behold a great image! And this great image whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. The image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay." Here's where we get the image of feet of clay. "And you watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors," and so on. Now in verse thirty-six, "This is the dream. Now we will tell you the interpretation of it. You are, O King, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength and glory; for wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hands, and has made you ruler over them -- you are this head of gold. But after you shall rise another kingdom that is inferior to yours; and then another, and then a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the earth. And then a fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others." And he goes on to explain the fore coming of four distinctive kingdoms.

Now there's been much controversy and debate in identifying exactly the four kingdoms that are in view here. I favor the position that is held by many scholars that the four kingdoms -- the first one is clear. It is the kingdom of Babylon. And second, the kingdom of Babylon is followed by what is called the Medo-Persian kingdom as the Persians conquered the Babylonians. And the third kingdom that follows after the Persian kingdom in ancient civilization was the Greek conquest of the ancient world, which was then in turn followed by the Roman Empire. Now as I say, there are some variations of this theme that others have concocted, but for the most part this seems to be what these four kingdoms represent. And so Babylon's king, Nebuchadnezzar, is given this dream by which it is revealed to him that his kingdom is going to fall, and it's going to be followed up by lesser kingdoms that will all be controlled by the providence of God to bring about His future purposes.

Now we know that soon after the interpretation of this dream, Daniel, like Joseph before him, was promoted to a position of authority in the kingdom, along with some of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And we're all familiar, I think with that story, how that after that Nebuchadnezzar made this magnificent golden image of himself and required that the people show their obeisance to him by bowing down before the king. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego could not do that, because we remember that one of the main reasons why the judgment of this exile came upon the people was because the people had fallen into the practice of idolatry. They had given worship to other gods and to pagan images. And even though they're in exile and they're surrounded by a culture that does not share their faith, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will not compromise. And if there's a message here for us today it's in the devotion and the loyalty of these men to the living God.

And so certain of the Babylonians came and made accusations against the Jews. They flattered Nebuchadnezzar. They said, 'O king, live forever. O King, you have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; and whoever does not fall down shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. But there are certain Jews among you whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon -- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These men, O king, have not paid due regard to you." Can you see what's going on here? Some of the Babylonians are fiercely jealous that these foreigners have been exalted to positions of esteem and authority in the kingdom, and they're trying to be scrupulous -- that these envious people come and say, "Hey king, you made a decree that anybody who refused to bow down to that golden image was to be cast into the burning fiery furnace and there are three of these foreigners that are not doing it."

"Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them. 'Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time you hear the horn, flute, harp, and so on, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. And who is the God who will deliver you from my hands?'" I want you to remember that. In his anger and fury and rage, Nebuchadnezzar said, "I am going to put you in that furnace, and who is the God who could possibly deliver you from it?" Keep that stored in your mind for what happens a couple of chapters later to Nebuchadnezzar himself.

"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, 'O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king that we do not serve your gods, nor do we worship the gold image which you have set up." This is one of the most heroic responses in all of redemptive history. The first thing these men say to the king is, they said, "King, our God will deliver us from your fiery furnace, but if He doesn't, we're still not going to bow down to your image or violate the terms of our covenant with God. If God rescues us, fine, but we're not fair-weather fans of God.

We are prepared to lay down our lives to be faithful to Him." Well, that didn't exactly please Nebuchadnezzar, for we read that "Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army, to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and cast them into the burning fire. Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. And therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; and these three fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." So they heated the oven so hot that the heat that emanated from it killed the guards that had tied and bound Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and thrown them into this devouring flame.

Verse twenty-four, "And then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselor, 'Did we not cast three men, bound, into the midst of the fire?' And they answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' 'Look,' he answered, 'I see four men, loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God.'" I have to think that this is an Old Testament christophany. This is a preincarnation appearance of the second person of the trinity, who came, not to the cross, but to the furnace, who stood in the crucible with His faithful people and rescued them from the wrath of this king.

"Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire and the satraps, administrators, governors and the king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected. Not even the smell of fire was upon them. And Nebuchadnezzar spoke saying, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. And they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies that they should not serve nor worship any God except their own. Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.'" Remember what he said earlier? "Who is this God that you think can deliver you?" And even the king becomes aware of the character of God.

Again Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, and again Daniel is called upon to interpret it, and it's his interpretation of judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar where the reading of the interpretation is found in chapter four, verse thirty-one, "While the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven: 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And they shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.'" This is a contest of kings. Just as we saw earlier in the contest between Moses and God and the power of Egypt in Pharaoh; now God is saying to the most powerful king of the time, "We will see who has the power. The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and He gives it to whomever He chooses. And that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with

the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagle's feathers and his nails like birds' claws." Does that remind you of anybody? Howard Hughes in the dementia of his latter years with fingernails several inches long; one of the most powerful men in the world reduced to living like an animal. And so Nebuchadnezzar is humiliated in the extreme, but, "'At the end of time,' he said, 'I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have you done?" I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.'" When Nebuchadnezzar died, the kingdom was transferred and decades passed, and the Jews were still under the oppression of the Babylonians -- and the Jews were still under the oppression of the Babylonians; and then one of the most fascinating stories is found in the fifth

chapter of Daniel. The story of a later king whose name is Belshazzar, and we read in chapter five, "Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. And while he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. And they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the house of God, which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone." Do you see what's happening here? Belshazzar is filled with arrogance and pride, and he decides to have this mighty feast. He is the king of Babylon, and you have to understand that the city of Babylon, of all the cities of antiquity was clearly the most impregnable fortress of that time. Its walls were so thick and so high it had no apparent points of vulnerability.

And according to the secular historians, even while this feast is going on, the armies of the Persians had marched into Babylon and were contemplating a way to lay siege to the city. Didn't bother Belshazzar because he knew there was nothing the Persians could do to defeat them. They had enough provisions in this huge city to last for years, and they could simply outwait the armies of the Persians; and as I said, the walls were impregnable. So he decides to have a feast, and he has all his dukes and duchesses and lords and princes and gets thousands to get together for this feast. And while this feast goes on and they're drinking the finest wine, he orders that the booty from the destruction of Jerusalem, the sacred vessels of Almighty God be used in this orgiastic celebration. And he takes the holy vessels of God, fills them with the finest wine so they can toast the pagan idols, the gods of gold and of silver. And while he's in the midst of this arrogant celebration, suddenly he turns, and he sees what nobody else in the room is facing, he sees a hand that seems to be detached, a hand writing on the wall. Strange words appear before him, and listen to the account of what happens.

He said, "The same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. And then the king's countenance changed. His thoughts troubled him so that the joints of his hips were loosened, and his knees knocked against each other." I mean here's this powerful king falling apart. His knees are knocking together. He doesn't know what it means, and he calls for his soothsayers, again, to interpret it, and they can't. The words say, "Mene, mene tekel upharsin." And again, finally, it is Daniel who is brought in to interpret the saying, and he says to him, "The meaning of these words is clear: God has numbered your kingdom and finished it; you have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; and your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and to the Persians."

And then we read at the end of the chapter, "And on that night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain." We don't know how it happened. We don't know how the Persians conquered Babylon, but the secular historians of the period say that there was an underground stream that went under the wall of Babylon that supplied the water to the city, and the Persian commander understood that and dammed up the river upstream so that as soon as the water stopped flowing, this big, huge viaduct under the wall became passable. And while the feast was going on that night, the Persian army walked, unimpeded, under the walls of Babylon and surprised the king and his nobles while they were in a drunken stupor and conquered them.

This is the story of the providence of God, who bestows kingdoms and takes them away, raises kings up, brings kings down, and Daniel is saying that the future of the people of God is not in the hands of the Babylonians, but in the hands of God.