We have a copy of God's Word with you. I encourage you to turn in it to Daniel chapter 2. Daniel chapter 2. Here we read of a dream. A dream that is the occasion for the Lord to reveal Himself even to foreign leaders, but also to His own covenant people through His appointed servant Daniel. Daniel chapter 2, if you give heed now to the word of the Lord as it's read before you this evening. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king, and the king said to them, I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the word from me is firm. If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered a second time and said, let the king tell his servant the dream. and we will show its interpretation. The king answered and said, I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore, tell me the dream. and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered the king and said, there is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. Because of this, the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out and the wise men who were about to be killed, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence. and discretion to Ariok, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Ariok, the king's captain, why is the decree to the king so urgent? Then Ariok made the matter known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter. Therefore Daniel went into Ariok, 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. Bring me in before the king and I will show the king the interpretation. Then Ariok brought Daniel before the king in haste and said to him, I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, are you able to make known to me the dream that I have and its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said, no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in your bed are these. To you, O King, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this. And he who reveals mysteries may known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living. but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. You saw, O king, and behold a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 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. And 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. This was the dream, now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all, you are the head of gold. Another kingdom. Inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over all the earth. 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. 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. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 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. 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. 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, and 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. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering, an incense be brought up to him. 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. And 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. 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. May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his holy word. You may be seated. Let us look to the Lord in prayer. Our great Heavenly Father, we pray that as we have read your word, that you would give to us understanding. Lord, even as you revealed your ways so long ago to Daniel, your servant, we pray that you would also open our eyes and that you would reveal yourself even through your written word, that by your spirit, you would show us even your own self, your glory. Lord, that Christ would be glorified in our midst here as the preeminent revelation of You, our Father. We ask that You would be with us even as we hear Your Word preached, that You would bless us in Your presence, in Jesus' name. Amen. Tonight we consider really the topic of dreams. Dreams. It's interesting. When you get into discussions with certain people, there are folks who have dreams and they remember their dreams very vividly. Particularly if they eat something spicy the night before, dinner before, they might remember their dreams very well. Others don't remember their dreams at all. They go through life not knowing what other people are talking about. We know from God's Word that dreams were often a way that he revealed himself and his ways through these things. We also know that in these last days, as the author of Hebrews reminds us and tells us, in these last days he's revealed himself preeminently through his son. We do not expect the Lord to continue to reveal himself through dreams or visions, but through his written word which has been given to us But as we look at the word of God, we see a number of examples of God revealing himself through this media of dreams. Two come to mind here in Daniel chapter two is a significant one, but also there is the narrative of Joseph. And in fact, there are many parallels between Daniel chapter two and that narrative of Joseph in Egypt. The Lord made known to a pagan leader, the Lord's own plans for the future. But there was a need for interpretation. And the pagan magicians, those that were in the court of the king, the leader, they were not able to give the interpretation. But the one that did give that interpretation was elevated to leadership. That's what we find both there with Joseph, but also here with Daniel. But what's significant is that in both of these narratives, it's not the human figure. It's not Joseph. It's not Daniel who receives all of the credit. No, in both of these accounts, it is the Lord God who is the revealer of these dreams. He is the one who gives the interpretation to his servants. It is the Lord, the giver of the dream, as well as the one who gives its interpretation This is, of course, as we will see, because of who God is. Now, as you can tell, this chapter, it's a loaded chapter. It's long, it's intricate, it's full of strange images, particularly the content of the dream. We won't have time this evening to cover the actual content of the dream. It's easy to be overwhelmed, but there is a very clear, I believe, a very clear main point of the whole chapter. And that's what we're going to focus on this evening. And that is this, that the Lord God Almighty, He sovereignly ordains and graciously reveals His ways and works. That the Lord God Almighty, He sovereignly ordains and then graciously reveals His ways and works. That's what I take to be the main point of the chapter. all through this narrative of the dream, that the dream is what serves to reveal who God is, what he has ordained. And we're going to focus again on that this evening. He ordains and graciously reveals, and perhaps another time we can look at the content of the dream, that metal colossus, the kingdoms of earth and of heaven. Well, we're going to consider this text under two headings this evening. One is going to deal with the failure of the false gods. There's a contrast that's taking place. The false gods, the magicians, they are utterly unable to know or to reveal these great mysteries. And then the other, the glory of the true God. That's a repeating theme throughout The Book of Daniel, it's a repeating theme throughout this chapter. Daniel speaks of the Lord God twice, at least in this way. The pagans are forced to declare the same. Even Nebuchadnezzar himself is forced to recognize the glory and the being of the one true God. And so first this evening, the failure of false gods. I don't know if you've ever had this question. I know some of you enjoy reading history, even ancient history, but have you ever wondered what is it like to live in a pagan land? What would it have been like to live in ancient Babylon with pagan culture, pagan gods? What fruit does that bring? What would the life of the average citizen been like or even to be in the court of the king? As one pastor says, verses 1 to 13 depict Babylon as a place of fear, helplessness, and brutality. What is it like to live in the pagan land, a land of false gods? Well, first it births fear. That's what we see in verses 1 to 3. Nebuchadnezzar has this dream and he is troubled. His sleep leaves him. Verse three, I had a dream and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. Well kids, I wonder if any of you have ever had bad dreams? Ever had a bad dream and you wake up and you're scared? What do your parents usually say to you in order to comfort you? It's okay, sweetie, it's only a dream. It's only a dream, just go back to bed, go back to sleep, everything will be okay. But here Nebuchadnezzar, the great, powerful king, he has a dream and he's greatly troubled. Now it's not clear from the text, does Nebuchadnezzar somehow know that this dream is different than a normal dream? Does he know that somehow things are being revealed to him? Does he have some inkling of what is taking place, that it's a revelation? Or is he just scared? In any case, we see the most powerful man on earth at this time is afraid. Afraid because of a dream that he has had. Breeds fear, but also we see in the text that living in a pagan land breeds brutality. How does the king respond? He immediately treats, threats the wise men. He demands that they reveal the interpretation or else, and he does this multiple times. He threatened them. He says he's going to tear them limb from limb. Their houses will be laid in ruins if they're not able to give to him the dream and its interpretation. Of course, they declare they're not able to, and so that makes him more angry. And so he commands that they all be destroyed. That they will die because they are unable to do the impossible. He's going to purge the whole lot of them. Again, this is a task that everybody's recognizing they're not able to do. How can you tell somebody else what their dream was? And yet it's a brutal kingdom. Torture and death are the alternative Life certainly could be cushy there if you were in the court, but also that could change in a moment if you displeased the king. You could be killed instantly. Therefore, it's not surprising, thirdly, that it brings despair. To live in the midst of a pagan land, it brings despair. We see that despair in the life of Nebuchadnezzar himself. The wise men, they ask for the dream, but he tells them they have to tell the interpretation and the dream. He wants to know now. He accuses them of stalling. He accuses them of conspiring against him in verse nine, that they've agreed to speak lying and corrupt words. He's desperate. He's despairing. He needs to know. We see the despair on the part of the wise men. They're pleading for their lives. They need to know the dream so that they can make up an interpretation. They complain rightly that no king has ever had such a request before. There is this inability. The questions cannot be answered due to the weakness of their gods. They're helpless. They're despairing. The wise men, the magicians, the Chaldeans, the astrologers are unable We answer these questions. They are helpless and they are desperate. Verses 1 to 13, it gives you a glimpse of Babylon behind the glitz and the glamour. And what we find there is the complete inadequacy of the pagan gods. Not only do we see it, but in fact, it's what's declared. It's on the lips of its leaders in verses 10 to 11. The Chaldeans, they answered the king, there's not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand. In fact, in verse 11, the thing that the king asked is difficult and no one can show it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. whether they're somehow making a right profession of a God they don't actually know or worship, the one true God, or whether they're saying their gods might know it, but they're inaccessible. They live in the heavens. We can't access them. They're declaring that by their own dark arts, real or pretended, it's impossible. But also the inadequacy of these pagan gods is declared on the lips of the true prophet in verses 27 to 28. Daniel declares, no wise men, no enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. Why does the biblical author, why does Daniel want you to hear these things. Why are these things recorded in God's word? Why were they revealed to the people of Israel as they were in captivity? Well, again, this is a confession of the failure of paganism. Just pause here and consider the condition of those who live under false gods. You can think of those throughout ancient history, but we can think of those lands even today that do not have the gospel. How do they live? It is a life of dread, a life of fear for those who serve pagan deities and kings. There's a helplessness here. Like God is revealing to his people, his people who are in captivity to this king of Babylon. revealing to them and to Nebuchadnezzar himself that, yes, you are in captivity, but do not fear. The king and the gods of this kingdom are nothing compared to the one true God. Life apart from God is more like death. Fear, helplessness, brutality, depravity, compare that to those who have God as their God. Keep all of these things in mind as I read just a few verses from Deuteronomy 4. Deuteronomy 4, the Lord through Moses encourages his people. He says, See, I have taught you statutes and rules as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them. For that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that has a God? so near to it as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call upon him. And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous as this law that I have set before you today? Only take care and keep your soul diligently lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life. This revelation from God is what the people of Israel possessed before they forfeited it by their disregard for God. But God is still God, even in the land of Babylon. Again, there's a failure of pagan gods. It births fear. It breeds brutality. It brings despair. But now the contrast. We see in this chapter the glory of the true God. The glory of the true God. Three times this is declared in the text. We see that the glory of the true God is professed before men, verses 27 through 28. We see in the narrative that Daniel is brought to the king. He's told Arioch he can give him the dream and its interpretation after he prays. We'll see more of that in a moment. And the Lord reveals to him the dream, its interpretation. After he praises God, he goes to the king. What does Daniel declare? Unlike Ariok, who tries to take some credit for finding Daniel, who can give the interpretation, what does Daniel declare? Verse 27. He says, no wise men, enchanters, magicians, astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. He takes no credit for himself. And it's God who has revealed these things. And he is here again echoing Joseph in Genesis. God and God alone, not human wisdom, not the wise men of the earth can interpret such things. No, God, the true God, the revealer of mysteries, he is the one who gives the dream and its interpretation. Daniel declares again in verse 45, towards the end of the narrative, a great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, its interpretation is sure. The glory of the true God is also pronounced even on the lips of pagan kings. Not only his servants like Daniel, but even Nebuchadnezzar himself is forced to recognize the greatness of God, in verse 47, truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, a revealer of mysteries for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Nebuchadnezzar, after hearing his own dream, said to him and its interpretation, these are the words, the profession, again, of this pagan king, an idolatrous king. Nebuchadnezzar, though extolling the one true God, he's still confused at best in his religion. You notice he offers incense to Daniel. There's some confusion, but yet his words are true. He declares God to be God, the Lord of kings, the revealer of mysteries. That only God is able to know the future. He alone is the one who determines the future. Therefore, he alone can reveal the mysteries of history. We see also the glory of the true God is praised and thankful prayer. This is found in verses 20 to 23. And truly, I believe this is the best for last. And as you look at this chapter, it's lengthy. And again, it repeats itself some. It goes in and out. It's long. But the center of the chapter, I believe, is verses 20 to 23, that this is what we are to focus on. Yes, the content of the dream, which again, we can't get into this evening, that is significant. But that's something that's repeated. elsewhere in the book of Daniel. But the center of this chapter is this prayer of praise that Daniel offers to the Lord, for he's the one who gives the dream and its interpretation. This is the center of the chapter, the main point, the thing truly that I hope that you will take home with you this evening. This is Daniel's exclamation of who God is. His praise is the theological center of the chapter, holding priority even over the dream itself. And he praises the Lord. What does he say? Look with me again in verse 20. He says, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever. to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us. The kings matter. What do we find here? We find really what theologians could expand into a whole treatise. The attributes of God are in these verses. We find that God is eternal. His name is forever and ever. He's wise. And wise in a way that is unique to him. He's omnipotent. He is full of power. He knows all things, but that's conjoined with his power. He is the one, as we put these together, he plans all things, he ordains all things, he accomplishes all things according to his holy will. How else could he reveal future events if he was not the one who sovereignly ordained those things. He's omniscient. He knows what is in the darkness. You see who God is in this prayer of Daniel, but also what God does. He shows his power by establishing epics and eras. You see there, he's the one who sets up kings and removes them. God in his sovereignty fixes periods of time for nations and kings to dominate. But the people of God who were in exile because of their unrepentant sin, their departure from God, those believing ones, those like Daniel and his friends, the temptation for them would be what? To despair. You go back to chapter one of Daniel and And you see how the people of God were conquered. But even there, God is comforting his people. This is part of his will, his own discipline for his people. But he is the one who's still in charge. It's not as if God had been defeated by other gods. No, this is God using even these tools, like Nebuchadnezzar, for his own purposes and his own glory. And God shows his own wisdom and knowledge by giving people wisdom and knowledge, revealing to them his purposes and his plans. He demonstrates his omniscience by revealing the unfathomable and hidden truths of providence. This brings us to the revelation of God. This verb, one way or another, is used over 30 times in the chapter. And so the keynote is Daniel's testimony in verse 28. There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, has made known to the King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. That God alone reveals secrets and gives wisdom. That echoes a theme throughout the prophets. That God is the revealer of mysteries. There's a God who knows and orders the course of all events. This is not a brilliant insight of any mere man, but of God himself revealing his purposes. Of course, God doesn't reveal all things, does he? There are things that are, as in the book of Deuteronomy, the hidden secret things, those belong to the Lord, but the things he has given belong to us and to our children. There are things that God has not revealed. He reveals what we need to have. And yet here, Daniel praises God because he assures us that even what God doesn't tell us, he still knows. He still is sovereign. He still is all-knowing. That enables the people of God to go into the unknown, the future, with a confidence. We might not know, but God knows. Dear friends, we've seen this contrast between the failure of pagan gods. They're unable to interpret or give dreams. To live in a pagan land, it breeds fear, brutality, despair, And this has been contrasted with the one true and living God, the God who is eternal, the one who is wise, the one who is all powerful, the one who reveals mysteries, the one who reveals himself and his works. How then do we respond to God's word? Well, first we must remember the futility of paganism, the futility Remember that contrast. To live a life apart from God is a life of fear, a life of ignorance, contrasted with living a life with God who reveals, discloses what is coming both now and even in the future. We have a God who knows all things. and who has given to us a revelation of himself that is necessary and sufficient for salvation and godliness. He does not leave his people in the dark of how we are to serve him. He tells us what is pleasing to him. He tells us of his one and only son who is the way of salvation. He tells us even of the work of his spirit at work in our hearts even now. And He's even chosen to reveal future realities to us. The content of that dream, as you are, I'm sure, aware, that great stone is, in fact, the coming of the kingdom of God's own Son. That that kingdom would come and it would put to shame all of the earthly kingdoms. You would have Babylon, then you would have the Greeks, the Persians, you would have Rome, and then there would come a kingdom that would never end. And that king, as you see in Daniel chapter 7, there would be one like a son of man who would come and would receive all glory. This was revealed hundreds and hundreds of years before Christ was born. And part of what we find in Daniel is if that's true, If those promises of God so long ago came to be, well then, what we read in our New Testament, those promises that Christ gives, that he will come again, that he will consummate his kingdom, that he will judge all of the earth, that our bodies will be raised up at his return. Well, if God has proven himself to be trustworthy because of who he is, Well, then we can cling to all of God's promises. That the Lord reveals His character. That God always keeps His word. The coming of His Son to make atonement for sin. These things are not just bare history lessons to ace some sort of test in advance. But these are predictive prophecies of the coming of Christ who would bring redemption to His people. Notice again, the dream is certain, it's interpretation reliable. So dear friends, we can have confidence in all of God's word. All of the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ. That where Daniel, in his time, looking forward, for us, predominantly are speaking of things in the past, we look at other passages, still future promises. And have a great confidence that God does not change. God is still sovereign. He is still the ordainer of all things. He's perfectly working out his holy will by his divine providence. And God as our great God, the revealer of mysteries, all he has promised will come to be. Thirdly, not only can we have confidence in the promises of God, but we ought to respond to such things with heartfelt praise. Even as Daniel did. Even as Daniel did. Verse 23, to you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise. I give thanks and praise. This is the proper human response to God for who He is, for His revelation to us, for His blessings. The narrative is pushing us to praise. Daniel takes the time and the Holy Spirit, inspiring him, writes out the prayer. He could have said in just one verse, and Daniel prayed a prayer of thanksgiving. But instead, we have the content of that prayer, a prayer of praise and adoration for God. We ought not to rush. When God answers a prayer, We ought not to rush to the solution, the next thing on the list, but take the time to give thanks and praise to God for answering. We ought to respond with heartfelt praise, fourthly and finally, let us commit ourselves to prayer. It's another notable part of this passage And Daniel, and we see this in other places in Daniel, even when his life is on the line, prayer is a central component of the piety of Daniel. And he stops so often and he prays. And he calls other people to come and to pray with him. That we also ought to be a people of prayer, both individually, privately, but also corporately. He prays with his friends, and we see this a number of times, and he prays for wisdom. He prays for wisdom, knowing that God gives generously to those who ask for wisdom, as James tells us. But commit yourself to prayer privately, as well as your congregation's prayer meetings on a weekly basis, that prayer is something that God delights to answer. He is a God who reveals Himself to His people. But as we hear these things, let us again remember that the Lord God Almighty, He sovereignly ordains as well as graciously reveals His ways and works. Let us pray. Our great Heavenly Father, we do pray that you would reveal yourself to us afresh, even through your written word, that we would have a more clear grasp of your son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and his kingdom that has come and has been spread all across the globe. that has endured from generation to generation. The kingdoms of men and of the earth have risen up and have been torn down, but the kingdom of the beloved Son endures and will endure. But oh Lord God, in your wisdom and in your kindness, you have revealed yourself to your people, that you have given to us not merely a dream, not merely several dreams, not merely a vision, but You have given to us Your perfect, infallible Word. And You have also given to us Your Spirit, who alone is able to reveal Yourself to us. Father, we pray that as we have meditated upon your word this evening as we have considered how you revealed yourself to your servant Daniel so long ago. And as you have recorded that for us in your written word, we pray that we would grow in our love and adoration for you also now. That Christ would be glorified in our midst as we behold him by faith. Father, we pray that you would bless us having sat under your word, in Jesus' name, amen.