God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble

Date 18 11 01 Text Daniel 4 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

Daniel 4 is a letter, an open letter from King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: ie the people of his great empire. It begins May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. And that’s what he does. He tells the story of his greatness and power, of his pomp and pride and of how he was warned not to go on in arrogance and self-confidence. Then how, refusing to listen, he came under God’s judgement and yet also knew God’s mercy as he was restored gy him to his former glory. There is some debate about whether Nebuchadnezzar became a true believer. Of that we cannot be certain but he was certainly not the man at the end of his reign that he was at the beginning. However deep or shallow his conversion was, he was certainly changed and that change pictures the sort of change that needs to come in our lives so that we are humbled before God and turn from pride and begin to honour God as we should.

1. Realise today what it took a proud man a long time to discover

Nebuchadnezzar begins his letter by declaring the greatness of Almighty God. This is something that we all need to accept.

1. Realise that God does great things. Verse 3 How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! All the way through the Bible we read of the wonderful things that God has done and is going to do. He is a great God of wonders whose ways are all ‘matchless godlike and divine’. This chapter gives another amazing example of this.

2. Realise that God rules forever. Nebuchadnezzar adds His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. This was the lesson of the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had had back in Chapter 2. The great statue had been struck down by a small rock not cut with human hands. The rock destroyed the statue which stands for the kingdoms of this world and replaced it by growing into a mountain that fills the earth. The latter stands for the kingdom of God.

Do you realise these things? You ought to, but sadly, like Nebuchadnezzar before his amazing turn around you may have difficulty in believing it is so. You are so full of yourself that the idea of bowing down before God is alien to you. Learn from Nebuchadnezzar and humble yourself now, before it is too late.

2. Learn from the way that this proud man discovered these truths

1. Are you contented and prosperous? Do not presume on it.

In verse 4 Nebuchadnezzar sets the scene for us. He tells us how before the events of this chapter all occurred I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. That is how he describes his position:

Contented – At rest, at ease. ‘Without a care in the world’ we might say.

Prosperous – Successful, flourishing. ‘Everything just right’.

Is that you? Are things just right? Well, do not presume that it will be like that forever. That was Nebuchadnezzar’s mistake. He presumed that it would go on like that, but it didn’t.

2. Listen to God’s providential warnings against pride.

The first inkling that Nebuchadnezzar had that there was any likelihood of things changing was one night when, he says, (5) I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. Perhaps that has happened to you – a sense of uneasiness has come on you. Perhaps it was due to a dream or may be you heard about someone else running into trouble. May be you just got to thinking ‘I could lose all this in a moment.’ God has various ways of making us uneasy. We don’t always understand quite what is going on. Nebuchadnezzar certainly didn’t understand what this dream was about nor did his magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.

The dream is described in verses 10-17. There are three parts to it.

1 The tall tree that Nebuchadnezzar sees (10-12). The King describes how he saw a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Also Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the beasts of the field found shelter, and the birds of the air lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. So here is a massive tree, resplendent and a source of blessing to many.

2 A message of doom is declared against it (13-16). Next the King sees a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The messenger calls in a loud voice: Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. He adds But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. Then the metaphor is dropped and the angel says Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.

3 The reason why this announcement has been made (17). The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.

Nebuchadnezzar professed not to understand what the dream meant. We can only say, therefore, that pride blinds men to their situation. That final declaration of God’s power to take kingdoms and give kingdoms as he pleases should have alerted the King to what was being taught but in his blindness he simply could not see it. Are you blinded by pride? Do you simply shake off those fears you have? Are you trying to ignore the clear warnings that God is giving you of a fall ahead? If you were told that just up ahead there was a gang singling people out and hitting them down with hammers, would you just go ahead regardless? Surely that would be madness. I’m saying to you ‘Sit up’, ‘Take notice’, ‘Don’t go blithely on’.

3. Listen to God’s messengers and the warnings they give

Then in verse 8 we read that Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. The note in brackets - He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him - suggests that even after all this Nebuchadnezzar had a great deal to learn and unlearn. He told Daniel his problem but he knew that the spirit of the holy gods was in him and no mystery was too difficult for him, and so he told him the dream.

1 What it is like to declare the wrath of God. Verse 19 is very interesting it reveals to us that declaring the Word of God to sinners is no picnic. It is a perplexing and horrifying thing. Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. The king tried to reassure him Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you. But Daniel answers My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! I would say something similar this morning. How I wish what I had to say, in many ways, didn’t apply to any of you. If only it was for someone else. But it isn’t - it’s for you! Do believe me and do act on what I say.

2 God’s message to you today – repent or suffer. My message is the same as Daniel’s or very similar certainly.

• A warning of impending doom.
• How you are now. The tree in the story began (20, 21) large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air – now this particularly appropriate for Nebuchadnezzar but in many ways that may be how it is for you today. Things could hardly be better. Like Nebuchadnezzar in some ways You have become great and strong; it may not be that your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, or that your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth but all is well, you feel. God has been very good to you.
• What will happen next if you do not repent. God has been good to you and he expects you to acknowledge it. Next there is this messenger from heaven who says Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him. It might be being pronounced even now as we speak. Daniel spells out plainly what this means for the King (24, 25) This is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. Now, of course, I don’t have an insight into your future of the sort that Daniel had here. I don’t know if you will be struck down with some illness or some other disaster in the next 12 months. Nor do you. It is certainly possible though and without a doubt no-one here will go on forever. We will be struck down one by one or altogether by diseases and disasters. And even before the day of death there will no doubt be troubles enough for all of us. Do take this seriously. All may be well now but it cannot last indefinitely.
• A conditional word of hope. Don’t miss verse 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. It is not automatic. It depends on an acknowledgement of God’s sovereign rule. Often God humbles a man for this very reason.
• A call to repent. Especially note verse 27. Daniel says earnestly Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue. Daniel doesn’t say ‘You’re doomed there’s nothing you can do.’ That sort of fatalism is never found in the Bible. It speaks often enough of God’s sovereignty – yes he is control but there is no idea of fate, of karma or kismet. The idea of God as it were ‘changing his mind’ is always before us. He has decided against Nebuchadnezzar but Daniel knows about God and so he says Renounce your sins now before it is too late. Renounce your wickedness. It may be that then your prosperity will continue. That’s what I would say to you this morning – Repent now while there is time. Don’t wait for some disaster. Don’t keep putting things off. Turn to the Lord.
• Do not make the mistake of being proud and refusing to listen. Don’t make the fatal mistake that Nebuchadnezzar made and put it off. It is clear that God did not act against the king immediately. For a whole 12 months nothing happened. This was surely God’s mercy yet the king, like so many others took no advantage of it. We don’t know exactly what happened – whether he forgot about the dream or whether he began to think there was nothing to it. He felt fine there seemed to be no problem. That is one of the problems with human nature - we forget so easily. Politicians rely on it. We get used to things. They say that people living next to waterfalls get so used to the sound that they are hardly aware of it. When Robin moves to Cranford he might find the planes keep him awake but not for long. People near Heathrow are used toit. How easy to make such a mistake. It would be so easy to go out of a meeting like this, even if you were very moved by it, and then to forget about it or to begin to think it doesn’t mean anything. Some of you have heard many messages like this – you’re used to it. Don’t be complacent. You may have good intentions but unless you actually do something about it what good will it be? 28-30 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty? And it was at that very moment God struck. Nebuchadnezzar had learned nothing it seems. He was as proud and self-confident as ever. It was as if there had been no warning. We know that he was a great builder (cf the hanging gardens), a great achiever but that was no reason to think he was invincible. We must not make the same mistake. We must repent now. We may have 12 months; we may have more; it may be less. It’s like when someone who has cancer asks how long have I got? The doctor may say six months but he cannot guarantee anything – it may be longer, it may be shorter. Cf Jesus’s parable of the fig tree where the gardener persuades the master to give the fruitless tree 12 more months.
• If you do God may strike you and humble you. 31-33 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. It seems that the king was struck with what is now called lycanthropy. This where the individual basically thinks he is an animal, although not completely losing all sense of self-identity. Many cases have been recorded of one form (boanthropy) where the sufferer believes he or she is a cow. Why would God let such a thing happen? As one writer puts it, God had knocked and knocked but Nebuchadnezzar had made no real response and so this time God knocks so hard that he knocks the door of its hinges. C S Lewis talked about suffering as God’s megaphone. Sometimes God shout, as it were. We will not listen to anything else.
• God is merciful - if you’ve been humbled he can lift you up. Don’t miss this word of encouragement. Verse 34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven, and my sanity was restored. There is a happy ending. By the grace of God this was not the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s story. God had mercy on him and restored him. What a word of hope this is. Event he most hopeless cases leave room for hope. God can humble and convert anyone. Yes, even you! I was talking to someone the other day about conversion and he said to me, as many do, ‘I have prayed. I have asked God to save me’ but it hasn’t happened. What should we say to such people? It’s difficult. It’s no good saying ‘You haven’t asked sincerely enough’. I usually try and say something like ‘Keep on asking because when you seek God with all your heart he will answer’. Perhaps I should say, ‘The problem is you’re not low enough yet.’ I remember when I was a teenager I agreed to bury some rubble in our back garden. Digging is hard work and I wasn’t used to it. More than once I thought I’d dug a hole deep enough. I think I even started burying the rubble at one point but it wasn’t deep enough. It was only after a lot of work that I had a hole deep enough to properly bury all that rubble. That perhaps is your problem – you’ve gone low, as low as you think you can but not low enough. You’re not at the top of the flats any more for sure – you’ve got down to street level. But you need to get down into the basement and then you need dig and dig some more. God says that he resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble and so we must humble ourselves and go as low as we can.

3. More of what a proud man discovered

Nebuchadnezzar ends his letter by sharing something of what he had discovered. How he praised God for his undeserved deliverance. Here he emphasises four things. It is by contemplating such truths that we will learn to be humble.

1. God rules forever

Then I praised the Most High; I honoured and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. The King saw his kingdom was temporal. It could not last forever. God’s kingdom goes on forever.

2. God is Almighty

35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No-one can hold back his hand or say to him: What have you done? Have you seen how powerful God is?

3. God is merciful

36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. That should give you hope.

4. God is just

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. That is the final note. God is not only merciful but just also. That is why we must all repent.

A Call to refuse to conform to the idol worshipping ways of this world

Date 11 11 01 Text Daniel 3 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We come this week to one of the most famous stories in the Bible – the story of Daniel’s three friends in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. It is a wonderful story of great faith and a miraculous escape. There are many stories of great martyrdoms in the Bible – think of the first, when Abel was killed by Cain because of his religion, or of Stephen, the first in the New Testament. There are many in church history too – think of the martyrs under Bloody Mary in the 16th Century and missionaries who died in China and the Congo and elsewhere in the 20th Century.

The Bible also contains examples of miraculous escapes such as when Peter was led out of prison at dead of night by an angel. In the Old Testament, the incident here and that of Daniel in the lions’ den are the most famous. Again, there are similar stories in subsequent church history such as the man in France who hid from his pursuers in an unused oven. No sooner had he closed the door than a spider wove a web over the entrance. When the soldiers came by they saw the web and guessed (wrongly) that it could not have been touched for some time.

Perhaps the most important verses in this chapter are 17, 18 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. In a sense, whether the Hebrew friends survived or not was immaterial, what really matters is their great example of faith and the revelation of Christ that they received. Let’s learn from this passage then.

1. Realise believer that the world wants you to conform to its idol worshipping ways

Here in verses 1-7 we have a straightforward even crass example of idol worship. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, 90 feet high and nine feet wide {27 by 2.7 metres}, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. Here we see how Nebuchadnezzar used various elements to make idol worship attractive:

• A magnificent structure – it was huge, it was made of gold and was no doubt a well-crafted piece too.
• A grand inauguration – he made sure the idol was dedicated on a specific day and invited the top brass of the empire to be present. He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. So the satraps, prefects, governors, etc and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.
• An attractive presentation - he used a herald and musicians to call on people to worship the idol. Then the herald loudly proclaimed, This is what you are commanded to do, O peoples, nations and men of every language: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
• A coercive decree – it was determined that anyone who failed to join in with this idol worship would suffer a harsh and severe penalty for their singularity. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.
• An influential example – of course, once the majority were won over, it was the easiest thing in the world simply to join in with the crowd and very difficult to stand aside. Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, etc and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshipped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Today an approach exactly like Nebuchadnezzar’s would probably not work in many places but the same elements are used again and again to promote the worship of various idols. You know that all manner of things can be made an idol of. Think today of the way sportsmen and musicians and various other celebrities are idolised. I can think of at least two cases where fans have got to the point of actually calling their heroes ‘God’ – ie Eric Cantona and Eric Clapton. The phrase ‘walks on water’ has become an accepted form of praise for the elite in this world. I remember an emotional teenage girl being interviewed at the time of the death of Princess Diana and saying with innocent honesty ‘She was my idol’. You can make a god of a sports or music hero; of the TV or your car; your job or your hobby; of fame or fortune; of science or technology; of a political party or your country; even of your family or your church or a Christian organisation. Most often it is magnificence and grandeur that lures us, the attractive nature of it, the numbers that it draws. Sometimes coercion is a factor too. Magnificent structures, plenty of money, big numbers, attractive presentation and lots of music are typical features. The worldly is given to idol worship and it wants as many involved as possible.

2. You must expect opposition if you resolve not to conform to its idol worshipping ways

Now if you are a Christian you cannot have anything to do with idolatry. With William Cowper you must daily pray

The dearest idol I have known, What e’er that idol be,

Help me to tear it from thy throne And worship only thee.

However, we must go into this with our eyes open. If we determine to be non-conformists, the world won’t like it. They profess to admire rebels and people who refuse to toe the line but you try it and you will see what they really think, just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did. Conformity, uniformity, compliance – they are the watchwords of the world. If we refuse to play ball it will be met with stiff opposition and strong resistance.

1. Expect denunciation for your non-conformity

In verses 8-12 we read that At this time some astrologers {Chaldeans} came forward and denounced the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever! You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, etc and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.

No doubt these enemies of the Jews were already jealous of Daniel and his friends and their success. Now they saw a chance to denounce them – or at least three of them. Why Daniel is not mentioned at all in this chapter we have no way of knowing. Perhaps he was away on business for the king or perhaps his high position in government had enabled him to escape this particular test. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego faced it, however, as Daniel would one day, and all of us who are believers can expect such things. If we are unwilling to toe the line we will be denounced on every side.

2. Expect pressure to get you to conform

When Nebuchadnezzar heard about this he was Furious with rage, he summoned the three friends who were brought before him. He said to them (14, 15) Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand? As far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned, they had no choice. Either conform and bow down to the idol I have made or refuse to conform and get ready to die. His utter contempt for the very idea that there was any choice comes out in the line Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand? In other words ‘All this stuff about a supreme God that I have heard from Daniel is all very well but if you don’t serve my idol I’m going to have you killed – and what will your god, however great he is, be able to do about that? This is again typical of the world’s attitude. ‘Yes, it is fine for you to believe what you want to believe. We won’t stand in your way. But you have to face reality and if you don’t join in with what we want you to do then there can be no hope for you.’ And so great pressure is put on Christians to conform to worldly ways. Dress like unbelievers, listen to the same sorts of music, enjoy the same entertainment, have the same attitudes towards life. If you refuse to conform then they will make sure that there is trouble for you in one shape or another. The trouble with some of us is that we want to avoid trouble. We want an easy life. We keep quiet about certain things when we shouldn’t. We refuse to make a fuss when we should. We compromise, we make concessions where we ought not to.

3. Nevertheless be determined not to conform to its idol worshipping ways

In verses 16-18 we have this wonderful reply to the king from Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It is a model of firmness without rudeness, confidence without presumption and resolution without animosity. It models for us the way that we ought to deal with such situations. Note

1. Do not attempt to defend yourself by pretending that you are not a non-conformist

O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. How quick we are to defend ourselves and often there is a temptation to deny the Lord for the sake of ease. We must be uncompromising.

2. Be resolutely confident in God but do not presume on him

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. We must never forget the power of God to rescue us from the most unpromising situations. What miraculous escapes God’s people have known over the years. However, we must not rely on this. Like these three, we must be determined that whether God grants us an immediate rescue or not we will, nevertheless, be devoted to him without compromise. Is that your resolution? It ought to be.

4. What to expect if you resolutely determine not to conform to its idol worshipping ways

Now it is easy to be brave in theory but out in the field it is a different matter and it is my duty to warn you that, on one hand, if you do stand resolute then you can expect harsh treatment and affliction.

1. If you refuse to conform expect harsh treatment

Verses 19-23 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude towards them changed. He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie them up and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took them up and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Now, of course, a fiery furnace is unlikely for us. Even being held by the Taliban or some equally wicked group is unlikely but if we are faithful there are bound to be times when we are harshly treated by the unbelieving. That is the reality we must face.

On the other hand

2. If you refuse to conform you can nevertheless expect God’s blessing even in affliction

The closing verses of the chapter record an amazing turn around. The blessings come in three stages. If we are true to the Lord we can expect such blessings.

1 Christ’s protection in trouble

In verses 24, 25 we read that shortly after the friends were put in the furnace Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? They replied, Certainly, O king. He said, Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods. This is one of those mysterious happenings in the Old Testament most often known as a theophany – an appearing of God incarnate before Messiah’s birth in Bethlehem. We can best understand these as early appearances of the Second Person of the Trinity. It is the Christ who was with these three. A later generation experienced the very physical presence of Christ in their crises (such as the storm on the lake). To this day we can know his presence too through the Holy Spirit.

2 Due deliverance from trouble

Next we read (26, 27) how Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here! So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, etc crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. It was a truly amazing deliverance, a miracle of high order. It was a rare thing then, perhaps even rarer today. Such deliverances are recorded for our encouragement. Sometimes deliverances do come before death. Yet even if we have to die that itself will mean release from suffering and entrance into Paradise. If we are faithful, we cannot lose.

3. Success in this world or in the one to come

Nebuchadnezzar was amazed. Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he said who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. How impressed he was. The world will sit up and notice when we begin to take our religion seriously. Nebuchadnezzar made a decree (29) Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way. This was a typically worldly approach but it meant that there was a measure of protection for believers in Babylon for a while. Finally, we are told (30) Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. We cannot guarantee success in this world for faithfulness although it is often rewarded even in this life. What ever happens it will be rewarded in the world to come.

Mysteries revealed concerning this world's powers and God's Kingdom

Date 04 11 01 Text Daniel 2:29-45 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

At the moment we are looking at the prophecy of Daniel. We’ve begun to look at Daniel 2 and I want us to look at it again this morning. You remember that Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, had had a dream and wanted to know its meaning. Knowing no doubt how wily his wise men could be he demanded that they tell him not only the meaning of his dream but what the dream itself was. Of course, they found themselves unable to do this and so a decree went out that all the wise men must die. This included Daniel and his three friends, the exiles from Israel. Finding out what had been decreed, Daniel pleaded for time and set to praying with his friends. In his mercy, God revealed the mystery to Daniel and he in turn was ushered into the King’s presence where he spoke to Nebuchadnezzar. What I want to do this morning is to consider the dream and the explanation of it revealed to Daniel, in answer to prayer.

1. Consider God the great revealer of mysteries

God is given many titles in Scripture. In verse 29 of Chapter 2 Daniel refers to him as the revealer of mysteries. There are many mysteries in this world, many things we don’t know, things that are hidden from us. Such a thought sometimes threatens to drive us to despair but fear not, there is such a one as the revealer of mysteries. The very fact that Nebuchadnezzar had this supernatural dream at all shows that God is one who reveals himself and the things that are hidden. He also sent Daniel the prophet to make the dream clear to Nebuchadnezzar and made sure it was recorded so that every time the story is read, as is happening again today, the truths it contains may be revealed again. Note that

1. God teaches simply

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was essentially a very simple one. There is hardly a child here who could not understand the basic outline of the story. Like all God’s revelation, what we have here is basically very simple indeed. Even the explanation of the meaning is not essentially difficult.

2. He explains what is unclear

Of course, left to ourselves we won’t understand anything of God’s revelation but he sends his prophets and by the work of his Spirit the truth is revealed to men’s hearts.

3. He reveals what we need to know about the future

Daniel says to Nebuchadnezzar (29) that the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. This is something that God alone can do. He alone can reveal what is going to happen in the future for he alone knows.

4. It is not a matter of human wisdom to understand what God reveals

We should add this here by way of warning and encouragement. Daniel stresses (30) As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

Here is a reason for giving thanks to God then. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow. We don’t know how this current war in Afghanistan will develop. We don’t know if there will be another horrific act of terrorism like that of September 11. We don’t know how things will develop as far as anthrax and germ warfare are concerned. We don’t know how near the end of the world is. However, God knows and he will not keep us in the dark about the things we need to know. He is the revealer of mysteries. If we look to him, we can know all we need to know.

2. Consider the dream given by God to Nebuchadnezzar

In verses 31-35 Daniel very clearly describes the dream that Nebuchadnezzar had. The dream can be divided into two parts.

Part 1. In the first part Nebuchadnezzar looked, Daniel tells the king, and there before you stood a large statue - an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. I’ve seen various representations of this statue or idol. The one that stands out for me was the first I saw as a boy in a Seventh Day Adventist book we had at home. Though we can’t be sure exactly what the statue looked like, we know at least three things in general and five things in particular about it.

1 In general we know that

• It was enormous – not just taller than a man then but reaching up into the sky, a huge great thing.
• It was dazzling. Most of it was made of precious metal and the metal glittered in the sunlight. It was bright. It was brilliant. It shone.
• It was awesome. There was something awe inspiring about this figure. It was a very impressive and imposing sight. What majesty, what splendour.

2 In particular

• (32) The head of the statue was made of pure gold, usually considered to be the most precious of metals.
• Its chest and arms were made of silver, the next most precious metal.
• Its belly and thighs were made of bronze ie a copper alloy, traditionally the third most precious metal. It combines strength and brilliance – ancient mirrors were usually made using copper.
• (33) Its legs (ie knees to ankles) of iron. Although not a precious metal, iron is renowned for its strength.
• We should also note that its feet were composed partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ‘To have feet of clay’ is used in English to mean having an inherent weakness.

So here is an amazing statue. Huge and dazzling, it is an amazing sight.

Part 2. Daniel continues by reminding Nebuchadnezzar of what happened to this statue in his dream. Verse 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. Nothing is stated about from where this rock was cut or its exact size. The shapely statue was obviously manmade, by a very skilled man, but the rock is distinctly not made by human hands. We are told that the rock struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Two things to note then

• By striking it, the small, rough hewn, supernatural rock brings down the much bigger, skilfully sculpted, manmade statue. This was not done by striking the head, torso or legs but by striking at the weak point – the feet of clay. Although the feet are struck, the blow affects every part of the statue, 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff (husks) on a threshing-floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. So

What happens to the statue? It is struck a blow. It is broken into tiny fragments. The wind blows the remainder away not leaving a trace. So what a transformation. This immense statue is reduced to nothing.

What happens to the rock? Then note But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. Again note three things:

The rock struck the statue a deadly blow. Following this, the rock grew into a huge mountain. In place of the statue, Nebuchadnezzar sees a huge mountain that eventually fills the whole earth. If the manmade statue was impressive, how much more the mountain that replaces it!

3. Consider the interpretation given by God through Daniel

This was the dream, says Daniel (36) and then with great confidence and now we will interpret it to the king. Not that Daniel was relying on himself. Both the dream and the explanation had been revealed to him by God in answer to prayer. He had been at pains to stress that it is God who revealed these things. Verses 27, 28 Daniel replied, No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Also verse 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

As with the dream itself the explanation can be divided into two parts.

About the statue itself and the kingdoms of this world

Gold - Babylon. 37, 38 You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. The Babylonian Empire was a truly great empire and there is no doubting the power and greatness of its head and founder Nebuchadnezzar. There had been superpowers before, such as the Egyptians and the Assyrians, and many after, of course, but at this point the Babylonians reached something of a zenith in world history. Nebuchadnezzar was truly a king of kings with dominion and power and might and glory. Nebuchadnezzar gave praise to his idols that this was the case but the truth is that it was God who had raised him up in this way and given power to Babylon at that particular time. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power etc …; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. All his success and all its concomitant responsibility had come from God. It was because it was God’s will that Nebuchadnezzar had been able to achieve what he had. And whenever individuals or nations rise to power that is why it has happened – because it is God’s will. Later in 4:35 Nebuchadnezzar himself acknowledges All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No-one can hold back his hand or say to him: What have you done?

Do you realise that? God is in control of all things. He is the one who decides who will rule over what country and what powers that country will be able to exert. Who gave the British Empire the powers it once had? God gave it. And who took it away? God. Who gave Nazi Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics the power they had in the 20th Century and then took it all away again? The Sovereign God. Why does America have the power it has today? It is because that is the sovereign will of God.

Silver and bronze – Medo-Persia and Greece. 39a After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. The next and lesser power was that of the Medes and Persians. They displaced the Babylonians in Daniel’s lifetime. Like the two arms of the statue the Medo-Persian Empire was founded by Medes and Persians. 39b Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Thirdly we come to Alexander the Great and the Kingdom he founded. As with the statue, it began united (belly) but soon split into two branches (thighs) – Seleucids and Ptolemies.

Iron with feet of clay – Rome. Again, if you know anything about Roman history, the prophecy is astonishingly accurate – verses 40-43 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron - for iron breaks and smashes everything - and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

So we have a representation of four different kingdoms – different and yet one nevertheless because each is a manifestation of man seeking his own glory. Here we are focusing on political dynasties – and there have been many since the Romans - but there are other empires too. Don’t we speak of publishing empires and financial dynasties? Whatever human kingdoms there may be, whether they are gold, silver, bronze or iron and clay they are really one, and the same fate will overtake them all.

This is why it is sheer madness to put our faith in any manmade kingdom how ever united, how ever splendid. All such kingdoms are doomed. We laugh a little when we think of Hitler’s proud boast that he was inaugurating a thousand year Reich – how quickly it all came to nothing! But none of this worlds’ empires lasts – not the Babylonian or Roman Empires, not the Aztec or the Mongolian, not the Ottoman or the British, not the Russian or the American either. No, all will fall.

About the rock and God’s Kingdom

In verse 44 Daniel then concentrates on the second part of the dream and what was going to happen in the time of the Roman Empire. Verses 44, 45 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. What Daniel is prophesying, of course, is the coming of the Messiah in the period 4 BC-30 AD when the Romans held sway over Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. Remember how, when Jesus began to preach his message was Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. He is the Rock of Ages, the stone that the builders (the religious leaders) rejected and had put to death on the cross. By that death, which seemed such a defeat, he actually crushed all other kingdoms and brought them to an end. He established a kingdom that will endure forever.

Daniel closes his message by saying The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.

There are four things to note therefore:

1 The God of heaven has set up his own supernatural kingdom through Christ. The newspapers are full of what America is doing or what some highly influential group of people are saying; the history books concentrate on the empires of the past such - the Aztecs and the Incas, the Spanish and the French, etc. But the truth is that what really matters in the end is God’s Kingdom. Whether you are British or American, whether you have been to Israel or Egypt or India is relatively unimportant - what matter is whether you have entered God’s Kingdom. Entrance comes to all who are born again. Unless you are born again you cannot even see God’s Kingdom. Entrance is not a matter of nationality or riches but of faith in Christ.

2 It will never be destroyed or left to others or but will endure forever. One of the greatest qualities of this Kingdom is that it is an eternal kingdom. All manmade empires have fallen and will fall. They cannot last. But his kingdom goes on forever and forever. It will never be destroyed; it will never be superseded. Many times its demise has been announced but that cannot be.

3 Though small at first it will grow and will crush all other kingdoms, filling the earth. The picture of a small rock growing to be the size of a mountain that fills the earth is a vivid way of describing the kingdom’s small beginnings and its world-wide spread. It is unstoppable. We may be impressed by a great tall statue but it cannot begin to compare with a mountain. This is the difference between a merely human empire and the world-wide kingdom of God that is for all peoples everywhere.

4 The great God has revealed all this to you and it is true and trustworthy. None of us can say we do not know about this either. It is clearly revealed for us here in Scripture. What is here is true and it can be trusted. We must act in the light of it.

Are you outside the kingdom? Come in by faith. Are you in the kingdom? Be encouraged – it cannot fail. Work hard for the furthering of the kingdom in every way.

The Plight of Man and the Power of God

Date 28 10 01 Text Daniel 2:1-28, 46-49 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We looked the other week at Daniel 1. I want to look again at this wonderful book concentrating this morning on Daniel 2. Daniel 1 tells us about the 6th Century BC and how, in God’s Providence, following Jerusalem’s fall to the Babylonians, Daniel and his three friends (then aged about 14) were deported from Judah by Nebuchadnezzar and brought to Babylon to be educated in the University of Babylon. Even in an alien environment these young men took a strong stand for the truth, refusing to eat food sacrificed to idols. They were also diligent students. Nebuchadnezzar was very impressed with them indeed. In Chapter 2 we learn how, having begun to work in the Babylonian civil service, Daniel, though still a young man, rose to a position of great prominence. It followed his interpretation of a dream that Nebuchadnezzar had that was a revelation from God about the future. By looking at the dream and interpretation and the circumstances surrounding it we can learn several things.

1. Understand the plight of man

1. God reveals himself to man but man is perplexed and seeks answers

1 God reveals himself to man in various ways but man is perplexed by these revelations

Verse 1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. He was a great king but he was a very troubled man. His dreams disturbed him. We all know what it is to have a restless night’s sleep for one reason or another. It’s not known why we dream but it is said that we do it whenever we sleep, though most of us usually don’t remember what we dream. Dreams are often more vivid and easier to remember when we sleep lightly. It would seem then that in the midst of a troubled night of sleep Nebuchadnezzar had the dream recounted in this chapter. One gets the impression it was a recurring dream. From time to time in Scripture God uses dreams to reveal things to individuals – think of Pharaoh in Genesis, Joseph in the Gospels, etc - and that’s what happens here. Even in the Bible it is an unusual way for God to speak and to what extent God speaks through dreams today is debatable. What is undeniable, however, is that God has revealed himself to men. In various providences – dreams, illnesses and similar circumstances, through strange experiences. Also in creation itself – the heavens and the land, the sea and the air, etc, all testify to the Creator. God has especially revealed himself in the Bible and through the preaching of the message of the Bible in various ways through various media.

However, just as Nebuchadnezzar was perplexed and confused by his dreams so it is the norm for men and women to be puzzled and mystified by God’s revelations. All the providences in their lives point them to God and creation itself continues its mute witness to his eternal power and divine nature. The Bible and the preaching of the Gospel go on, yet so often people remain unchanged. Why? Not so much because the revelation is unclear but because of their own shortsightedness and blindness. Like Nebuchadnezzar, they know the privilege of God himself speaking to them but they don’t understand. They are like people in Jesus’s day who heard God himself speak from heaven but convinced themselves that it had simply thundered. Is that you? You listen to preaching but it simply leaves you perplexed? So often people say they don’t believe in God because they have no reason to. Yet God is speaking to those people – sometimes very loudly. Have you ever thought of it this way? The problem is not that God’s not speaking but that people are not listening.Think of someone pulling out the plug on their phone and saying no-one rings or plugging up the letterbox and saying no-one writes. God is speaking. Day after day he pours forth speech, night after night he is not silent. Your problem is not that you have no reason to trust in God, your problem is that though God speaks you don’t by nature understand what he says. It’s like the caricature of the Englishman speaking with a foreigner. He assumes they cannot communicate because the other man is either stupid, deaf or he is not speaking clearly. He never allows for the idea that the man is simply using a language other than English. God is speaking – the only problem is that you are either not listening or you have failed to take into account the fact that he is speaking a language with which you are unfamiliar. And when he speaks it troubles you. It’s frightening to come face to face with your future.

2 Man instinctively turns for help to those who are wise in this world’s eyes

It is not that people do not try to understand what God reveals. Like Nebuchadnezzar they do look for answers. But where do they turn? Like him they instinctively look to other men, to those considered to be wise according to this world’s standards. Verses 2, 3 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers {Chaldeans} to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means. Today people turn to various so-called experts looking for answers scientists and psychiatrists, to mediums and to astrologers, to therapists and other specialists of various sorts. People are looking for answers. They look to philosophy and to psychology, to religion and to science, to human wisdom ancient and modern, they look east ands west, high and low. They are desperate for someone who can make some sense of their world, who can explain their dreams or tell them who they are, who can show them how to find peace or teach them how to live. They want to know where they cam e from , why they are here and what the purpose of life is. They want someone to explain their experiences to them and show them a better way forward. Sadly, like Nebuchadnezzar, for the most part they turn to those who dispense only human wisdom and although human wisdom is not to be despised entirely – it can teach us many things that are right - the truth is that human wisdom on its own will never enable us to make proper sense of anything. APP Is that your problem? You’re scratching around looking for human answers to the things that perplex and puzzle you? If you look only to men you’ll never get an adequate answer.

2. Men claim to know the truth but are limited and devious (4-6)

It would seem that Nebuchadnezzar knew his wise men well and was aware of a certainty tendency towards mendacity in them. That is to say that they did not always tell him the truth. Being a wise ruler himself he saw that if he simply told them his dream and then waited for their interpretation then they could tell him more or less anything and he had no way of knowing whether they had some deep insight into it or not. And so as a test he declared that he would not tell them the dream. If they really were as expert as they claimed then they would be able to work out what the dream was as well as the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar’s extreme statement If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble suggests a certain frustration with these experts. He felt that they had been stringing him along with false information and lies in the past. He was not going to be fooled again. And isn’t this the way it is so often with human experts? They are very grandiose in their claims about what they know and how they can prove this and that but when you look a little more closely then you see that things are often much less convincing than they seem to be. Many claim to know the future but look out for words like probably, possibly, experts believe, scientists are reasonably sure, etc. So often what are trumpeted as the assured finding of modern science or ancient wisdom that has helped many in the past is in fact a tissue of lies. We must not be gullible. While not running to the extremes of the tyrannical Nebuchadnezzar, we must emulate his steely determination not to have the wool pulled over our eyes. To many people are willing to be fobbed off with half-baked ideas that do not stand up. Get real. Think about what the experts are saying. See how circumstantial their so-called evidence is. Don’t let them sell you a false dream. Don’t believe a lie.

3. The world always has an excuse why it cannot understand.

Of course, the worldly wise always have excuses as to why they cannot provide the information you require.

1 They need more information (7-9)

Once more they replied, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it. Then the king answered, I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realise that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me. Why can’t atheists show there is no God? Why has no-one ever been able to disprove one verse of the Bible? Why has evolution never been proved? The world will tell you that they just need more time. Give us more time, they say, and we will show that what we are saying is true. If we just had a little more information we could prove it to you. But they have had thousands of years and still they have got nowhere. Do not believe the ‘more information’ lie.

2 It is impossible to know certain things that are, in fact, knowable (10, 11)

The astrologers answered the king, There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No-one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men. This is another popular tack. You cannot prove whether there is a God or not. You cannot prove whether the Bible is true or not. You cannot prove creation or the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. What they really mean is you cannot prove it according to our principles and rules. Like these men here they say it is impossible, too difficult. And when you say but with God nothing is impossible they say that he does not live among men. They are very dismissive. They will not accept that line of argument.

4. Have the right attitude to those who falsely claim to know the truth

In  verses 12, 13 we read that This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death. On the one hand, one sympathises with Nebuchadnezzar in his fury and frustration and yet we immediately recognise that this is unfair. It is just in the sense that these men were claiming to be very wise and able to solve every problem but it was a complete lie. On the other hand they really were in ignorance and were not trying to be obtuse. They really did not know what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed. Perhaps this teaches us what our attitude ought to be those who claim to be wise but are in fact anything but. Yes, it should make us angry, righteously angry, that such lies are perpetrated, that people are so proud and self-sufficient. Yet, on the other hand, there ought to be a great deal of compassion towards them too. They really don’t know. For all their apparent confidence, they are in the dark. They haven’t a clue. For all their upbeat talk they know in their hearts what ignorance is theirs. It comes out sometimes in their dying words. 

Eg Oscar Wilde ‘I am dying, as I have lived, beyond my means.’

Robert Ingersoll, life’s like a valley between peaks ‘We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud and the only answer is the echo of our wailings.’

Esward Gibbon ‘All is dark and doubtful.’

Often, they are condemned because of their ignorance as men become fed up with their lies and announce their demise. Death is their end certainly unless God intervenes.

2. Understand the power of God

1. How to react to man’s hopeless situation

1 With wisdom and tact seek opportunities be salt and light

So all the wise men were to die and that included Daniel and his friends. On hearing the news from Arioch, commander of the King’s guard, Daniel, we read, spoke to him with wisdom and tact asking the reason for the harsh decree. He then very bravely went into the king and asked for time. There are no obvious parallels between Daniel’s situation but we can expect the same suspicion and opposition that is shown to experts to be shown to us. People who are suspicious of religion are understandably suspicious of us; people who are suspicious of those who claim to be wise will be equally sceptical about us. Often we cannot even get a hearing. People often do not reject the gospel but what they think is the gospel. What can we do about this? All we can do is use what wisdom and tact we have to secure a hearing for the gospel. That means being ready for what opportunities come. There are certain times when people are more willing to listen to us, eg certain times of the day or week, certain times of year, certain stages in life, following a bereavement, etc. We must be awake to these opportunities. Be cautious and ask for time; be bold by promising that we do have the answers.

2 Seek fellowship in the truth and pray earnestly

Although we work on our own, we need to share with others in this work. 17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Especially we need to urge others to pray. Daniel did not think to himself ‘Well, I’m the one God will use there’s nothing the others can do.’ No (18) He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. It reminds us of how in the Book of Esther although she was the one to go into the King she wanted everyone else to fast and pray or how when Peter was in prison everyone else was praying for him in John Mark’s mother’s house. I preach, yes, but it is important that we all pray; only you can speak to those in your family who are unbelievers or your neighbours but we must all pray for one another. We often underestimate the power of prayer. This chapter teaches us not to. Are you praying for the advance of the gospel?

2. Look to God to reveal mysteries and praise him that he does

1 God alone can remove the mystery from his revelations

In verse 19 we read that During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. All God’s revelation contains a measure of mystery and without his aid we will never understand it. As we’ve said, the problem is not the clarity of the revelation but our failure to see as we ought to. Like a clearly printed book that a person with poor eyesight can’t be read until they put on spectacles. The one who enables us to see is, of course, the Holy Spirit. He is the one who revealed the truth to Daniel. He is the one who makes clear what the Bible says and God’s witness in creation and providence. You may wonder why it has to be this way but in this story you can see how God used it for his own glory. The same is true today.

2 Give praise to God that he does

Daniel’s reaction to this answer to prayer was great rejoicing and praise to God. It wasn’t just that his life would now be spared – God himself had spoken. Part of his praise is informed by what he learned from the revelation, as we shall see. 19b-23 Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. 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. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king. Wisdom and power those are the two things Daniel give thanks for. God is all powerful and all wise. We see this when we read the Bible and understand what it means. Even though we know this we do not praise God as often or as much as we ought to.

3. Tell people the truth, giving all the honour to God

So we who are believers, we know the answer, we have the truth. Like Daniel we must tell it to others. 24-26 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him. Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means. The king asked Daniel, Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it? Notice especially the way Daniel answers (27, 28) No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. He gives all the glory to God. We must do the same. That is what true Calvinism is all about. We will leave the detail of this dream and the interpretation to another time but basically it says that although there have been and will be many great human powers yet God himself has his own kingdom. It began in the time of the Romans with the coming of the Lord Jesus as a little baby in Bethlehem. Since then it has grown and grown and increasingly dominates this world. No human kingdom can stand against it. The implication is clear - trust in Christ and not in man. Enter his kingdom and do not live merely to serve a human empire.

4. The best sort of reaction we can expect

Now when we tell others about the kingdom of God we will meet with various reactions. They will often be impressed with the way we know their innermost thoughts. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say that they came to church with a friend and got really annoyed thinking that their friend had told the preacher all about them and that the sermon was just for them. Like the Samaritan woman they are amazed how much the preacher can know about them even though they have never met. This is because divine wisdom is not like human wisdom. It does not depend on mere human knowledge. You do not have to tell me your dreams for me to interpret them for you. In a sense I know all about you. I have read about you many times in the Bible. The reaction otherwise is not always positive but it often can be. Here it certainly was. 46-49 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honour and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery. Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court. Basically, Nebuchadnezzar gave great honour to Daniel, and for his sake, his three friends, and he confessed the greatness of God. (NB Daniel did not forget his friends who had prayed with him). We cannot be certain that Nebuchadnezzar was then converted. That is probably to go too far but he was certainly impressed and at least at that moment bowed down to the true God. That is the sort of reaction we long for – for God to be praised and believers to be honoured once again as they once were. We long for this. If we are faithful in speaking out the message of God to men’s hearts that is what will happen.

Making a stand for the Lord

Date 14 10 01 Text Daniel 1 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

I want us to look at the Book of Daniel and at the first chapter. The most famous incident in the whole book is Daniel in the lions’ den. It’s a story many of us know from when we were very young.

In the den, in the den, fears could not alarm him,

God had shut the lions’ mouths so they could not harm him.

That incident comes in Chapter 6. It occurs during the time of Darius the Mede when Daniel was an old man. That fact is sometimes forgotten. He didn’t gain the courage to make the stand he made overnight. No, it all started many years before when he was a teenager. The background is found in Daniel 1, a brief and straightforward chapter that sets the scene for the rest of the book. It is a wonderful chapter full of good things to say, especially to those who are young and new students in particular. It has lessons for all of us, however, things we all ought to know.

1. Learn something about the Providence of God

The book begins by explaining to us how Daniel and his three friends who also feature in the book came to be in the land of Babylon. There are three things to note:

1. Realise that all events are under God’s control

First, we have some historical detail. God had brought the Jews up out of Egypt where they’d been in slavery and settled them in the Land of Canaan. Following the reigns of David and Solomon there had been a split between the 10 northern tribes and Judah in the south. Eventually, for their sins, Israel was taken into captivity by Assyria in 722 BC, leaving only Judah. However, In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the leader of the super power of the day Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia {Shinar} and put in the treasure-house of his god. The Jews had thought this could never happen. But it did. Not because things had spun out of God’s control but because the people had put their faith in the Temple instead of in God himself and so, after many warnings, he chastised them. It was he who brought this terrible judgement on them.

It is important to note that phrase in verse 2 And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand. One of the lessons of the Book of Daniel is that everything that happens in this world happens because God decides. We often refer to it as his Providence. All things that happen, whether good or bad, happen by his holy will. Man is responsible for his actions but God is in control. This is a great comfort to the believer. We are not in the hands of men or in the grip of fate but in the hands of Almighty God. American theologian B B Warfield once used an illustration to bring it home. It is the story of a Dutch boy who was told repeatedly by his father not to go near the windmill because it was dangerous. One day he was near the windmill, nevertheless, and suddenly he felt himself being raised into the air and felt something battering him.  He thinks to himself ‘Oh no, I’m caught in the windmill’s arm. No hope for me.’ However, it turns out that it is not the windmill but his father who has caught hold of him and started to give him a smack for his disobedience. What a relief!

It is especially comforting to remember that in this present crisis. We often don’t know why things happen but we do know thatGod is in control.

2. Recognise that what happens in the cosmic realm often has repercussions for individuals.

From 605-582 BC in four phases Nebuchadnezzar completed his subjugation of Judah. Being a wise ruler he recognised that as his empire grew it would not be possible to keep all his new subjects under control by force alone. He needed to convert them to Babylonian ideas and ways of thinking so that they could play their part in future government. Nebuchadnezzar was especially eager to capture the minds of the young and gifted among those whom he had conquered. The poorer people could stay just where they were. We read in 3 how he ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, (Head of the civil service) to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility. This is how Daniel and his three friends ended up as exiles in Babylon therefore. They would only have been around 14 at the time but, young as they were, the developments in the macrocosm of near eastern politics was having a direct and radical bearing on their every day lives.

It is important to recognise this. I read an interesting article this week tracing some of the affects of this current crisis. For example we know that sales of gas masks are up but also CDs and possibly engagement rings. Sales of the Bible and the Koran are also up. This is one reason why when we pray we want to pray not only about the smaller things – healing from sickness, accommodation, jobs, success in exams, blessing on meetings, harmony in the fellowship, etc, but also about greater things such as the decisions of governments, nationwide revival and the worldwide spread of the gospel. National and international events inevitably affect the lives of individuals – government decisions about grants, etc, and developments in different academic disciplines affect individual students; or think of activities of terrorist groups and developments in weapons technology and the way they affect us.

3. We must recognise that God may well ordain that we spend part of our lives in scenes very different to those we know and love, especially if we have gifts.

Imagine these young boys. They were (4) young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace – Israel’s elite, the cream of that society, the nobility of their day. They had expected, perhaps, to live out their days as very privileged leaders in Israel with all the advantages of wealth and religion. But now they find themselves far from home in Babylon of all places! Homesickness, fear of the unknown, bewilderment at the sudden change – all these feelings must have come over them. Some of us can identify.

I certainly can – I honestly thought I would spend my days in Wales where I was born and grew up but I’ve been living in England for 20 years now, nearly half my life. Some of you have lived in London for a much shorter time. Don’t be surprised if, in God’s providence, you end up settling here. On the other hand, some of you were born and bred here. You know no different. Do not assume that you will spend the rest of your life here. The needs here are great but I would particularly urge on you the needs elsewhere. There are places crying out for the gospel. Who will go? Are we willing to leave behind us familiar places and familiar faces and learn a new language and new ways for the sake of the gospel? Parents – are we willing to let them go if that is God’s will?

2. Learn something about how to make a stand for the Lord in this world

1. The world wants you to conform, especially if you are young.

In verse 4b we are told that the reason why Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians {Chaldeans}. The king wanted to indoctrinate them in all the learning of his Empire. Up until that time the four had lived in Israel and spoken Hebrew. All that they wore or ate or said or thought was shaped by their Hebrew background. But now they were removed to a different place and had to learn a different language (Aramaic), wear different clothes and learn about different subjects. In some ways they were rather pampered – no squalid bedsits for them, no beans on toast and pot noodle! No (5) The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were not to worry about anything but their studies. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.

In verse 6 we are told that Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. These are good Hebrew names – two with an el (God) component and two with iah or Jah based on God’s own covenant name. God has judged, Yahweh has been gracious, Who is like God and Yahweh has helped. But they were not to be known by these names in Babylon. Rather (7) The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar (Keeper of the hidden treasures of Bel); to Hananiah, Shadrach (something about Marduk); to Mishael, Meshach (something about a mother goddess); and to Azariah, Abednego (Servant of Nebo). It is clear that the Babylonians were very eager to acculturise them in every way to the Babylonian culture. They had been deliberately chosen not only for their undoubtedly good qualities but also because they were young and impressionable. Nebuchadnezzar was desperate to form their minds to be sympathetic to Babylon and a great asset to her – which they were, although not in the way he had intended it.

No doubt the four friends were perfectly aware of what was happening to them. Yes, in some ways it was a wonderful opportunity, a marvellous chance. Yet, no doubt they knew they were on dangerous ground. The world is constantly trying to squeeze believers into its mould. It especially likes to work on the young as there is more hope there and if they are successful the results will last longer. It likes especially to take those who are bright and get them to conform to worldly ways of thinking. Now, Daniel and his friends did not take the view that going to college in Babylon was in itself evil. They were happy to learn the Aramaic language, its literature and its science for that matter – even where it ran counter to Scripture. They did not agree with all they were taught, of course, but they made use of the knowledge they gained nonetheless. If you study in a state school or university, you will inevitably find things taught that run counter to the Bible. The sin is not in finding out about these things but in believing them. Do realise what the world is aiming at. This is why some believers choose to begin with home education – a tough choice but eminently sensible.

2. Nevertheless we must make a firm stand for the Lord in the pagan world.

The focus of this passage, however, is on the stand that Daniel and his friends took at this time. They drew a line in the sand and said ‘No further’ and having made that decision they stuck with it. Note several things:

• Choose your ground carefully. Verse 8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. The problem was not wine as such or the fact that they could not be sure the food was kosher. It is much more likely that these young Israelites were painfully aware that in that pagan city every piece of meat they saw, especially what was on the king’s table, would have first been offered to an idol. They knew that the very reason the Israelites had been thrown out of the Promised Land was their inveterate idolatry. How could they then, there as exiles in a strange land, have anything to do with idols? As with all Jews from this time they were completely done with idolatry. It would never have the place in Israel’s life that for so long it had held. Idolatry was over and they wanted nothing to do with it. Learning a foreign tongue including the names of countless idols; learning about beliefs that ran counter to Scripture; even being beckoned by names of false gods – all this they let pass. But eating food offered to idols. On that point they took their stand. We all have to choose where we will make our stand. I would suggest that you do not do it by saying ‘I will never read a book or listen to a piece of music by anyone who is not a Christian’ or ‘I will never let anyone swear in my presence’ or ‘I will never ever let alcohol pass my lips’. Rather we need to see where the real issues are today and make our stand. ‘Where are they?’ you say. Well, I don’t think there are any simple answers. But a stand has to be made. Christians who belong to denominations have to say ‘If they do this or that I will resign – eg approve of women preachers or accept homosexuality’. You can’t just keep shifting your ground. Christian students must settle in their minds what they are willing to do or not to do before the time comes. It is the same in all our lives. Are you willing to work on a Sunday? If so when and why? What are you going to do about invitations to pubs or parties, the office raffle, blue jokes, etc. There was a woman in my home church, a commercial artist, who lost any number of commissions because she refused to portray nudity. Would you do the same? If not why not?
• Be firm but courteous. Notice too how Daniel went about this. It says and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way. There was no confrontationalism. Daniel and his friends didn’t say ‘There’s now way we will eat that stuff anymore’ or ‘If we have to eat any more we’ll down pens.’ No he simply asked the man in charge to give them permission not to eat this defiling food any more. ‘A little politeness never hurt anyone’ is the saying and we ought to remember it. I think sometimes we get a little nervous and uptight about things and say things that are not helpful. Instead of just saying ‘My child won’t be able to come to the party next Sunday’ we are tempted to add something may be like ‘You shouldn’t be having it then anyway’. I remember hearing the story of the great John Elias crossing on the ferry from Bangor to Anglesey. Although others realised who was on board, the ferryman did not and he cursed and swore profusely. Some were surprised that Elias said nothing to him. However, when they reached the other side Elias did speak quietly to him about it and, so it was said, he was never heard to swear again. Tact and courtesy are so important we need to practice them, especially when we take a stand on something. They may hate us for our stand but let it be for that not because we are obnoxious people.
• Expect opposition. 9, 10 Now God had caused the official to show favour and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel, I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men of your age? The king would then have my head because of you. The official was understandably cautious. He had already taken a shine to Daniel. God had made sympathetic to Daniel – no doubt that was because of the way Daniel conducted himself. Nevertheless he was not about to put himself at risk by agreeing to Daniel’s request. As courteous as we are there will often be opposition when we decide to take a stand. Pressure will be brought to bear on us to toe the world’s line. We watched recently Chariots of Fire the film about Eric Lidell and his remarkable Olympic win in Paris in the 1920s. Originally he had been due to compete in the 100 metres but pulled out when he found the heats were in a Sunday. There is a scene in the film where the Prince of Wales himself tries to persuade him to run. Whether it happened quite like that I don’t know – but that was the sort of pressure he was under. Yet he made his stand and God blessed him.
• Be reasonable and tactful. At this point Daniel does not blow his top or issue ultimata, etc. Rather he is reasonable and tactful. He understands the position that Ashpenaz is in and so he says (11-14) to the guard whom the chief official (Ashpenaz) had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, Please test your servants for 10 days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. Verse 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for 10 days. What could be fairer than that? Surely no harm could be done on either side. There would be some who would have said that Daniel was a great compromiser for making such a suggestion but surely not. By his reasoned and tactful approach he won his point even when it looked almost lost.
• Be self-denying. Of course, living on a strictly vegetarian diet involved, no doubt, some self-denial on the friends part but it was small price to pay for such an important principle. We also must be willing to practice self-denial.

3. Be assured that the Lord will honour those who honour him

In verse 15 we read At the end of the 10 days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Of course, knowing what we do know, it is no surprise that the friends looked more healthy than their fellow students but at that time it was not such a foregone conclusion. The point is, however, that we can be sure that just as God honoured those who honoured him all those years ago so he will honour those who honour him today. Again, it may be fictitious but in the Chariots of fire film just before Liddell runs in the 400 metres an American gives him a piece of paper with that text on it – Those who honour me, I will honour 1 Samuel 2:30. Perhaps Daniel knew it and thought about it too. God is no man’s debtor and if we make a stand for him we can be sure that he will bless us.

3. Learn the principle that we must first be faithful in a little if we are ever to be faithful in much

1. All wisdom is God given

In at least three places in this chapter God’s controlling of all events is underlined – verses 2 and 9 and then in 17 we have To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. How did they get through their courses? And how did they do so well? Simple it was God’s work. He gave them this knowledge. We may not believe it but in all knowledge, from arithmetic to zoology, from architecture to Zulu, if we are going to get anywhere in any subject we have to receive it from God. He is the one who gives us our native talents and he is the one who enables to use those gifts in a way that enables us to learn. Without his help, we can do nothing. Interestingly there is the additional note that Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. This anticipates what we find in the rest of the book. Daniel’s clearly spiritual gifts were also very much God’s gifts. The point though is that all of these gifts come from the Lord.

2. At times, even the ungodly cannot help but recognise the wisdom of the faithful

And so after three years they had to sit their finals. As used to be the case at one time (and still is sometimes) their exam was viva voce 18-20 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. They were not just honours graduates, not just magna cum laude as the Americans say, not just top of the class, but streets ahead of the others. Why? All because of the goodness of God. Without that early stand who knows what might have happened to these four. Even Nebuchadnezzar could see that they were amazing students.

3. Early success can mean lasting future influence

The chapter ends with the note that Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. After Nebuchadnezzar came a series of some four kings and then Cyrus who came to power in 538. Thus during the period 605-538, a period of over 60 years, Daniel was there in Babylon maintaining a faithful witness. He is the one constant. Probably none of that would have been possible had he stumbled at the first fence. How important that we begin well and go on well to God’s glo

Consider how contagious sin can be and look to God for blessing

Date 15 10 19 Text Haggai 2:10-23 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church

We have been looking at the little Book of Haggai on Wednesday nights. We have noted that it describes events that took place over a very short period, a matter of a few months in the second year of King Darius - from the first day of the sixth month to the 21st day of the ninth month.

We know this because Haggai dates each of his four prophecies.

The first prophecy is given on the first day of the sixth month. Some 23 days later the people begin to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God.

The second prophecy comes On the twenty-first day of the seventh month. This is the prophecy we looked at last week.

There are two more after this, both come on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month and we want to look at them this evening.

In the very first prophecy Haggai is urging the people to get to work on building the Temple in Jerusalem which has been long neglected. By the end of the first chapter they have begun the work. In the second chapter he is seeking to encourage them to go on working. He does this by encouraging them to see what lies ahead.

In 2:1-9 he urges beleivers, despite outward appearances, to be strong, work hard and not to fear, for God is with them. Further, there is the encouragement to go on because of the coming last days. when God will be active, when his glory will increase and he will grant peace.

So the context here is that Haggai has given the people a glorious vision of the future. But given that it is in the future what about now, when things are not so obviously encouraging?

We can divide the final verses of the book (verses 10-23) into three sections.

1. A warning against the contagious nature of sin

We read in 2:10 that On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, once again in the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai: There are three parts to this word - the first two parts by way of illustration and then the third part by way of application. So

1. Illustration 1

Verses 11, 12 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Ask the priests what the law says: If someone carries consecrated meat in the fold of their garment, and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered, "No."

So a question is put to the priests. They were the experts in Temple ritual and part of their work was to instruct the people in matters of the law. Here the scene is imagined of a person who has been involved in sacrifice at the Temple coming away from the Temple and carrying consecrated meat in the fold of their garment - no pockets in those days, you carried things in folds. This would happen when, say, a person went to make a peace or fellowship offering. A certain portion of the sacrifice would be theirs to take home and eat. Now what if that fold of their garment touches some bread or stew, some wine, olive oil or other food, does the bread or stew or wine, olive oil or other food become consecrated? Well, no. Ritual purity or cleanness is not transferrable like that.

Yes, there are some cases where it can happen. In Exodus 29:37 Moses is told, when setting up the Temple or Tabernacle For seven days make atonement for the altar and consecrate it. Then the altar will be most holy, and whatever touches it will be holy. The same goes for the basin and its stand. This is unusual, however, and normally ritual cleanness does not transfer like that.

It's like dirt. If you have a little bit of dirt at the bottom of a glass jug, you can pour clean water into it to the very top and it still won't become clean water.

So, as a general rule, ritual purity is not transferable. It is not contagious.

2. Illustration 2

Haggai then comes to the corollary to that in verses 13 and 14

Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."

As for ritual uncleanness or impurity that works the opposite way. Say a person had touched a dead body. Under Old Testament law that made them ritually unclean. More than that, if they then touched someone or something else then the person or thing touched would become unclean too.

Again think of dirt. Think of a white wall or a white shirt. If someone with dirty hands touches it, it will become dirty. Or to go back to the jug of clean water, just a bit of dirt will make it murky. Clean hands won't make a dirty wall or dirty shirt clean but dirty hands will make a clean shirt or a clean wall dirty.

So, as a general rule, ritual purity is not transferable. It is not contagious.

Ritual impurity, on the other hand, is transferable. It is contagious.

3. Application

Verse 14 Then Haggai said, So it is with this people and this nation in my sight,' declares the LORD. 'Whatever they do and whatever they offer there is defiled.

Just as ritual purity is not transferable, not contagious and ritual impurity is transferable, it is contagious so the sin of this people and this nation in God's sight - what they do and even whatever they offer ... is defiled. It is defiled because their sins are seeping into everything. This is the nature of sin. It is contagious. It is easily passed on. Yes, there is a limited sense in which holiness can be contagious, it is true, it can be caught but not like sin can be. When we sin we must realise that and remember how easily it is passed on.

When a person has a highly contagious disease then great efforts are made to keep it from being passed on. Sometimes a well person is placed in quarantine to prevent contagion. Think of the way they isolate people sick with ebola, say.

Now sin is infectious or contagious, we ought to remember. When we say that we mean that it is likely to spread or influence others, often in a rapid manner. The people had begun to build the Temple, which was good but it was not going to mean some automatic sort of blessing. Same for us - simply being a Christian, praying, coming to church does not mean automatic blessing. Our sins are much more likely to spread. We are all more likely to lead people astray than to do them good, if we do not take care. A sobering thought.

2. More promises of present blessing

This is not all that Haggai has to say in this prophecy. From verse 15 he is more positive. In verses 15-17 he says to the people "'Now give careful thought to this from this day on - consider how things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple. When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty. I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,' declares the LORD.

Up until this point everything has been going wrong. What he says here is similar to what we have in Chapter 1:6 You have planted much, but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it. Also there (1:7) is the same phrase as we find here in verse 15 - This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways."

So once again we say we must give careful thought to our ways. Think of how when we sin it so often leads to trouble for us - not uniformly, it is true, but again and again we see that same pattern.

All that was about to change for the Jews. Why? Because they had given up their rebellion and begun again to serve the Lord by starting again to build the Temple. That is why he says (18, 19) 'From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid. Give careful thought: Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit. "'From this day on I will bless you.'"

He is urging them to look out for the blessings that will surely come, now they have committed themselves to the work of the Lord. They can date it from this very day. At this point there was no seed left, it had all been sown and the vines, fig trees, pomegranates and olive trees were yet to produce their fruit. But they had no reason to be anxious. All would be well.

Now again in applying this we must be careful. Under the old covenant things were more this worldly. There are definite promises of earthly blessing for obedience and earthly troubles for disobedience. It is very clear in Deuteronomy 28. If you obey (3ff)

You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock - the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you .....

If you disobey (verses 16ff)

You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. The Lord will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish, etc, etc, etc.

The new covenant is much more spiritual in its arrangements and so we cannot always be sure that obedience will bring the same material rewards. (Even in the Old Testament that was true to some extent, hence the Book of Job).

Here is a great promise of present blessing, however, if we are obedient. Do what is pleasing to God. You will not regret it.

3. More promises of future blessing

In the final verses of the book we read that The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:

This time the message is (21, 22) "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother."

We have had something like that already back in verses 6,7a This is what the LORD Almighty says: In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations,

The promise there is quite a general one. God is going to do something. He is going to act. Often the coming of God is described as him shaking things up. Here is the promise of the whole world being shaken up.

In 2:21, 22 there is more. God says he will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. Like Sodom and Gomorrh the nations will be overturned, like the Canananites they will shattered, like the Egyptians God will overthrow their chariots and their drivers. The nations will fall, each by the sword of his brother as in the confusion God brought in the time of the Judges and later.

That is exactly what has happened with the coming of Christ. At this time the Persians were in power but soon aftr this it would be the Greeks beginning with Alexander the Great's amazing transformation of things. The Romans would come next and then the Messiah would come and everything would change.

The more explicit reference to Messiah is found in verse 23 "'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."

This takes us back in part to Jeremiah 22 and the prophecy there against the wicked King Jehoiachin. There we read

You who live in 'Lebanon,' who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labour! "As surely as I live," declares the LORD, "even if you, Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear - Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die.

God, as it were, pulled off the signet ring - the sign of his authority and ownership - in the case of Jehoiachin but now in the case of Zerubbabel he puts him on.

What is the message? Not that Darius the Persian King is to be overthrown but that there is a coming Messiah, a chosen one who God calls my servant who will be owned by God and have his authority and be effective.

This is Psalm 2. God will rebuke the nations in his anger and terrif(y) them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."

What a glorious future Haggai pictures for the returned exiles. We do not see all of what he spoke of but the main part is already done and there is reason to rejoice. God has put on his signet ring Christ and he has begun to act.

The very last phrase in the book is the LORD Almighty. Haggai uses it every two or three verses, fourteen times all told. Never forget the LORD Almighty. With him all will be well.