Sunday
Morning Bible Study
April
21, 2013
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church
loved?
Announce: Russia Trip – we are looking for support for the upcoming trip –
both prayer support & financial support.
If you are interested in helping financially to support this trip, you
can put a check in the Agape box with “Russia Fund” in the memo line.
There is a mission trip being organized to Mexico May 17-19. Play Mexico clip.
Play
Nebuchadnezzar Takes Captives map clip
In 605 BC, the end had come for the mighty Assyrian Empire. The Babylonians had conquered Nineveh, and had
moved west to finally break the Assyrians at the famous battle of
Carchemish. From Carchemish, the
Babylonians marched south towards Egypt, stopping to take control of Jerusalem
along the way.
From Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar took the best and brightest young men from
Jerusalem back to Babylon to be trained and serve in his government. Among these captives were Daniel and his
friends Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah.
Last week we
saw the beginning of our current story where the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar
had an incredibly disturbing dream. He
asked his wise men to do the impossible.
He asked them not to just interpret his dream, but to tell him what the
dream was in the first place. Or they
would be put to death.
Daniel and his friends sought God for help, and God tells Daniel what the
dream was.
2:25-30 Daniel speaks
:25 Then Arioch quickly
brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of
the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”
:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream
which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
Belteshazzar is Daniel’s Babylonian
name.
Belteshazzar is the name the
Babylonians gave him as a way of distancing this young Jewish man from his
Jewish roots and turning him into a Babylonian government official.
:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king,
and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the
astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.
:28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals
secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the
latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon
your bed, were these:
:28 a God in heaven who reveals
secrets
Lesson
No secrets with God
God sees and knows EVERYTHING
(Heb 4:13 NKJV) And there
is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open
to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Sometimes the things we do when no one is watching are pretty harmless. Like what you might do at the bus stop when
no one seems to be watching…
Sometimes the
things we do when no one is watching are anything but harmless.
Sometimes the things we do in secret are at the root of our problems.
In a few years Ezekiel
would live in the land of Babylon, but he would have visions of what was going
on back in Jerusalem, including
the wicked things that the leaders were doing secretly.
(Eze 8:12 NKJV) Then He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of
the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For
they say, ‘The Lord does not see
us, the Lord has forsaken the
land.’ ”
God’s desire is
that we learn to live our lives in the light, “uncovered”. That’s part of the what it means to “walk in the light”
(Eph 5:8 NKJV) For you
were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as
children of light
Living in the “light” means you don’t have secrets from
your loved ones.
I was at a restaurant the other day
with some friends. One of them wanted to
know about the iPhone app called “Find Friends”, where you can see where your
friends are if you give them permission.
When I mentioned that my wife can
check her phone any hour of the day and see where I am, some people laughed and
wondered why I would want that.
I try very hard not to have any
secrets from my wife. She knows my
flaws.
John says,
(1 Jn 1:7 NKJV) But if we
walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
:28 what will be in the latter days
This gives us a hint as to the time
frame that this dream and its interpretation are going to involve. There are parts of this prophetic dream that are
even in our future.
:29 As for you, O king,
thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what
would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you
what will be.
:29 what will be
God has shown Nebuchadnezzar the
future.
God showed Pharaoh the future in a
dream and Joseph interpreted his dream.
:30 But as for me, this secret has not been
revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our
sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the
thoughts of your heart.
:30 not … because I have more
wisdom
I love Daniel’s humility. He not
only knows that what he’s about to share came from God, he’s even willing to be
open about it before Nebuchadnezzar.
He could have pretended to be the great and powerful Oz, but instead he
admits that he is just a servant of God.
Lesson
Humility and Ministry
God’s desire for those He wants to use is humility.
When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, he made sure that Pharaoh knew
where the interpretation really came from.
(Ge 41:16 NKJV) So Joseph answered
Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of
peace.”
When God uses us, do we give Him the credit?
In reality, we can’t do anything without Him.
(Jn 15:5 NKJV) “I am the vine, you are
the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without
Me you can do nothing.
:30 but for our sakes
Daniel is honest about the fact that God gave Daniel the answer so that
Daniel and his friends would survive.
2:31-35 The Dream
:31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a
great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood
before you; and its form was awesome.
:31 image – tselem
– image, idol
What Nebuchadnezzar sees isn’t just
a statue, but it’s an idol, something to be worshipped.
The same word will be used in the
next chapter when Nebuchadnezzar sets up an “image” that is meant to be
worshipped.
(Da 3:1 NKJV) Nebuchadnezzar the
king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its
width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of
Babylon.
:31 awesome – dechal
– to fear; terrible
The sight of this idol in the dream
was something that would make a person afraid.
Perhaps this was why Nebuchadnezzar
was so freaked out after having the dream.
:32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its
chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
:33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and
partly of clay.
:32 gold … silver … bronze
This image has
distinct parts to it, distinct because of the materials they are made of.
The head, the chest and arms, the
belly and thighs, the lets, the feet.
The material each succeeding section decreases in value.
It starts with gold and ends with iron mixed with clay.
:34 You watched while a
stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and
clay, and broke them in pieces.
:34 a stone was cut out without
hands
How can a stone be cut without
using hands? This sounds like something
supernatural, something miraculous.
This stone comes into being through
a miracle of God.
The stone doesn’t strike the head,
but the feet. Destroying the feet
destroys the rest of the idol.
:35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were
crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the
wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that
struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
:35 became like chaff
To winnow wheat, first you crush the grain, then
toss it up in the air. The wind blows
away the chaff and all that’s left is the grain. Or, as in this video, you let the electric
fan blow away the chaff…
After the stone
destroys the idol, there is no trace of the idol left. It’s all blown away.
2:36-45 The Interpretation
:36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell
the interpretation of it before the king.
I imagine that
by this time, Nebuchadnezzar is standing there with his mouth open. This
young kid knows what he dreamed.
:37 You, O king, are
a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power,
strength, and glory;
:38 and wherever the children of men dwell, or the
beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into
your hand, and has made you ruler over them all— you are this head of
gold.
:38 wherever the children
of men dwell
Babylon had the largest Empire at that time.
:37 a king of kings
We’re used to hearing this phrase used in relation to Jesus being the
“King of kings”. It’s a little strange
to see it used with someone else.
It simply means that Nebuchadnezzar is a king over other kings. Just like Jesus.
:38 you are this head of
gold
The golden head
was a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom of Babylon.
His kingdom is superior than the other kingdoms
(being gold) because he as one man has great authority. He has great power.
He doesn’t need to consult with anyone.
Whatever he declares will be done.
With great power comes … how does that go?
:37 the God of heaven has given you
Nebuchadnezzar has been told that his greatness is due to God.
God has given
him great authority over men.
Even though Nebuchadnezzar was a pagan man who worshipped strange gods,
God considered him His servant.
(Je 27:6 NKJV) And now I have given
all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My
servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.
Lesson
Use your gift
All that we have has been given to us.
Nebuchadnezzar is going to have trouble with what he’s been given.
We are going to
see him try and twist this dream that God has given him and try to see if he
can’t hold on to his golden head kingdom forever. He’ll make a huge statue completely out of gold and demand that
people worship it.
We will also see him become so consumed with pride in his accomplishments
that God will allow
him to go crazy for a while, allowing him to humiliate himself by acting like a
cow, just to make him realize that he is nothing without God.
What are you
doing with what God has given you?
God may not
have given you the “world” like He did to Nebuchadnezzar. He probably hasn’t given you “spidey sense” like Spiderman, but God has given you gifts.
You are to use what God has given you wisely. Jesus told a parable…
(Mt 25:14–30 NKJV) —14
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far
country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave
five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own
ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
The
“talents” Jesus is talking about is 75 pounds of gold. It’s like saying the
master gave one fellow five million dollars, another two, another one.
As the story progresses, the servants who had received the five talents and
the two talents each carefully invested their gifts and made a profit for their
Master. When he returned, they each were
told,
23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done,
good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will
make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
But the one who had received one talent did things differently.
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came
and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown,
and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your
talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his lord
answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap
where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to
have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have
received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it
to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to
everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him
who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant
into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
What has God given to you?
It doesn’t matter whether He’s given you as much “treasure” as He’s
given other people. The thing that
matters is whether or not you are using what God has given you to profit your
Master, God.
It might be your actual finances God wants to use. It might be your skills that God wants to use. It could be your connections, the people you know that God
wants to use. It could be your experience, it could be …
:39 But after you shall
arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of
bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.
:39 another kingdom … inferior
The chest and
arms form the next kingdom, the Medo-Persian Empire. As silver is inferior to gold,
their kingdom would be inferior to Babylon in some way.
In 539 BC the Medo-Persian Empire conquered Babylon.
They would defeat Nebuchadnezzar’s
grandson, Belshazzar.
Even though the Babylonian Empire
lasted for 87 years, the Medo-Persian Empire would last for over 200 years.
Yet they were considered inferior.
One suggestion is that they were inferior in their method of government.
Nebuchadnezzar was a complete, total, tyrannical monarch.
Whatever he said went.
Nobody could tell him what to do.
In the Medo-Persian Empire, the kings were bound
by the laws of the land. They had to
obey the laws of the land, unlike Nebuchadnezzar.
:39 another kingdom of bronze
The belly and
thighs made of bronze is a symbol for the Greek Empire, which would conquer the Persian Empire in 330 BC
under Alexander the Great.
His empire was
“over all the earth”
in that it actually covered more territory than all previous Empires (went more
eastward than my map shows)
After Alexander’s death, the Greek Empire was split into four sections.
:40 And the fourth
kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and
shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break
in pieces and crush all the others.
:40 the fourth … strong as iron
The legs of iron was
the Roman Empire. Rome would conquer the Greeks in 63 BC.
Though iron is cheaper than gold, silver, or bronze, it is stronger.
Rome conquered
by crushing all
that stood in its way.
Rome would eventually split into a Western empire that would fall in AD
476, and an Eastern Empire that wouldn’t be conquered until AD 1453.
:41 Whereas you saw the feet
and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be
divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron
mixed with ceramic clay.
:41 feet and toes
Note that the
material has changed. There is still the iron
of the fourth kingdom, but now there’s a new substance added to the mix, clay.
I think the feet and toes are a different kingdom, but with some sort of
connection to the iron of the old Roman Empire.
This revived Roman Empire will be around in the last days when the
“stone” appears and conquers the earthly kingdoms.
:42 And as the toes
of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile.
:43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they
will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just
as iron does not mix with clay.
:42 partly strong … partly fragile
This latter day Roman kingdom is made up of two incompatible materials.
Clay and iron don’t mix.
Even if you melt iron and combine it with clay, when the mixture cools,
it will break apart as the clay breaks off of the iron.
There will be something of the Roman strength in this kingdom (iron),
but there will be something far fragile mixed in as well.
:43 mingle with the seed of men
The weakness of this latter day kingdom comes from the “mingling” the strength of Rome (iron)
with the weakness
of men (clay).
Some have suggested that this kingdom will combine the strength of a strong
executive or king, with the weakness of the rule of the people (democracy).
There are good things about a democracy.
The people have a voice.
The weakness of a democracy is that there are often too many voices and
people get confused easily.
Or this could be some sort of confederacy between nations where no one is
in control.
Right now the European Union covers some
of the same area as ancient Rome.
:44 And in the
days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never
be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
:45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver,
and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass
after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”
:44 in the days of these kings
It could be that this is talking
about the kings of these empires.
I think this is talking about the “kings” of the kingdom of the “feet and toes”, the
latter day Roman Empire. Note,
the typical pair of feet has TEN toes.
There are parallels between Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and a few other
prophecies.
In Daniel 7, we
have a vision of four “beasts” instead of four parts of a statue.
The fourth
“beast” has ten “horns”, and Daniel is told that these “ten horns” are “ten kings” (Dan. 7:7,24).
(Da 7:7 NKJV) —7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it
was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was
different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
(Da 7:24 NKJV) —24 The ten horns are ten kings Who
shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise
after them; He shall be different from the first ones, And shall subdue
three kings.
There’s even a connection with these ten horns and another king who will
arise to rule over them, a king
we will call the “antichrist”. (Dan. 7:25)
(Da 7:25 NKJV) —25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High, And shall
intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his
hand For a time and times and half a time.
In the book of Revelation, you see the antichrist’s kingdom described as
having “seven heads and
ten horns” (Rev. 13:1)
(Re 13:1 NKJV) Then I stood on the
sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads
and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous
name.
It is this kingdom
of the antichrist that will be destroyed when Jesus comes back and sets up
God’s kingdom on the earth.
:45 the stone … cut … without hands
This is talking
about Jesus.
He’s the “stone” written of in the
Psalms.
(Ps 118:22 NKJV) The stone which
the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.
Jesus quoted Psalm 118 when He warned the Jewish leaders about rejecting
Him, their promised Messiah.
(Mt 21:42–44 NKJV) —42
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief
cornerstone. This was the Lord’s
doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’ ? 43 “Therefore I say to
you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing
the fruits of it. 44 And whoever falls on
this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to
powder.”
The imagery almost sounds like the stone that destroys the other kingdoms
and scatters them like chaff in the wind, grinding them to powder.
You either choose to be broken by falling on Jesus, or you will be
destroyed.
“cut without hands”
This “stone” would be a work of God,
not man. Jesus was born of a virgin, the
Son of God.
When Jesus comes back, He will destroy the kingdoms of this world. (Rev.
19:11-16, 19-20)
(Re 19:11–16 NKJV) —11 Now I saw heaven opened,
and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of
fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no
one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed
with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in
fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp
sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them
with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath
of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His
robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
(Re 19:19–20 NKJV) —19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on
the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was
captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by
which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who
worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning
with brimstone.
2:46-49 Daniel is
promoted
:46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face,
prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and
incense to him.
:47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly
your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of
secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
:48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him
many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and
chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
:49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of
the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
:47 Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face
Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face.
He’s totally blown away. He’s
close to being a believer, but he still has a ways to go. He’s not going to completely “get it” until
we get to chapter 4.
Lesson
Do you get it?
How do you
respond to a God who knows all your secrets?
How do you respond to a God who knows all the bad things you’ve ever done?
How do you
respond to a God who still loved you so much that He sent His Son to die on a
cross and pay the price for all the bad things you’ve ever done?
How do you respond to a God who says to you, “Come, follow Me?”