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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and
power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up
others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals
deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
“I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors: 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.”
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 2 of the Book of Daniel opened, we found Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in a dilemma. You’ll recall it all started when
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had dreams that were haunting him. Such was
the mental anguish for him that he called on groups of specialists in the
supernatural and occult with the hope that they would be able to make some
sense of the night visions he was having.
At the forefront of those he called on were the astrologers
who the king specifically petitioned to tell him about his dream and what it
all meant. In response to the king’s request, the astrologers asked
Nebuchadnezzar to first tell them about the dream so they could then provide an
analysis, a request that puzzled the king because he felt that these so-called
psychic specialists should know what was in his dream without being told
anything.
And so Nebuchadnezzar pressed the astrologers for answers
without revealing anything and, in turn, the astrologers kept insisting the
king tell them about the dream first, a tact which led to Nebuchadnezzar
issuing a threat to kill them and reduce their homes to rubble. The astrologers
were trapped within their ruse, knowing they couldn’t deliver what the king
wanted and so they made a fateful decision to call out the king as asking for
something unreasonable, something that no human could provide, something that
the king could only get from the gods.
With that, Nebuchadnezzar exploded in rage and not only
wished to bring death to the astrologers but also to every wise man in Babylon,
a cohort that included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
Things weren’t looking good for the young men of Judah who
God had equipped with wisdom and led into the king’s service but all was not
lost. For you’ll remember that Daniel was able to go to the king and convince
him that he would be able to interpret the dream if the king would only delay
in carrying out the death sentence on him and the other men considered wise in
the land. Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel’s request and Daniel, along with his
three counterparts, lifted up pleas to God for His help in escaping the danger
they were in, pleas that were answered as God revealed the mystery of the king’s
dream overnight. God had once again come to the rescue of His faithful
servants.
Indeed, God has always come to the aid of those who have
been committed to Him and obedient to His word, will, and way. He has answered
the pleas of His faithful ones for the ages, right up to this moment and time
today, and the good news is that He will always be that same God for all future
generations.
So how should we as a people respond to a God who hears our petitions
and responds according to His will and way to ensure His purposes are
accomplished?
We find the answers as we look at Daniel’s words in our
scripture passage today:
Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said:
“Praise be to the
name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and
seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and
knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; He knows what
lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.”
“I thank and praise You, God of my ancestors: 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.” Daniel 2:19b-23
Note the opening exhortation:
“Praise be to the
name of God for ever and ever”
Ultimately, we are to praise God, to lift up His holy name
and give Him all the honor and glory, not just for the day but forever more.
Look at the words of Daniel and you will see that God is the
absolute focal point of all His words. The Lord is the object of all His
praise, the center of His thanksgiving. And He attributes all things to God,
seeing Him as the Author and Source of all things good and right, the Great
Provider of what we need at the time we need it in accordance with His will.
It’s God who possesses all wisdom and power.
It’s God who changes the times and the seasons.
It’s God who ordains people to rise to leadership and
removes those who sin against Him.
It’s God who supplies His people with gifts like wisdom and
discernment.
It’s God who gives us revelations into deep and hidden
things, especially in disclosing His truths and exposing things in the darkness
using His infinite light.
It is God who deserves all our thanks, admiration, and
devotion, equally in good times and in times of trouble.
He is the Lord God Almighty. Like Daniel, let us praise His
name forever.
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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