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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 King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and
paid him honor 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.
Daniel 2:46-49
This ends today’s reading
from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It was the moment God had been building to in the Book of
Daniel, the moment when Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, discovered the
meaning of a dream that had tortured and horrified him. We looked at that event
in yesterday’s devotion as Daniel explained the dream’s meaning to the king.
In sum, Nebuchadnezzar’s vision had everything to do with things
that were still to come as every empire, starting with the Babylonians, would
rise and then fall until only one kingdom remained, the kingdom of Jesus
Christ, which would be established when God brought His only Son to live among
His people to bring them salvation.
How did Nebuchadnezzar react to this news, news that clearly
showed that his status as the dominant empire in the world was soon to come to
an end?
We find the answer to that question in the closing verses of
Daniel, Chapter 2. Look again at those words here:
Then King
Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor 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. Daniel
2:46-49
As we see from the word of God, King Nebuchadnezzar “fell prostrate
before Daniel and paid him honor”, summoning “an offering and incense” to be “presented
to him. It wasn’t that this was done to bring glory to Daniel. For if that were
the case, Nebuchadnezzar would have given Daniel his praises.
But that’s not what happened for we find the king of Babylon
instead giving respect and admiration to God and God alone, recognizing the
true King. His words showed as much as he proclaimed:
“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.”
In other words, God was supreme. Period.
He was the God of all gods, the Lord over all lords, the
King over all kings, and thus He had no rival when it came to having authority
over all things and no peer in regard to revealing mysteries or doing anything
else for that matter. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that Daniel’s ability to do
what he did, to interpret the dream with such clarity, was not really a result
of what he had done but rather what God had done through him.
You see, that’s what happens when one is associated and
affiliated with the true King. All things become possible through Him and He
can use anyone who chooses to be His willing servant to do amazing,
extraordinary things.
It happened with Daniel and it can happen with you and me
too.
In the final verses in this chapter, we see Nebuchadnezzar
rewarding Daniel for what he had done through the God of gods. It was quite a
turn of events when you think about it. For you’ll recall that at one point,
Nebuchadnezzar wanted to kill Daniel along with every other wise man in
Babylon, but now things had changed. God always has a way of doing that.
In Daniel’s case, the king placed him “in a high position”,
making him “ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of
all its wise men”. As for Daniel’s three faithful counterparts, Hanaiah,
Mishael, and Azariah (listed by their Babylonian names in the passage), they
were made “administrators over the province of Babylon” at Daniel’s request.
Additionally, we read that Nebuchadnezzar “lavished many gifts” on Daniel.
In other words, God was continuing to work in the lives of
His faithful servants, bringing blessings along the way. That’s what can happen
when someone recognizes the true King and submits themselves to that King’s
service.
You see, Daniel was giving of himself freely to THE King
first and foremost. Ditto for the other three faithful servants, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah. Yes, God had made the way for them all to serve in
Nebuchadnezzar’s royal company but it was only so the servants of the true King
could be in a place to carry out His will. All Daniel and his counterparts had
to do was to remain obedient to God’s bidding.
Today, the one true King is still THE King over all
creation. All authority and power is in Him and there is no nation in the world
that is not completely subject to Him. Not one.
Are we recognizing this?
Do we see the true King for who He really is or will He need
to get our attention in some way, like the dream He sent to Nebuchadnezzar?
One way or another, rest assured that God will be glorified
and magnified and honored by the people on earth, whether they come to that
place willingly or have to come to it the hard way. In the end translation, the
precious and holy name of the Lord God Almighty will be praised
Amen
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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