These Dreams
Of all that I’ve forgotten, I sometimes wish I could forget my first dream (the first I actually remember) as it truly was a nightmare. I must have been only 7 or 8 years old and for some reason, I was truly terrorized in my dream--I can still see the images vividly. Years later, 1986 came and went, sort of just slipped by as if a dream (more like a nightmare) and like most dreams I have presently, I certainly don’t remember most of it—and of course, the parts I do remember I wish I could forget. The Wilson Sisters and their band “Heart” gave many of us a sound-track for the year with their pop hit, “These Dreams” in which some were the princesses and others the prince (whatever that meant to our drug-induced, hormone-driven, sin-pattern behavior). As time passed we learned our sleepy thoughts, images and emotions had to become goals or purpose for living—for those that lived to tell.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and I am not talking about the one he had to rule the world. His dream disturbed him to the point that when he sought consolation he did not want someone to merely tell what they thought about it, he wanted truth—he wanted clear thinking, wisdom and intelligent insight, starting with someone tell him what it was! To top it off, once told, this dream was one that would not merely “go away” easily, for everyone would remember it. For centuries. It was a God-given dream with a God-given interpretation with lasting significance.
Daniel 2 is the record in which Daniel tells the king his dream—an image with a gold head, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron and feet the mixture of iron and clay (concrete?). A stone cut without hands strikes the image at its feet and the whole image is smashed, ground together, and blown away as the stone grows to a mountain that fills the earth. This is the description of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and the kingdoms that will follow, specifically, the kingdom of God that will consume all kingdoms and stand forever.
Easy for us to get caught up in the imagery and forget the context. Daniel is a captive. His home is conquered and stripped. Daniel is in a time of personal and national crises. He’s already seen what Hurricane Nebuchadnezzar could do. But now Nebuchadnezzar is facing personal and national crises of his own and if someone does not intervene (and soon!) Nebuchadnezzar will make life, well, end for those who should be able to help. That includes Daniel and his three friends. Amazing how, in the midst of his own idolatry, he knew what was false and that truth was attainable.
There is a rule in art that says one should not depict a forest, woodland, or wilderness without some sort of path. A landscape must always have a “way out.” The reason for this is that the onlooker can be overwhelmed and dismayed, lost in the trackless spaces. The situation was looking very grim for Daniel and friends. Look at what happens.
“Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” (Daniel 2:17-19)
These godly men get together, survey the situation and take the situation to God. God gave them the way out, and that way out is found in God Himself. In the midst of this crises, God shows: His mercy in revealing the secret (2:18); His unstained reputation, bound up in His name (2:20); His wisdom and strength; (2:20); His providence and decrees (2:21); His sovereignty (2:21); His non-communicable attribute of light (2:22); His communicable attributes of wisdom and knowledge (2:23); transcendence in being above all (2:28ff); God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets (2:47). With that final admission, Nebuchadnezzar ends where Daniel begins: prostrating, submitting to God.
What is this all about: interpreting dreams? How to rule a nation? What to do when taken captive? Encouragement in captivity? We might find the timeless principle for our life by looking at another captive (Joseph) in another land (Egypt) with another set of dreams (lifting heads). Both are young, both woke up one morning minding their own business when the world came crashing down around their heads and they found themselves in a pit of uncontrollable circumstances. They both had every opportunity to give up—Joseph was in this particular prison for at least 8 years and spent the rest of his life in a place he never dreamed he would be—in Egypt; Daniel spent the rest of his life in Babylon. They both come into contact with people and have the chance to either become one of the crowd, or be God’s child and live a life of worship.
This is not about getting through crises. There are enough warm, fuzzy “sermons” out there to encourage you through the crises. If this is about getting through tough times, then we will live from crises to crises. What this is about is walking out a life of integrity, purity, and holiness in the face of evil.
Because Daniel and Joseph had a made up mind to live an uncompromised life of love to God, God exalted them in their situation, above the situation. Realistically, the problems did not go away but they had the tools to confront them—submission to the Lord God of heaven, the God of the nations. “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. 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.” (Daniel 2:48-49)
God put Daniel and Joseph in a new place, a place of honor. But there is one thing that Daniel got that Joseph did not: Daniel was able to draw around himself godly men with whom he could fellowship and maintain godly counsel. He was able to protect himself from the praises of men. Why? Life is not about passing the time, but about walking in the way everlasting. Dr. Schofield once prayed “Lord, enable me to have to do with things that will last, and not fritter away my time on things that are only of transitory value.” This is a made-up mind that proves itself not in the instance, but in the long-haul. Thomas Edison said that work is not measured by hours, but by what is accomplished. We must be encouraged to work out our salvation by our persistent obedience. We need to be intentional about prayer and seeking biblical counsel not to “get through” a problem but to allow God to demonstrate Himself. We need to learn to use our position (in whatever circumstance) for kingdom purposes—remember, the Kingdom of God crushed and consumes all other kingdoms!
If we live our lives just to get through our “stuff” as carefully as possible, then the Kingdom of God is an impossible dream. No wonder we get frustrated.
