SEEK GOD IN CRISIS
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Introduction
Introduction
-Daniel and his three friends were part of the royal family of Judah that was brought to Babylon in the first wave of the captivity. They were young teens who were handsome and smart and were placed in training to be part of King Nebuchadnezzar’s government. When faced with the prospect of compromising their faith, they stood strong and would not compromise, but came up with alternatives that would meet the king’s desired end, but do so in a way that was also honoring to God. Because of their faithfulness, God gave them grace in the eyes of all those around them. They successfully went through the three year training program and became top of their class and were given important appointments in the bureaucracy of the Babylonian Empire.
-Soon after they started their positions, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him greatly. He called his sorcerers and magicians (whom I likened to the Department of the Occult) to tell him what the dream meant—which, seeing this dream came from God, these pagans would not be able to do so. Either because he didn’t trust these guys or because he couldn’t remember all the details of the dream, he told them to tell him the dream and the interpretation. They tried to wiggle their way out of this situation since there was no way for them to know the dream. They kept telling Nebuchadnezzar to tell the dream and they’d give the interpretation. But Nebuchadnezzar’s edict was firm—tell him the dream, then he knows he could trust the interpretation.
-When they were still not able to do so, the king became furious, and in his anger ordered that all the wise men in the nation be killed (not just the guys and gals from that one department). This order included killing Daniel and his three friends because they were some of the top of the wise men. When Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard came to them to kill them, Daniel asked an audience with the king, which he was granted. Daniel asked the king to give him a specific amount of time and he will find the interpretation. Because Daniel and the boys were found to be talented and trustworthy, the king allowed this. So now, with a limited amount of time, and with death hanging over their heads, what would they do in this crisis? That’s where we pick up the story.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
-Daniel went back to his friends and told them that the king gave them some time to find the interpretation. Now, consider this, Daniel actually thought that he would be able to help the king out. Daniel wasn’t just making something up to try and figure out a way to get out of this situation. What you’ll see in the book of Daniel is that Daniel actually wants what is best for the king and the kingdom, because if things are going well with king and kingdom then things will go well with the Jews who are now dispersed throughout the empire. Daniel wanted to find the interpretation of the dream. And Daniel knew the only way to find the interpretation of the dream.
-So here they are in this major crisis, and they have no means of fixing it themselves. What do they do? Do they worry and fret about it? Do they murmur and complain about it? No! Notice the first thing that they did. In v. 18 it says that Daniel told his friends to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so they wouldn’t be destroyed. They joined together and went to the Lord in prayer. They had faith that God would help, but they didn’t presume that God would just have the answer fall in their lap. We think that if we worry or complain enough, God will just do something to fix things. But God doesn’t answer worries and complaints. God answers prayers (always with the caveat that He answers prayers in His time and in His way).
-Daniel and friends earnestly sought God in prayer—and I will stress that word EARNESTLY. They spent more time praying to God than complaining or worrying. If we spent more time praying than we do worrying and complaining, imagine how different things would be. But rarely is prayer our first answer, but it was the first answer of Daniel and the boys. They sought mercy from God, and they had faith that God would do something. They were in a crisis, and they sought God in prayer.
-Well, guess what—God answered their prayer. It says in v. 19 that the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. In a vision God gave Daniel both the dream and its interpretation. Now, here’s the thing. We are not told how long of a time period transpired here. We’re not sure how much time the king gave Daniel to come up with an answer. All of this could have happened in one night. It could have happened over a few days. We don’t know. But just because the narrative summarizes things for us, I don’t want us to suppose that Daniel and friends gave a short five-minute prayer and then went along their merry way. Not only was their prayer earnest, but their prayer was persistent. They persevered in prayer until they received an answer. Daniel and friends were in a constant state of prayer until they received the answer.
-And I think this is something we can all learn from. I know I can. My prayer life is nowhere near biblical proportions—meaning it’s not where it ought to be. When something is going on, we can’t put up some weak little prayer for a minute and then think we’re going to see the miraculous power of God just blow us out of the water. If we want God to bring about true answers and true change then it is going to have to be a whole lot deeper than the mamby pamby prayers we all normally give—me included. Daniel and the boys earnestly and persistently prayed and God answered. Now, mind you, sometimes we might not like the answer. God could have easily answered that they would be martyred. But God will answer and God will give us the attitude to accept the answer that He gives.
-But now that God has given the answer, what do Daniel and friends do? Do they just spring into action? No, notice that after God gives them the answer, they return right back to prayer to give thanksgiving and praise and to seek God further. They recognize from whom the answer to prayer came, and by whom the answer to prayer would be fulfilled. God revealed the dream and the meaning, and God would empower them to bring this before the king so that the king understands the message of God clearly.
-BLESSED BE THE NAME OF GOD FOREVER AND EVER, TO WHOM BELONG WISDOM AND MIGHT. God alone is wise enough to run the entirety of creation much less nations like Babylon and Israel. God, by His wisdom and sovereign power, is moving history along its course to His intended ends. This included the lives of the individuals like Daniel or Nebuchadnezzar.
-Daniel recognizes the way that God’s might it put on display. God is the one that changes seasons. God is the one that removes and sets up kings. That means God is in complete control of the normal, day-to-day operations of the universe. What we would normally call the hum-drum everyday occurences within nature, the things that we take for granted, God is in control. Every day the sun rises and the sun sets. Every three months the seasons change (at least in most other places—Alabama you wonder about sometimes). God set the universe up, and specifically set the earth up, to run like that. And yet, even though they are natural occurrences, God controls it.
-Every day the politics of the world keeps going on. Government is one thing that you just can’t escape. Every society has some sort of government and every government has someone in charge. They may have been elected to their position like we do in the United States. They may have inherited their position like a monarch. They may have seized control by power. But government and politics is inescapable. And yet, no matter how they got there, they are not as powerful and independent as they might think. God does not cause evil people to govern wickedly, but He does allow them to have their time for purposes that only He knows.
-And this right here is an important aspect of what Nebuchadnezzar is going through. The dream that God had given him had to do with the rising and fall of different kings and empires, and God is in control of it. And we will see more of that next week when we look at the dream. But Daniel knows the power and authority of God.
-He recognizes that God gives wisdom and knowledge. He gives it to government leaders so that they govern rightly. He gives it to everyday people so that they live lives that are pleasing to Him. The entire book of Proverbs is the call of God given to the world to seek His wisdom and conform their lives to it. People need to stop being wise in their own eyes and give themselves over to God’s wisdom. We are to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and no lean on our own wisdom and understanding. Only when we acknowledge God and His ways will we be able to walk a straight path in life.
-Daniel praises God that He reveals deep and hidden things. There is so much going on behind the scenes of the world that we do not see. There are things going on behind closed doors that we know nothing about, but God sees what is going on. There are things that people do in the dark to hide them from others. But you can’t hide it from God. The light dwells with God and He can bring anything in the darkness to light as He so chooses.
-But even more pertinent to this particular circumstance, there are things going on in the spiritual realm that we are completely unaware of, and there are God’s own ways of working out His will in the invisible realm. Moses says in Deuteronomy that the secret things belong to the Lord, but there are some secret things that God reveals. There are deep things of God that He would reveal if we would seek Him. But the problem is that God doesn’t give us the deep spiritual things because we don’t seek Him deeply. We seek Him on the surface level, so all we receive is surface level knowledge and wisdom and power. We are missing out on so much.
-I’m not necessarily saying that God will give us secret knowledge if we follow certain formulas or anything like that. But we have the Holy Spirit, and if we would put the time and effort into it, we can get deeper with God.
9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
-And so, God calls to His people:
3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
-This does not mean that we will have every question answered. It does not mean that our every itch of curiosity will be scratched. But if we would seek God we would know a whole lot more than we do now.
-That is what Daniel and the boys did, and then they give praise for it.
23 To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”
-They were able to know the king’s matter because they sought God for it. So, whatever is going on in your life, seek God in your crisis, and then praise God for giving you whatever insight He gives you about your crisis. You might not like His answers or His insights, but hopefully you will allow Him to change your heart attitude about it. And that will happen when you seek Him.