Dei Break
Daniel 2:1 – 49
A year after Daniel's arrival Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. Back then kings took dreams very seriously, believing them to portend the future. Rome, growing and trading during Daniel's time, also believed in dreams. Rulers also relied on advisors who looked for visions and revelations from animal entrails and other objects. God did use dreams at times in His communication with His people, but not all dreams came from God. Millions still do much the same today—mediums, astrologers, occultists, all thrive on the cash of their many followers.
It is clear that Nebuchadnezzar did not trust his interpreters and astrologers. He was not stupid—he commanded them to tell him the dream before interpreting it, making it impossible for them to create a story matching what he told them.
Upon whom do you depend to interpret the future; the outcome of decisions that you make in your life? Most of us thought that the handlers of our retirement funds were able to protect our money. Now we wish we had had a little peek into the future. Those who suffer divorce think, "If I had known then what I know now…." Who can we turn to and find answers that will be true and dependable forever?
When Daniel's life and his friends' lives were threatened, he did not hesitate to call on the one that he knew to be totally trustworthy—his God; our God.
Upon seeing Nebuchadnezzar Daniel boldly declared that though other gods could not do so, his God did dwell among men and that He [God] would declare the dream and its meaning.
Today, God's word still teaches us the meaning of life and all of its twists and turns. In Daniel's time, he could confidently say that God did dwell among men. Today we know that Jesus, God's Son, has dwelled in bodily form among us. Though we still cannot predict the specifics of our lives or our daily trek, watching Jesus through reading the gospels; listening to him through the gospel writers; imitating him in our words and actions grants us the ability to see beyond the confusion of every day and into the truth. It isn't always easy to see beyond our own presumptions, but God will even help us do that. Just ask Him.
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