Soon after Daniel and his companions entered the service
of the king of Babylon, events occurred that revealed to
an idolatrous nation the power and faithfulness of the God
of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar had a remarkable dream, by
which "his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from
him." But although the king's mind was deeply impressed,
he found it impossible, when he awoke, to recall the
particulars.
In his perplexity, Nebuchadnezzar assembled his wise
men--"the magicians, and the astrologers, and the
sorcerers"--and besought their help. "I have dreamed a dream,"
he said, "and my spirit was troubled to know the dream."
With this statement of his perplexity he requested them to
reveal to him that which would bring relief to his mind.
To this the wise men responded, "O king, live forever:
tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
Dissatisfied with their evasive answer, and suspicious
because, despite their pretentious claims to reveal the secrets
of men, they nevertheless seemed unwilling to grant him
help, the king commanded his wise men, with promises of
wealth and honor on the one hand, and threats of death on
the other, to tell him not only the interpretation of the dream,
but the dream itself. "The thing is gone from me," he said;
"if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the
interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your
houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye show the dream,
and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts
and rewards and great honor."
Still the wise men returned the answer, "Let the king
tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation
of it."
Nebuchadnezzar, now thoroughly aroused and angered
by the apparent perfidy of those in whom he had trusted,
declared: "I know of certainty that ye would gain the time,
because ye see the thing is gone from me. But if ye will
not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree
for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to
speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me
the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the
interpretation thereof."
Filled with fear for the consequences of their failure, the
magicians endeavored to show the king that his request was
unreasonable and his test beyond that which had ever been
required of any man. "There is not a man upon the earth,"
they remonstrated, "that can show the king's matter: therefore
there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things
at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is a rare
thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that
can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling
is not with flesh."
Then "the king was angry and very furious, and
commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon."
Among those sought for by the officers who were
preparing to fulfill the provisions of the royal decree, were
Daniel and his friends. When told that according to the
decree they also must die, "with counsel and wisdom" Daniel
inquired of Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, "Why
is the decree so hasty from the king?" Arioch told him the
story of the king's perplexity over his remarkable dream,
and of his failure to secure help from those in whom he had
hitherto placed fullest confidence. Upon hearing this, Daniel,
taking his life in his hands, ventured into the king's
presence and begged that time be granted, that he might
petition his God to reveal to him the dream and its
interpretation.
To this request the monarch acceded. "Then Daniel went
to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions." Together they
sought for wisdom from the Source of light and knowledge.
Their faith was strong in the consciousness that God had
placed them where they were, that they were doing His
work and meeting the demands of duty. In times of
perplexity and danger they had always turned to Him for
guidance and protection, and He had proved an ever-present
help. Now with contrition of heart they submitted themselves
anew to the Judge of the earth, pleading that He would
grant them deliverance in this their time of special need.
And they did not plead in vain. The God whom they had
honored, now honored them. The Spirit of the Lord rested
upon them, and to Daniel, "in a night vision," was revealed
the king's dream and its meaning.
Daniel's first act was to thank God for the revelation given
him. "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever," he
exclaimed; "for wisdom and might are His: and He changeth
the times and the reasons: He removeth kings, and setteth
up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge
to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep
and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and
the light dwelleth with Him. I thank Thee, and praise Thee,
O Thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and
might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired
of Thee: for Thou hast now made known unto us the king's
matter."
Going immediately to Arioch, whom the king had
commanded to destroy the wise men, Daniel said, "Destroy not
the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and
I will show unto the king the interpretation." Quickly the
officer ushered Daniel in before the king, with the words,
"I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make
known unto the king the interpretation."
Behold the Jewish captive, calm and self-possessed, in the
presence of the monarch of the world's most powerful
empire. In his first words he disclaimed honor for himself
and exalted God as the source of all wisdom. To the anxious
inquiry of the king, "Art thou able to make known unto
me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation
thereof?" he replied: "The secret which the king hath
demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the
magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; but there is a
God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known
to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.
"Thy dream," Daniel declared, "and the visions of thy
head upon thy bed, are these; As for thee, O king, thy
thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should
come to pass hereafter: and He that revealeth secrets maketh
known to thee what shall come to pass. But as for me, this
secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more
than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known
the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know
the thoughts of thy heart.
"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before
thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head
was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly
and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron
and part of clay.
"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands,
which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and
clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay,
the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors;
and the wind carried them away, that no place was found
for them: and the stone that smote the image became a
great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
"This is the dream," confidently declared Daniel; and
the king, listening with closest attention to every particular,
knew it was the very dream over which he had been so
troubled. Thus his mind was prepared to receive with favor
the interpretation. The King of kings was about to
communicate great truth to the Babylonian monarch. God would
reveal that He has power over the kingdoms of the world,
power to enthrone and to dethrone kings. Nebuchadnezzar's
mind was to be awakened, if possible, to a sense of his
responsibility to Heaven. The events of the future, reaching down
to the end of time, were to be opened before him.
"Thou, O king, art a king of kings," Daniel continued,
"for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power,
and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the children of
men dwell, the beasts of the field and fowls of the heaven
hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler
over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
"And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear
rule over all the earth.
"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch
as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and
as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and
bruise.
"And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of
potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided;
but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch
as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. And as the
toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. And
whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."
"In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the
kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut
out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold;
the great God hath made known to the king what shall come
to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure."
The king was convinced of the truth of the interpretation,
and in humility and awe he "fell upon his face, and
worshiped," saying, "Of a truth it is, that your God is a God
of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing
thou couldest reveal this secret."
Nebuchadnezzar revoked the decree for the destruction
of the wise men. Their lives were spared because of Daniel's
connection with the Revealer of secrets. And "the king
made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great
gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon,
and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province
of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king."
In the annals of human history, the growth of nations,
the rise and fall of empires, appear as if dependent on the
will and prowess of man; the shaping of events seems, to
a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition,
or caprice. But in the word of God the curtain is drawn
aside, and we behold, above, behind, and through all the
play and counterplay of human interest and power and
passions, the agencies of the All-merciful One, silently, patiently
working out the counsels of His own will.
In words of matchless beauty and tenderness, the apostle
Paul set before the sages of Athens the divine purpose in
the creation and distribution of races and nations. "God
that made the world and all things therein," declared the
apostle, "hath made of one blood all nations of men for
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might
feel after Him, and find Him." Acts 17:24-27.
God has made plain that whosoever will, may come
"into the bond of the covenant." Ezekiel 20:37. In the
creation it was His purpose that the earth should be
inhabited by beings whose existence would be a blessing to
themselves and to one another, and an honor to their Creator.
All who will may identify themselves with this purpose.
Of them it is spoken, "This people have I formed for Myself;
they shall show forth My praise." Isaiah 43:21.
In His law God has made known the principles that
underlie all true prosperity, both of nations and of individuals.
To the Israelites Moses declared of this law: "This is
your wisdom and your understanding." "It is not a vain
thing for you; because it is your life." Deuteronomy 4:6;
32:47. The blessings thus assured to Israel are, on the same
conditions and in the same degree, assured to every nation
and to every individual under the broad heavens.
Hundreds of years before certain nations came upon the
stage of action, the Omniscient One looked down the ages
and predicted the rise and fall of the universal kingdoms.
God declared to Nebuchadnezzar that the kingdom of
Babylon should fall, and a second kingdom would arise,
which also would have its period of trial. Failing to exalt
the true God, its glory would fade, and a third kingdom
would occupy its place. This also would pass away; and a
fourth, strong as iron, would subdue the nations of the world.
Had the rulers of Babylon--that richest of all earthly
kingdoms--kept always before them the fear of Jehovah,
they would have been given wisdom and power which would
have bound them to Him and kept them strong. But they
made God their refuge only when harassed and perplexed.
At such times, failing to find help in their great men, they
sought it from men like Daniel--men who they knew
honored the living God and were honored by Him. To these
men they appealed to unravel the mysteries of Providence;
for though the rulers of proud Babylon were men of the
highest intellect, they had separated themselves so far from
God by transgression that they could not understand the
revelations and the warnings given them concerning the
future.
In the history of nations the student of God's word may
behold the literal fulfillment of divine prophecy. Babylon,
shattered and broken at last, passed away because in
prosperity its rulers had regarded themselves as independent of
God, and had ascribed the glory of their kingdom to human
achievement. The Medo-Persian realm was visited by the
wrath of Heaven because in it God's law had been trampled
underfoot. The fear of the Lord had found no place in the
hearts of the vast majority of the people. Wickedness,
blasphemy, and corruption prevailed. The kingdoms that
followed were even more base and corrupt; and these sank
lower and still lower in the scale of moral worth.
The power exercised by every ruler on the earth is
Heaven-imparted; and upon his use of the power thus bestowed, his
success depends. To each the word of the divine Watcher is,
"I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me." Isaiah
45:5. And to each the words spoken to Nebuchadnezzar
of old are the lesson of life: "Break off thy sins by righteousness,
and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor: if
it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." Daniel 4:27.
To understand these things,--to understand that
"righteousness exalteth a nation;" that "the throne is established
by righteousness," and "upholden by mercy;" to recognize
the outworking of these principles in the manifestation of
His power who "removeth kings, and setteth up kings,"--
this is to understand the philosophy of history. Proverbs
14:34; 16:12; 20:28; Daniel 2:21.
In the word of God only is this clearly set forth. Here
it is shown that the strength of nations, as of individuals,
is not found in the opportunities or facilities that appear
to make them invincible; it is not found in their boasted
greatness. It is measured by the fidelity with which they
fulfill God's purpose.