Centering on Jesus
Opening Prayer
Lord God, I pray that Your Word today may give me wisdom and help develop good judgment in me.
Read DANIEL 2:24-49
[24] Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.” [25] Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.” [26] The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?” [27] Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, [28] but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: [29] “As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. [30] As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind. [31] “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue-an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. [32] The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, [33] its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. [34] While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. [35] Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. [36] “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. [37] You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; [38] in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. [39] “After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. [40] Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron-for iron breaks and smashes everything-and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. [41] Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. [42] As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. [43] And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. [44] “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. [45] This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands-a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy.” [46] Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. [47] 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.” [48] 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. [49] 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. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Reflect
How was God glorified in this situation?God had made an awesome promise to King David in 2 Samuel 7:16. Now, here was the deeply unsettling dream that revealed its fulfillment. Daniel was given the understanding of the king’s vision (45) and God’s greatness was recognized by the pagan King (47). The vision told how kingdoms would rise (39,40), but their “feet” or foundations of “iron” and “baked clay” wouldn’t stand for long, especially when struck by an enormous boulder (33,34). When John the Baptist declared, “The Kingdom of heaven is near” (Matt. 3:2), the boulder was already careening down the mountainside—it was Jesus.
Powers, governments and cultures won’t last forever, but God’s Kingdom will (44). The history of the world, and everything in it, is centered on Jesus, not on people, and it always will be. These are the “deep and hidden things” (22) that require God’s direct work in people’s lives to reveal them. Our vital role in the world is always to introduce the perspective of heaven, Jesus’ perspective, especially in situations where people feel too secure in things that won’t last. God’s Kingdom is an unstoppable reality, now and in the future.
Apply
“Make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” (Matt. 6:33, NLT). How do you do that each day?
Closing prayer
Mighty God, may I always put Your Kingdom first in all things and may You receive the glory for it.
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