DARE SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER
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Opening Prayer
Lord, please enable me to hear your voice as I read your Word today. Help me gain a deeper understanding of who you are and how I can best serve you.
Read DANIEL 4:1–27
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree
4 King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.
17 “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’
18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
19 Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! 20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
23 “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
24 “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
Reflect
Are there times when you experience fear that keeps you from speaking God’s Word of truth to loved ones, friends, colleagues, and, especially, superiors?
The expression, ‘telling the truth in love,’ often barely hides a censorious attitude that delights in criticizing others, but there are times when compassion and love clash with the need to tell unpalatable truths to some loved one or superior. Daniel faced a similar dilemma about King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and its interpretation. Daniel’s relationship with his imperial employer was complex, to say the least. Almost as complex as Nebuchadnezzar’s relationship with God. The king was in charge of the whole known world, just about. Although Daniel was an exalted civil servant,1 he was just an employee whose life, like the lives of all his peers, was dispensable.2 The king’s temper was unpredictable: he could easily flare up and demand the life of any of his officials3, even if they didn’t deserve such punishment.
How could Daniel find the courage to inform the king that he had fallen foul of the judgment of God and that he was about to be driven from human society and condemned to eating grass like a beast of the field? Daniel was alarmed. If ever there was justification for ‘shooting the messenger,’ this surely was it. Not only was he going to tell the king extremely bad news, but he was also going to add his own opinion concerning the king’s sins and the potential remedy (v. 27).
In his last words, David passed on God’s advice to all leaders to rule in righteousness and the fear of God.4 Nebuchadnezzar learned this lesson the hard way, but learn it he did (vv. 3, 36). He learned it with the help of Daniel and his compatriots, men who were courageous enough to tell the king the truth from God.
Apply
Where might you be most vulnerable in speaking the truth of the gospel?
Closing prayer
Lord God, give me courage to speak truth to power so that my colleagues, teachers, superiors, and all around me may ‘praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven’ (4:37).
1 Dan 2:48. 2 Dan 3:19–23. 3 Dan 2:12, 13. 4 2 Sam 23:3, 4.
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