King Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream that he knew was important, but he just can't remember it! So God showed Daniel the dream, and he reported it to the king.
(29) As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.
This will show the king that there is only one real God, not any of his polytheistic demons.
(31) You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome.
Now he's going to describe the statue that will show the whole future history of the world, from his day all the way down to today, and beyond!
(32) The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
This is an artist's rendering of what the statue may have looked like that the king dreamed. Four metals, from most to least valuable, and the feet a mixture.
(34) You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.
(35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole Earth.
So, what does all this mean? Why is it so important?
What is the significance of the metals, and what is the stone that destroys it?
Why did God give this dream to this king at this time?
Tomorrow we will look into this.
O my Father, You are great, and You are good. You were with Your people even when they were conquered and slaves in a far country. You still wanted them to show You to the people around them, and this king needed to know who You are. Even this pagan, idolatrous, worldly man could lead his people to You.
Thank You, Father, for this story of Daniel, to show us all how he lived a godly life in the midst of the evil and wicked culture that surrounded him. You are still with Your people today, both the Hebrews and Your children in Your family. You are still working out Your plans, and Your purposes will be accomplished.
Help us to learn to live our lives in the midst of the evil and wickedness that surrounds us in the world today, and show us how to manifest You to our neighbors and others.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
