This is the second in our series on Daniel. You can listen to all of our sermons on our sermon page.
There is an author who really wanted his novel to be published. He had what he thought was a great idea and started to work on it. After a bit of writing, though, he became disheartened and tossed it in the bin.
He wanted to be a great writer, but it seemed like an impossible dream. How was he going to get there? Maybe he wasn't really a writer after all.
His wife, though, took it out of the bin and encouraged him to keep writing. When Stephen King sent his manuscript for Carrie to a publisher, it wasn't only an incredible book—it was turned into a film and has led to an incredible career!
Sometimes we are in situations that feel impossible. We have dreams that aren't realised. We are in difficult situations where we don't know the way out.
This chapter in Daniel is all about how to face impossible odds.
Living Under the Shadow of Empire
Daniel is living in the shadow of this dark empire. His job is connected to this dark empire, and now he is asked something impossible of him.
The stakes are high! Life and death! The odds are impossible: how can someone interpret someone else's dream, let alone know it without being told?
He might have felt his time has run out as a religious refugee, as an exile. Is this the end of me?
Probably all of us know the feeling of impossible or difficult situations. This is what it means to live in the shadow of empire.
"Empire" is the word we're using to talk about sin. Sin is behind all the darkness, chaos, and destruction in your life. This empire casts a long, cold shadow. The effects of a broken world are innumerable. It leaves broken relationships, injustice, pride. It's why people hurt people, and it's why you just want to live your own life apart from God.
The impossible situation that Daniel is in teaches us about the impossible situation every single one of us is in. We are willing contributors to the very empire that is destroying us.
We have been sinned against; we are sinful ourselves. How in the world can we get out of this predicament? Is this the end of us?
What Jesus does, though, is save us from this crumbling, shadow-filled empire and give us a new orientation in life. In our lives now, yes, there is the shadow of empire and we feel it, but we can live a different way—a way filled with light instead of darkness, of warmth instead of the cold.
Jesus has won this for us. He has redeemed us. He's the Redeemer! And if that's true, that means the best life we can live is about giving up all we have to Him. A life of surrender.
The Problem: An Impossible Task
The most powerful person in the world at this time is disturbed by a dream. It's not just any dream—it's disturbing. All the power in the world, and one dream throws him off.
We have a king who seems distrustful of his advisors, maybe even distrustful of the idea of dream interpretation at all. And he demands an impossible task. There is no one on earth who can do this.
The interpreters must tell the king the dream and interpret it. Have you ever been in a situation where you had to guess what the other person was thinking? (Marriage, anyone?!)
Failure means death, but if they succeed, there are big rewards.
Everyone says: this is impossible! There is no one on earth who can do this. So the king says, well, all right, I'll kill you all. Some toxic leadership going on here!
Arioch, working for the king, checks his work calendar, then sets off to kill a bunch of dream interpreters. He comes to Daniel. And Daniel's instinctual response?
Verse 14: "wisdom and tact"
Daniel, on the verge of being put to death, responds with "wisdom and tact."
Tact: where we get the word "taste." Sensible, prudent, discerning. It sounds good and it feels good. It's truthful and it connects.
Wisdom and Tact in the Face of Death
Think of all the anti-wisdom and tact ways he could have responded! Flapping, arguing, fleeing. He could run away, or he could attack—which is always what we are tempted to do when we're in a difficult position.
But Daniel and his friends know: their survival is directly connected to their mission.
The product of speaking with wisdom and tact? Favour with someone who shouldn't risk for them! Arioch took a risk (he would likely be killed as well if Daniel doesn't come through).
As Daniel is living in the shadow of empire but with his hope in God, Daniel is able to respond with wisdom and tact. And because of this, others live more risky lives, and it's better for everyone because of it!
In the face of a powerful, oppressive force, Daniel doesn't break up. He has to face the empire but isn't taken in by it.
What Daniel and his friends needed was literally something that nobody on earth was able to do. If nobody on earth can give us what we need, we must look elsewhere.
The Prayer: Looking Beyond Earth
Daniel's poetic prayer stops the narrative, heightens the drama, and points strongly to the point of the chapter: the Lord is all-powerful and is at work in this world.
During the night—and what a night that must have been for Daniel—God reveals the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. And what is Daniel's instinct now? To praise the Lord. What a prayer:
(Verse 20) Why are those with power in power? Only because God has allowed it
(End of verse 21) How can anyone be wise or discerning? Only because God gives it
(Verse 22) Who reveals the true nature of the world? God illuminates it. Who knows everything, including the mysteries of this world, of our heart? God knows all
If that is who we serve, then we can ask anything of Him! If that is who, crazily enough, serves us, then we can't help but praise.
He has given Daniel wisdom and power—two things the most important person on the face of the earth doesn't have enough of. Daniel and his friends have asked the Lord to come through, and He has:
"You have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king" (verse 23b).
So if the Lord is all-powerful and is at work in this world, then we go to Him for all things. This situation seemed impossible, and for Daniel and his friends, yes, by itself it is impossible. But Daniel isn't by himself. The One with all wisdom and power is with him.
Prayer Is How We Talk to This God
Prayer is how we talk to this God. Prayer is how we praise Him, ask Him for things, thank Him for things. As we pray, more of our life is orientated around Him—the One who is able to accomplish things that nobody else on earth is able to.
If we see Daniel as an example to follow, a huge part of this is prayer. Daniel isn't just following along. In verse 18, he's the one urging his friends to pray for mercy. He's leading in prayer, encouraging his friends to keep at it.
You want to live like Daniel? Delve deep into prayer with others. You want to excel in your job? Delve deep into prayer with others. You want to not flee from your problems? Delve deep into prayer with others.
Real prayer, not flimsy, religious-sounding prayers, but the real stuff. The real stuff that Daniel is getting to here. Not many of us have our lives on the line, but what are we doing with the gift of a decent life? Would others say this about you: that you urge them to pray?
Being a spiritually mature person means knowing how to practise prayer yourself but also helping others along to do the same. As a church in Manchester, we're learning together what it means to pray with this kind of urgency and faith.
The Revelation: Human Empire vs God's Kingdom
Because of Daniel and his friends' prayers, God worked. God supernaturally revealed not only the king's dream but the interpretation of that dream.
Daniel is speaking to the earthly king of kings as he addresses him.
Four Empires and One Eternal Kingdom
The revelation shows four empires: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome. Represented by different metals, from stronger to weaker. They all fall, they all crumble, they are all destroyed—and then a far more powerful kingdom emerges. One that doesn't just last for a long time but a kingdom that can't be destroyed, one that endures forever.
Daniel is talking to the king of kings about the King of Kings.
This isn't a new story in the Bible. In this section, there are allusions to the Tower of Babel, where humanity got together to prove that we can be good and successful without God—and not only was it rather pitiful, it didn't last long.
There's also an allusion to little David destroying the giant Goliath, who seemed impossible to take down but was taken down in a surprising way.
In the king's dream, there is movement from precious metals further down: from gold to clay. From something pure to mixed. This imagery is very much in line with the symbol of a temple—not a temple to God or of God, but a human temple.
And what is the end for the human temple? Just a pile of rocks. Rubble.
All of this is contrasted against this other kingdom. Verse 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."
Human Empire vs God's Kingdom
This is human empire versus God's kingdom. Daniel isn't just talking to Nebuchadnezzar; through the Bible, God is speaking to us right now. This revelation was so well known that no Jew ever claimed to be the messiah before the Romans came along. Because Jews knew it was after four kingdoms that the messiah comes. After the Romans came along, loads of people claimed to be a messiah.
But we are also told in the Bible who this Messiah is, who is going to lead this never-ending kingdom.
Maybe you've never seen Jesus' tattoo as proof of Him being the Messiah! To make it really easy for us, Jesus has it written on His body. In the book of Revelation:
"On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16).
The leader of this new kingdom is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Himself. Jesus' kingdom not only conquers all other kingdoms; it's the only one that lasts forever. Not some other generic kingdom, not the idea of god, not being good—it's Jesus, exclusively.
Because it's all about Jesus, this enables Daniel to live with boldness. He can tell the truth to those in power because Daniel knows who's really in power. Daniel is revered for his interpretation, but the reason he can do it isn't because of his own skill; it's because of God's work.
This should form how we talk about the "great things we do." Do you tell stories about the great things you've done where you get to be the main character? Do you use comparison to big yourself up? Or do you put God on display? That is His rightful place, by the way.
This should also form how we talk about what we believe towards those who do have earthly power. Because we know that the empire, that strong, powerful institution that looms over us, is nothing more than feet of clay.
"Feet of clay is an idiom that refers to a weakness or character flaw, especially in people of prominence and power."
What easily has power over you? Shame? Defeat? Your weakness? Your pride? Fear? Nothing more than feet of clay!
The Response: Humble Surrender
The response from the most powerful man in the world? It's this ironic reversal: The king bows his head to the floor, similar to the statue in the dream, but now with humility. And to God's Word to him.
Surrender. To bow your head is to have all of you surrender. Not just the parts that are easy. Not just the parts that you like.
Your time. The things you desire. Your emotions. Money, relationships, commitments—all of that must be surrendered to the King of Kings.
In this chapter of Daniel, we have a non-Jewish oppressor of God's people who previously was about setting his own image up, now lowering his face, lowering his image, bowing low—before a vulnerable exile! Not because of Daniel, but because of his God.
Confronted with Our Own Image
What we need—all of us—is to be confronted with our own image and our own sin. We are all too eager to believe our own press: that we're not that bad, that we're pretty decent people, or at least 51% good, that we don't really need saving, and the best life is one where we get to rely on ourselves.
This is living in the way of human empire. And it has its own temple, the one imaged in the dream. It might look good; it might have some power. But in reality? It's feet of clay! It will be destroyed.
What we need is someone to crush our empire of sin. We can't! Lord knows we've tried! Too weak: nothing happens. Too strong, and we get crushed alongside it. If the line between good and evil runs within every heart, we don't just need an empire crusher—we need a place where we can survive, a rock, a kingdom that won't pass away, and a way to be invited into it.
Where Else We Look
Because we as humans will literally go anywhere but God, there are many other options:
Flee: We can run away from this problem and chase after other things. Maybe a career, maybe an addiction, but it's flight all the same. Fill your life with other stuff, and now you get to be full of yourself.
Fight: We can try really hard to be religious. "I'm not bad and I'll prove it!" So we sign up for all the things, lead all the things, we get bitter that others aren't as evolved as we are. When we come to church, we don't come with a posture of humble surrender; we come with a pedestal under our arm, just waiting to plonk it down and climb up top.
Numb: As Flannery O'Connor said, the easiest way to avoid Jesus is in the church. Come and show up, leave your heart at home, leave your humility there too whilst you're at it. Show up, don't serve. Nod along, go home, and tick it off the list.
Fleeing, fighting, and numbing ourselves are all ways we embrace the shadow of empire instead of life in God's kingdom. And Daniel 2 teaches us that the empire will crumble.
But nothing, nobody on earth can give us what we need. We must look elsewhere.
Jesus: Personal and Powerful
Jesus is the One who destroys the human temple. He destroys the empire that casts its long, cold shadow. Do you think Nebuchadnezzar enjoyed humbling himself before God's Word? I doubt it! But he did it; he surrendered, and it was good for him.
Regardless of however you feel—good, bad, whatever—it is always the best for us to humbly surrender ourselves to God's Word. And God's people here have a story from someone doing that who has no experience being one of God's people!
Jesus does this by allowing Himself—the Temple—to be destroyed. And with it, all of our sin that He took with Him as it was being done. On the cross, the True Temple is being destroyed and our human temple, the empire, is being destroyed—simultaneously.
We talked about the practice of prayer. This is the "who" we are praying to!
It's having the most powerful being you can imagine, and one who loves you the most, on retainer. And not someone who is annoyed when you ring them up.
We want someone who is personal and powerful. Personal, in that they know us, they love us, they care for us, they know what it's like. We also want someone who is powerful—someone who can actually change what needs to be changed, who has power to do so.
If it's only someone personal and not powerful, they mean well but can't do anything—like a well-meaning grandparent. Those relationships are good! It's just that we need something more.
If it's only someone powerful and not personal, they can do something, but it's not always in your best interest. Enter generic politician here, right?
What we need with a god, what we need in life, is exactly the combination of both of these things. Jesus is 100% personal and 100% powerful.
Imagine having someone like that on retainer, like a powerful lawyer or something. That would cost a fortune! But here's the other thing: Jesus, who is far more powerful than any lawyer or politician, who is far more personal than any loving friend or relative—we don't pay for Him to work. He has already paid it Himself!
This is the gospel: Jesus gives us all we need, and He pays the whole price. What a gift!
Nobody on earth has what we need, but we have the Lord of heaven and earth, and He is always accessible.
If that's who we have access to, that changes prayer. It changes how often we pray; it changes what we pray for. And if our prayer lives get changed, the rest of our lives will.
Understanding what it means to be a Christian includes grasping this incredible access to a God who is both personal and powerful.
Jesus Crushes Empire and Invites Us Into His Kingdom
Jesus does two things: He crushes empire and invites us into His kingdom.
Jesus has crushed the empire of sin, destroyed it completely. Past tense. It is in its slow crumble, even as the shadow might remain for a short while.
In that destruction, we, like Nebuchadnezzar, are given an invitation—an invitation to life in His kingdom.
His kingdom is where we humbly surrender. In His kingdom, we are given supernatural gifts. In His kingdom, we can boldly speak with wisdom and tact.
Because Jesus took our sin and was crushed, the empire has no hold on us anymore. Because Jesus rose victorious, we can be part of His kingdom. In fact, it's more than an invitation; it's an identity change. We are transformed by Jesus, renouncing the empire and its shadow, living in full allegiance to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords: King Jesus.
As a church in Manchester, we're discovering together what it means to live under the lordship of Jesus rather than the shadow of empire. We work this out by worshipping together and through ongoing relationships in our missional communities.
Daniel's Prayer Can Be Ours
Let's pray Daniel's prayer together:
Praise be to Your name, God, for ever and ever; wisdom and power are Yours.
You change times and seasons; You depose kings and raise up others.
You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
You reveal deep and hidden things; You know what lies in darkness, and light dwells with You.
We thank and praise You, God of our ancestors, like Daniel: You have given us wisdom and power, You have made known to us what we asked of You, You have made known to us all that we need.