Daniel 2:17-30 The Four Seek
Daniel and his friends are in danger, with all the rest of the ‘wise men’ of Babylon. The four friends seek for mercy from God. God gives Daniel the answer the king seeks.
The second thing Daniel did, after learning of the king’s command, was to go home to his friends. Apparently these four were living together in their own house. Once home, he immediately tells his friends that they need “seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery” (verse 18b).
Daniel had no doubt that the circumstances were dire. The king’s command was for ALL the wise men of Babylon; of which Daniel and his friends were counted. And he KNEW that the king would carry out this sentence of death unless his request was fulfilled.
NO man could do this. The ONLY answer lay with the Lord. When Daniel sought the Lord, was he asking for the interpretation? Was he asking that he and his friends would somehow be exempt? Was he asking for and escape plan? Or was he asking God to do whatever His will was in this situation?
Thinking about this last ‘possible’ prayer reminds me of the fiery furnace story that is still ahead for us. Daniel’s friends did NOT presume to tell God what to do. What they did do, was to put the matter in His hands and trust Him with their lives. I wonder if today’s event prepared them for the one to come. God builds our faith brick by brick until we have a fortress that Satan CANNOT topple or stand against!
Daniel was the one God chose to reveal the answer to. He could have used any of the friends but He had already chosen Daniel as the leader and His spokesperson. God KNEW his heart. Daniel had also been the one to make an appointment with the king before he even came home.
When Daniel woke up the next day PRAISING God, God was not the least bit surprised. Daniel KNEW where his help came from. He praised God with EVERY FIBER OF HIS BEING. He praised God from a heart that had the EXACT ANSWER he was seeking. “To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for YOU have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter” (verse 23).
I have to stop here for a moment and touch on two things. First, I want to highlight the FIRST thing that Daniel did after learning the news about the king’s dilemma. Second, I want to touch on their prayer.
As I was writing, I noticed something in our reading and had to go back and look at what I had already written. My first sentence, after the introduction paragraph, originally said “The first thing Daniel did…” I was reminded that going home and talking to his friends wasn’t the first thing Daniel did. The FIRST thing he did was to go and make an appointment with the king. “And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king” (verse 16). Daniel had absolute faith that he would have an answer for the king. Daniel didn’t run and hide. He didn’t tell the king where to look for his answer. He told whomever he made this appointment through the HE would be bringing the answer sought by the king. We don’t know how this was received by whomever Daniel spoke to because when he did come with the interpretation, Arioch had to bring him in before the king.
The second thing I want to look back on is the prayer our four friends made. Because Daniel had already ‘stuck his neck out’, I believe now that they came to God with the request for the interpretation. They didn’t presume to tell God what He had to do, but they prayed in faith and told God exactly what it was they needed. I have no doubt that they ended their prayer with telling God that they would accept whatever His will was for this situation. So, the next day, when their prayer was answered exactly as they had asked, they PRAISED GOD with ALL that was within them!
I have a prayer I make every morning as I go out to take care of my chickens. I pray with EVERYTHING within me for God to keep my husband asleep until I am FINISHED with my tasks outside. He is disabled, and when he wakes up and I’m not withing shouting distance, we have problems! MOST of the time, God answers my prayer EXACTLY as I asked. But there are times He doesn’t and I have to ‘pick up the pieces’ (often my husband from the floor) of my day and move on.
There have been times when I was out working with the chickens that I felt an urgent need to go back into the house and check on my husband. On the times when I followed this urging, I usually found him still sleeping. If I ignored it, I would find him in distress when I did get back in.
What I want to ask is this; am I asking in faith or hope? I have noticed that almost every time, when I open the front door and walk back in, I start checking for signs of an answered prayer or trouble. My heart gets that little scared feeling as I push the door open. I open the door and immediately look towards the bathroom and check what the dogs are doing. If both dogs are standing anxiously at the front door, I know there is a problem.
What did Daniel’s heart feel like when he went to bed that night? Was he excited to fall asleep so he could receive his answer, or did he have that little scared feeling as he closed his eyes? Daniel praised God AFTER the answer. I do too, every time. I want faith like Daniel’s.
I believe that THIS is where I am supposed to go today. THIS is the thing that God is speaking to me about. I don’t know if this is for anyone else, but it is where I’m meeting Him right now. I want to go ahead and finish sharing a couple more things I found interesting in our reading today but I don’t want to cut God short or move away from where He is pointing me right now. I’m going to do things a bit different today and hope you will either bear with me, excuse me, or join me.
Father God, I WANT faith like Daniel’s. I KNOW You have me in the palm of Your hands and that there is NOTHING we can’t walk through together. But I want that KNOWING that the prayers I make are done in FAITH; not in hope. I KNOW sometimes You say “No” to what I ask for. But I want that scared feeling to be GONE. I’ll still take the excitement of the answered prayer and the desire to praise You for it. Do the two come together; anticipation and expectation? I DON’T want it to be doubt.
Father God, if it IS doubt, purge it from my heart! Build my faith to the point where doubt has NO hold. If my ‘feelings’ are a part of faith, show me this clearly. Dissolve ALL guilt over this and guard my heart and mind as I reenter my home each day. Thank You for touching my heart with Your word again Father. Let Your Spirit have His perfect work in my life.
Let’s skip to the end of our text and look at Daniel as he stands before the king. Just like all the magicians, enchanters, and wise men the king consulted, Daniel tells the king the NO MAN can do what the king has asked. Unlike all those before him though, Daniel goes farther. He tells the king EXACTLY who can and will answer his request. “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made it known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” (verse 28a).
Daniel not only tells the king that God gave Nebuchadnezzar this information, but that GOD has also given the him the answer the king seeks. And WHY the information was given. “But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, NOT because of any wisdom I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the kind, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind” (verse 30). God WANTED Nebuchadnezzar to have this information. Daniel will the conduit by which it is to be interpreted, but God truly wanted to tell this story to Nebuchadnezzar. Why else would Nebuchadnezzar’s heart be so troubled by this dream if not to search for an answer.
God often puts things in our hearts and minds to compel us to search for answers. I know He has done this for me MANY times. That’s were the desire to dig into His word comes from. A longing to know the answers. That was Nebuchadnezzar’s difficulty. Only, he didn’t know Who to ask. He hadn’t met God yet. And the answers he would receive through Daniel would get him looking in the right direction. His first ‘proof’ was on its way!
Thank You Father God for putting those desires in my heart to DIG DEEPER. Without Your urging I would never go beyond what is available on the surface. ‘A good story but so what’ attitude. THANK YOU that Your words reach DEEP in my heart and bring me to a point where I cannot turn loose. Where You grab me and get my attention because I let You lead me in. Keep me searching Holy Spirit!
