Daniel 2:46-49
Daniel 2:46-49
New King James Version (NKJV)
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
My Thoughts:
The first thing that caught my eye was that fact that the king fell to the ground and gave offerings to Daniel, this reminds me of (Acts 10:25, 26) “As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, “Stand up; I myself am also a man.”’ I can see Daniel saying that “it was not I which these things come from, but from God.”
So as a reward for this interpretation Daniel was given two things; 1st he was given great wealth; this was the first of the two things that would have made Daniel a great man in his time. 2nd he was given great power. He was made the ruler of all the province of Babylon and overseer of the wise men; this would have been the other thing that Daniel would have needed to be a great man.
But the most important message that I took form all that I read is, when Daniel received all this power he did not let it go to his head. The first thing Daniel did was plead for his friends and ask if they too could share in his good fortune.
Ellen White Statements:
“So in Daniel God placed a light beside the throne of the world’s greatest kingdom, that all who would might learn of the true and living God. At the court of Babylon were gathered representatives from all lands, men of the choicest talents, men the most richly endowed with natural gifts and possessed of the highest culture this world could bestow; yet amid them all the Hebrew captives were without a peer. In physical strength and beauty, in mental vigor and literary attainments, and in spiritual power and insight they stood unrivaled. “In all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.” Daniel 1:20. While faithful to his duties in the king’s court, Daniel so faithfully maintained his loyalty to God that God could honor him as His messenger to the Babylonian monarch. Through him the mysteries of the future were unfolded, and Nebuchadnezzar himself was constrained to acknowledge the God of Daniel “as a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets.” Daniel 2:47.
So the institutions established by God’s people today are to glorify His name. The only way in which we can fulfill His expectation is by being representatives of the truth for this time. God is to be recognized in the institutions established by Seventh-day Adventists. By them the truth for this time is to be represented before the world with convincing power.” {6T 220}
Last thoughts:
So what are the lessons learned from Daniel 2? Well as I see it they are as follow:
1) Do not pretend to be something you are not. It will come back to bite you.
2) God is always by our side, even when we are faced with death.
3) If we ask, God will provide the answers we need; all we need to do is stop and lesson.
4) If we trust in God, we will see the fruits of our faith.
5) God love everyone, even the Astrologers. He not only saved the lives of Daniel and his friends but of the wise men as well.
6) And most of all, when God tells us something is going to happen it will.
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Daniel 2 hold a lot for one chapter. It is amazing to me that God can love us so much. Our feeble minds cannot take it in. When you just read chapter 2 you do not see the things God is teaching us. I feel that is the way of life in general. We do not see the day to day workings in our lives at the time. When we look back at something, we can see God working,but how many times do we say it is fate or kismet or luck. God gave us these things to learn through Daniel. He gives us His supreme love every day. We should be like Daniel and pray and love and thank God for all He does.
There are many times that God has given us a small look at His plan and then there are other times that He just says “trust me”. Reading this book feels me with the warmth needed to carry me through those days.
I agree. We’re encouraged through stories like these that God always work things out for the geater good of others, giving them opportunities to choose wisely, and He takes care of us just fine along the way.
So after Daniel was taken from his home, made a enuch, had his name changed, and try to take away his culture and religion; it didn’t take too long since he actually won the king (not to mention probably a few guards) to his religion and taught them how great God was and won for himself riches and power in return. Reminds me of Joseph in the Bible, how they intended him evil, yet God intended it for good. How marvelous that God does that still today!
Was it you that said “there is nothing bad that God cannot make something good out of?” How true is that statement?