Title: Dreams of God (Daniel 2:31-35)
Contents
Lecture 19 Dreams about God (Daniel 2:31-35)
2:31-35
O king, you have seen a great image, and it stood before you, and it was large, and it had a remarkable brilliance, and its form was very dreadful. The head of the image was of pure gold, the chest and arms of silver, the belly and the thighs of bronze. His calves were iron, and his feet were some iron and some clay. And behold, the king saw that a stone cut out of no man's hand struck the iron and clay feet of the image and crushed them into pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, All the gold was shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in the summer, and the wind had blown it away, and the stone that struck the idol became a great mountain and filled the whole world.
There were two things King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to know from Daniel. One wanted to know the dream he had, and the other was the interpretation of the dream. In today's text, Daniel first explains the dream King Nebuchadnezzar had.
Today's text consists of two scenes. The first is recorded that the king saw a huge statue, and the second is a scene where the huge statue is smashed by a stone and disappears without a trace.
Let's start with verse 31. “O king, you have seen a great image.” He did not say, "O king, I see a great statue standing there." From the king's point of view, from the king's point of view, Daniel is explaining. Daniel's thoughts are very deep. At the most, he is 15 or 16 years old, and in our view now, he is only a third year middle school student or a first year high school student. But instead of saying it from his own point of view, he explains it from the king's point of view, saying, "O king, you have seen a great image." This is called eye level education, eye level explanation. It's about explaining from the other person's point of view. How deep are Daniel's thoughts?
I hope that you will have such a beautiful heart this morning as well. Do not try to think from my point of view, but think from the other person's point of view. Daniel is explaining from the king's point of view. So how deep are you thinking? May God plant deep thoughts in you as well. So, no matter what I say or do, I don't think from my point of view, but think, speak, and give from the other person's point of view.
Let's see. “The statue stood before the king,” he said. Now, a statue is standing in front of the king. So it's a location where you can observe everything in detail and accurately. You can't miss either one.
Did you say the size of the statue is small? Did you say big? "You have seen a great image," he said. The size was great. Then how big is the statue? In chapter 3, King Nebuchadnezzar made the image he had seen in his dream. Let's look at 3:1.
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide, and he set it up on the plain of Dura, in the city of Babylon.”
It is sixty cubits high. A cubit is from the elbow to the fingertips of a person. The length varies from person to person, but on average it is about 45 cm. For ease of calculation, consider 50 cm. Then the height is 300 cm, that is, about 3 m. 3m is about a 10-story building. So it's huge. I saw such a great statue.
After that, Shinsang said, "The brilliance is extraordinary." The head is made of pure gold, the chest and arms are made of silver, the belly and thighs are made of brass, and the calves and parts of the feet are made of iron. It was a statue made of various materials. When the sun shines brightly, it flashes brightly, but wouldn't it be less glamorous if it was made of one thing? It was made of gold, silver, bronze, and iron, so how special was the light? Were you dazzled? It must have made my eyes dizzy.
And look at the next one. “I am very afraid of its appearance,” he said. Let's go back to 3:1.
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide.”
It was said to be six cubits wide. Its height is ten times greater than its width. look at me My shoulder width is about 40 cm. How tall would a person be in relation to his shoulders? A short person, about 160 cm tall, will be 4 times taller, and a tall person will be 5 times taller. It is normal to be four to five times taller than the shoulder, but the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar saw and made is ten times taller than the shoulder. What shape would it be? In light of my body, my shoulders remain the same, and my height is now twice my height. So, is it good or bad? The view is very unusual. You can think of it like a palm tree or the 63 Building in Korea. The shape is unfamiliar to the eyes, so it is scary and ugly to see.
But look at verse 32. What was the idol's head made of? Made of pure gold. At the very end of verse 38, it says, “You are the head of gold.” So, what does the head of this deity symbolize? It symbolizes Babylon. Babylon has historically been a gold-loving country. It is said that the tax was collected in gold, and the throne of King Nebuchadnezzar was pure gold. It is said that he reigned on a throne made of pure gold. It was a country that loved gold.
Then he said, "The chest and arms are of silver." It has two arms. After Babylon fell, what kingdom was it divided into? Divided into Medes and Persia. However, historically, the Medes and Persians preferred silver. They also collected their taxes in silver. Silver symbolizes the Medes and Persians.
Then he said, "The belly and the thighs are of bronze." What country are the belly and thighs from? What kingdom came after Medo-Persia? It symbolizes the Greek Empire. If you look at the pictures or relics of Greek soldiers, what are they wearing helmets made of, breastplates made of what, shields made of what, and spears made of what? It is brass. The bronze symbolizes the Greek Empire.
Then look at verse 33. "His calves were iron, and his feet part iron and part clay." What kingdom stood behind the Greek kingdom? Rome. The Roman Empire was as strong as iron. But didn't the Roman Empire later split into several countries? The saying, "Some of his feet were iron and some clay" is a symbol of the Roman Empire.
But the head is gold, and below it is silver, below it is bronze, and below it is iron. Is it getting more and more valuable? decrease? decreases. You shouldn't be like this. We must become more and more valuable, the latter being better than the first. In the Bible, there are people who live upside down. There are people who are worse than the first. For example, there is King Saul. God chose him and made him a king, but he failed to do so. Later, they were abandoned by God. The same is true of Judas Iscariot. At first, he was loved and was chosen from among the twelve disciples to take the office of accountant. But it didn't get any better. You shouldn't be like that. The latter must be better than the first. You have to become a better person.
Like the sun rising from the east, like Daniel, I hope that you will become stronger as you go and live a better life in God's grace. So is Joseph. I was enslaved. He also served in prison. But God blessed him and he later became the prime minister of Egypt. In God's grace, I pray that your life will be better tomorrow than today, better the day after tomorrow than tomorrow, and that your life will become more and more prosperous. Tomorrow must be better than today. I hope that your business will prosper, your faith will grow, and you will be loved by more people.
Consider the image that King Nebuchadnezzar saw. Is your head heavy? Are your feet heavier? The head is heavy because it is made of pure gold. It is a shape that is easy to collapse even if left still. That's what the countries of the world are like. That is the principle of the world.
No material dependence. This is a story I heard from the deacon of our church a while ago. A friend had a building. Even though I can live comfortably and enjoy the rest of my life by receiving the rent from there, I always eat jajangmyeon for lunch, and without buying a single dress, I diligently collected the rent, bought the land opposite the building, got a loan, and built another building. . His job was to go from building to building and from building to building with a single road in between. Then, as to what happened, it is said that he was hit by a car and died while walking. What's the point of eating jajangmyeon for lunch and saving money while wearing tattered clothes? Not something to take with you when you die. The material must be written. I hope you enjoy it and spend it wisely.
Let me tell you one story. A man lived in a certain village. This man had three friends. This man valued his first friend the most. I thought of you as my best friend. I always tried to be close to my first friend. The second friend is not as good as the first, but I still cherish it and try to be close. The third friend just asks me if I ever meet him and it's annoying. So, friends are friends, but I tried not to get close to them as much as possible.
One day, an order was issued from the royal palace. to come to the king's court. I had a terrifying thought. "Surely I must have done something wrong. The king has ordered me to appear to punish me." With this in mind, he went to the first friend he thought was his best friend and asked if he could accompany him to the royal palace. Then, the first friend refused. Oh my god how can this be! I was discouraged.
I went to my second friend. I complained and asked him to go with me. Then the second friend said. "Okay, I'll go with you, but I'll go up to the gate of the palace with you. After that, go in by yourself." I was disappointed.
Last went to the third friend. Without expecting much, I asked if I could go together in this or that place, and the third friend said that he would go without saying a word. "Of course. I'll go with you. Don't I know everything about you? I will go to the king and tell him that you must be innocent." And then I followed.
This is a famous story from the Talmud. What does the king's court represent here? It is God's judgment seat. Everyone is called by God someday. Who is your first friend? substance. When God calls us, material things never go with us. No matter how much material you accumulate, it is useless. It's like the Tower of Babel. It crumbles down. Don't rely too much on materials.
Who will be the second friend after that? Our relatives and friends. These are our parents. When God calls us, He can follow us to the grave. You can come to the grave and mourn with tears. I can't go any further than that.
Who will be your third friend? Although the Talmud describes it as wisdom, the third friend is Jesus. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Jesus is with us, and there is only Jesus who is with us before the judgment seat of God, defending us, and raising our hands high. When we do not depend on the things of the world, but look to Jesus, rely on Jesus alone, and obey Jesus as He leads, Jesus will lead us safely to heaven.
Today, I pray that all of you and me who walk while looking forward to the one and only Jesus Christ will be all the blessed steps.