There's No God Like Jehovah!

The time had come on the great kingdom calendar. Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel had all proclaimed the word of Lord in their times and warned that this very moment would come, through much lamenting. The book of Daniel seems to pick up where our story left off with king Jehoiakim, back in Kings and Chronicles. God handed over his people to the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, along with many of the prized possessions from the temple. The king instructed his leaders to choose the most noble of Judah and to carry them back to Babylon for training in "language and literature." The description of what was important Babylon itself, sounds the same as what America values today....."young, good-looking, no blemishes, gifted in wisdom, possessing knowledge, quick to understand, ability to serve the king's ambition." The scholars were given new names to symbolize their new ownership, but I think God had that idea first.

Choose your dining company well. There were four young men, among many others, who caused a bit of a scene. You see, the king appointed to them a rich regiment of the finest foods and delicacies of wine during their three years of training. Daniel and his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, asked permission not to defile themselves in this way. They had been taught that to take a meal with someone, was somewhat like a covenant with them. These young men didn't want to eat from the hand of their captor. Because God had brought Daniel into favor with his teachers, they were allowed to eat grains, bread, and fruits....things "grown from sown seed." This is translated as "vegetables" in many of our Bibles. The point is that these four men ate the diet the Lord had led them to partake, and at the end of 10 days they were stronger and healthier than the others. God had honored their commitment to Him, by also making them the wisest among all of the other wizards and magicians in the land. They were exceptional!

"But there is a God in heaven..." Chapter 2 opens with the king and his bad dream. (I wonder if Daniel and his friends often wondered if they were having a bad dream?) The king sent for all of his wise men, wizards, magicians, and astrologers to interpret the dream for him. There was a slight problem though....the king wouldn't tell them his dream! The catch was that if they were so smart they should already know his dream, and because of his already bad mood, he ordered all those who couldn't make known to him these things, killed. They sought Daniel and his companions, as they were the smartest in the land. The captain of the guard allowed Daniel to request of the king, more time. What followed was likely a prayer service like no other the world had seen! Daniel and his friends gathered and prayed for revelation, and God revealed the secret, to Daniel. I love the prayer found in this chapter and have prayed it myself, as praise to Him when opening our prayer time with the Lord.

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.

And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings;

he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.

He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him."

Daniel received the word and went. He was brought before the king, and asked if he could tell and interpret the dream. I love Daniel's answer here, "The secret which the king has demanded, [we] cannot declare to the king, but there is a God in heaven Who reveals secrets...." Oh, I just get goosebumps!!! He goes on to explain that the secret dream was not made known to him to save his own life or that of the others, but so that the king could know the thoughts of his own heart. Wow. Now the dream itself is a whole study alone, but the statue was made of different metals and substances representing the different kingdoms in power on the earth over a period of time to come. Daniel basically said that Nebuchadnezzar's time was short, and he'd better bow the knee! The king was so humbled before Daniel that he fell prostrate and offered many great gifts, making him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. Daniel surrounded himself with his faithful companions and served for 16 years in the king's court.

Statue? What statue? ...I don't remember a statue! Now you would think that ol' Nebuchadnezzar would remember his experience with the God of the ages forever, but he did not. This king made a giant golden statue, likely because gold was the color of the "head" portion in his dream all those years ago, and he was making a point here. Anyway, he demanded that all in Babylon bow before it. This thing was massive, standing 90 feet tall! It was important that all of the "important" people lead the way in worship to this monstrosity. Nebuchadnezzar had the party all planned out, telling all the people to gather together for the dedication ceremony, at the sound of the music, the wisest in the land and the most powerful around would bow before his giant golden image, first. (This guy had insecurity issues, for real!) And, the punishment for not bowing was death by fiery furnace.

As before, our captive friends caused a bit of a scene. They did not bow, in fact refused to do so! They knew the punishment, and chose not to defile themselves, regardless. Somebody told on them, and this enraged the king! He gave them another chance to bow, explaining how his party was to work once more, but when the music played, the young men stood. Their answer for their disobedience? "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer to you. The God whom we serve is able to deliver us....but if He does not, let it be known that we will not bow before this statue." 'Nezzar was so angry that he ordered the furnace to be heated 7x more. Indeed, they were tied up and thrown in. Some really cool things happened, not the least of which was the fourth man who was suddenly appeared in the furnace! But, I find it funny that when the king realized they weren't burning, he called them out by name...not mentioning the fourth guy at all. Maybe he didn't want to know Who it was?? Not a hair on their heads was flammable, but the cords that bound them burned away. Praise the Lord!

The theme in the first half of Daniel is that loyalty to God brings victory over one's persecutors. The king seemed to be the dramatic type, threatening that if anyone ever spoke against the God of these men, that he would cut them into pieces and burn their houses to an ash heap. He confessed that there is no God who can deliver like this! Do you think Nebuchadnezzar ever forgot again? Certainly not? Certainly he worshiped the Most High God for the rest of his days, right? Hmmmmm. One thing is for sure: Indeed, there's no God like Jehovah.