Week Two of the Beth Moore Bible study on Daniel:
The lessons always begin with prayer, and usually they are specific to God revealing deep secrets within his own words. What makes this particularly special is that the mystery is planted in the mind of a king. It arises from the dust of his mind during the night, and creates for him a circumstance beyond his control. So heavy does this weigh on him that he is unable to return to his sweet slumber. The king's dream is recorded in Daniel 2.
I've had dreams like this before, and it seems the Lord wants to keep me up at night so that I can see his plans, confer with him, and sometimes jot it down. I am blessed by this immensely and never want it to stop because God always gives me the time back in some way, in his time. And it is good! Matthew 13:11-12 recalls Christ telling his disciples that, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not [to the masses]. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance." Perhaps one could classify me as a Daniel, or a Jeremiah, closer to a Jonah? I see things...I tell people, they shoo me away...I decide they should face harsh punishment...
Anyway, Daniel (a young Jew of royalty who was captured and now serving the Gentile king) was a man of The Word. He knew it. And it knew him. And Daniel was very shrewd- like a serpent (only not evil...can you tell I don't like snakes?) I believe to a certain extent that "King Neb," as Beth so jubilantly calls him, was shrewd as well. He wasn't about to allow the astrologers and sorcerers to take what was his dream and turn it into an ear tickling festival. Nope! He told them that if they were unable to tell him his dream and interpret it that he would have them pulled apart like monkey bread. What did they do? Plead for their lives! The astrologers and sorcerers admitted that they couldn't even begin to guess what his dream was because the "gods" hold knowledge to the things of that nature. And death was upon them.
You got that right! Except, it isn't "the gods" who hold this knowledge, it's The God. The Living God, Creator God, Almighty God. Age to age, He's still the same. He gives the dreams and he gives the meaning of the dreams.
Enter Daniel, the hero with the hook-up. The saying is absolutely true that it is all about WHO you know. This boy simply astounds me. I mean, he's got chutzpah! How much confidence in your God do you have when you're willing to speak up to the man who came to kill you about something that could be considered none of your concern? Daniel, just a boy, really, had faith in his God and an excellent understanding of how to approach someone of tremendous power. What a gift! There is no "foot-in-mouth disease" here. And so by stepping up and trusting God, Daniel found favor with the king.
Finding favor with my king, the King of kings, starts with me approaching him. He whispers in my ear and plants dreams like trees of hope that are life-giving, but sometimes disturbing. Even so, I know he can and will provide nutrients and water to grow...it happens frequently. Let me tell you, he doesn't dispense on merit, otherwise I wouldn't make the cut. True story. Since it happens ALL THE TIME, you can make an inference that I approach His throne constantly (it may be appropriate to refer to me as Our Lady of Perpetual Discombobulation.) So be it. In the New Testament, James, the brother of Jesus Christ- who once thought his divine sibling insane, does a little backtracking and gives us a bit of sage advice: to ask God when we need wisdom because he's willing and able to give it...and he won't call you a schlub for doing it!
Father, you say, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." You had David write in the Psalms, "Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place." His son, Solomon, was given your words, "For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." Let us seek you out to find your wisdom. May it be that your enduring love spares us of foolishness, but if we are fools, we are fools for you! Thank you that as the giver of dreams, you also have the meaning, and you are waiting for us to call on you to give that too! You are a good God!
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