HEAD OF GOLD DANIEL 2: 31-38

HEAD OF GOLD  DANIEL 2: 31-38

   (31) "You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue--an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.  (32) The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.  (34) While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.  It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.  (35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer.  The wind swept them away without leaving a trace.  But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

   (36) "This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the King.  (37) You, O King, are the king of kings.  The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; (38) in your hands He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air.  Wherever they live, He has made you ruler over them all.  You are that head of gold.  Daniel 2:31-38  (NIV)

LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE COMMENTARY

   (2:31) The head of gold on the statue in the dream represented Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylonian empire.  The silver chest and two arms represented the Medo-Persian empire, which conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.  The belly and thighs of bronze were Greece and Macedonia under Alexander the Great, who conquered the Medo-Persian empire in 334-330 B.C.  The legs of iron represented Rome, which conquered the Greeks in 63 B.C.  The feet of clay and iron represented the breakup of the Roman empire, when the territory Rome ruled divided into a mixture of strong and weak nations.  The type of metal in each part depicted the strength out of the political power it represented.  The rock cut out of the mountain depicted God's kingdom, which would be ruled eternally by the Messiah, the King of kings.  The dream revealed Daniel's God as the power behind all earthly kingdoms.

   (2:36) When Daniel says "we," he is referring to himself and his three friends.  Just as Daniel involved them in praying for God's help, he gave them credit when he presented the interpretation.  Because they helped Daniel in the prayer, he was careful to share the credit with them.

MY THOUGHTS

   King Nebuchanazzer was such an egocentric despot that he must have suspected that he was rightfully the head of gold, that any other metal would have probably cost Daniel his life.  After all, the Babylons had defeated Judah!  Who was greater in all the world?  Of course he had "dominion and power and might and glory", even if Daniel believes it all comes from Daniel's God, it still all belongs to King Nebuchanazzer.  No one is qualified to question this!

   Then I remember that none of the soothsayers could tell the king what he dreamed or what it meant, but Daniel boldly asked for time that he might give the king what he asked for, that Daniel admits no one could possibly do.  THEN, Daniel went back and gathered his friends and they prayed to God for insight and wisdom.  DANIEL MUST HAVE BEEN CLOSE ENOUGH TO GOD THAT HE BELIEVED GOD WOULD ANSWER.  This is astonishing faith in a God that is not seen!  Oh, that I might have faith that strong!  God, give me faith like Daniel's.

What are your thoughts?

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