DANIEL INTERPRETS THE DREAM DANIEL 4: 19 - 27

DANIEL INTERPRETS THE DREAM   DANIEL 4:19-27

 

    (19) Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him.  So the king said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you."       Belteshazzar answered, "My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!  (20) The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, (21) with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air--(22) you, O king, are that tree!  You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

   (23) "You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground.  Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.'

   (24) "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king;  (25) You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven.  Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes.  (26) The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you accept my advice:  Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.  It may be that then your prosperity will continue."   (NIV)

 



 

 

LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE COMMENTARY

 

   When Daniel understood Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he was stunned, and he wondered how to break the news.  He told the king he wished what the dream foreshadowed would happen to the king's enemies and not to Nebuchadnezzar.  How could Daniel be so deeply grieved at the fate of Nebuchadnezzar--the king who was responsible for the destruction of Daniel's home and nation?  Daniel had forgiven Nebuchadnezzar, and so God was able to use Daniel.  Very often when we have been wronged by someone, we find it difficult to forgive the past.  We may even be glad when that person suffers.  Forgiveness means putting the past behind us.  Can you love someone who has hurt you?  Can you serve someone who mistreated you?  Ask God to help you forgive, forget, and love.  God may use you in an extraordinary way in that person's life!

   Although much of the world thought that Nebuchadnezzar was a mighty (even divine) king, God demonstrated that Nebuchadnezzar was an ordinary man.  The king would go insane and become like an animal for a set period of time ("seven times").  God humiliated Nebuchadnezzar to show that almighty God, not Nebuchadnezzar, was Lord of the nations.  No matter hew powerful a person may become, self-centered pride will push God from his or her life.  Pride may be one of the most dangerous temptations you will face.  Don't let your accomplishments cause you to forget God.

 

 

MY THOUGHTS

 

   In Daniel's day, if you looked at the king in a manner he did not like, you could have your head removed.  After all, look what he had already done to the Jewish Boys.  It is difficult to understand how Daniel could still be loyal and sympathetic to this king.

   In my life, when I think I have forgiven, pride rears it's ugly head and reminds me of the wrongs done.  It seems to be a bigger battle to forgive some than it is to forgive others.  I find that I am better equipped to forgive and forget wrongs by family than those who are not related to me.

   How would I react if I dreamed of a Messenger from God and a prophet interpreted the dream with instructions to change my life or face dire consequences?  Oh, I have The Living Word of God, and He tells me frequently of how I should live.  The consequences of not obeying is DEATH.  

   He wants a loving relationship with me.  The choice is mine.  In this part of Daniel, the choice belonged to King Nebuchadnezzar. 

 

 

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GOD ON PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

GOD ON PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY

 

 

 

ADAM AND EVE-GENESIS 3

3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

² The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, ³ but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
⁴ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
⁶ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
¹¹ And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
¹² The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,

“Cursed are you above all livestock
    and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
    and you will eat dust
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ And I will put enmity
    between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;
    with painful labor you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
    and he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
    through painful toil you will eat food from it
    all the days of your life.
¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
    and you will eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
    you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
    since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
    and to dust you will return.”

²⁰ Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

²¹ The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.   (NIV)

   So, even though Adam, Eve, and even the serpent tried to absolve themselves of responsibility, God held each accountable for their own actions and dealt with them accordingly.  But when we own up to our own shortcomings (or sins), God is faithful to forgive us.  King David is an example of this:

12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to him, he said, “There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor. ² The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, ³ but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.

⁴ “Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him.”
⁵ David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this must die! ⁶ He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity.”
⁷ Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
¹¹ “This is what the Lord says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity on you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will sleep with your wives in broad daylight. ¹² You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’”
¹³ Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord
Nathan replied, “the lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. ¹⁴ But because by doing this you have shown utter contempt for the Lord, the son born to you will die.”  2 SAMUEL 12: 1-14  (NIV)

      Confession is best.  Own up to your actions.  The truth has a habit of being discovered.  Face the consequences of your actions rather than trying to hide.  People seem to have more respect for you that way, and so does God.

What are your thoughts?

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