Daniel 2:17-24

II. DANIEL'S DECLARATIONDaniel 2:17-35

a. PRAYER

TEXT: Daniel 2:17-24

17

Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

18

that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon,

19

Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

21

And he changeth the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding;

22

he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

23

I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desire of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

24

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.

QUERIES

a.

Was Daniel selfish in praying for his own safety?

b.

Does God really have a hand in putting rulers in rule?

c.

Why does Daniel pray for the safety of the Chaldean wise men?

PARAPHRASE

Then Daniel went home and told the whole matter to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and having confided in them he asked them to pray to the God of the heavens to grant them His mercy and reveal to them this secret mystery in order that Daniel and his companions would not be executed together with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And that very night the secret of the king's dream was revealed unto Daniel in a vision. Then, in prayer, Daniel praised the God of heaven, saying, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for He alone has all wisdom and all power. World events are under His control and are used for His purpose. He removes kings and rulers and sets others on their thrones according to His sovereign purpose. All true wisdom, knowledge and understanding comes from Him. All His plans that are not yet known to man He reveals in His own good time and His own way because He knows all things that are hidden. He is all-wise and there is no ignorance in Him at all. I think and praise You, oh God of my fathers, for You have given me wisdom and ability to solve the problem at hand. You have revealed to me all that we desired concerning the king's perplexity. Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, who had been ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said, Do not slay the wise men of Babylon. Take me in to the king and I will reveal to him the interpretation of his puzzling dream.

COMMENT

Daniel 2:17-18 THEN DANIEL WENT TO HIS HOUSE, AND MADE THE THING KNOWN. Daniel's associates are so thoroughly one with him in faith in God and in purpose to glorify God that he can immediately confide in them and seek their assistance. Daniel asks their counsel and consent, and believes that their fellowship in intercessory prayer will please the Lord and accomplish His will for their lives in this particular circumstance. The chief object of the intercession is not selfish. This is evident when in Daniel 2:24 Daniel intercedes on behalf of the pagan wise men of Babylon that they might not be slain. Daniel's purpose in praying for salvation from the executioner's sword was because he was fully persuaded God had put him in Babylon for just such a time as this. Daniel simply wanted to be allowed to be God's living sacrifice to bring the revelation of God to this pagan emperor and to God's own covenant people who so desperately needed strengthening now. He was praying for a higher purpose than mere physical existence, but physical existence was a necessity that the higher purpose be served.

Daniel 2:19-22. THE SECRET REVEALED UNTO DANIEL. THEN DANIEL BLESSED. GOD. WISDOM AND MIGHT ARE HIS. AND HE CHANGETH THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS. HE REMOVETH KINGS, AND SETTETH UP KINGS. This is one of those most arresting passages of O.T. scripture speaking of the divine sovereignty and immutability of the purposes of God in the events of earth's history. It does not teach predestination or irresistible grace in the strict Calvinistic sense. However, it is a fact of scripture, too often ignored by Restoration preachers and writers, that the prophets and apostles speak of God as doing things which He permits, without distinguishing verbally between His direct action and His permissive action. If we are going to speak where the Bible speaks we must insist upon preaching the Living God of intimate, actual relationships in every-day history. Our God is God of the now. In 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 ff we read, respectively, that David was moved by the Lord to number Israel and Judah, and that Satan provoked David to number Israel. Taking these two passages of Scripture together, there is no contradiction but simply a lesson that God acts in what He permits. God permitted Satan to provoke David to number Israel. Whatever God permits, He permits for His own good purpose. Just as in the case of Joseph and his brethren, Joseph was able to say, you intended it for evil but God intended it for good. (Genesis 50:20). So we are to understand that whatever evil God may permit in allowing despotic rulers to reign He permits as a part of His disciplinary or sanctifying providence.

We quote here from Charles Hodge: The decrees of God are free in the sense of being absolute or sovereign. The meaning of this proposition is expressed negatively by saying that the decrees of God are in no case conditional. The event decreed is suspended on a condition, but the purpose of God is not. It is inconsistent with the nature of God to assume suspense or indecision on his part. whatever God foreordains must certainly come to pass. The distinction between the efficient (efficacious) and the permissive decree of God, although important, has no relation to the certainty of the event. All events embraced in the purpose of God are equally certain, whether he has determined to bring them to pass by his own power, or simply to permit their occurrence through the agency of (the free will of) his own creatures. some things he purposes to do, others he decrees to permit to be done. He effects good, he permits evil. He is the author of the one, but not of the other.

The universality of the decrees follows from the universal dominion of God. Whatever he does, he certainly purposes to do. Whatever he permits to occur, he certainly purposes to permit. Nothing can occur that was not foreseen, and if foreseen, it must have been intended. As the Scriptures teach that the providential control of God extends to all events, even the most minute, they do thereby teach that his decrees are equally comprehensive. (cf. all of the following scriptures: Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17; Nehemiah 9:6-7; Job 9:12; Job 12:7-10; Psalms 104:27-32; Psalms 135:6; 1 Chronicles 29:12; Daniel 4:35; Jeremiah 27:5-7; Isaiah 10:5 ff; Isaiah 45:5-7; and cf. also our commentary Minor Prophets, pages 93-111, Theoramic Philosophy of History.)

Leupold notices how fluent Daniel was in Scripture in his prayer according to the quotations (on Daniel 2:20 a see Psalms 103:1-2; Psalms 113:1-2 on Daniel 2:20 b see 1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Job 12:13; Job 16-22. on Daniel 2:21 a see Psalms 31:15; on Daniel 2:21 b see Job 12:18; Psalms 75:6-7 on Daniel 2:21 c see 1 Kings 3:9-10; 1 Kings 4:29; on Daniel 2:22 a see Job 12:22; on Daniel 2:22 b see Job 26:6; Psalms 139:12; Isaiah 45:7; on Daniel 2:22 c see Psalms 36:9 on Daniel 2:23 a see Genesis 31:42; Exodus 3:15).

The phrase changeth the times and the seasons reminds us that God determines how long one culture or influence shall prevail and when another shall become operative. One dynasty influences world culture and wanes and disappears at the directing influence of God's immutable moral laws governing the universe, and another comes to the fore (cf. Jeremiah 27:5 ff). God creates both weal and woe (cf. Isaiah 45:5-7). God is able and does this because He has all wisdom and understanding and knowledge. He is able to reveal the futurethe deep and secret thingsbecause all time and space and mass are within His knowledge and control at all timesall at once. Nothing can be hidden from Him and if He hides anything man can know it only if He reveals it to man. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5). This entire passage (Daniel 2:20-22) has to do with God's special revelations to prophets (and later to apostles) concerning His scheme of redemption.

Daniel 2:23-24 I THANK THEE. THOU HAST MADE KNOWN. THE KING'S MATTER. DANIEL WENT. UNTO ARIOCH. DESTROY NOT THE WISE MEN OF BABYLON. I WILL SHOW. THE KING THE INTERPRETATION. The original language here is emphatic. THEE, praising am I. God is placed first, It is interesting to note that Daniel, in his prayer of praise, includes his companions as equally important in this matter. He does not forget them, thinking that God is interested only in him. Having glorified the name of God and being satisfied that he is carrying out the will of God in this matter, Daniel seeks the emperor's presence through Arioch, one of the chief guards of the palace. He persuades Arioch not to destroy the wise men of Babylon because he will be able to make known to Nebuchadnezzar both the dream and its interpretation. So Daniel the captive, the foreigner, intercedes on behalf of the Babylonian wise men and saves their lives through the revelation God graciously provided. It is difficult for us, inasmuch as we are so familiar with this account and removed from it some 2600 years, to realize that it was an actual, historical eventit really happened. When we do realize its actuality, we stand amazed at the working of God in carrying out His purposes!

QUIZ

1.

Why did Daniel immediately make known to his companions the matter?

2.

Why did Daniel pray for salvation from the executioner's sword?

3.

What does the phrase he changeth the times and. seasons mean?

4.

How does God remove kings and set up kings?

5.

What does the fact that this was an actual event mean to you?