Scripture:
Daniel 2:1-13
Mon, 27 February 2023

The King Who Dominates

Observation:

Where is God in verses 1 to 13?

Deeper Reflection
Daniel 2 is a tale of two kings. It begins with “in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar” (v.1) – “the king of kings” (Dan 2:37). Daniel is about kings and kingdoms. The Hebrew word, malkut and its Aramaic equivalent, malku (in Dan 2-7), for “kingdom” and “reign” are key terms in Daniel, occurring a total of 69 times. And Daniel 2 is primarily about the true King of kings – God, who dominates over human history.Nebuchadnezzar had very terrifying nightmares. He desperately needed to know the meaning of his bad dreams. When he got the ablest men in his kingdom to interpret the dreams for him, they were not able to. Then the king became very angry with their inefficiency and made a decree to destroy all of them. And now the lives of Daniel and his friends were in danger.At this point of the story (vv.1-13), we see just human activities and actions. God is not in the picture. Although the story begins with “the reign of Nebuchadnezzar”, the writer of Daniel intends for us to read it theologically – starting with God. This theological principle ought also to be our principle for reading and living the story of our lives, even when we do not see God in it and we ask, “Where is God in this?” God is there in verses 1 to 13 theologically, even though He has yet to appear in the text. We must see in here the theological continuity of “the Lord gave” and “God gave” in Daniel 1: 2, 9 and 17. Daniel 2 continues from Daniel 1.<hr /><h6><a name=”n24″></a><sup>24</sup> Psalm 139:7-10 (NLT)</h6>
Application:

How do I see God where He does appear to be there?

Prayer:
Lord, I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence! If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I go down to the grave, You are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there Your hand will guide me and Your strength will support me.24 Indeed, in Your apparent absence, You are present.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for leaders
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self
 

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Daily Devo
Daily Devotional Journal
Scripture:
Daniel 10:11-12, 14-19
Tue, 26 September 2023

A Man of High Esteem

Observation:

What significant observations can you make about Daniel being called “man of high esteem” (vv.11, 19)?

Deeper Reflection
One of the heavenly beings called Daniel “man of high esteem” (v.11). This honour was bestowed on Daniel emphatically, in that it was repeated twice (v.19). This “high esteem” did not come from man, but from God Himself. God gave this honour to Daniel toward the end of his life when God called him to “enter into rest” (Dan 12:13). As a youth, Daniel “made up his mind not to defile himself with the king’s choice food” (Dan 1:8), and as an old man, he was faithful to God in spending time with Him in his “three times a day” devotion, even if it means to be thrown into the lions’ den (Dan 6:10). Daniel was finishing well in his life with “humbling yourself before your God” (v.12). When we think of finishing well in terms of successful accomplishments, we must be careful that we are not exalting ourselves.It is not for us to see ourselves in any way as a person of high esteem before God. It is for God to say that to us (2 Cor 10:17-18). Daniel never saw himself as a “man of high esteem”. A key emphasis in Daniel 10 is Daniel being greatly overwhelmed by the holiness and glory of God represented by the heavenly being with an awesome appearance (Dan 10:5-10, 15-18). And it was in this encounter with God when he was called “man of high esteem” that Daniel said, “How can such a servant of my Lord talk with such as my Lord?”50 (v.17). The man highly esteemed by God saw his unworthiness before God.
50 I have theologically translated “my lord” to “my Lord”, since the heavenly being is a representation of God.
Application:

What does being highly esteemed by God mean to me?

Prayer:
Write a prayer to God as your response from your meditation on and application of the Scriptures.
Prayer Pointers:
  • Give thanks and praise
  • Pray for pastors and staff: To be able to see oneself as God sees
  • Pray for significant people
  • Pray for those in need
  • Pray for self

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