We began to explore the part of Daniel where the king has a dream and ask the wise men of Babylon to tell him the dream and the interpretation of it. The kings advisors object to this and ask for Nebuchadnezzar to tell them the dream and they would give the interpretation. This angers Nebuchadnezzar who demands they tell him the dream as well as the interpretation because he believes they are frauds. They again object and tell him to know the dream is in the realm of the gods. Nebuchadnezzar is enraged and orders his executioner to kill all the wise men of Babylon. It appears on hearing this the wise men scatter. The executioner goes to the school where Daniel and the other new wise men in training are being taught. They apparently did not know what had transpired so Daniel asks what’s going on to bring on their death. The executioner tells him and Daniel asks if he could interpret the kings dream for him. The executioner takes Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar and he arranges for some time to seek God for the answers to the kings request. This stays the execution of all the wise men. God visits Daniel with the answer. This leads Daniel into four verses filled with praise. Daniel does this before he even goes to the king because he is certain of God’s provision of the answer. Daniel’s praise highlights how God is the source of wisdom and strength. God is the one establishes kings and removes them. He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. He knows all things and has made known to Daniel this matter of the kings. What we see in the beginning of this story is how Daniel is faced with a life threatening situation. His response is to turn to God depend on God and direct others to the source of wisdom and might.

We explored what scripture has to say about the centrality of worship to the Christian life. Quite literally worship from a scriptural point of view is the reason we are saved. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, the third temptation was to worship Satan and receive the nations of the world without going to the cross. We looked at whether this was a legitimate offer or not, but according to scripture Jesus Himself recognized Satan as the ruler of this world prior to the cross. This raises of course other questions. One of them is when did Satan become the ruler. This had to take place when Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. At this point in History Adam went from being the vice-regent or ruler of this world by command of God to being the conquered ruler of this world by means of following Satan in disobedience. Through his fall Adam lost his rulership to Satan. This only pertained to the command God gave Adam to rule over the earth in Genesis 1:28. Jesus as the new and better Adam through the incarnation was the perfect seed God had promised. This seed would need to face the wrath of God on behalf of men in order for them to be set free from their bondage to Satan and His rule. By doing this and rising from the dead Jesus conquered the ruler of this world and broke his hold over mankind. Jesus is now the rightful ruler of this world by means of conquest over sin and death and Satan. He sits at God’s right hand until all of his enemies are put under his feet, which is the very definition of subdue from Genesis 1:28 where Adam was commanded to subdue and rule. Jesus was tempted by Satan to bypass the facing the wrath of God on behalf of men in order to break the power of sin and death. It was a very real temptation. We see the weight of what Jesus did on the cross, in the garden as He sweated great drops of blood because of the sheer overwhelming nature of what he faced in his humanity. This was no walk in the park and Satan’s temptation was very real. At the heart of this temptation was worship. Jesus clearly declares to Satan, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”

We worked through the second half of Daniel 1. We see here how Daniel and his three friends remain faithful to God as they are carried off into Babylonian captivity. This story really echoes the story of Joseph in many ways. They are both sent to bear witness before kings and princes. They remain undefiled when they are faced with temptation and worldly solutions. They both depend on God in the midst of situations which could cost them their lives. They are both preserved by God and both come to interpret dreams through the power of God’s revelation. They are both exulted to positions of power next to the king. They both foreshadow Jesus who was sent from heaven to earth to bear witness of the one true God before kings and princes. Jesus entered into a fallen sin soaked world without ever defiling Himself. Like Daniel and Joseph He found favor with God and man. Teachers were amazed at His understanding even at 12 years old. Jesus is the manifestation of all the wisdom of God. He is the greater and better Daniel. He refused to compromise when the ruler of this world offered him bread, fame, and rulership if He would only depend on something other than God alone. Because of all this Jesus could stand in our place as the substitute we all needed. He could satisfy God’s wrath and bear our penalty. In His death burial and resurrection He has established His kingdom and has defeated Satan. He is now the ruler of this world and has been exalted to a position next to God the Father. Jesus kingdom is a kingdom which will never end and will one day be the only kingdom of God and man.