The Riddleblog

“There Is a Man in Your Kingdom” Daniel 5:1–12 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Ten)

A Dream Becomes Reality

Nebuchadnezzar foresaw this terrible night in a dream–a great empire, crumbling by the day, now entering its final hours. In his visionary dream of a gigantic metallic statue with a head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar saw the greatness of his own empire, even as Daniel warned him that both the king and his empire would come to an end–crushed by a rock cut from a mountain without human hands. Now, Nebuchadnezzar is long since dead and gone with the last of the Babylonian kings (Belshazzar, co-regent with his father–Nabonidus) on the throne. The year is 539 BC. Although Daniel does not reveal the circumstances behind the debauchery seen in the opening verses of chapter 5 until the closing verses of the chapter, this is the Kingdom of Babylon’s last night. Persian armies are about to take the city of Babylon through a daring commando raid using the city’s dried-up water supply. Instead of leading the city’s defenders in an effort to save the city, Belshazzar hosts a massive drunken party as though all were right with the world. On this night, the last hours of the great Babylonian empire, Belshazzar spends it drinking and mocking YHWH, even as YHWH takes his kingdom from him and gives it to another–the Persian conqueror of the city, Darius the Mede. All of this was foretold in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of Daniel 2.

In Daniel 5, the circumstances are greatly different from those at the end of Daniel 4 (v. 37), when Nebuchadnezzar confessed–even if reluctantly–“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC–twenty three years before the events recounted here. A list of short-term successors had taken Nebuchadnezzar’s place. The first was the king’s own son, Amel-Marduk, who was assassinated by his brother-in-law in 560 (reigning just two years). One of those who plotted his death (Neriglessar) ruled until 556, and was succeeded by his own son, Labashi-Marduk, who was brought down just a few months into his reign by a coup lead by Nabonidus, an unpopular eccentric known for his devotion to the god “Sin” instead of the traditional and most favored Babylonian god, Marduk (Bel).

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“All His Works Are Right and His Ways Are Just” – Daniel 4:19-37 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Nine)

A Second Bad Dream

King Nebuchadnezzar has had another terrifying dream. Once again his court magicians and wise men cannot interpret his dream. Greatly troubled, the Babylonian king summons his Hebrew servant Daniel to interpret this dream which has disrupted the king’s life of relative ease and comfort. Daniel will reveal that the unsettling circumstances foretold in Nebuchadnezzar’s previous dream are soon to come to pass. In the prior dream (as recounted in Daniel 2), the king saw a frightening metallic stature with a head of gold, which represented the king and his empire. But that kingdom will fall before a series of empires yet to follow. Nebuchadnezzar and his vast kingdom will come to an end–replaced by the Persian empire then just beginning to rise to power. Now in old age, Nebuchadnezzar remains convinced that his kingdom is mighty and that it stands as a testimony to his own accomplishments and greatness. But as a consequence of these two dreams, the king is beginning to realize that his kingdom is no match for YHWH. YHWH rules all the kingdoms of the earth from heaven. His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is eternal. None of this can be said of any earthly kingdom, including Nebuchadnezzar’s.

We pick-up where we left off last time with v. 19 of Daniel 4, when the king had another troubling dream and then summoned the Hebrew prophet (Daniel) to interpret the dream for him. Ironically, it was Daniel (a believing Jew), who, in gaining favor with the king after interpreting his first dream successfully was appointed prefect over Nebuchadnezzar’s pagan court magicians. The king’s magicians fail again and so it falls to Daniel to explain to the king what his second dream foretold–events which Nebuchadnezzar probably suspected (based upon his previous terrifying dream years before), yet which now brought him to a breaking point.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerApril 8, 2024Nebuchadnezzar's Second DreamComment

“The Most High Rules the Kingdom of Men” – Daniel 4:1-18 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Eight)

The New Situation In Babylon

In Daniel chapter 4 we are given remarkable insight into a man who has played a central role in Daniel’s prophecy–the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. In each of the previous chapters of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar exerted his royal power and authority, demonstrated his hot temper and tyrannical nature, while championing the “gods of Babylon.” We have also seen that his “gods” and his Chaldeans (the wise men and court magicians) repeatedly failed to give the king that which he demanded. The great king was even forced to seek help from one of his young Hebrew servants to interpret a troubling dream–which he will do yet again in chapter 4. YHWH has clearly won the battle with the idols of Babylon. Through all of this, it has become clear that YHWH is sovereign over all things, a fact which Nebuchadnezzar has been forced to admit repeatedly when neither his idols nor his Chaldeans could help him. This was also made clear to him in chapter 3 when Nebuchadnezzar witnessed three Hebrew officials (who were friends of Daniel) survive being thrown into a super-heated fiery furnace with the aid of a mysterious fourth man (the pre-incarnate Christ, or an angel of the Lord).

But in Daniel chapter 4 we find that everything has changed. Much time has passed and Nebuchadnezzar is a different man. Nebuchadnezzar has yet another dream which Daniel must interpret for him–only this dream comes much later in the king’s career, toward the end his life. In this chapter–filled with remarkable contrasts and ironies–we read of a king whose days as a cruel tyrant seem to be in the past. The king greatly enjoys the creature comforts accrued after a long career as ruler of a great empire. Daniel’s report almost makes us feel sorry for Nebuchadnezzar as the pagan king is forced to wrestle with the fact that YHWH is the sovereign Lord, who rules the affairs of men and nations, and of whom Nebuchadnezzar will affirm, “how great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.”

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerMarch 15, 2024Nebuchadnezzar's Second DreamComment

“But I See Four Men” – Daniel 3:1-30 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Seven)

Nebuchadnezzar Makes Good on His Promise

After Daniel interpreted the king’s frightening dream, Nebuchadnezzar was greatly relieved. In fact, the king was so thankful to Daniel that he acknowledged his young Hebrew servant’s God as “God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries.” The Babylonian king even made good on his promise to reward anyone who could interpret his dream. He “gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:48).

Daniel remained in service to the royal court until his death about 538 BC–living well into his eighties. But while Daniel remained a trusted court advisor to both Babylonian and subsequent Persian officials, his three Hebrew friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were serving elsewhere as high officials in the province of Babylon–a favor which Nebuchadnezzar granted to Daniel on their behalf. Although Nebuchadnezzar offered high praise to YHWH because he revealed the meaning of the dream to his servant Daniel (as recounted in chapter 2), it will become clear that the Babylonian king never gave up his pagan ways. He soon erected a golden statue and demanded that his subjects worship it. This strange demand is a mix of an over-inflated royal ego, ancient near-eastern power politics, combined with pagan religion. Once again, Daniel’s friends’ lives are in danger. This time Daniel will not rescue them but YHWH will, in what amounts to the next round in the on-going conflict between YHWH and the idols of Babylon.

The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerFebruary 26, 2024The Fiery furnaceComment

“Your God Is God of Gods and Lord of Kings” – Daniel 2:44-49 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Six)

That Was Some Dream . . .

Nebuchadnezzar had a frightening dream–it was not a nightmare, it was divine revelation. In his dream, the Babylonian king saw a statue of a mighty and brilliant figure which absolutely terrified him. But he was a man who prided himself on his ability to terrify others. Knowing this was no ordinary dream and that it foretold his own future as well as that of the empire he ruled, the king demanded that his court magicians recount the contents of the dream and then give the king an interpretation. When it became clear to Nebuchadnezzar that his magicians cannot recount the details of the dream, much less interpret it for him, the king grows furious and threatens his magicians with death–along with the entire palace staff, including Daniel and his three friends.

The image which the king saw in his dream had a head made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its belly and thighs were made of bronze, while its feet were an odd mixture of clay and iron. Suddenly, in the dream, a rock hit the statue’s feet, shattering them and causing the entire statue to crumble into pieces. The fractured remains of the statue eventually disintegrate into dust which was scattered by the wind so that nothing remained behind. The rock which smashed the feet of the statue had been cut from a mountain without human hands, and rapidly grew into a giant mountain which eventually filled the entire earth. What did all of this mean?

This dream terrified Nebuchadnezzar because it had been given to him by YHWH (the true and living God worshiped by the Hebrews) who, in turn, revealed both the dream and its contents to a young Hebrew servant in the Babylonian royal court, who also happened to be a prophet of YHWH. In the dramatic conflict between Daniel and the wise men and magicians (the Chaldeans) which plays out in the Babylonian royal court (in reality this is a conflict between YHWH and the idols of Babylon), Nebuchadnezzar learns the fate of his empire. It will be defeated and destroyed.

At the same time, the people of God are given a panoramic vision of the four great empires which will arise and then fall until the coming of Israel’s Messiah (Jesus) who will crush each of these great empires as his kingdom extends into all the earth and endures until the very end of time. It is Daniel’s God, not Nebuchadnezzar’s “gods,” who rules heaven and earth, and directs the affairs of people and nations. King Nebuchadnezzar is terrified for good reason–his “gods” and his court magicians cannot help him. Nebuchadnezzar is at the mercy of YHWH.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerFebruary 12, 2024Nebuchadnezzar's Dream InterpretedComment

“A God in Heaven Who Reveals Mysteries” – Daniel 2:24-45 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel–Part Five)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Anger at the Chaldeans

King Nebuchadnezzar is in a rage and is threatening to execute his entire palace staff. He was awakened by a troubling dream which both confused and frightened him. He then summoned his court magicians and wise men (“the Chaldeans”) to explain the meaning of what he had just dreamt. But the Chaldeans cannot recount the details of his dream, much less offer an interpretation. No help in relieving the king’s anxiety, and upon seeing the king’s anger at them, the Chaldeans seek to stall Nebuchadnezzar, hoping he will forget about the dream and move on to other things.

Meanwhile, the young Hebrew servant, Daniel, who has impressed the king from the moment he first appeared before the king in the royal court, offers the very thing the king’s magicians, sorcerers, and wise men cannot. Daniel will recount the details of the king’s dream, and then give him an interpretation. In the scene which plays out in chapter 2 of Daniel’s prophecy, we learn that YHWH has given his young servant Daniel the gift of wisdom, and revealed to the prophet both the content and the meaning of the king’s dream. In the contest between Daniel and the court magicians which follows, Daniel will easily win because the Babylonian “gods” are nothing but the figment of human imagination and superstition, while YHWH is the true and living God, who directs the course of history, who grants wisdom, who speaks, and who answers prayer.

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“Daniel Blessed the God of Heaven” – Daniel 2:1-24 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part Four)

Times Have Changed

The mood in the Babylonian court has completely changed between the time Nebuchadnezzar claimed the throne in 605 BC, and the scene which unfolds in Daniel chapter 2. In the opening chapter of his prophecy, Daniel describes Nebuchadnezzar as an all-powerful king, bestowing favors on those servants who have successfully completed their transformation from captured youths into humble and efficient servants in the Babylonian court, young men who come from the various peoples defeated by the Babylonians, now dedicated to serve the king and worship his Babylonian “gods.”

But in chapter 2 (which takes place two years later in 603 BC), the king is troubled and frightened because he has had a dream–the meaning of which escapes him. The royal court which seemed so dominant over its humiliated subjects is now depicted as a place of fear, helplessness, and brutality.[1] Whatever it was that the king had dreamed, coupled with the failure of Nebuchadnezzer’s magicians and astrologers to interpret the dream for him, initially leads to great peril for Daniel and his friends. But then it becomes an opportunity for Daniel to ascend in rank and importance in the court. This comes to pass because YHWH is Daniel’s shield and defender, and the source of both Nebuchadnezzaer’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerJanuary 10, 2024Nebuchadnezzar's Bad Dream, Daniel 2:1-24Comment

“Ten Times Better” -- Daniel 1:17-21 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part Three)

Context and Background Matter In Daniel

I think it fair to say that one reason why preachers often turn the great events of redemptive history into object lessons or timeless truths–and often times even these are obscured by illustrations, stories, and multi-media presentations–is because neither they nor their congregations know the Bible well enough (or care to know the Bible well enough) to let the biblical story tell itself, and then trust God to apply his word to the hearts of those hearing it proclaimed.

Because it is a difficult book, requiring a great deal of historical background, the Book of Daniel is far too often subject to such unfortunate moralizing treatment. This is a shame, because the story of four young Jewish boys taken captive, forced to conform to foreign ways, and then finding themselves standing before the king of Babylon (the man who has done these evil things to them) and out-performing by ten times the king’s own best and brightest, is far more interesting than any illustration I might find, any story that I might tell, or any timeless truth we may attempt to identify.

Their story is especially compelling when we know the biblical background which puts this account into perspective–the reason why I will spend some time developing that background. Yes, this is a wonderful story of faith under pressure and resistance in the face of temptation. But it is also a story of God working all things after the counsel of his will, while still caring for these four young men. God has chosen Daniel to reveal future chapters in the great story of redemption.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerDecember 28, 2023Daniel--the big picture, Two Themes in Daniel, OT echoes in DanielComment

"God Gave Daniel Favor and Compassion” -- Daniel 1:8-21 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part Two)

Daniel’s Prophecy is About Much More Than Resisting Temptation

Perhaps you heard the same sorts of sermons on Daniel I did growing up. As Daniel resisted the temptation to embrace worldly ways, keeping his faith under pressure to conform, so we too should resist “worldliness” and stand strong in our beliefs in the face of those who reject them. The application we were to draw from this was not to smoke, drink, date non-Christians, lie, steal, and so on, when non–Christians tell us these things are okay.

While there is some truth in this, when we read of Daniel being forced to resist the pressure to compromise his faith we are tempted to read Daniel’s struggle in light of our own struggles to live godly lives and progress in our sanctification. But, as I will suggest throughout this series, we should understand Daniel’s situation as much more like that in which a Christian in modern Syria and Iraq endured when their community was overrun by a terrorist regime like ISIS or Hamas, or even in light of what the Chinese Communist Party has sought to do with the Uyghurs—a Muslim population in western China. Daniel faced a constant, coercive, and humiliating pressure to reject his religion and his national citizenship, to embrace foreign gods, serve foreign rulers, and adopt a way of life completely alien to the faith of Israel’s patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Daniel faced intense pressure to conform at a level difficult for us to imagine, especially when we consider that he was still a youth serving in the royal court and therefore in the presence of the very king (Nebuchadnezzar) who was attempting to subjugate Daniel’s people and nation through the most diabolical of means. Throughout his struggle to not compromise his fundamental beliefs, YHWH is with him every step of the way, all the while directing the affairs of kings and nations to their divinely-appointed ends.

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The Book of DanielKim RiddlebargerDecember 13, 2023Daniel's Resistence Comments

“Bring Some of the People of Israel” -- Daniel 1:1-7 (An Exposition of the Book of Daniel-- Part One)

Daniel, the Kidnapped Exile

Daniel was a young man of noble Hebrew descent living in Judah in 605 B.C. In the providence of God that was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar sent his armies to lay siege to Jerusalem–only to destroy the city and its temple eighteen years later in 587 BC. Along with a number of Jewish youths, Daniel was taken from his home and family in Judah, and exiled to Babylon, where he lived out the balance of his long life as a believer in YHWH in the capital city of a pagan empire.

Although an exile far from home, Daniel rose to such prominence in the Babylonian royal court that eventually he became a confidant of Nebuchadnzezzar. Little did Daniel know that the terrible day when he was taken captive and removed from his home and family was just the beginning of an amazing life–a life which, through a series of dreams and visions given him by God, led to the production of a book of the Bible which reveals some of the profound mysteries of God’s sovereign plan for human history, by taking us on a panoramic sweep from Israel’s patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) to the coming messianic age, all the way to the end of time and the day of final judgment.

The Book of Daniel is also the story of a faithful Jewish exile, living in a pagan land, serving in a pagan royal court, all the while living his life in such an exemplary way that he may indeed have been used by God during the reign of the Persian king Cyrus (in the 530s) to help secure the freedom of those Jewish exiles who returned to Jerusalem (in a second Exodus) as recounted in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Book of Daniel is not only an important guide to redemptive history, it is also the remarkable story of a faithful life lived in exile.

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