A Devotion from D.A. Carson
1 Kings 20; 1 Thessalonians 3; Daniel 2; Psalm 106
NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (DAN. 2) could usefully occupy us for many pages. It provides insight
not only into Daniel and his times, but into our times as well.
(1) The pagan Babylonian Empire had its share of astrologers and other fortune tellers.
Like thoughtful people in every generation, Nebuchadnezzar had his suspicions about their
competence, and put them to this rather brutal test. Anecdotal accounts of “magical” insight
cannot withstand this level of analysis.
(2) Daniel’s bold approach to the king claims nothing for himself and ascribes everything
to God, who knows our thoughts and our dreams. That took courage. Here is the next stage in
the development of Daniel’s character. The courageous and unshakable old man that Daniel
became (Dan. 6) was formed by a young man who obeyed God even in what he ate, and who
was so honest that he would not take any credit where none was due. He was committed to
faithfulness, humility, courage, and integrity. He has few successors in high places.
(3) Doubtless contemporary psychiatrists would speculate that the colossus in
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream betrays profound personal insecurity. Megalomaniacal ambition to
rule the world may suggest secret doubts about whether or not one has feet of clay. Whatever
the means, God uses the vision to disclose something more profound—the future of
forthcoming empires.
Most liberals have argued that the four metals—gold, silver, bronze, and
iron—represent, respectively, Babylon, Media, Persia, and Greece. After the death of Alexander
the Great, the Greek Empire disintegrated into four territories squabbling among
themselves—hence the feet of clay. Certainly the later chapters of this prophecy focus not a
little attention on that period, and picture the dawning of the messianic kingdom succeeding it.
Nevertheless that view is tied up with the theory that at the very least the later chapters of
Daniel were written pseudonymously in the second century B.C. Most evangelicals find little
evidence to support that stance. Moreover, they point out that there never really was a Median
Empire. It is better to speak of the Medo-Persian Empire; the Median element was not much
more than a transition team. On that view the four empires are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece,
and Rome—and during the latter the messianic kingdom delivers the mighty blow that
ultimately fells the colossus. That seems to be what Jesus held (Matt. 24:15).
(4) This vision reminds us that in this broken and ambiguous world the people of God
nurture a hope for what God will do in the end. Little in the Christian way makes sense without
such hope; little in our culture makes much sense without a shared vision toward which to
press, a vision that transcends personal fulfillment and selfism.