Continuing from our last lesson with the understanding of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar saw, we study the meanings of the different metals in the statue. Gold is the most valuable and iron the least. But gold is the softest, and iron is the strongest. Gold speaks of power, and the interesting thing we will see later in Daniel, when he was thrown to the lions, is that King Darius, pictured by silver, did not have the power to change the law Daniel’s enemies had written with the intention of destroying him. He was not as powerful as King Nebuchadnezzar. Bronze, representing the Grecian Empire, is also interesting in that Greece used bronze for weapons. For the “legs of iron” as a picture of Rome, Rome was eventually divided into two sections, east and west, with two capitols – Constantinople and Rome. When we arrive at Daniel’s visions of the empire that is pictured in the ten toes of iron and clay, we will study this future kingdom in more detail.
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.
47 The king answered and said Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”
48 Then the king 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.
49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court. Daniel 2:46-49
In these last verses of Daniel 2, we see King Nebuchadnezzar’s response to Daniel’s interpretation of his dream. While he acknowledges God in these verses, we will see in the next chapter that he was still a proud man who believed the picture that had been painted of him in his dream.
Verse 48 is an interesting verse. Have you ever wondered how the “Magi” of Matthew 2 knew what to look for when Jesus was born? The answer is here. About 400 years before Jesus’ birth, Daniel became the leader of the wise men of Babylon. We know Daniel was not shy about telling people about God, so this is very likely the place and time when they began to look for these signs in the heavens. Later, Daniel would also have a vision that would give the year that Jesus would be crucified, so they also knew WHEN to look for the signs in the heavens.
One more privilege Daniel claimed from the king was the promotion of his three friends to leadership positions in King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.
*Thought questions: In what way is your testimony for Jesus today powerful enough to be remembered many years into the future, long after you have died? Is there anything you can do to make it last that long?
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