Fri.’s Devo - Our Rock

Read: Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16 Arioch was appointed by King Nebuchadnezzar to kill the wise man. When Daniel came to him with the dream and its interpretation, Arioch sent him straight to the king. He must have not wanted to be the executioner of sorcerers. He introduced Daniel as “one of the captives from Judah.” When the king asked Daniel if it was true, Daniel immediately gave the credit to God who had revealed the secret to him. He told him the dream and said that it had to do with future events that God wanted the king to know. He told him that he had seen a huge statue of a man. Its head was fine gold, its chest and arms were made of silver and its belly and thighs were of bronze. Its legs were iron and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. In his dream he saw a rock cut from a mountain but not by human hands. The rock struck the feet of the state smashing them to bits and then the whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold. The wind blew them away without a trace. The rock then became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. That was the dream and this was the interpretation. The head of gold was Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom. After him would come another kingdom inferior to his, like silver is inferior to gold. It would fall too, and the next kingdom would be bronze. After that, a fourth kingdom would arise and be as strong as iron. That kingdom would smash the previous empires. The feet and toes which were iron and clay indicated that that kingdom would be divided. Some of it would be strong like iron and other parts would be weak as clay. They would try to strengthen themselves by allying together through intermarriage but they will not be able to hold. During the reigns of those kings, God will set up his kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all the kingdoms into nothingness and will stand forever. That kingdom of God will be the rock. When King Nebuchadnezzar heard what Daniel said, he bowed down and worshipped him and commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burnt incense before him. He praised God as the greatest of gods. and the revealer of mysteries. Daniel was appointed to a high portion and given gifts. He was made ruler over the whole province of Babylon and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were put in charge of all the affairs of the province. The king had a huge 90x9 foot gold statue made of himself and commanded everyone to bow and worship it when they hear the sound of the instruments. News got back to the king that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow. They were brought in and questioned about it. They were given the chance to bow and save their lives. Instead, they told Nebuchadnezzar that if they were thrown into the furnace that the God whom they served was able to save them and rescue them from his power. But, even if he didn’t, they wanted him to know that they would never serve his gods or worship the gold statue he had set up. Nebuchadnezzar was so furious he commanded that the furnace be turned up 7 times hotter. When they were thrown in the fire, it was so hot it killed the ones who threw them in. But the three men walked with Jesus in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar saw this and called them out. They walked out with not a trace of fire or smell of smoke. Once again, Nebuchadnezzar ended up praising God who was greater than him. The three were promoted to even higher positions than they were before. What a message of God’s redeeming power. If we honor and stand with God, he will honor and stand with us. Peter talked about the end of the world. As we get closer and closer to that end we are to show love for each other and let that love cover one another’s sins. All of the gifts God gives us are given for us to share with others. They are not for us to keep but to give away. He encourages us once again about suffering for Christ’s sake. We will reap a reward and identify with Christ in our suffering. Peter gave a word to the elders to care for the flock and lead them by example. We are to humble ourselves before God who is able to lift us up and honor us. The devil is looking for someone to devour, so we must stand firm against him and be strong in our faith. We are all going through trials so we must stand together. Suffering only lasts for a little while and then God restores, supports and strengthens us and places us on a firm foundation. Lord help us to stand together against the devil. May we stand with and strengthen one another. Our lives are for your glory.