Sat.’s Devo - The Kingdoms of the World

Read: Daniel 2:24-3:30; 1 Peter 4:7-5:14; Psalm 119:81-96; Proverbs 28:15-16 Daniel went straight to see Arioch whose job it was to execute the wise men of Babylon. He told him that he knew the king’s dream and the interpretation so he was brought before the king. Daniel made it very clear that no man could do what the king had asked but there is a God in heaven who can reveal secrets and he had told Daniel the dream and its interpretation. God wanted him, Nebuchadnezzar to know what was in his heart and what his destiny was. In his dream, he saw a huge statue of a man. The head was made of gold, its chest and arms were made of silver, its belly and thighs were bronze and its legs were iron with feel made of iron and backed clay. A rock cut from a mountain struck the feet of the iron and clay smashing it to bits. The whole statue crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bonze silver and golds. Then the wind blew them away with out a trace, but the rock became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that each medal stood for a different kingdom starting from the head down. He was the head of gold. The last kingdom, the rock would be God’s kingdom and it would crush all the other kingdoms into nothingness. It would stand forever. Daniel was promoted to rule over the whole province of Babylon. He appointed Sadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be in charge of all the business affairs of the province of Babylon while Daniel remained in the king’s court. King Nebuchadnezzar’s response to his dream was to build a gold statue of himself. At the dedication he set up the command that whenever the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, apes and other instruments, they were to bow to the ground in worship of the king and his statue. Anyone who refused to bow would be thrown into the fiery furnace. It was reported that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego didn’t pay any attention to the sound. They were brought before the king and questioned about it and they had no defense. They would never bow or serve his gods or worship the gold statue he had set up. This made Nebuchadnezzar so furious that he had the furnace turned up 7 time hotter than usual. They bound the three and threw them into the fire. The men that threw them in died because the flames were so hot. As the king watched he saw four men walking in the fire totally dressed and not burning. He called the men out and they came out untouched by the fire. The king proclaimed that there was no god like their god. He promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to an even higher position. We are of that last kingdom that is about to crush the other kingdoms. Jesus is the rock but we are subjects of his kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar was a man who as the symbol of gold. I see President Trump being like the rock that is crushing the other kingdoms of evil on the earth. Of course, Jesus is the power behind him just as God controls the course of world events like we read yesterday. We are living in a most exciting time. We don’t need to lose hope. Peter reminds us that the end of the world as we know it is coming to an end one day. So we need to pray more earnestly and let God’s love cover a multitude of sins. We have all been given gifts to use to help others. We should not be surprised by the fiery trials that we go through because they help us identify with Christ and his trials. If we share in his sufferings we will surely share in his glory in the end. If we suffer for doing wrong things like murder, theft or hurting people then we will be judged for our actions. If we suffer for our stand with Christ then he will never fail us. Peter appealed to the elders to watch over the flock they were given and to lead by example. The younger were told to be humble and listen to the wisdom of the elderly. If we trust in the Lord, he will restore us and strengthen us and place us on a firm foundation. Lord, thank you for the peace you give us to trust in you and your Word.