The unique name for God that we find six times in Daniel four is “the Most High.” What does this name signify? If you get out a concordance and look to see where else it occurs in the Old Testament, you find that the first time the name appears is in Genesis in connection with the story of Abraham’s return from the battle against the kings and his meeting with Melchizedek. Melchizedek was the priest of the Most High God, ruler of heaven and earth. It is not referring to God’s role as Redeemer or to his wisdom. It relates to God’s sovereignty. “The Most High God” is the God who rules, not only in heaven but on earth. Continue reading ““The Most High God””
“The Sin God Will Not Tolerate”
William Blake’s depiction of Nebuchadnezzar from the book of Daniel tells of a ruler who through hubris lost his mind and started eating grass like a cow. The “mad king [is] crawling like a hunted beast into a den among the rocks; his tangled golden beard sweeping the ground, his nails like vultures’ talons, and his wild eyes full of sullen terror. The powerful frame is losing semblance of humanity, and is bestial in its rough growth of hair, reptile in the toad-like markings and spottings of the skin…” (William Gilchrist) Continue reading ““The Sin God Will Not Tolerate””
“The Sovereign God”
North Koreans are indoctrinated from an early age to adore “The Eternal Leader” and his two sons, including the current dictator. Last fall, Christian Solidarity Worldwide described testimony from defectors: “Christians are reported to have suffered brutal violence. Forms of torture include beatings with fists or implements such as electric rods, wooden pokers, metal poles, water torture through forced submersion, and being used as test subjects for medical training and experimentation.” Continue reading ““The Sovereign God””
“Faith In The Furnace”
Nebuchadnezzar built a great golden statue. It was made of gold, and it was ninety feet high and nine feet wide. This was a gigantic statue that must have required enormous amounts of gold. Even if the statue was only covered with gold, it still would have taken a great amount. But this is what he did, and the fact that the statue was of gold is the thing of chief importance. Continue reading ““Faith In The Furnace””
“Rock of Ages”
In the book of Daniel, the climax of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the rock that struck the feet of the statue, destroyed it, and then grew to be a mountain that filled the whole earth. Daniel interpreted this part of the dream, saying, “And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor shall it be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold.” (Daniel 2:44-45). Continue reading ““Rock of Ages””
“Magnificence for Strength”
The Book of Daniel is a magnificent story of the triumph of Daniel and three other godly men in the midst of the moral and spiritual miasma of ancient Babylon. But it is also a record of important visions that prophesy both immediate and distant historical events. Critical scholars of the Old Testament have been hard on Daniel – they cannot believe that God could have given his servant revelations of actual historical events to come. Continue reading ““Magnificence for Strength””