Something I got up to over the weekend

Reflection 03 - Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

At the beginning of this new series I encouraged all of us to read the book of Daniel – ideally in one go. It’s quite a short book so just keep going until you get to the end. Depending on your grasp of and interest in ancient near eastern history you may be tempted to stop here in chapter 2 and try and work out the different empires of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream – the Medes and Persians, the Greeks with Alexander the Great, the Romans… And if you then turned to the internet, or even to a handful of commentaries on Daniel, to try and work out what the ten toes are all about, you’ll probably still be bogged down with the detail. On Sunday Mandy alluded to some of the relatively recent suggestions that have been put forward for the identity and meaning of these ten toes.

There are certainly times when it is right to be interested in the detail – after all, we’ve been given the detail for a reason. The Bible is a book that requires careful reading and prayerful meditation. We’re supposed to read a passage, and then re-read it and then read it again asking God to speak to us through it. We’re supposed to allow different parts of the Bible to help us understand other parts. As Mandy pointed out on Sunday, when the Bible talks about ‘mysteries’ it is talking about something that can be known – but only with revelation from God. 

No doubt there are many different responses to the dream passages in Daniel. Some of you will be fascinated and want to dig into the detail. Others of you will find it daunting and go back to reading the New Testament. Others will find it confusing and be discouraged – thinking that you will never understand the Bible, even though you really want to. And then there will be other responses too.

Whatever your response to these passages I would encourage all of us to make sure that we don’t lose sight of the big picture. To make sure that we don’t become so obsessed with the trees that we lose sight of the forest. 

The big picture, broad brush stroke image of Daniel 2 is that God is in control. He not only knows the past and the present – he also knows the future. And God’s kingdom will overcome all other kingdoms and it will endure forever.

Whilst there is much in Daniel that we may find confusing, the overarching big picture is a story that gives us hope and encourages us to faithfulness.