Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image

 

Daniel 3:1-7

 

March 9, 2023

 

Nebuchadnezzar's Golden Image

King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.  And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”  Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

 

That golden has long been gone, but the God of heaven and earth and everything that is still reigns over the affairs of man.  A very powerful man with great wealth is often the easiest person to think is great and the maker of their power and wealth.  Nebuchadnezzar was full of himself and wanted to force others to worship him.  

 

The Creator of everything that is or will be is Jesus Christ. He is referred to as the Word that was with God, in that he was God. You will find Him referred to in John, chapter 1:1-3.  The enemy of our soul hates our Lord, and he has these goals: to kill, steal, and destroy, whereas the Word, our Lord and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, came to bring life in full.

It is one thing to be liked, but only God is to be worshiped.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Daniel Interprets the Dream

 

Daniel 2:31-45

 

March 7, 2024

 

Daniel Interprets the Dream

 “You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.  The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.  As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.  Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together, were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.  You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.  Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.  And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.  And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.  And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.  As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.  And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom 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. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

 

What is the message to a lost world in Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream?  A world that is seeking the little gods of this world, like power, wealth, and pleasure.  Nebuchadnezzar was appointed by God to rule that world, yet he was as pagan and evil as they come.  This was from the internet, and it is well stated about this Scripture.  “In Daniel 2:31-45, the message conveyed is that God is sovereign over all earthly kingdoms and that He will establish an eternal kingdom that will never be destroyed. The passage describes a dream of a statue made of different metals, representing successive kingdoms, which is ultimately shattered by a stone not cut by human hands. This stone symbolizes God's eternal kingdom that will triumph over all earthly powers.” 

 

Our Lord and redeemer came to His own, and his own did not receive him, but to all that will, He is Savior and Lord, and He is coming back this time as King of Kings and Lord of LORDS.  His reign will be forever!  Drop those little gods, they cannot do what God can do, and in the end, you will be in a place that was not designed for you.  A place designed for the devil and his demons. 

 

From our Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

 

Daniel 2:17-30

 

March 6, 2023

 

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.  Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.   Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.  He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.  To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

Therefore, Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?”  Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,  but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:  To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.   But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

 

As you read this, did you notice what Daniel did? He first went to men who knew God, his friends, and asked them to pray that God would reveal the king’s dream.​  God did so, and look at the response of David: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.  He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.  To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

He then made sure that Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill all the wise men, and told him not to do so, he would reveal the dream's meaning to the king.​  And the last point is that Daniel made sure the king understood that it was not his wisdom, but God, that gave Him these insights.  That was a big decision for this young man, who was standing before a man with the power to give and take lives, and had given orders to kill David and his friends, along with the other wise men.  Today, many a man takes credit for the wisdom that only comes from God.  That may be why we are in the mess we are in.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

 

Daniel 2:1-16

 

March 5, 2024

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.  Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So, they came in and stood before the king.  And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”  Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”  The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.  But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation.”  They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.”  The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”  The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.  The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.  So, the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.  Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.   He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.  And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Nebuchadnezzar, remind me of a boss I work for, the guy set beside you in your car and on calls take some kind of notes, but would not share how you were doing are if he was writing something good are bad.  Always telling you he was so much better than you.  But he never threatened to have me torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.   In fact, he never even threatened to fire me.

Do you understand these guys were good con men, they made their living telling the king what he wanted to hear.  I bet if you worked in corporate USA, you worked with some of those people, and they often were put oven others they were poser, only knowing how to ask what the boss believe or wanted and do that.  They were and are as worthless as these magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, were to the King.

What the king did not know was Daniel was a man who knew the God of Creation, who knew what the king was going to say before a word came out of his mouth.  So, all David needed to do was ask God to reveal the dream to him, and the meaning of it.  

As a follower of Christ, we have the Spirit of God living in us, why do we not ask Him to guide us in wisdom?

From ​our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Daniel's Faithfulness

 

Daniel 1:8-21

 

March 4, 2024

 

Daniel's Faithfulness

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself.  And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So, you would endanger my head with the king.”  Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, “Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.  Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.”  So, he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days.  At the end of ten days, it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's food.  So, the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.  At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they stood before the king.  And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.  And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

 

Have you been told you do not live unto yourself; you are in a vacuum; others are affected by your actions and conviction.  In David case, it was Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.  In my case, it was not food, but a statement by my boss and others who had had too much to drink after a dinner and drinking at a meeting in Brownville, Texas, where we had dinner in Mexico.  They said we are now going to boys’ town, and I spoke up that I would get a cab back to the hotel, that I would not be going with them.  To my amazement, many said we were going back with Rice.  People are always needing a voice of conviction.  With that said, Daniel was in a bad place under the rule of his pagan Ruler.  I was not in fear for my life, but I was taking a risk of one of the bosses going after my job.  But in both cases our conviction was centered on God’s promises and commandments. 

In Daniel’s case, God blessed him and his friends with wisdom: “In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.”

It was not the eating of the vegetables that gave them the wisdom and understanding; it was the Lord whom they feared and honored.

 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Introduction to the Book of Daniel

 

 

Introduction to the Book of Daniel

From the English Standard Bible

 

Author and Date

Daniel wrote this book in the sixth century B.C. It records the events of Daniel’s life and the visions that he saw from the time of his exile in 605 B.C. until 536 B.C., the third year of King Cyrus.

Theme

The book’s central theme is God’s sovereignty over history, empires, and kings  (Daniel 2:21; 4:34-37). All the kingdoms of this world will come to an end and will be replaced by the Lord’s kingdom, which will never pass away (2:44;7:27). Though trials and difficulties will continue for God’s people up until the end, those who are faithful will be raised to glory, honor, and everlasting life in this final kingdom  (12:1-2).

 

 

 

Daniel 1:1-7

 

March 2, 2024

 

Daniel Taken to Babylon

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god.  Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.  The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate, and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king.   Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah of the tribe of Judah.  And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

 

As I read this, I thought, I would have been passed over and left in Israel; I was far from nobility.  I was not good in appearance, nor skillful in wisdom, and sure not endowed with knowledge.  Daniel has always been one of my heroes of God, in that he was just a young boy when he was taken, and we see nowhere in Scripture where he was anything but faithful to all he knew about God.

 

From our Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The Glory of the Lord

 

 

Exodus 40:34-38

 

November 25, 2024

 

The Glory of the Lord

Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.  Throughout all their journeys,  whenever the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out.  But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not set out till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel throughout all their journeys.

Does the Church, that is, not a building but all who, by faith in the finished work of the Cross, put their trust in the blood of Jesus Christ, have covered their sins, past and present?  We do not have a cloud that covers us; no, it is so much better: we have the Holy Spirit living in us to guide us in our calling.

 

The problem is that many who go by the title of Christian have no access to Him, because they are attempting to bypass the Cross with their goodness.  Big problem: Scripture is clear, no one but God is good, and He looks at our good works as filthy rags.

 

The leaders, both teachers and preachers, do not teach on how one can look to and listen to the Holy Spirit.  Often, people go by their own feelings and instincts, doing what they believe is right.  Once more we err in such, for once more we find in the Scriptures that the heart is wicked; who can understand it.

 

Blaise Pascal, who lived in the sixteenth century, said, “Human beings must be known to be loved; but Divine beings must be loved to be known.”  A key quote from Pascal, which is the key to cutting out the noise and hearing from the Holy Spirit, is this.  “All human evil comes from a single cause, man's inability to sit still in a room.”  I would add a quiet room, with no T.V. or radio, just you and the Holy Spirit, and listen for His voice.

 

Be like the young man Samuel in the Bible; one must say Lord I’m listening; lead me in the way of righteousness.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice