“Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel.” Daniel 5:L12
It was because of the judgment of God upon Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Chaldeans, conquered and took captive many of the people of Israel, taking them back to Babylon as servants. Among this multitude was found a young man, along with others who were his friends, gifted by God, and who were given favor in the eyes of their captors. These young men, especially Daniel, were committed to loving and serving God. They had basically lost everything because of the rebellion of the people of Israel against God. They had been uprooted from their land, country, people, and their way of life. In that difficult time when “loss” was so prevalent, and suffering was such a common thing, there would arise in the hearts of these young men a heart of devotion to God that was uncompromising, being fully committed to love and serve God, even if it meant being put to death, either in the flames of a fiery furnace, or by the rage of hungry lions. God would take the catastrophic circumstance of the captivity and turn it into an opportunity to reveal to the world that empires rise and fall, but the eternal God of Israel remains the same, and will move in behalf of the individual, people, or nation, who will truly trust in Him. It was during this time that several events came to pass in which hearts were tested, but opportunities were given, in order to know and declare the reality and presence of God, even in a godless society such as Babylon. There in the heart of a pagan, and godless empire, the testimony of the Eternal God would be seen in the hearts and lives of several young men who would believe the God of creation, and redemption, to work in their behalf to glorify His name, and to save their lives.
What was it that occurred during those years? We might say that all came about because of dreams, dreams that God gave to an unbelieving king. The essence and interpretation of the dreams were impossible to understand, and yet, they were so very real that the king would seek throughout the kingdom for someone who could explain them. He did this to the point of sentencing his wise men to death because they could not recount the dream itself, or give the interpretation. At that time, a young man of faith, came forth. His name was Daniel. He, along with his friends who would pray for him, would begin to be distinguished among all the wise men, and magicians of the realm. Daniel alone would receive from God the answer that the king needed concerning the content of the dream, but also, the interpretation. God had directed the circumstances of His choosing, in the eyes of man a total disaster with regard to the captivity, but remarkably perfect in order to reveal His glory. God would give to Daniel alone, out of all in the kingdom, the interpretation of the dream, thus receiving favor from the King. God would bless Daniel in Babylon, and reveal His glory.
After Nebuchanezzar had died, his son, Beltshazzar ascended to the throne. This man, though he knew of how God had revealed Himself to his father, and worked to save him, refused the testimony of God. Instead, he would bring the vessels that his father had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem, and use them in a godless, frivolous worship of idols. When those vessels were filled with the wine of merriment, defying the God to whom they had been presented so long before in holy worship, God would pronounce a judgment against him, “dissolving all doubts” as to what His will and purpose were. The handwriting on the wall could only be interpreted by Daniel, and so was the judgment pronounced. When God speaks there is no doubt.
Dear Father, Speak to our hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.