Daniel 2:17-30
If you were to ask me how much should I thank God and praise him, I would have to say praise God in all things. Count your blessings, have faith in God, know you are loved and that God is with us always at all times.
In this passage I made a note that Daniel praises God for all the things he does. The seasons I understand. Revealing hidden things, I understand. Praising God for wisdom and knowledge, I understand. Some of them though I would have difficulty believing myself. The part about deposing kings and 'sets up kings'. As a parallel, would I believe that God is responsible for the election of our most recent President Bush? How about the win of President Obama? You see, that's what I'd have trouble with. Does God intervene in Presidential elections? Does he intervene in the route of a hurricane?
I believe that Daniel is praising God for things wholly appropriate as well as things he does not fully understand. In short though, Daniel is expressing his love and his relationship with God. That is perhaps part of the real message. I think we all like to understand things and sometimes when we do not, we put it God's hands or try to place the responsibility with him. Why does a child get cancer? Why do so many bad things happen in the world? You see, we really don't understand. We don't know.
This is true of science as well. In the face of not knowing, the responsibility is placed on God. This is why, before we knew better, we believed that the sun revolved around the earth. It made sense at the time, with the information we had, or could comprehend.
An argument has always been that in knowing the truth about anything, we will be dismissing God in our lives. The truth is, the more we know, the more we find we do not know. I have no doubt that our knowledge will grow more and more. We will find the secrets of matter and anti-matter. We may even find convincing evidence about 'the big bang'. But no matter how much we know, there will be more we do not know and perhaps cannot know.
Knowing is not a reason to dismiss God. I still believe we should praise God in all things. Daniel said it, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power.
If you were to ask me how much should I thank God and praise him, I would have to say praise God in all things. Count your blessings, have faith in God, know you are loved and that God is with us always at all times.
In this passage I made a note that Daniel praises God for all the things he does. The seasons I understand. Revealing hidden things, I understand. Praising God for wisdom and knowledge, I understand. Some of them though I would have difficulty believing myself. The part about deposing kings and 'sets up kings'. As a parallel, would I believe that God is responsible for the election of our most recent President Bush? How about the win of President Obama? You see, that's what I'd have trouble with. Does God intervene in Presidential elections? Does he intervene in the route of a hurricane?
I believe that Daniel is praising God for things wholly appropriate as well as things he does not fully understand. In short though, Daniel is expressing his love and his relationship with God. That is perhaps part of the real message. I think we all like to understand things and sometimes when we do not, we put it God's hands or try to place the responsibility with him. Why does a child get cancer? Why do so many bad things happen in the world? You see, we really don't understand. We don't know.
This is true of science as well. In the face of not knowing, the responsibility is placed on God. This is why, before we knew better, we believed that the sun revolved around the earth. It made sense at the time, with the information we had, or could comprehend.
An argument has always been that in knowing the truth about anything, we will be dismissing God in our lives. The truth is, the more we know, the more we find we do not know. I have no doubt that our knowledge will grow more and more. We will find the secrets of matter and anti-matter. We may even find convincing evidence about 'the big bang'. But no matter how much we know, there will be more we do not know and perhaps cannot know.
Knowing is not a reason to dismiss God. I still believe we should praise God in all things. Daniel said it, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power.
Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel said:
‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
deposes 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 light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’
Daniel said:
‘Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
deposes 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 light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.’
Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, ‘Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.’
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: ‘I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered the king, ‘No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind
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