“O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy endureth for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him who alone doeth great wonders: for His mercy endureth for ever.
To Him that by wisdom made the heavens: for His mercy endureth for ever.” Psalm 136:1-5 (KJB)
God of gods
GOD Reveals Thoughts and Dreams
Daniel 2:46-49
There is a theme which runs through all the Old Testament. That theme is “…That they shall know that I am the LORD…” That thought is used at least sixty three times in the prophecy of Ezekiel; and other books of the Old Testament. The king of Babylon was discovering who the LORD is.
“Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Daniel 2:46-49. (KJV).
In Nebuchadnezzar’s thinking only a god could have revealed his dream, and told its interpretation. He did the thing that anyone with his thinking would do – he worshiped Daniel. This, most likely, was not amusing to Daniel, because he knew God was the only one worthy of worship.
Through this dream, and by the revelation of the dream the king is introduced to the God of all creation. Nebuchadnezzar does not put his faith in Him, yet, but he will later.
Through this dream also, Daniel and his friends are brought to the front of God’s rule and sovereignty. When God’s people follow God’s way; not matter their place inlife – God will be glorified.
“2:44 One final feature of the vision records the ultimate reason for the dream. The vulnerable toes of the great image become the target of a stone which comes from nowhere. The stone has been ‘cut out’ without hands, and indication that the stone, unlike the great image, is not of human origin. Striking the toes of the image, the stone renders a crushing blow to the iron and clay composition. The entire image falls, being utterly destroyed in that fall. This stone, which ‘became a great mountain and filled the whole earth’ (v. 35), is identified as the kingdom of God. Following the destruction of the image, the kingdom of God continues forever in full strength. Apparently, the dream had several results: (1) the dream and its interpretation brought Daniel to prominence in Babylone with Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 46-49); (2) the dream further served as an initial warning to Nebuchadnezzar that he, though great, was not invincible, and must prepare for the ultimate dissolution of his kingdom unless he humbled himself to the true God; (3) the dream must have provided immense consolation to Daniel and the Hebrew captives, assuring them that ultimately God’s kingdom would be triumphant, overcoming all of the ruthless reigns of earthly sovereigns; and (4) Nebuchadnezzar was thereby introduced to the true and living God (v. 47)” (From the BELIEVER’S STUDY BIBLE).
Daniel was not self-indulgent either. He brought Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah into the picture too. The king gave Daniel many gifts; made him a ruler; chief of the governors; and all the ‘wise men’ of Babylon. There must have been much jealousy among those ‘wise men’ who had been in the kingdom for years, and had never received such recognition as this.
Oh, that the leaders and rulers of the countries of the world today would understand…
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will.” Proverbs 21:1 (KJV)
We get a start on knowing who GOD is by trusting His Son Jesus as our Lord and Savior who gave His life as a redeeming sacrifice for our sins; He died, was buried, and bodily arose; and He ever lives, and trusting in Him we live eternally with Him.
The King’s Rod
The last time in the Psalm 2 we looked at verse 8, and we see that God has promised as an inheritance, to His Son. the nations, and the uttermost parts of the earth are given Him as His possession. It is His rightful possession, because in His death, He paid the sin debt of the whole world, but for the most part has been rejected.
In the Twenty third Psalm we find the phrase, “Thy rod, and thy staff they comfort me…” (Psalm 23:4b). The use of that rod and staff sounds encouraging, and blessed, but the one we will look at here today, does not sound very pleasant at all. This “rod, and… staff” is one instrument. The shepherd’s staff, often seen with a crook on the upper end also had the rod on the other, and could be used for a walking stick over rough terrain, driving off wolves, bears, lions, and for correcting straying sheep.
“Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” Psalm 2:9 (KJV).
Nations are ruled by the “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) on earth. These nations have rejected Christ, hated Christ, and you can see from the beginning of the Psalm have sought to work against Him and defeat Him, but always to no avail.
This “rod of iron” is a means of judgment. Judgment is in the hands of the Son –
“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son.” John 5:22 (KJV).
In this Psalm, it is clearly judgment that it is speaking of. The Potter’s vessel’s are all baked brittle, and and iron rod would easily smash them to pieces. The judgment will be just and righteous. Jesus would judge no other type judgment. This will be a judgment of the nations who have plotted and worked against the God of gods, the King of kings, and Lord of lords to have their own way in the world. It is these nations which are out to destroy God’s people, and develop their own kingdom, establish their own god; setting themselves up on the throne or royalty; and acknowledging no other. They will be broken, shattered, smashed to pieces by the rod of God.
The rod which Moses carried became the “Rod of God” for the deliverance of Israel from Egypt (Exodus 4:20; 17:9). It is only a foreshadowing of the deliverance Jesus Himself will do in delivering Israel from the clutches of evil nations as they seek to destroy Israel. Those who have the discernment can see the nations lining up against Israel even now. The judgment of these aligned nations will be swift, unexpected and sure.
You can experience the comforting staff of the Shepherd of the Twenty third Psalm rather than the iron rod. That is by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus over all your life. Confess you have sinned against Him, repent of your sin, believe that He died on the cross, was buried and that He rose from the grave and now is seated at the Father’s right hand.
If you enjoy singing you should like the Psalms of the Bible. The songs which several men penned, inspired by the Spirit of God, concerning their walk with the Lord, and they go so far, at times, of naming some of their sorrows, griefs, and even frustrations with God and other men.
Sing and make melody in your heart to the LORD; for He is coming soon to let the world know that He is Lord.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 