Daniel 4: 19 – 27 Then Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation terrify you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies! The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong, so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests — it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth. And whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field; and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him”— this is the interpretation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, you shall be bathed with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals, and gives it to whom he will. As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be re-established for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign. Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.’
Reflection Nebuchadnezzar seems to be a very unpredictable person. Earlier in this chapter he has been wishing everyone on earth well and in his dream, he is shown himself as a tree that is beautiful and provides food and shelter for all the animals and birds. But it (he) has to be cut down and be banished to the wilderness. He seems to change from a superficially decent person to a tyrant from one moment to the next. Then of course we also have to remember that he has recently had Daniel and his three colleagues thrown into the fiery furnace. And he was also about to have all the wise men in Babylon killed because they couldn’t interpret his dream for him.
We can just imagine how Daniel felt when he knew he was the only person who could interpret the dream and perhaps stave off this slaughter, but he was going to have to tell this unpredictable tyrant some very bad news which was unlikely to go down well!
I have never been very comfortable with speaking out, especially when I knew what I had to say would be unpopular. Daniel knew he was putting himself at risk, but what was the alternative? He was quite understandably terrified. But he saw what he had to do. He began with a lot of flattery and distancing himself from the interpretation he was going to give, but then he did speak out. He gave the king the bad news, in all its detail.
There are times when we know we must speak. In this country hopefully the worst we shall be risking is making ourselves unpopular. In other places, people who speak out may truly be risking death. It sometimes takes a lot of courage to speak, but sometimes, too, we know it is our duty. We know we are called to do it. Let us pray that we have the courage when that time comes.
Prayer Lord, Help us to listen for your voice wherever we may hear it And help us speak when we know that it is our duty. Help us to have courage and not fear the consequences. You promised to give us words and wisdom when you wanted us to speak, So let us remember that It is not for us to worry about how our words will be received when you tell us to do so. Amen
Today’s writer
Steve Dawson, lay preacher and member, Ipswich Road, Norwich
St. Andrew's United Reformed Church - The United Reformed Church in Monkseaton and Whitley Bay
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