A Good Bad Dream: The Providence of God 2
It was a nightmare that lasted a thousand years. More accurately, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream in one evening, but a thousand years of history were in the vision he experienced in his sleep. Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest king the world had seen, woke up into a kingdom at the height of its power. But he woke up afraid and addled. He demanded his wisemen interpret the dream without the king telling what he saw. And when they couldn’t, his fear turned to rage and wrath. They all had to die.
Daniel rescued the wisemen by promising to interpret the dream. By next morning God had given Daniel the interpretation: a multi-metaled statue was struck down by a stone which was made into a mountain. A simple dream? Yes. But it’s meaning was enormous. The statue was four empires, represented by the layers of metal. The golden head was Nebuchadnezzar, glorious but soft. Each successive kingdom represented by a metal less precious but stronger than the layer above it: first silver, then bronze, and finally iron. This suggests that each empire would be less glorious but more ruthless than its predecessor. But then something happened, something that appeared small at first, but grew to fill the world and replace all these empires.
Nebuchadnezzar liked the interpretation, and he rewarded Daniel for his service by giving him an elevated place in his government. But he didn’t understand what was happening. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was the pinnacle of government. He built the greatest wonders, conquered the greatest rivals, and held the power of life and death over all his peoples. He was the head of gold, the top of the statue of human state, the extremity of the idolatrous worship of human power. But in the night, the head of all true government had paid him a visit, like a CEO checking in on a junior executive.
God had revealed what true governing power was to the babylonian king: the ability to take down and raise up empires at will; the power to predestine the lives and death of rulers and soldiers, kingdoms and armies, men, women and children; the capability to coordinate the ascension of the Persian, then Greek, then Roman empires which would fulfill the purposes of the God of Providence until the day he would replace them all. He would cast a small stone to the earth, in the form of a virgin born child. And the kingdom of the Son of Man would bring an end to the worship of state government and replace it with the true worship of God in the man Christ Jesus. And of the increase of Christ’s government and of peace there would be no end.
One of the ways God shows His providence is through his government of the world. Our word govern has its roots in a latin word for steering a ship. Governing is steering; it’s setting the course. And this is what God does. He steers the course of human history. He weaves together the lives of millions into a tapestry that reveals his plan. He accomplishes His purpose and brings things to His chosen destination. With Nebuchadnezzar, God had appeared to the greatest of governors. He entered into his castle past all his army. He moved into his bedroom past all his guards. He even appeared in the recesses of his mind past the cloak of sleep. God spoke to the god-king and gave him a lesson in providence:
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. (Daniel 2:20-22)