Key Truth: God is the only true Promise Keeper and King to whom we should turn in prayer for what we need in a time of trouble instead of placing our hope in worldly religions, philosophies, and kingdoms.

Introduction:

Q: Who do you trust the most? Why do you trust them?

The Troubling Dreams of a Murderous King:

Daniel 2:1-13

“So by depicting the helplessness of paganism the writer wants to say: ‘Don’t you see? Paganism is nothing but a religious cul-de- sac. It can give no sure word outside.’ By contrast then – and in light of the whole chapter – he is saying that life is a dead-end street without a God who discloses what the future holds. He is telling exiled Israel that there is no need to be awed by paganism, despite its trappings and splendor, for it nothing but empty and dark.”

Dale Ralph Davis, The Message of Daniel

Q: Do you ever make promises that you cannot keep? How do you respond to those who don’t keep their promises to you?

A Praying Prophet and the Revealing God:

Daniel 2:14-30

“Daniel had the same options that we have in a crisis. He could have resorted to his intelligence, his power, or his resources, but instead he turned to his God. Daniel chose prayer as his first response.”

Bryan Chapell, The Gospel According to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach

Q: Where do you turn first when presented with a difficult circumstance? How is your current devotional practices now shaping your response to difficult circumstances in the future?

The Chief Cornerstone and the End of Earthly Kingdoms:

Daniel 2:31-49

“In fact, by linking these different kingdoms together as parts of a single statue in the form of a man, the dream says something profound about the whole human enterprise viewed as a unity, from beginning to end. In a real sense, this is not simply a vision of the decline and fall of the Babylonian empire and its immediate successors, but an epitaph for human history. The entire human endeavor, though gifted and blessed by God in the beginning with unparalleled glory and dominion, ends up in nothing but division and dissolution.”

Iain M. Duguid, Daniel: Reformed Expository Commentary

Q: How does the coming eternal kingdom of God affect how you live now and view earthly kingdoms?

Daniel 2:1-49 teaches us that:

- all other religions and philosophies make promises that they cannot keep

-we should come to God the true Promise Keeper in prayer when faced with difficult

circumstances

-earthly kingdoms will rise and fall until the coming of God’s eternal kingdom in Christ

“If the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against the Church at large, neither shall they against the weakest member of it. If the greatest empires have yielded to the influence of the Gospel, so shall also the most inveterate lusts. Let Christians then lift up their heads with joy: their conflicts may be severe, but victory is assured to them by the promise and oath of an unchanging God.”

Charles Simeon, Horae Homileticae, Vol. 9: Jeremiah to Daniel