Devotion for Tuesday, March 4, 2014 Podcast: Subscribe A Faithless King: Foolish Policy in Dark Times Read Daniel 2:1–13 The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool invites ruin. Proverbs 10:14 After the Civil War, many Southern states instituted what were known as “Black Codes,” laws used to keep African-Americans in a state of bondage. These horrible, racist legal mandates had the same flavor as the decree issued by Nebuchadnezzar in our passage today. Nebuchadnezzar, clearly sleep-deprived from his disturbing dreams, desired for the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers—the ancient “cabinet” members of the day—not only to interpret his dream, but also to tell him the dream as well. Promising death if they could not do it and great rewards if they could, the king put his leaders in a horrible position. Realizing that their lives were at stake, they probably told the astrologers, those who would have been the most respected since they interpreted the divine signs in the heavens, to tell the king the impossibility of his request. They argued back, “No one can reveal it to the king except for the gods, and they do not live among humans” (v. 11). The stage was set for the living God to intervene and display His glory. In arguably one of the rashest and ill-advised decisions ever, Nebuchadnezzar ordered the death of all the wise men of Babylon. Talk about cutting the rug from under you! Not only would such an act destroy the leadership of the kingdom, but who would be left to train up the next generations of leaders? This would have left the kingdom vulnerable to attack from individuals from within as well as from foreign enemies, and the economic and the governmental structures that would provide for a strong army would fall apart. Thankfully, God can use the most ridiculously unwise decree to show His glory and faithfulness through His people. As Christ’s followers, we should take care that we do not enact foolish policies. When we do encounter foolish policies, we should pray that God’s glory would shine through faithful people who can overturn destructive initiatives. We can have confidence that God’s will was not blocked by Nebuchadnezzar, and He cannot be thwarted by any human government.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 09:41:43 +0000
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