He Who Reveals Mysteries

Read Daniel 2:29-49

One of my favorite story arcs is the mystery. I love getting to know the dark and sinister setting, the strange cast of characters, the odd and sinister setting, the strange cast of characters, the odd and quirky investigator, and then after encountering the conflict, discovering a resolution at the end of the plot.

Daniel knows who he is and who he is not in this cast of intriguing characters. The setting is the magnificent Babylon, with its riches, its wisdom, and its wonders. There is a powerful king who has had an unsettling dream. He has all wealth and wisdom at his fingertips, but non can interpret his dream.

Daniel is not our ingenious detective, but he is a servant of YAHWEH, setting himself apart to pray, be holy, and dedicated to God, even in a foreign land. Daniel states clearly and explicitly to the king that he does not have more wisdom than other men, but that the LIVING and AWE- SOME God revealed the dream and its interpretation to him.

YAHWEH GOD reveals an image that represents several kingdoms that come and go- each having its flourishing and then decomposition- but the GOD of ALL still reigns above and beyond all. In fact, no matter how awesome and awe-inspiring these kingdoms, nations, and empires may have appeared at the time—“not a trace of them can be found,” but the “stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35).

It may not seem like it now as we look at the news, at the nations, or at our world, but the kingdom of our God is actually bigger, stronger, and more lasting than any human kingdom, nation or empire. “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed” and “It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and IT SHALL STAND FOREVER” (Daniel 2:44).

We serve, like Daniel, the King who reigns over all kings, rulers, presidents and authorities. His kingdom is more real, more solid, more lasting than any kingdom of this world. Daniel gives YAHWEH God a name: He Who Reveals Mysteries.

May this God Who Reveals Mysteries be the one in whom we set our hope. There is no one else who is worthy of our complete devotion. All kingdoms will come and go, but His kingdom shall stand forever.

For Reflection: In what ways can you live your life settled in the reality of the stronger, more real, and more lasting kingdom of God? What does it mean that God is He Who Reveals Mysteries? How does this reassure you in life?

by Ruth Carver