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All scripture is from the New Living Translation.
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Last Sunday morning we all awoke to the good news that the nine Pennsylvania coal miners who had been trapped 250 feet underground had all been rescued. All were safe and sound.
There had been moments, though, when it appeared that things were not going to turn out so well.
The first drill-bit brought in to dig a rescue tunnel broke half-way down, which meant that they had to choose a new spot and start the rescue all over again.
Well, as it turns out, if that original hole had been dug it’s likely that the change in pressure would have caused the mine to be flooded and the miners to drown.
Obviously, this was not known until after the fact.
That these men had survived this type of cave-in was an incredible long shot.
One of the reader boards in the town of Somerset read “WE HAVE OUR MIRACLE”
You see, while the rescuers were busy doing their thing – the local pastors had opened up the Fire Hall for the families of the victims – where they all prayed and kept vigil.
While everyone in town knows that it took incredible skill and perseverance to carry-out a rescue like that – they also know that there were too many coincidences – the right rescue equipment being available, the experienced rescuers, the strategy of pumping in air as they drilled which had never before been successfully used in the US, the fortuitous broken bit...
All of it was too much to simply label as skill or even luck.
Tonight everyone is all gathering in a local Lutheran church for a special community service of praise and thanksgiving. I wonder if they’ll read Daniel’s psalm of thanksgiving.
It would certainly be appropriate"
“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he alone has all wisdom and power. He determines the course of world events; he removes kings and sets others on the throne.
"He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars."
Or perhaps we could say – wisdom and skill to the rescuers!!!
Verse 22, "He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness..."
Those miners were in that deep dark hole hidden for four days.
"...though he himself is surrounded by light.
"I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
Now, obviously, Daniel’s situation was completely different. But the point is the same: OUR GOD IS BIG ENOUGH TO GRANT EVEN THE MOST DIFFICULT REQUEST. This is the key point this morning.
Last week we talked about the fact that Daniel was among the 6th century B.C. captives taken from Judah into exile in Babylonia.
He and three of his buddies, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had been chosen by King Nebuchadnezzar for the executive leadership training program.
If they did well in the regiment they would become advisors to the king.
So the king set them up with a complete training program that included an incredibly rich and wonderful diet.
However, the diet didn’t set too well with the four Hebrew captives. And they talked the attendant into letting them eat vegetables and drink water instead.
And miraculously, they ended up stronger and smarter than everyone on the king’s diet. The point being that it’s not really the king who is putting these guys into influential positions (after all they had only been eating carrots and broccoli) but that it is God himself that is paving their way.
However, all of this success creates problems by the time we get to chapter 2. You see, God’s blessing had gotten Daniel and friends into an elite core of advisors to the king.
And one night the king had a terrible terrible dream. He called together the special advisors – who were really astrologers and soothsayers – and demanded that they tell him what the dream meant. Except, being a cantankerous coot, he demanded that they not only tell him what the dream meant, but what was in the dream, too!
And if they didn’t comply he would have the whole lot of them executed. So much for job security!
Verse 10 sums up the predicament: "The astrologers replied to the king, ’There isn’t a man alive who can tell Your Majesty his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! This is an impossible thing the king requires. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live among people.’"
No one but the gods – and they don’t live here!
In other words, we don’t have direct contact with divinity! Give us a break! You’re demanding the impossible!
And indeed it was impossible. That’s the point.
None of the so-called wise men of Babylon was able to do what the king had demanded.
Verse 12 – "The king was furious when he heard this, and he sent out orders to execute all the wise men of Babylon."
(No one messes with King Nebuchadnezzar! Either you come up with something more than a lot of consultant mumble-jumbo or you are downsized – so to speak.)
Verse 13 – "And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. He asked Arioch, ’Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?’"
"So Arioch told him all that had happened."
It’s not real clear in the story as to why Daniel and company had been out of the loop and why they didn’t know what was going on.
My suspicion is that they had taken advantage of one of these "friends fly free" airline specials and that they had taken three or four days off to lounge on the beach in Florida.
And they had all turned off their cell phones.
So.... when they got back to the office it was not good news.
You’ve really got to sympathize with these guys.
It wasn’t their choice to move to Babylonia. It wasn’t through their own ambition that they got selected to the training program. It wasn’t through their own doing that they ended up at the top of the class. It wasn’t because of their own aspirations that they ended up as wise men in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar.
No, the book of Daniel is about the fact that this is all God’s doing! Remember the theme of the book, “In spite of all present appearances, God is still in control.” (Tremper Longman)
They were where they were because God had miraculously put them there. And now because of that they were up a creek without a paddle – or so it seemed.
Verse 16 – "Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time so he could tell the king what the dream meant."
Then what happens?
Right! Daniel calls a prayer meeting!
Verse 17 - "Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (a.k.a. Shadrach. Meshach, and Abednego) what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon."
Then in verse 19 we have one of the most incredible verses in the Bible: "That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision."
Or even more literally – "a night vision" – a dream. Daniel had his own dream.
I say this was incredible because you have to wonder how it is that he could have fallen asleep!
Who of you could have slept knowing that the king’s soldiers were hours away from executing you for not knowing having an explanation for this crazy dream?
Yet, he did, and he had his own dream or vision. And in that vision God explained to Daniel the secret.
So what happens next? Do they immediately run to the palace to secure the stay of execution?
Nope.
He stops to worship.
"Then Daniel praised the God of heaven, saying, Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he alone has all wisdom and power. He determines the course of world events; he removes kings and sets others on the throne. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he himself is surrounded by light. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
Who is in charge? God! Praise be to him!
For he is big enough and powerful enough to grant even the most difficult request.
Now, this doesn’t mean that he always does grant all of our requests. Sometimes he doesn’t even give us the small things that we ask. We’re not asking for things appropriate to, or consistent with his will.
He is, however, still the God in charge and he is capable of giving big answers in response to big problems. And frankly, we shouldn’t be shy about asking for such.
Nothing is too big or too little. Nothing is too easy or too hard.
A feast with left-overs from five loaves and two fish. The lives of trapped miners. The lives of kidnaped teenagers. The lives of children trapped in poverty in our own town. Someway to feed your family. A health problem. A way out of an impossible job situation.
Our God, the God of Daniel, is big enough!
This week 23 people from our congregation are on a mission trip in Mexico. And one of the reasons that I’m so excited about these kinds of mission opportunities is that they encourage big thinking and big dependence.
Sure we may have some positive impact on the lives of a few impoverished people. And that is good.
But frankly, the greatest good that comes from these experiences is that we get our people outside of their small worlds. And in doing so they inevitably encounter problems that are bigger than themselves.
I remember some of the mission trips that I took into Mexico – dealing with broken vehicles, difficult living situations, illnesses, stress with national co-workers.
These are big problems when you’re working outside your box – your own little comfortable world. And because of this these are great opportunities to trust God for big answers.
Now of course, you don’t have to go to a foreign place, a Babylonia or a Mexico, to trust God with big problems. You’ve got them at home. The job, the family, the health – all create big enough problems that we need to depend on the bigness of God.
There is a children’s song that says it all so well. (And isn’t that the way it often is? When you’re in a pickle go back to what the preschool Sunday School teacher taught you.)
"My God is so big, so strong and so mighty! There’s nothing my God cannot do! FOR YOU!"
That’s the message of Daniel. And that’s the good news.
