Daniel 2:31-49, The Lord Reigns

Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold. But not Nebuchadnezzar only, but the entire kingdom of Babylon, as Daniel quickly makes it clear that he is speaking of empires, not individuals. As the head and representative of the kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar stood in symbol for the kingdom itself.

Now the use of gold as a symbol of Babylon is significant. The choice was not a random one. Speaking of Babylon the prophet Jeremiah says: “Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand.�?(Jeremiah 51:7). And Isaiah spoke of Babylon as, “The glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’s excellency.�?(Isaiah 13:19).

Babylon was not to last forever. A new “world�?power was to make its mark on the pages of history. From the east came the armies of the Medes and the Persians. And they attacked and they conquered until in all the middle east, Babylon alone held out against them.

Cyrus, commander of the Medo-Persian armies laid siege to Babylon.

The Babylonians gathered within what they truly believed to be impregnable walls (as impregnable it proved, as the Titanic was unsinkable) with (historians tell us) provisions that potentially could have lasted them for 20 years, and with the ability to grow more food within the walls should that be needed.  In fact, the Babyonians were so confident they could outlast the Medo-Persian armies that they decided to throw a party. And humanly speaking they had good reason to feel secure. By any means of warfare then known, that city could not be taken. Never! It was said of the Titanic that God Himself could not sink that ship. Well we know how that turned out. The Babylonians probably felt much the same way about their city. And history tells us how that turned out too. And indeed, except God had been on their side, the Medo-Persians would have been no more able to take Babylon than the Israelites would have been able to take Jericho in their own strength.

Cyrus knew that there was no way he could ever breach those walls, but he had a plan. Archaeologist tell us that the walls of Babylon were so broad that there was actually a row of houses on the outer rim of that wall -- and another row of housed on the inner rim -- and a street between them so wide that a chariot with a team of four horses could be driven down it.

But, the Euphrates river also flowed under that wall, providing the city with an unlimited supply of water. Cyrus decided to make the cannel of the Euphrates river his highway in to the Babylonian stronghold. Accordingly he divided his army into three parts. One part he stationed a few miles upstream with orders to divert the river into a new channel. The other two parts of his army were stationed on either side of the city where the river passed under the walls, with orders to enter the channel just as soon as they found the river shallow enough to be fordable, and then to make their way under the walls into the city, and on to the palace -- where the Bible tells us -- that on that very night Belshazzar, king of Babylon, feeling very secure inside those massive walls was holding a drunken feast in praise of his gods. (Daniel 5).

It was a brilliant idea, using the river channel to enter the city; but there was one rather major flaw in Cyrus’s plan, and if it were not for the direct intervention of God, Cyrus’s plan would have failed. You see, on each side of the river through the entire length of the city, were walls just as formidable as the outer walls of the city. In these walls were massive bronze gates which when opened allowed access to the river - but when closed barred all entrance from the river. If those gates had been shut, Cyrus’s army might have marched into the city along that river bed, and marched right on through and out the other side for all the good it would have done them. But God had long before taken the matter into His own hands.

Impressed? You should be. This prophecy was written a good 150 years before Cyrus was even born. Imagine it. Some 150 years before Cyrus was born, some 200 years before the siege of Babylon began, (I am not exactly sure of Cyrus’s age at the time, but he was somewhere in his 50‘s or 60‘s) God had already promised Cyrus by name that those gates leading into the city would be open for him. And so they were. The Medo-Persian army walked in right through those open gates and took the city of Babylon without a fight.

Daniel 2 is not so much about the rise and fall of empires as it is about the power and sovereignty of God over all the nations and kingdoms of the world. As it says in . . .

Daniel 4:25 . . .the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.

Acts 17:26 [God] hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

God is rightly called, “the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.�?(1 Timothy 6:15).  For our God is great enough; and our God is big enough; and our God is strong enough; and our God is smart enough; and our God is wise enough to rule over the nations of the earth - even in this age in which we live. And just what is God up to in all this seeming turmoil of the rise and fall of nations? Just read on to verse 27 of Acts 17.

What is all the turmoil among the nations all about? The salvation of souls. “That they should seek the Lord.�?/FONT> With our limited understanding, with our limited vision, it all looks so confusing and out of control. And we wonder what good can ever come out of it all. But some day we will see the big picture. And in that day we will have nothing but glory and praise to give to God -- for the wonderful work he has done on the earth.