Post by Admin on Jun 1, 2017 6:35:08 GMT
Is there a single thing we can accurately predict in our own future? We certainly have plans, and we definitely have hopes and wishes. In opening tonight’s discussion, we talked about predicting what might happen in the next year, and what one thing we would most like to know if we had a way to find out. In some ways, we decided it might be better not to have knowledge of the future, if it’s not pleasant. It would be better just to continue one day at a time, hoping for the best.
The scripture for tonight was from the second half of Daniel Chapter 2. The King has had a dream and demands that his wise men tell him both the dream and the interpretation, which none can do. Daniel, after prayer, is shown the dream and meaning by God. He explains what God has done, and in tonight's reading, proceeds to describe the dream (a statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay, is destroyed by a rock) and to give the dream’s meaning. We talked about the historic parallels of the successive empires of Babylon (gold), Persia (silver), Greece (bronze), and Rome (iron), and then whether the coming of Jesus was the starting point of the New Kingdom, represented by the rock which pulverized the earthly kingdoms.
An interesting observation about the mixed iron and clay in the feet. The description of the mixture, in which the people will not be united, seems a very accurate description of recent human history. Likewise, the idea that people of iron and clay seem strong and secure ("baked") yet are easily pulverized also seems to accurately depict many people today, who seem so sure of themselves, until crushed by circumstances (without a true foundation).
We talked about Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction to the interpretation. Maybe he was flattered to be characterized as a head of gold, and did not worry because his kingdom was safe for the time being. He seemed to recognize God, while not yet committing to God as the only God. How did Daniel feel about the incident? We related Daniel’s experience with our own experiences when God has used us to be angel or support for someone else: we might want to downplay the experience so that it’s clear God did the work, we might feel energized to see God’s handiwork, we might feel joy to see the reaction of the person who was helped.
How does it make us feel to know that God knows our future just like he knew the future of all the ancient empires? Comforted!
The scripture for tonight was from the second half of Daniel Chapter 2. The King has had a dream and demands that his wise men tell him both the dream and the interpretation, which none can do. Daniel, after prayer, is shown the dream and meaning by God. He explains what God has done, and in tonight's reading, proceeds to describe the dream (a statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay, is destroyed by a rock) and to give the dream’s meaning. We talked about the historic parallels of the successive empires of Babylon (gold), Persia (silver), Greece (bronze), and Rome (iron), and then whether the coming of Jesus was the starting point of the New Kingdom, represented by the rock which pulverized the earthly kingdoms.
An interesting observation about the mixed iron and clay in the feet. The description of the mixture, in which the people will not be united, seems a very accurate description of recent human history. Likewise, the idea that people of iron and clay seem strong and secure ("baked") yet are easily pulverized also seems to accurately depict many people today, who seem so sure of themselves, until crushed by circumstances (without a true foundation).
We talked about Nebuchadnezzar’s reaction to the interpretation. Maybe he was flattered to be characterized as a head of gold, and did not worry because his kingdom was safe for the time being. He seemed to recognize God, while not yet committing to God as the only God. How did Daniel feel about the incident? We related Daniel’s experience with our own experiences when God has used us to be angel or support for someone else: we might want to downplay the experience so that it’s clear God did the work, we might feel energized to see God’s handiwork, we might feel joy to see the reaction of the person who was helped.
How does it make us feel to know that God knows our future just like he knew the future of all the ancient empires? Comforted!