September 2006 Archives

One of the things we discuss at Boomer quite a bit, particularly during meeting and particularly during the start and end of meetings, is positive focus. Of course, this is consulting jargon, but it just means taking an optimistic approach to what we talk about. In a meeting, this means trying to start a meeting by thinking about the good things that the company or people in the company have been doing. It means ending the meeting by focusing on what good things came out of the discussion. Until working for Boomer Consulting, meetings were the bane of my existence. After working there for six months, I actually look forward to many of our meetings and find that a surprisingly high percentage of those are exceptional. Positive focus is part of the reason for this.

I've decided that the reason I've really come to despise current events and particularly current events reporting is because of the opposite, negative focus. For example, Terri frequently listens to the CBS Radio News on 1350 KMAN in the mornings. This morning there were five consecutive negative stories. If I recall correctly, they were about how the United States is failing in Iraq, Pakistan, Afganistan, accusations that the President is a liar, and a school shooting. First, I don't expect to turn on the radio and hear about flowers and hear the laughter of happy infants, but as far as I could tell, 3 out of 5 of those stories could have been passed over for items focused on something positive. Second, we are entering a period in the United States that is most especially focused on negativity, election season. However, I think American's are very negatively focused right now and have been getting more and more negatively focused for decades.

Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why I like to listen to Rush Limbaugh. His commentary on the news presents several benefits to other sources. First, I agree with about 80% of his opinions—most often I agree with him on policy, but I sometimes have a different set of reasons for agreeing, particularly on immigration. Second, he reports interesting stories that don't get much coverage by other news agencies. Third, he makes connections with history and with past actions of individuals based upon a very detailed knowledge of current events over the last 20 years and history in general. For example, if he mentions something a politician says today or an accusation brought against a politician, he often remembers stories from 2 or 10 years ago that add additional relevance to the news story. Finally, Rush Limbaugh is an optimist and while he often discusses the bad and the ugly, he manages to work in the good too.

I also find it interesting how this ties in with my current study of the book of Daniel (which, btw, continues apace, but is stalled briefly while I read ahead and gather more context before tackling the next section which is rather complicated). Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Misheal, and Azariah (or perhaps more commonly known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, or Rack, Shack, and Benny to the VeggieTales crowd). Daniel was nearly killed once and actually assigned a death sentence later for obeying God in a country that did not allow for the religious freedoms we have in the United States. Similarly, his three friends were also thrown into a furnace to be burned alive for the same "crime" of failing to worship the state mandated god. Yet, after these men survived each ordeal, they did not denounce their leaders. They did not work to usurp their authority. They, in fact, went back to posts in the government and continued to work under these same kings as they were able.

This kind of behavior is almost unthinkable to the modern mind. They should have demanded their rights. They should have gone to the press and sought support for the forced removal of these leaders from power. Perhaps there wasn't the modern media of today (though, one of the kingdoms involved was Media Persia, hah hah) but these were well-connected and poewrful men in each of these kingdoms (i.e., the three men were actually a tribunal of presidents over the province of Babylon and Daniel was the chief of these three and later the King's chief advisor). It isn't hard to imagine that they could have worked out a plot to overthrow the King, but they didn't try.

Instead, these men had faith in God. This is, in my opinion, the archetype of positive focus. Positive focus is seeking to look for the good in general experience. Whereas faith is seeking for and believing in the source of all good, God. Furthermore, when I refer to faith, I don't refer to some abstraction. Otherwise, I wouldn't mean any more or less than I mean by positive focus. Faith without an object and a doctrine to find the object, is just positive focus.

Therefore, being a Christian requires me to be optimistic because I know that God's plan for the future is an excellent one. For me, positive focus is not so much something to strive for, but a mandate. Finally, let me conclude with a verse, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." (Philippians 4:8)

Amen.

For the last few weeks now I've been working to make praying while I drive to work a habit. I have, to some extent, succeeded. This morning, I listend to the news on the radio for a few minutes ahead of time and they mentioned that a Falun Gong group came through to talk about how China was harvesting organs of persecuted spiritual groups, such as Falun Gong. Chinese Christians and Chinese Falun Gong members have persecution in common in China. Communism there doesn't broker any competition for loyalty, so nearly any organization that indicates there might be a higher authority other than the Communist Party is going to persecuted.

My first thought was that Communism is dispicable. In the name of what is good for the whole it promotes national oppression with a small elite oligarchy sitting atop to glean all the benefits. Communism is just another name for autocracy. I decided that while I was thinking about it, I would pray for China and the oppressed peoples of that nation. Yet, one could pray for many different things and this got me to thinking. I could pray that God would stop the oppression and destroy the yolk that the government has laid upon the people. Or I could pray that God would strengthen the Christians and drive believers to Himself through this oppression. I chose the latter.

I think Christians have spent far too much effort, particularly in the last couple centuries, trying to make the world a better place. God never called us to make the world a better place. In fact, I can't, off the top of my head, think of a scripture that supports such a view. I can, however, think of many verses that support the view that we are to work to free people from the bondage of sin despite the problems of the world.

That isn't to say that I should not vote or do things that would better society. Not at all. However, that is not the call of a Christian. That is the call of the citizen. I will do my best to support my nation and help my government, but that's an act of obedience that exists as a secondary command to the great commission, "19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20)

As I see it, being a Christian is the following:

• Being a Chrsitian is not about making the world a better place.
• Being a Christian is about freeing people from bondage.
• Being a Christian is not about teaching or enforcing morality and conscience upon others.
• Being a Christian is about making people aware of morality and conscience, to make them aware of their sin and failings.
• Being a Christian is about knowing, worshipping, and obeying God. This is the greatest command, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)
• Being a Christian is about loving your neighbor and particular about loving your Christian brothers and sisters, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 23:39, James 2:8) "Love one another earnestly from a pure heart." (1 Peter 1:22)

Cheers.

A common theme I find in many of my science fiction books is the search for longevity. This search comes in different forms. It can be in the form of individual longevity or in longevity of the human species and it's descendants. Usually, the search for longevity includes both. However, both are so foolishly short-sighted.

The real hope seems to be to search for a way to turn death itself backwards and keep it from happening. Failing that, the goal seems to be to establish a life of experience that isn't so pathetically short. Perhaps man can someday actually watch the birth, life, and death of a star. If we can't get this, then perhaps man itself can fight to live and make a difference on the Universe rather than existing for the teeniest expanse of time compared the billions of years the universe has existed for. And yet, all of this is pathetic when highlighted against the facts.

On the positive side of the ledger it shows that humanity is full of vitality and that many do not wish to see that life end. This view, at least, seems to recognize that there is something special about life itself and that to risk it ending arbitrarily or without some kind of fight is a kind of sacrilege. However, this recognition seems misplaced. It's almost a religious belief that somehow mankind should be preserved.

Yet, what is there that is special about life that isn't special about minerals or plasma or any other natural phenomenon? If all is a natural pheneomenon then there is no purpose to living or not living, to existing as an animal or a mineral. Existence itself has no purpose. All you can really say is that you might as well enjoy your existence if you can.

Do good deeds if that makes you happy. Work on discovering new facts about the Universe and make youself wise. Find a mate and procreate. Be a hedonist and serve every selfish desire you can contrive. Wallow in misery and despair and pain. Do anything at all or nothing. All of these fates have the same meaning: nothing.

As Solomon said 30 centuries ago, "Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" (Ecclesiastes 1:2) If you ever have an interest in it, this main has explored many ways of passing the time on earth and he found all of them meaningless. He tried wisdom, pleasures, insanity, work, oppression, friendlessness, advancement, and riches. His conclusion is that anything other than working to honor God is meaningless. My conclusion is the same.

If a way is contrived for man to live forever, to make the body strong enough to resist any damage, to make it last and repair itself perfectly forever, then what? Eventually, the Universe will become a uniform temperature across all the expanse of the universe at just above absolutely zero—according to current science. It might collapse and reform. It might do so forever. But why live? Just to experience life forever and ever? Sooner or later, the mind will grow tired and undo the work to preserve the body or simply go eternally mad. Who wants that fate?

If we make the human race last a bit longer even, to what use? What can humanity do if lasts thousands or millions or billions of years that it hasn't done already? Perhaps we can achieve some kind of utopia? Okay, suppose we do. We create a perfect society where everyone lives in harmony with everyone else despite diversity, perhaps because we've created our invincible bodies and know that we can't harm each other even if it comes to violence. What then? What's the reason? What purpose? Just to live and experience everything for the rest of eternity? This again leads to become tired and madness. Sooner or later, this life will grow dull and we will destroy ourselves or go mad.

However, I cannot express any faith in humanity's longevity. I do not believe it will last forever despite any and all efforts to the contrary. I, like Solomon, believe in this from Ecclesiastes 12:

13Now all has been heard;     here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments,     for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment,     including every hidden thing,     whether it is good or evil.

Man exists for a higher purpose, for a reason. To fear God and to keep his commands. To believe otherwise is to believe that life is meaningless. If that were my only reason, that would be enough. That is not my only reason, but that's another blog.

Okay, by my belief, I don't see any point to prolonging the life of humanity. If God created the universe, as I believe He did, we aren't going to impress Him if we live a long time. He's a long-liver already. All will prove is that we want to be like Him, but if we were created in His image, as I believe we are, we are already like Him. I also believe that the life after death is the real life and that it will be eternal, so prolonging life now is just a way of putting off the real life. Why would I want that? I'm not going to put myself to death to get there faster, but I'm not (totally) afraid to face death when it comes for me. It will come, I might as well live my life with that realization.

Similarly, why bother extending life of the race by making sure we are spread across the solar system, the galaxy, and the rest of the universe? We could then survive world or galaxy ending events as a race, but why do we want to? This serves no purpose I can discern in God's order.

I do not believe that man will ever really extend itself beyond this tiny ball of earth. Looking at current world events, I even doubt that Western Civilization's flirtation with atheism and secularism will last longer than the rest of the smaller blips on history's radar. In fact, I'm guessing that Western Civilization itself has already passed it's peak and will soon be absorbed into a civilization that may not even now exist or is now only a small segment of this world's population. With its passing, the desire to colonize the moon and other planets will probably lose much of its current fervor—some of that fervor has already waned since in the last few decades. I believe the emphasis on science and technology itself will probably be seen as a passing phase as the strong emphasis on the arts passed a few centuries ago.

Fortunately, my hopes for civilization and life do not hinge on such things. I am a technologist and a scientist, but those are just ways of paying the bills. I may, from time to time, be passionate about those things and the best way of pursuing them, but I put my faith in God. God's rule is eternal and continues forever. I will serve him and I yearn for the next life where I will be able to look upon my Creator's face. That will be a life of longevity with meaning and worth living.

Cheers.

A recent quote by Rosie O'Donnell as a new co-host of The View has gotten a number of folks rather upset. She said, "Radical Christianity is just as threatening as radical Islam in a country like America where we have separation of church and state." I'm not really interested in responding to this remark since the remark is a mixture of hyperbole, a disconnect from reality, a misunderstanding of the meaning of "separation of church and state," and a comparison of apples and oranges. It was a just stupid remark that doesn't really deserve much of a response.

However, as I often do when I hear something like this remark, I considered ways in which it could be true or how I can hyperbolize the remark further. I had an interesting thought, that I think I will share, but takes her remark completely out of context. Christianity is not only dangerous, but deadly. It's not only deadly, but it's damning.

I'm not talking about radical Christians. Radical Christians might be deadly, at least, it's just as possible for a Christian to kill as it is for anyone else. In general, however, Christians can't get very far through the New Testament before being admonished to make peace with their neighbor and with their nation. This isn't a small admonishment either considering the government that they lived under during that time advocated their death and a neighbor that didn't like you could turn you over to the tribunal, which might lead to crucifixion, internment in a forced labor camp, or many other punishments. The Bible doesn't necessarily advocate passifism, but an argument for passifism is more easily made than one for violence.

The Bible absolutely does not advocate or in any way support the kind of aggression that led the conquistadors to follow the "Kill'em all and let God sort them out." No, if Christians behave in this way, they are not, in such a time, following Christ. However, there is a more likely cause for these atrocities. Men have found it convenient to use Christ to give them the power to commit the atrocities they so desire to commit. They are not Christians, but merely wolves poorly disguised in lamb's cloth. Yet, I still say Christianity is deadly and damning.

Christianity is deadly. The word "Christian" comes from the Greek for "little-Christ." Literally, it means a person who wants to grow up someday to be like Christ. Christianity is the collective description of those who want to be like Christ and is defined by a specific collection of beliefs. Unfortunately, that set of beliefs has been compromised and the term "Christian" is used to refer to many disagreeing sects. When I say "Christianity" I am referring to just those who believe in Christ as revealed through the Bible and whose beliefs are centered around Christ's power to save and His deity. When I say "Christianity," I mean Christianity in the same sense as Jesus Christ's apostles used that term in the book of Acts.

Christianity is deadly because Christ defined it as such. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14) Christ says that He is the only way to enter the ultimate life in heaven and, therefore, following another way will lead to death. Christianity is deadly.

Christianity is also damning. God demands nothing less than perfection from His subjects and yet none can claim to have lived perfectly, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) "'There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.'" (Romans 3:10-12; Psalm 14:1-3) "But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God 'will give to each person according to what he has done.'" (Romans 2:6; Psalm 62:12) "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2) "And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books... If anyone's name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:12, 15) According to Christian beliefs, everyone will be judged according to what he or she does. Everyone, if it were up to just their own actions, would be judged worthy of "everlasting contempt," to be "thrown into the lake of fire."

Yet, if that were the end of the story there would be no "little-Christs." Why bother trying to be like Christ if the reward was just the same as one who didn't? I think the key to life, in such a case, would be to grab as much as you can and try to live this life forever. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1) "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea... And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" (Revelation 21:1, 3-4)

Everyone deserves everlasting damnation, but a few that are called to follow Christ will not be treated as such. They will go on to everlasting life with the creator where the world will be made new. As C.S. Lewis puts it in the Chronicles of Narnia, the shadowlands that we live in now will be replaced with the real country for which this land is only a poor mimic.

Christians need no violence. If we are persecuted and maligned. If we are called "radical" and "dangerous." Even if we are compared to terrorists, we should turn the other cheek daring our persecuters to strike us again. Dare them to heap punishment on their own heads when they face the great white throne of judgement. "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galations 6:7-10) We will stick together and the true believers will accept the malignment cast against us knowing that justice will prevail at the Judgement, even if it does not now.

Dangerous. Yes, Christianity is very dangerous. Christ is not a tame God. Deadly; certainly. Damning; definitely. However, Christians don't have to meter out anything. God will take care of such things on his own behalf, on his own schedule, without any help from "radical Christians."

Finally, anyone reading this: you have been warned. Choose Christ or make your time. All your base are belong to God.

Okay, so last week
I said that I will be looking at Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Not so. I'm just going to focus on how Daniel seeks God and how God answers him. This post is part of a greater study
I am doing of the book of Daniel
.

We return to the story as Daniel has just been notified that the king has ordered his execution along with the execution of all the other wise men of Babylon because the wise men (not including Daniel) were unable to tell King Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamt and what that dream meant. After being told this, Daniel immediately requested an audience with the king to try and save himself and his friends.

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel has acted before he knew what God would do. He went immediately to the palace to ask for some time and then he comes home and tells his friends that they need to ask God for help because if God doesn't do something they will die. This isn't to say that Daniel wasn't praying to himself the whole way to and from the palace for God's help, but that he had to act quickly if he was to have any chance of saving his life before he had the opportunity to stop and pray and consider his actions. He knew God's law well enough that he knew what he must do before he knew he'd have to make such a decision.

To me, this is one of the things Christians often over-think: what's God want me to do in situation X? Does God want me to find a new job? Does God want me to consider going into ministry? Does God want me to do blah blah blah? I get a little bothered when Christians try to make these important but mundane decisions more mystical than they are. In my mind, doing "God's will" means one thing and one thing only: know God's word and do what it says. You can do that in practically any station you hold and in all situations you are confronted with. Whether you switch jobs or not isn't something outside God's ultimate consideration for your life, but not every decision needs to be a spiritual crisis.

Know God's word and try to ferret out what decision will serve God best, it's no more mystical than that. If both decisions serve God fine, maybe God's giving you the freedom to express a preference. Should I drive down Anderson Ave.
or Bertrand St.
to get to work this morning? Does it matter? Maybe it will, but this isn't a mystical decision; it's a preference and a liberty. Gee whiz. God isn't going to be offended if you decide to have bologna instead of PB&J for lunch today. Seeking God's will in such things is mystical superstition, not Christianity.

Daniel doesn't seem to worry about what the right thing to do is. He merely thinks to himself, how can I move so that God is most glorified? Perhaps he's even just thinking, how will God rescue us from this? He is obeying fundamental spiritual truths as a way of finding his way through this spiritual crisis. Then, he goes home and says to his friends, "We've got to pray and pray hard because we aren't going to survive the week if God doesn't help us tonight." Daniel specifically takes actions that place him in God's hands. He, possibly, could have found a way to flee, but instead he works to place himself at God's mercy and then asks God to help them survive.

19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

When King Nebuchadnezzar told his wise men just a few verses earlier, "Tell me both my dream and its interpretation." The wise men answered, "What!? How are we supposed to know your dream? You are asking for the impossible." Well, God has done the impossible and revealed Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Daniel's response is the exaltation of God.

20 Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,     to whom belong wisdom and might. 21He changes times and seasons;     he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise     and knowledge to those who have understanding; 22he reveals deep and hidden things;     he knows what is in the darkness,     and the light dwells with him. 23To you, O God of my fathers,     I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might,     and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king¿s matter.¿

Daniel praises God. He acknowledges God's preeminent wisdom and power. He acknowledges that nothing happens without God motivating it or allowing it. He notes that God is the one who grants wisdom and knowledge and how God is the one who reveals hidden things. He praises his omniscience, his knowledge of everything whether in the open or hidden. He thanks God for helping him. Daniel is obviously very excited about this. God has given him the knowledge that the king has requested and now he can go into the King's court and, hopefully, save his life and the life of his friends and glorify God in the process.

24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, ¿Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.¿

And now, Daniel acts again with boldness. He goes to the guard and countermands the order that comes from the King. This is, again, very bold. I imagine that he and Arioch must have known each other well because I should think that if not, the guard might have had him killed on the spot for such a statement. We are talking about an order by the king of kings and the ruler of the entire world. Such things aren't talked against for fun.

The application for me is this: Know what is right according to God and act according to that knowledge. Obedience to God's word is the key to following God's will in all things. I've heard lots of times someone saying things like, "I think God is leading me to do X" when I can open up my Bible and show them a verse where the Bible says "Thou shalt not..." or gives a similarly phrased command (though, my Bible doesn't actually contain the word "shalt" since I prefer the ESV
translation). If the Bible says what you're doing is wrong in general, it's certainly wrong in your specific situation. You must also seek God's council and ask him for your needs.

Being in a place where you cannot rescue yourself is both a terrifying and glorious place to be. In such a place you are helpless and forced to ask God for aid. If you ever get into such a spot, God will either save you or not, but, ultimately, whatever happens will be for the good of God's people (Romans 8:28
). If He does save you, think of the testimony you have with which to glorify God! If He does not, think of the glory you'll experience in heaven! (Philippians 1:21
) It's a win-win, even if it's terrible to experience.

I have no idea what the likelihood is that any Christian will ever be in such a spot. Governments and economies are very fragile and the world could turn dark and merciless in a time considerably shorter than our lifetime. However, as things currently stand, it's unlikely that many Christians in my neck of the woods will face such a dark time. Yet, what applies in the most extreme circumstance applies just as strongly day to day in the mundane. If you don't know what the word says is good, you need to spend more time reading your Bible and listening to good sermons so you will know. Then, that should be the test you use to determine what actions you will take today. Do you do X or do Y? Let the word be your first guide and then make the best decision you can. If it's really big, pray and take your time. Decisions are either clearly made by circumstances or they're up to your preference, don't try to make this process mystical and superstitious.

And that's all I want to cover today. Come back next week when we take a look at how Daniel glorifies God through his knowledge of the King's dream.

Cheers.

This part three of my study of the book of Daniel. You may want to start at the beginning
or just read the study from last week
to get some context. Essentially, we left Daniel, Haneniah, Mishael, and Azariah at a point were they'd finished their training to become Chaldean wise men after being taken hostage from the land of Judah.

Today, I start into chapter 2
:

1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream." 4Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. It was such a powerful dream that he couldn't sleep, so he called every wise guy in the realm to help him. Nebuchadnezzar is king and can demand the help of every wise man to help him with his dream. You can think of the various sorcerers and enchanters as professors, advisors, psychologists, and generally the best trained theorists of the time. They come to him, praise him, and then show their eagerness to help him. However, they seemed to have stepped on a sore point with the king by asking for him to tell the dream...

5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation."

You see, Nebuchadnezzar appears a bit hesitant to share the dream itself. They seem a bit too eager to please him, at least that's how it seems to me. Therefore, he threatens them seriously. He will destroy them if they fail and their houses (and their families, by implication).

7They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation." 8The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation."

Wow. That is quite a demand. Nebuchadnezzar is a skeptic. He's calling the bluff of these so called magicians. It's almost as if he wants the excuse to be rid of these respected advisors and is using this troubling dream as a lever to off them. Whatever his motivation, this should be proof that Nebuchadnezzar is clearly a brutal ruler. He's also perceptive because he's sensed their eagerness to please and therefore presents them with a seemingly impossible situation: they must prove their power by telling him something only he knows.

10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

The king has asked for the impossible. He wants an answer to his dream, but he's serious about wanting a true answer and not some made up answer. He's, apparently, convinced that the only way he can be sure of the interpretation's authenticity is to ask them to not only reveal the interpretation, but the dream itself. Obviously, the magicians themselves have no such power.

12Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

Okay, so perhaps Nebuchadnezzar is being a bit foolish here. It is the second year of his reign and perhaps his letting his anger get away from him. Anyway, if we weren't convinced with how seriously afflicting this dream must have been to Nebuchadnezzar's psyche, we should be convinced now. He's going to kill every trained wise man in the entire province of Babylon. That's probably not a small order.

We also find out that Daniel was not part of the wise men called to the king's court. Interesting. So after finding he was ten times better and we already know he was skilled with the interpretation of dreams, he wasn't called. Whatever politicking or other arrangement caused this to happen isn't recorded, but we see now that Daniel hasn't had a crack at the dream yet.

14Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

Excuse my french, but, "Holy @#$%!" The captain of the guard comes to Daniel's house and says, "By decree of the king, you are to be put to death immediately." His guards grab Daniel and, perhaps, his friends and begin to bind them while the executioner gets the ax ready. Daniel says, "Excuse me, why is it so urgent that you kill me and the other wise men of Babylon?" That's pretty bold. Since the captain's name is mentioned, it's probably reasonable to assume that Daniel knew him and used that to help him, but it's still pretty bold.

Daniel's response is something like, "Gee whiz. If he'd just called me instead, I could have helped. I'd like Nebuchadnezzar to give me some time and perhaps I can help him with this matter." How he managed to get this message off and avoid a prompt execution, I don't know. The mechanics aren't explained, but it is clear that Daniel had at least been apprehended and told he was to be executed soon.

There are a few applications I can take away from this section. First, responding with, "Hey! This isn't fair!" when circumstances outside our control lead to us being put into a bad situation just isn't the right reaction. When circumstances like this arise, we need to be humble and, if possible, work out a solution. As a corollary, I think it's important to note that Daniel doesn't seem unprepared. He appears to know the captain of the guard, Arioch, and I think it's a reasonable guess that he used what influence he had with him to try and defuse the situation.

I believe this shows the difference between blustering, false martyrdom and meekness—a word sometimes defined as "power under control." Daniel uses what authority he had left to do what he could. He doesn't mince words, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then, hearing the answer, he took action without any fancy words, just action. That's it. I think that's a lesson worth learning.

Next week, we'll take a look at Nebuchadnezzar's dream and how it is interpreted.

Cheers.