On top of the Mountain

Reading

Exodus 19

Introduction [WATCH VIDEO]

If someone had convinced you on Friday morning that God was going to show up today in awesome power and holiness, how would you have felt about that? How would you have prepared yourself to encounter God? Would you even be here, or would you have stayed away?

Have you ever wondered what your life is all about; what your life as a Christian is all about?

The passage we’ve just read gives some idea what such an encounter could be like and some answers to those questions about life.

Setting the Scene

A couple of months after leaving Egypt, the Israelites have set up camp in front of Mount Sinai. This was where God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and sent him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Starting at chapter 18, we see the Israelites being transformed into a nation under God. In chapter 19, the people encounter God for themselves, and beginning in chapter 20, God tells his already redeemed people how he expects them to live.

Promises and Purpose

They’ve arrived, and they’ve set up camp. The next thing Moses does is to climb the mountain to meet with God.

On top of the mountain, God gives Moses a message for his people. First of all, God wants to remind them of all he’s done for them so far.

⁴“You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.

And God wants them to know the plans he has for them.

“⁵Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, ⁶you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

There are wonderful promises here.

Do you have a treasured possession? Perhaps something left to you by a favourite aunt or uncle? Maybe your grandad’s war medals or your football trophies? Or, given the number of people here who engage in a particular form of exercise, your electric bike?

How do we treat our treasured possessions? We protect them, handle them carefully, we give them pride of place. We show them off, or maybe hide them away; we think about them, talk about them.

As Jesus said, “… where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:21) And God says to his people, “you will be my treasured possession.” Out of all the peoples on earth, they’ll be the people closest to his heart and foremost on his mind.

He says, “… ⁶you will be for me a kingdom of priests…” A priest stands as an intermediary representing God to the people and the people to God. And God’s plan is for his people to represent God before all the nations on earth, and to be instrumental in bringing the nations close to God.

He says, “… you will be for me … a holy nation.” There’s that word ‘holy’. I think it’s a word we struggle with because we can have all kinds of ideas about what it means. A definition I’ve found helpful is, “Not for ordinary use.”

When I was in the sixth form, my friend who led me to the LORD brought his guitar to school because we were leading school assembly that day. One of the lads picked it up and started singing a folk song that had fairly mild swear words in it. My friend took great offence and told him to stop because his guitar was for worship, not for that kind of music. It was not for ordinary use. For him, it was a holy thing.

The nation of Israel was not to be for ordinary use. Israel was to be set apart – another way of thinking of holiness – for the special purpose of making God and his ways known to the world.

These are wonderful promises, but for all this to happen there were conditions to comply with.

They were no longer to live life just as they saw fit. To show God to the world, they had to live God’s way. He needed their full obedience.

The measure of the obedience required was to be enshrined in the covenant he was about to make with them. They needed to commit to their part in keeping the covenant.

God is very good at keeping covenants. Back in Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham. He promised to make him into a huge nation, to give him the land of Canaan as an everlasting possession, and that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed.

But Abraham and Sarah had problems with infertility. They were childless, but God gave them a son, Isaac, and the vast number of people now gathered in Sinai, the descendants of Abraham, showed that God had kept the first part of his promise.

The new nation of Israel is about to begin the journey to fulfil the second part of God’s promise to Abraham: possessing the land.

The third part … we’ll come back to that later.

And now God is about to make another covenant with the whole nation. There are promises, and there are terms and conditions. It’s like God says, ‘Here’s the destination I’ve planned for you, but my way is the only road that will get you there.’

So Moses goes back down the mountain and tells the elders all that God has said to him. They like what they hear. Their response is, “⁸… ‘We will do everything the LORD has said.’”

So Moses goes back up the mountain and reports their response to God.

God wants the people to know that it’s not just Moses telling them how to live. They need to know that Moses is doing as God instructs him. He’ll come down to the mountain to make himself known. He’ll come shrouded in a dense cloud. God is so holy they could never look on him and live!
Prepare to meet your Maker

They’re given two days to prepare.

They have to prepare the venue. Wherever God is becomes holy! The mountain must be set apart as holy.

They have to put a boundary around it which they cross on pain of death. They can’t cross the boundary even to deal with trespassers or they’ll be trespassing too! They can only approach the mountain when they hear the sound of a ram’s horn.

They have to prepare themselves. They can’t be casual in coming into the presence of a holy God. Even those who’ve been acting as priests, and think of themselves as having right of access must also consecrate themselves. The traditional Jewish understanding here is that, in the time before the Levitical priesthood, the firstborn in households would have acted as priests.

They all have to be clean before this holy God, so they must wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations.

They spend two days getting everything ready. How might you have spent the last two days if you knew God would turn up in power today? Our God is still, awesome, powerful and holy. We do well to remember that.

On the third day, God comes down.

I want to read verses 16 to 20 again, from a different translation (NLT) with a more expressive style. What I’m about to read sounds like a volcanic eruption, but Mount Sinai isn’t a volcano and never has been. There’s no natural explanation for what you’re about to hear. This is God!

¹⁶On the morning of the third day, thunder roared and lightning flashed, and a dense cloud came down on the mountain. There was a long, loud blast from a ram’s horn, and all the people trembled.

¹⁷Moses led them out from the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

¹⁸All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently.

¹⁹As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply.

²⁰The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

Poor Moses! He’s just climbed the mountain again, but God is so concerned for the safety of his people that he tells him to go back down and warn them again to keep away. The manifest presence of God is dangerous for sinful people!

The next chapter begins, “And God spoke all these words:”. But we’ll hear more about that in a couple of weeks time.

The people’s response to what they’ve witnessed is recorded in later chapter 20:

¹⁸When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance ¹⁹and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not let God speak to us or we will die.’

²⁰Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’

Reverence for God is a good thing to hold on to to keep you from sinning.

Now, to cut a long story short, the Israelites didn’t live up to God’s expectations. They didn’t really learn reverence for God to keep them from sinning.

They failed to keep God’s law and followed the ways of the nations around them; they gave themselves up for ordinary use rather than being God’s holy nation.

As for their priestly role, centuries later the prophet Isaiah wrote, “26:^18bWe have not brought salvation to the earth, and the people of the world have not come to life.”
A New Covenant

Another covenant was needed and God must visit the earth again. John writes in his gospel,

“3:¹⁶For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

The Lord Jesus, the Son of God, came into the world and preached the message, “… The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent, and believe the good news. ” (Mark 1:15b)

The purposes of God always prevail.

Humanly speaking, Jesus was born a descendant of Abraham, and through Jesus, all the nations of the world have been blessed just as God promised Abraham. The church has spread throughout the earth.

The Lord’s sacrificial death and his resurrection have made it possible for anyone and everyone who will repent and trust in Jesus to know God for themselves.

Jesus is still building his Church. It’s true that the institutional ‘church’ has made many mistakes down the ages. But the true church, the Kingdom of God, has grown and grown as people have heard of Jesus, changed their thinking and reverently put their trust in him.

To God’s special people, the people of the Kingdom, Peter writes in his first letter:

⁹ … you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, (now, where have we heard that before?) that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

People of the kingdom, gathered here in this place: this is what you are! Living this out, actively being God’s people is the best thing we can do as a church.

Remember that, as God’s treasured possession, we’re on display. Our priestly role includes being ambassadors and servants, showing God to the community, drawing others into the kingdom.

God is at work among us and is leading us forward. That should encourage us to forge ahead with the work that God gives us to do.

And together we’ve identified four areas of need we can get involved with to help us practically show the love of God. These were mentioned earlier in our service today

It would be good to get involved with these as much as you’re able, but, over and above all that, let’s be the holy people of God. Peter continues in his letter.

“¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. ¹²Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

Let’s not be for ordinary use. And remember that having a proper reverence for our holy God will help to keep you from sinning.

The New Testament writer of Hebrews refers back to the events in Exodus to tell us that we’re in a better position than the Israelites were. In chapter 12 he writes:

¹⁸You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; ¹⁹to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, …

²²But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, ²³to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, ²⁴to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

²⁵See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven?

Jesus, the one who speaks to us, is the only hope there is. But he is a sure and certain hope.

Summary

We’re not for ordinary use.

Together with believers throughout the world:

• we are God’s chosen people,
• we are a royal priesthood,
• we are a holy nation, and
• we have a purpose to fulfill.
  

Let’s remember to maintain a reverence for God and give him the obedience to is worthy of.

In closing, hear some further words from Hebrews 12:

²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our ‘God is a consuming fire.’

The Exodus

Reading

Exodus 12

 

Previously on “Exodus” [WATCH VIDEO]

God’s people are under ruthless oppression:

• Moses’ has brought the promise of deliverance to the Hebrew elders; at first, they believe Moses and worship the Lord who has heard their cry.
• After Moses first confronts Pharaoh, the oppression gets worse, and the Hebrews make clear to Moses they are not impressed.
• Encouraged by God, Moses and Aaron press on faithfully, forewarning Pharaoh about each plague coming to Egypt.
• Plague after plague leaves Pharaoh remaining stubborn, and God reinforces his stubbornness.

In this week’s thrilling instalment – 

Deliverance!

Now, Pharaoh may have remained unmoved despite all that was happening to his nation but others have noticed what’s going on.
 

When Moses announces the 8th plague (locusts), Pharaoh’s officials tell him, for goodness’ sake let them go! Can’t you see Egypt is ruined? Pharaoh tries to retain control with a compromise, but it’s less than God requires – and so the locusts arrive.

And the 9th plague (darkness) also fails to convince Pharaoh.
Somewhere along the way, the penny must have dropped for the Hebrews.  They would have seen what was going on in Egypt but, miraculously, not where they were living; their animals didn’t die; they didn’t get hail; the darkness came nowhere near them.
By the time we get to the final plague, the people must have been ready to listen to Moses again.  They’d begun to believe they really were leaving.
And so we come to the final plague.  Back in chapter 4, where God has been explaining to Moses all that was going to happen, he finished with:

²²... say to Pharaoh, “This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son, ²³and I told you, ‘Let my son go, so that he may worship me.’ But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.” ’

 

In the cultures of the day, the firstborn son was special and precious.  He was the sign of strength, the continuation of the family line.  He enjoyed a highly privileged position within the family.  

That’s how it was in Egypt, so Pharaoh should have understood from what Moses told him how important Israel was to God.  But, despite all he’d seen, he hadn’t understood that God was able to do what he said – after all, it’s not so bad: nobody died!

The final, horrendous judgement against Egypt is already determined: the death of the firstborn sons from the highest in the land to the lowest, and even among the livestock.

From our modern perspective, this seems incredibly harsh.

But think about events that happened not so very long ago, a time when, once again, the Jews were in jeopardy. 

The Nazis tried to eliminate them from Europe, rounding them up first into ghettos, then transporting them to concentration camps. There, if they were fit enough, they were worked to death, or, if they weren’t able to work through age or illness or just being a nursing mother and child, they were exterminated without a second thought.  

The idea of hunting down and wiping out the Nazis seemed then like just retribution.

The sins of Egypt were not much better.

•  A previous Pharaoh had ordered the extermination of all Hebrew boys – as far as we know, that edict was ever rescinded.
• The Hebrews were enslaved and put to harsh labour; we’re told in chapter one that ‘the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly’, since before Moses was born, and Moses is now 80.

We’ve been hearing how God is not like us; he’s holy, altogether different.  He is also always totally just.  He would never do anything unjust.

From God’s perspective, the just penalty for sin is death.  
 

He could have justly wiped Egypt from the face of the earth – but, in this final plague, God limited his judgement.

Actually, the Hebrews are sinful too: we’ll see as their story unfolds that, like Pharaoh they’re, stubborn – they’re disobedient, rebellious, unbelieving.

Can a just God punish the sins of Egypt and ignore the sins of the Hebrews?  

God provides a just way to protect his people from the judgement of the final plague.  God gives the people instructions for this key phase of their deliverance from Egypt.

It’s the month of Aviv, in the springtime.  On the 10th of Aviv, each household is to select a year old lamb or kid, a male, more costly than the female, one without defect, perfect, the best.  They’re told, take care of it for 4 days.  It’s precious: it will be food for the journey, and a sacrifice in the place of their firstborn sons.

They’re to slaughter the lamb at twilight on the 14th of Aviv, to roast it whole and eat as much as they possibly can.  And because it’s a sacrifice, wholly given over to God, they’re to burn anything they’re unable to finish.

And they’re told, if your neighbour’s household is too small to cope with a whole lamb, invite them over to share in yours.

They’re to take some of the lamb’s blood and put it on the door frame as a sign to the Lord who said, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.  No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.”

 
The lifeblood of sacrificial lamb stands in place of the lifeblood of the firstborn son.

And they’re told to eat in haste and to be dressed for the journey, ready to leave in a hurry.  
In springtime in Egypt, the sun sets at about 6pm.

Let’s imagine the scene at a Hebrew house near to where the Egyptians live. The sun sinks quickly below the horizon and in the twilight the men slaughter the lamb, do whatever preparation is necessary, then take it indoors for roasting.

The whole household, and perhaps their neighbours, crowd into the house.  They’ve been told to stay inside the house.

The adults are quiet, anxious, exchanging glances and nervous smiles. They’re all on edge as they wait while the lamb cooks, and fat starts to drip and flare up on the fire.

The children are up past their bedtimes. The little ones pick up on the tension in the air.  They’re over-tired, whingey and irritable. The older kids get bored and argumentative.  One of them looks at the roasting lamb and says, ‘I don’t like meat, I want beans.’  They haven’t really grasped what’s going on.
 

But not the firstborn son.  He tugs on his dad’s sleeve.  ‘Dad? Did you do what Moses said you had to do with the blood?’

‘Of course I did, son.  You’re my precious boy.’
 

The boy looks unconvinced, so dad picks up an oil lamp, takes him by the hand and leads him to the door.  He opens the door and, being very careful to stay inside, he says, ‘There’s the blood, on the lintel, on the side-posts.  That will keep you safe.  God said so.’
 

The boy breathes a huge sigh of relief.
 

Apparently, it takes about five hours to roast a whole lamb, so by the time the meal’s cooked, it’s already approaching Midnight.  The lamb is torn apart and handed around to everyone, with bitter herbs and bread without yeast.  The hosts make sure everyone gets enough.
 

At this point, they’ve obeyed all that God told them to do.  All they can do now is wait, and trust.
Perhaps even while they’re still eating, someone hears a noise, a scream.  They look out the window, and in the Egyptian homes nearby, lamps are being lit.  The sound of wailing, devastated parents grows louder, and louder, and louder.
 

God’s judgement has fallen, and there’s someone dead in every Egyptian house, including the palace.  Finally, Pharaoh has learned the fear of the Lord:

³¹During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, ‘Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. ³²Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.’

³³The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. ‘For otherwise,’ they said, ‘we will all die!’ ³⁴So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing. ³⁵The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. ³⁶The Lord had made the Egyptians favourably disposed towards the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians.

After 430 years, the Israelites escape bondage and leave Egypt laden with riches they didn’t earn.
We’re told there were 600K men, plus women and children, plus many other people.  If you think it through, you can easily work the numbers up to something well in excess of 1.5m people on the move.  With all their livestock.  Imagine that scene.

Egypt is left devastated.  On top of everything, they have no-one to do all the work!

Memorial

For the Hebrews however, this is a complete reset, a new beginning, a time worth remembering.  They’ve been set free!

Memory is a funny thing.  For some reason it can be easy to remember the things we want to forget and easy to forget the things we ought to remember.

I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I wonder how many men in here have ever forgotten their wedding anniversary?  It doesn’t go down well, does it?  You’ll only do it once!

God wants his people to remember their deliverance from slavery.  Not a deliverance that they achieved but a deliverance that God provided for them with his outstretched arm and mighty hand.  
This is never to be forgotten.

They’re given two ways to remember.  

• All their firstborn belong to God and they are to be redeemed by the sacrifice of a lamb.  So this will be an ongoing reminder in family life.
• They are to celebrate a feast every year on the anniversary of their liberation.

Twice God instructs Moses, and twice Moses instructs the people about the Festival of Unleavened Bread.  So, Jews reading Torah later in their history get told four times to celebrate the Passover.  
It’s really important they remember that their very existence as a people is entirely down to God’s intervention and to his glory.

Unleavened bread is basically bread made without yeast.  At the time of the exodus, the people had prepared dough for their bread but hadn’t had the time to mix the yeast in.  

In preparing for the memorial feast the people are to make sure there’s no leaven in the house.  Later, leaven came to represent sin or evil, so clearing out the leaven becomes an act of purification.

There were times of neglect at various stages in their subsequent history when it seems that nothing God had commanded was observed, and then there were times of recovery when Passover was celebrated again.

A Loud Echo

The Exodus of long ago prefigures another, even greater rescue provided by God.  1400 years or so later, Passover is being celebrated annually, and Jesus is walking the earth.

There’s a greater tyrant abroad in the world than Pharaoh, a more insidious enslavement than Egypt.
By nature, we walk right into the trap.  Isaiah tells us,

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way. (Is. 53:6)
All the problems in the world today stem from that.  We turn our backs on God.  We turn our backs on our neighbour.  We look out for number one.  

Sin gets a grip and imprisons us under the tyranny of Satan who lurks in the shadows, tempting, corrupting, destroying.  And we don’t even realise we’re in captivity.  

We think we’re having a good time!  Unless we’re on the receiving end of other people’s bad behaviour.  

We can’t get ourselves out of the mess, and it’s our own fault we’re in it.  And the just penalty for sin is still death!

John the Baptist said of Jesus, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’
This time, the rescue is not only for the Israelites – it’s available to all the people in the world.
Jesus celebrated his final Passover with his disciples.  He took bread and wine and said, ‘This is my body, this is my blood… Do this in remembrance of me.’

The disciples didn’t understand what he meant at the time.  But Jesus is the Passover Lamb provided by God. He’s the costly, unblemished, one and only Son; God’s true ‘firstborn’.

He was about to be crucified.  He became the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice that atones for the sins of the world, for any who recognise their desperate need and put their trust in him.

We’re told that many others left Egypt with the Hebrews, probably other slaves, maybe some Egyptians.  They were given the opportunity to share in the blessings and celebrations of God’s people.
For them, the cost was to yield themselves to the covenant God had made with his people, surrendering their old ways.

If they did that, they were accepted as though they were native-born Hebrews.

As a result of what Jesus did, we can be adopted by God and enjoy the full blessing of his family.  For us, the cost is to abandon our own, sinful ways and to draw near to God, relying entirely on the sacrifice made by Jesus on our behalf.

As the blood of the first Passover lamb stained the wooden door frame, so the blood of Jesus stained the wooden cross.  

We deserve death; he died in our place. 

The lifeblood of God’s one and only Son was offered in place of ours.

That was the enormous cost of our freedom.

2000 years later, as we share in communion, we remember his offering for us. Paul writes to the Colossian church, that

Col 1:13 – God ‘has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.’

 

The power of sin broken forever – ‘sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace’. (Romans 6:14)

The penalty of sin paid in full – ‘there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1); every shred of wrath fell on Jesus: as Isaiah said, ‘… the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.’

Invitation

Has anything this morning resonated with someone here?  Have you recognised that you’re in a kind of captivity and you can’t get out of it?

Jesus is the Saviour. He can lead you out of the darkness, into the kingdom of light.  He can set you free.  He can forgive every sin you’ve ever committed.

That doesn’t mean that life will be easy, that there’ll be no struggles or difficulties.  But you will have hope, God will be with you, and you’ll have the support of God’s family along the way.

Daniel 4

Reading

 Daniel 4

Introduction [Watch video]

Have you ever had a dream come true? There are dreams I’d rather not have come true! Now, I’ve no idea what I dreamt about last night, but I have in the past had a dream about standing at the front of church in my underwear—and I hope that’s one that never comes true!

Our dog dreams, and she sometimes lies there in her bed yapping and running, and I remember seeing online once a film of a dog doing this, and its dream came true, because it was so aggressive in its running that it actually got up and ran into the wall! So, dreams can come true.

And then we all have those classic anxiety dreams. We’re trying to get somewhere but whichever route we take, whatever bus we get on, it’s going the wrong way. We get off that, go somewhere else; and you get in your car and find you’re riding a bike, and all that kind of thing goes on. Dreams are weird, and who knows what dreams are about.

But sometimes dreams are amazing and this is a dream that we’ve read about today which, for this man Nebuchadnezzar, came true.We’ve arrived, today, at the end of the amazing story of God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king on earth in his day.  

He seems to combine into one the controlling, manipulative oppression of Vladimir Putin, the narcissistic arrogance of Donald Trump and the dark, brooding menace of Xi Jinping’s China!

It’s a story about God’s amazing grace.

You may remember from Daniel chapter one that the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, and Nebuchadnezzar tried to further subvert their identity by training important exiles to live like Babylonians.

With superb irony, the story ends with the whole scheme being turned on its head and Nebuchad­nezzar becomes a worshipper of the Hebrew God.

In today’s chapter

• we’ll learn that our God uses all manner of ways to make himself known
• we’ll think about using our testimonies as a way for us to make God known
• we’ll see that, in a world that’s gone bonkers, we can be assured that God really is in control
• and we’ll learn that humility is something God values greatly.

Our God Makes Himself Known

God communicates with people in many different ways.

• Nature itself speaks of God.  As Psalm 19 tells us, ¹The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
• He speaks through his written word, the Bible,
• and supremely through his living word, Jesus himself.
• God can speak through sermons—who’d have thought that?
• And God can even speak through dreams!

The Bible has plenty of examples of God speaking through dreams: Jacob and his stairway to heaven; Joseph of techni-coloured dream-coat fame; and, in the New Testament, a different Joseph was told in a dream it was OK to marry Mary, and in another warned to get the infant Jesus away from the threat from Herod.

[name redacted], a professor of New Testament, wrote in Christianity magazine recently, 

‘I became interested in … dreams … of Jesus after serving … in the Middle East as a missionary…  I met Muslims from Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Gaza and Iraq who had converted to Christianity as a result of having dreams … about Jesus. … .’

Peter, preaching to the crowd on the day of Pentecost quotes from Joel,

“In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.”

I can remember four dreams which were clearly God speaking to me.  I must have been an old man way before my time!

But if you do have a dream you think may be from God, check it out: test it against scripture, talk to wise counsellors – like Nebuchadnezzar did. 

Why would God speak in dreams?  Maybe we’re so distracted sometimes it’s the only way he can get our attention!

Up to this point in Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar hasn’t learnt his lesson.  He was impressed by Daniel’s handling of his earlier dream, which we heard about two weeks ago.  In that dream, God dropped a huge hint to Nebuchadnezzar: Your kingdom won’t last forever, you know.  But mine will! Then last week we heard how he’d witnessed God’s miraculous power in rescuing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the blazing furnace.

Then Daniel interpreted this latest dream—which was bad news for Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel tells him (and I’m paraphrasing): I wish this wasn’t about you, but it is.  You’re too big for your boots and God is going to take you down more than a peg or two.  You’ll get it all back, but not until you’ve learnt your lesson.  Stop being an evil tyrant.  Perhaps it won’t happen.

But no.  Nebuchadnezzar continues in his arrogant pride.  In verse 30, ‘… he said, 

‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’

And the threatened judgement is carried out. The dream came true! The man who “[had] become great and strong; [whose] greatness [had] grown until it [reached] the sky, and [whose] dominion [extended] to distant parts of the earth” is cut down. (v30)

For a time, he loses everything—including his mind.  Somehow, in all his madness, he finally gets it!  He “[acknowledges] that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” (v25)

God graciously keeps his promise of restoration, and a much-improved Nebuchadnezzar becomes even greater than before.

God has spoken; finally, Nebuchadnezzar has heard.

God still speaks; are we listening?

The Value of Testimony

A couple of weeks ago I went to the North East Gospel Partnership meeting, as did many of us.  It was a great meeting but the highlight for me was the testimony of a man who’d suffered PTSD during his service as a Royal Marine.  As a result, his life had spiralled down into addiction and dissipation; then he found Jesus, and everything changed!

Daniel 4 is Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony.  He’s encountered the Living God.  He’s been deeply humiliated—you’d think he’d want to keep that quiet.  But he’s also been shown incredible mercy by God.

The transformation he’s undergone is so complete that he wants everyone to know about it.  He’s saying, “Don’t look at me, look at Him!”

Another way God speaks is through the testimony of his people—our lives and our testimonies point the people around us to God.

But sharing our stories with other people isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

• We might feel that our story is too ordinary. It’s perhaps not as dramatic as Nebuchadnezzar’s, or the former Royal Marine’s.  But that’s OK.  Most of the people we meet are ordinary like us.  Our ordinary stories are relevant.

Your seemingly ordinary testimony can be used powerfully by the Holy Spirit.  Not everyone will be impressed with what you say.  But my stumbling determination to follow Jesus began because a school friend spoke about his faith.

• We might feel we don’t know the answers to all the questions we could be asked.  And there are some big questions!  But what you do know is how you came to know Jesus and the difference he’s made to you.

I can’t give anyone scientific proof of the existence of God, but I can share experiences that mean I can never doubt his existence or that he loves me!

• We might feel we don’t know how to begin telling our story.  It was easy for Nebuchadnezzar: I’m the king; you listen!

Peter writes in his first letter, 

… Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, …

One way to be prepared is to get used to telling our stories.  Perhaps we can begin among people we know well in our Connect groups.  We can share there without fear or embarrassment.

• We might not feel brave enough to tell our stories.  Sometimes we just have to take the plunge!    Daniel wasn’t too keen on having to speak up for God once he knew the interpretation of the dream.  Verse 19 says, ‘Then Daniel … was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him.’

Fortunately, Daniel had a good relationship with the king who encouraged him to spill the beans.  Good relationships are always helpful.

God can speak to others through your testimony.  When you do need courage to speak, remember that God is in control.

God is in Control

Verses 25 and 32 tell us the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar had to learn: ‘… the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.’

God expects authority to be exercised justly and with humility, not with injustice and arrogant pride.  But human beings abuse authority—Nebuchadnezzar is a prime example of that.

God used Babylon as an agent of judgement against Israel’s waywardness.  The Israelites are taken into exile, but even there, God is in control of their destiny, protecting them and preserving them for the promised return to their own land.

But Babylon is a corrupt power and has incurred judgement for its own sin.  Nebuchadnezzar has already been told his kingdom was temporary.  God is in control.

We look at the world today.  Tyrants are still at large.  We could easily fall into fear and despair.
Our God is still in control.  Surely judgement must come.

Thinking of an issue closer to home, we’ve had some disappointing news this week about our acquisition of this building.  But I want to say to you: don’t lose hope; God is in control!

• Remember that a blazing furnace was no problem for God; God was in control.
• An arrogant, all-powerful king was no problem for God; God was in control.
• Do you believe that what’s happening here is a work of God? He is still in control.
• Even if we have to buy this building, God can provide; he is in control.
• Even if God has something else in mind for us, he is still in control.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

God is in control!

Humility

The chapter ends with Nebuchadnezzar saying about God, ‘… those who walk in pride he is able to humble.’

The root of his sinful behaviour was arrogant pride.  His attitude was, “I can do what I want to whomever I want, however I want, whenever I want; and no-one can stop me!”

Scripture tells us that God requires us ‘to act justly and to love mercy, and walk to humbly with [our] God.’  

Nebuchadnezzar got all of those requirements wrong.  At least his humility issue got resolved!  I hope that led him into just and merciful action for what remained of his reign.

Humility is a quality that God values greatly.  It isn’t about being a doormat for people to wipe their feet on.  It’s not about having a dim view of ourselves.  It’s about having a right view of ourselves, especially in relation to God and to others.  It’s the attitude that I have no special importance that makes me better than anyone else.

The greatest example of humility I can think of is Jesus himself.  Here’s a well-known New Testament passage: (Philippians 2)

⁵In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
⁶who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death –
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

What a contrast with Nebuchadnezzar!  The one who truly has all the power in the universe doesn’t use it to dominate and dictate like some cosmic bully.

Jesus had a right view of himself: he is God!  Yet he sets it all aside to come and do something about our problem.  We were lost, as good as dead because of our proud refusal to live God’s way.
We cannot find our own way back to God, so Jesus came and made a way for us.

We deserved death.  He died in our place.

Now, Jesus is the King of God’s everlasting Kingdom, and anyone, even someone as bad as Nebuchadnezzar, can be rescued, forgiven, transformed and welcomed into God’s family.

Jesus himself is our only way back to God.  He’s the one to follow!

Summary

So, winding all this up

• Our Most High God speaks to people in many ways to make himself known.
• Our stories, however spectacular, however ordinary, can encourage others to look for him.
• Our God is fully in control of this world and all our circumstances.
• He calls us to walk in humility in loving relationship with him and with each other, following the example of Jesus.