Something Eternal: Daniel 2:35-46
God’s kingdom is spread when one heart touches another and the spark of Christ is shared between them. This is a great dynamic; it is also one of the most frustrating. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of choice, obedience, and repentance.
Daniel tells the interpretation of the dream, which is simply a prediction that human empires will come and go. The Babylonian Empire would be replaced by the Persians, which would be replaced by the Greeks, which would be replaced by the Romans. Ignoring smaller kingdoms and regions, this is a pretty accurate recounting of what will happen to the Middle East for the next couple millennia.
What do we learn from this? First, things come and go. Nothing that is made of human hands will last forever. In the modern age, we have a bit of a throw-away mentality, so we understand this concept well. In the ancient world, though, they believed they could create things that would stick around forever and inspire continued following of their ideals.
This is part of the point Daniel makes to Nebuchadnezzar. There is nothing wrong with trying to create a kingdom or an Empire that inspires other people. When we do so, though, it is important to hold onto perspective. Everything will come and go. If we want to be a part of something eternal, we aren’t going to find the solution in manmade things.
On the other hand, at the end of the dream there is a stone untouched by human hands. This stone shatters the statue and nothing remains of the statue. The stone remains and grows into a mountain that fills the whole earth.
That stone comes from God. Symbolically, God is showing Nebuchadnezzar that He can smash anything we as human beings think we can create that will stand the test of time. God is trying to teach Nebuchadnezzar that if he wants to be a part of making something that will last, he needs to get on board with the things of God.
God is creating a way for us to be in relationship with him forever. He was working throughout all of history, shaping the world so that it would be ready to receive Christ. Sure, Jesus would be crucified – clearly not everyone would receive him – but that was part of the plan. Once salvation and relationship with God was offered to the world, it would spread across the globe like no other kingdom could.
The thing about God’s kingdom is that it is a kingdom of the mind and the soul. We belong to a spiritual kingdom, where our thoughts and actions are governed by God’s ways instead of human invention. God’s kingdom is all about what God knows to be right and not at all about what human beings think is right in the moment. God’s kingdom is not spread through genealogy or nationality. God’s kingdom is spread when one heart touches another and the spark of Christ is shared between them both.
