The Faith of a Prophet: Daniel 7:15-18
God reigns supreme. He is the ultimate authority. It is, after all, His creation. Why wouldn’t He be the final authority?
Daniel makes an honest confession in this passage. Daniel doesn’t know how to interpret what he saw in the vision. Consider what this means. It is easy to think of Daniel and prophets like him as having figured out God and faith. If we’re not careful, we can consider people like Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Samuel, and others to almost have a superpower when it comes to their relationship with God.
That isn’t quite true. People like Daniel may have a great relationship with God, I don’t mean to cast any doubt upon that. What I am saying, though, is they don’t understand everything. They work on their relationship with God just like everyone else. They go to God for understanding just like everyone else. Daniel was great in the faith because he worked hard at it and he relied upon God to grant him what he needed.
Furthermore, Daniel confesses that his lack of understanding made him anxious. As wise as Daniel was, he still was bothered by not understanding. As incredible as Daniel was in putting his faith on display, he still worried. Trusting God is always the right thing to do, but that doesn’t mean trusting God is always the easiest thing to do. Stepping out in faith and following God into the unknown can cause us to tremble in fear. There’s nothing wrong with confessing we are afraid of the unknown. God is big enough to accept our fear, handle it, and bring us through it.
When Daniel asks for an interpretation, he is told the beasts represent four kingdoms that will arise (and fall). That’s not a surprise. What is more telling is the rest of the message. The saints of the Most High will receive and retain the kingdom forever.
Do you hear the contrast? The beasts will rise up with fearsome power and take control for a short time. They will assert themselves over the earth and dominate for a certain span of time. They will come and go, each one in their day.
On the other hand, the saints of the Most High will be given the kingdom. God’s people don’t need to take, they need to receive. God’s people don’t need to assert themselves, they simply need to accept God’s offer.
Once given the kingdom, God’s people don’t need to worry about losing it, either. Whereas the beasts wrest power away from each other only to lose it to the next in line, who can take God’s kingdom out of His hand? If God chooses to give His kingdom to His servants, who can undo that choice? God reigns supreme.
