What Do You Mean?

By Pastor Dan Hickling

“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.”—Daniel 2:36 (ESV)

Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was. Nobody else on earth knew the details of his dream. But because Daniel was connected to someone beyond this world (the very author of the dream), he’s able to know it. Nebuchadnezzar must have been spellbound as Daniel goes on to share the dream’s meaning.

Suffice it to say, the great statute in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream represents the dominion of mankind throughout human history. As the statue transitions from one material to the next, it mirrors the transition of empires that would rule the world. 

The golden head is identified as Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire and history bears witness that the chest and arms of silver represented the Medo-Persian Empire, the belly of brass represented the Empire of Greece, and the legs of iron represented the Roman Empire. 

However, when it comes to the ten toes of iron and clay, there hasn’t been a global empire fitting this description, so it’s in the future. It will be a coalition of ten, it will seem stable at first, but will soon fall apart. Whatever this empire is, it won’t last long. 

This brings us to the most important aspect of the dream. A great rock will come and smash the feet of the statue, collapsing it in ruins. The rock will grow into a great mountain that will fill the earth. This rock represents the kingdom that will come to earth, leveling and replacing the authority and dominion of man. The kingdom of God will be the final and lasting kingdom this earth will ever know!  

That’s a lot of information to process . . . and we can be sure Nebuchadnezzar’s head was spinning. Finally, the meaning of his dream was made clear, and it revealed nothing less than the flow of human history!

But there’s an even greater point in all this, one that applies to us. Meaning is something only God can give, not just the meaning of a dream, but the meaning of life, itself. Apart from God, our existence is meaningless. But the more we know Him and His purpose for our lives, the more meaningful life becomes. May we only and always seek our sense of meaning in Him!

“A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”—Daniel 2:45 (ESV)

DIG: What is Daniel able to do that no one else can do and why?

DISCOVER: What does the dream’s interpretation also say to us about meaning?

DO: Ask the Lord to give you fresh vision and a renewed sense of meaning in life.