Daniel 2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
For God and Country or For God or Country? We see both of these here in this passage. We used to hear the phrase “for God and Country” a lot. It’s used by the military. We all remember September 11, 2001 and the actual assault on our country. It was a terrifying day and many thought it to be the first wave of something. The mastermind behind it was Osama bin Laden. Twenty of his henchmen agreed to come to America. They got training about airplanes, slipped on board and we all know what happened. Later an operation to go after bin Laden was set in motion and a Navy Seal team took out the compound and bin Laden was killed. One of the team members reported in with this statement: “for God and Country, Geronimo.” That gave notice to the world that America didn’t let its enemies take advantage.
Those of you who were in the military did it for God and country. Many now put the country before God. Now to many it’s all about me. The rest of the world comes next. It sounds a lot like King Nebuchadnezzar here in this chapter. Babylon was the most powerful nation on earth at that time. It was not ruled under the hand of God but of Satan. Everything you can think of went on from sexual perversions to outright defiance of anything good. The King legislated anything he wanted. Just because our country might legislate making it legal to sin doesn’t mean it is. It should be God first and country second. That means we are going to have to stand up for God.
Babylon had conquered Israel because they went away from God. A minority of Israelites still served God–among them Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and those three Hebrew boys. Satan wanted to brand all of them just as he wants to brand us. I had the name of sinner until I received Christ. Then I got a new name. You did too. Don’t let the world brand you with a sinner name. Don’t be ashamed of God and compromise. When you do, you willfully take on a “Babylon” name. Be careful to retain your identity with God first. I think we should start doing our pledges with the Christian flag first, then the Bible and then the American flag.
If we’re going to say for God and country we need to live it. No matter the laws, the constitution and such. Our forefathers came over here with a Bible. They got on their knees and thanked God for a free country in which to worship. When the Declaration was made, people prayed over it. Not all those men were Christians but they knew they must keep God in it. Our freedom to worship was set. It was intended to keep the government out of the church. Now we see Hollywood trying to run everything or Wall Street. The capitol is still in Washington and it’s named after our first President and Commander and Chief. George Washington prayed as they were looking for someone to lead. He was proud to serve and was not ashamed to bow his knee and stand for God and country. Now something bad happens; the people rally for a day or two but go right back to their wickedness.
Nebuchadnezzar had this dream that scared him. Read again the description of the statue. It’s the picture of our country. Money rules. People sell their bodies for money. Kids are taken and sold as sex slaves for money. Gold and silver won’t save. People value what they have in the bank. People’s heads are continuously bowed over a computer or phone. Our head should be looking up focused on God. Then we will prevail. People meditate but don’t call on God. Get back to God and country! Put him first and the country will be all right.
The weakness of the statue was that clay was mixed in with the iron. That’s a symbol of us. There’s nothing wrong with the US or any other country but man. The sins of mankind are the ruin. We can blame no one but man. The devil can’t command birds or dogs. God takes care of the animals and he would us if we’d let him.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar what would happen. A stone would roll from the mountain and crush the feet of the statue until it was gone. God was telling Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom wouldn’t last forever. There was a King coming who name is Jesus. He would set up a kingdom that would last forever. When they all fall, including the US, God’s kingdom will still stand.
We have a choice. Nebuchadnezzar had one. He built a great image of himself just like his dream. He didn’t learn. Neither has America. Christians, we need to learn something. Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself for four short verses at the end of Chapter 2. Then he forgot all about it. Many are flushing the Bible away. The Christian flag is almost gone. We see now what they are doing to the American flag. Notice in Chapter 3 when all were commanded to worship the image. Many people of Israel bowed down but not all. Daniel didn’t. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t.
What is there to lose? When the time comes will you be for God and country? Always be for God even if not for country.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 