21 “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.23 I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”
2:21
And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings;
God is in control of human history. He makes and unmakes kings. God sovereignly controls human events. God will lead human history to its climax. God has a plan for creation.
He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.
Daniel identifies two evidences of God’s wisdom: 1) He gives wisdom to the wise, and 2) He gives knowledge to those who have understanding.
2:22
He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.
We see God’s wisdom in revelation. “Light dwells with Him” because He sees all things clearly. There are no shades of meaning or possibilities in Him. Man is in the dark because he is limited in his understanding. God is omniscient.
2:23
I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.
Now Daniel specifies that it was God who gave him wisdom. The revelation he received came from God, not from his own wisdom. He fully recognized that it was God who gave him everything he knew.
PRINCIPLE:
We cannot truly worship God without understanding His character.
APPLICATION:
We must understand the character of God to worship Him. All worship is based on the comprehension of God. Understanding God is impossible without a maximum understanding of the principles of the Word, for it is the Word that reveals who God is.
Our prayer should honor God or glorify Him. We do this because of what God is in Himself. Wisdom is His. Might is His. God’s infinite wisdom chooses the best course for our lives. God’s power will execute His desires. Nothing happens by unadulterated chance. God raises up governmental leaders, and He puts them down. That is why we honor Him.
The verse Daniel 2:21 says “He changes times and seasons” My question is- Do you think God could turn back time, to answer a prayer? Most people would say its impossible but Luke 1:37 says “For nothing is impossible with God.” So my question is do you think that if you pray with the utmost belief and faith in God to turn back the hands of time, for a good reason, will he? Because surely God can do anything, he performed many miracles, even raised Lazarus from the dead.
Kara, no, this passage refers to God’s sovereign control of what man may propose. As the saying goes, “Man proposes but God disposes.” Here it refers to God’s control of national entities.
I am thankful for these encouraging words of Scripture from the Book of Daniel today! Puts me at peace of mind with the upcoming election 2016 this Tuesday. yes, God is in control. Praise the Lord. My prayer is for a Leader who fears God and honors Him and seeks wisdom from God on all decisions he makes to better our country and put God first back in our country! Amen and Amen!
I am a young pastor. i have been tasked to bring a message using Daniel 2:21. i take great solace in knowing that the leaders of this world are in places that God place them there for His purpose. Most of them think it was something they did or said. lol. But i know God is in Control, so i pray the scales be removed from their eyes and they can see, just as the apostle Paul did.
Yes I believe and have faith he would thus far he controls what he has to to imperfect or not in an infinity. The trinity represents the symbolism of the father son and spirit but together they are Infinite through himself please correct me. I have no anger to whom tells me this isn’t true but through thier eyes only. Relate it to the most general points of all religions that have God resembled as the only Prince of Peace it all go through and back to him infinitely. I say he could I will to not question the Lord as if he were talking to me through any word of his own at any time. Amen
Meant to only put one to apologies friends.
And yet, 2:11 refers to multiple gods.
Michael, I must have missed your post. Thanks for communicating. You are right that God is one in three persons. The person of the Son of God indwelt the human body of Jesus. However, when the Son became a man He set aside the use of His attributes as God while in that human body (Phil 2:5-18).
Jim, the word “gods” in Dan 2:11 refers to heathen gods or deities.