"EASY A CHALLENGE" DAY 3 MORNING DEVOTION: GOD DWELLING WITH/IN US
GOOD MORNING
DAY 3
MORNING DEVOTION
GOD DWELLS WITH/IN YOU
(READ DANIEL CHAPTER 2)
Daniel chapter two starts off with King Nebuchadnezzar having a compelling dream that, for the life of him, he could not remember. This causes him to call on some of his trusted advisors…. I say that the King called on some of his trusted advisors because Daniel 1:2 tells us “Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.”
To stand before the King means that you are standing before him in the role of an Advisor. In Daniel Chapter 1:18 we see that Daniel and the Three Hebrew Boys were selected by the King himself, to stand before the throne in the same capacity as they were seen as wiser than all the other advisors. But for some reason, the King does not call on them for advice in situation.
It would seem strange that the King would forget about the wisest bunch of advisors that he has, in a time where he is desperate for advice. Yet, this forgetfulness was orchestrated by God, as there was a distinction to be made between the Babylonian Advisors, and these wise young men that served God.
Looking at the qualifications of the advisors, we see why God wanted to make such a distinction. An ASTROLOGER is an Individual who studies the sun, moon, planets and stars, in connection with their influence over human actions. A SORCERE or {WIZARD} is an individual who claims to have magical powers. A CHALDEAN is a Philosopher of the supernatural. These advisors to the King were individuals who were well versed in the supernatural. As the norm for any pagan nation, you see that Satan was the one who had control of pagan nations through the advisors.
When Nebuchadnezzar informs them that he cannot remember his dream, and that he wants them not only to interpret it, but reveal to him what the dream was, they tell him that what he is asking impossible to do. This makes the king feel as if they were imposters. That they did not have the powers or the wisdom that they claimed to have.
The mere fact that, Every time they would come before the King, begging him to tell them what the dream was, made him feel as if they were just stalling for time to figure out a way to trick him, as he said to them in verse 8 “The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.”. The king began to see that they were impostors, which is what God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to see about the faith that he held.
These advisors pleaded with the king, telling him that NO Man would be able to accomplish this task, and only the pagan god’s are explain this dream, but they do not care to dwell with man……. This is the fullness of the distinction that God wanted to create between himself and the pagan god’s that Nebuchadnezzar served.
God rose up a man…….Daniel…….who God reveled the dream and interpretation to, for Nebuchadnezzar’s sake. God wanted to let Nebuchadnezzar know that even though he is busy with making sure the galaxy stays runs in order, that the earth keeps spinning on it’s axis properly, he also cares enough to take the time out to explain a dream to a simple man. Unlike the god’s of paganism that’s how much God cared for Nebuchadnezzar.
You see….. if you look at any other religion outside of Christianity…. Those believers have to work hard to gain the attention of their God. Like the pagan advisors who told Nebuchadnezzar in verse 11 that their god’s did not desire to dwell with flesh. Look at Elijah in his challenge to the worshipers of Baal, who danced for hours and cut themselves just to get the attention of Baal…Yet the God of the bible is much different…… He desires to dwell with his people.
In the Old Testament, God desired to dwell in the midst of his people as he told Moses in Exodus 25:8 “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them”… And as Sanctuary was created and placed in the middle of the Israelite camp, and God dwelt in the Most Holy Place, in the midst of them. Yet this king of dwelling was not close enough for God. In the new testament, he wanted to get even closer, so John 1:14 tells us “And the word (Christ) was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth” …. And get this…… this still face to face dwelling was not close enough for God…… He had to get closer because he loves us that much….. so 1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”……
God loves us so much that he moved from dwelling in a sanctuary in the midst of us, to dwelling face to face with us, and then finally died on the cross for the ability to dwell inside of us if we would let him. He cant get any closer than that. This is why you should serve God, because unlike any other god in any other religion, the God of the bible died for you so that He can have communion with you. This is what God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand, and what he wants us to understand today. If you have not let God in, please let him in today….. And if you are not a believer in God or in another religion… I encourage you to give Jesus Christ a chance. You do not have to work to get his attention; he did all the work and heavy lifting on your behalf on the cross. To receive his love, it is very simple… just surrender your heart to him today, and receive his love… God bless you
