When the Tyrant Bows: Text: Daniel 2:46-49
Introduction: The Aftershocks of Revelation
We come now to the end of the second chapter of Daniel, and what we witness here are the aftershocks of a divine earthquake. A pagan king, the absolute monarch of the most powerful empire on earth, has been brought to his knees. He was a man accustomed to giving orders, not taking them. He was a man who could decree the death of all his wise men over a bad night's sleep. And now, he is facedown on the floor before a Jewish exile, a captive from a conquered nation. This is a stunning reversal. This is what happens when the kingdom of man, in all its temporary and tinseled glory, collides with the raw, unmediated reality of the kingdom of God.
The world believes that power flows from the point of a sword, from the treasury, from the throne. But the Bible teaches that all true power, all authority, all reality, flows from the mouth of God. Nebuchadnezzar had a problem that all his swords and all his gold could not solve. He was haunted by a dream he could not remember, and he knew, with that animal instinct that tyrants sometimes have, that it mattered. His entire worldview, propped up by legions of astrologers, magicians, and sorcerers, had proven to be utterly bankrupt. They were frauds. Their gods were nothing but carved wood and impotent wishes.
Into this vacuum of power, God speaks. He does not whisper. He does not suggest. He reveals. Through His servant Daniel, God lays bare the secret of the king's heart and the future of all earthly kingdoms. What we are about to see is the result. This is not just an interesting historical anecdote. This is a paradigm for how God's truth confronts and subjugates the kingdoms of this world. It is a lesson in apologetics, in politics, and in the unwavering, sovereign advance of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pay close attention, because the principles at work in Nebuchadnezzar's court are the same principles at work in our own.
The Text
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and said for them to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him rule with power over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel sought of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court.
(Daniel 2:46-49 LSB)
The Prostration of Power (v. 46)
We begin with the king's immediate, and frankly shocking, reaction:
"Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and said for them to present to him an offering and fragrant incense." (Daniel 2:46)
Now, we must be very careful here. Our modern, sentimental age wants to see this as a conversion. We want to see the great pagan king finding Jesus. But that is not what is happening. We must read the text for what it says, not for what we wish it said. Nebuchadnezzar is a pagan, and he reacts like a pagan. When a pagan encounters overwhelming, supernatural power, he does not repent in dust and ashes for his sin against the holy character of God. No, he prostrates himself before the conduit of that power. He sees Daniel not as a fellow sinner saved by grace, but as the avatar of a mighty god.
This is why he commands an offering and incense to be made to Daniel. This is not worship of Yahweh; it is an attempt to placate and honor the human vessel. In the pagan mind, the man who delivers the message from the god is himself semi-divine. Daniel, of course, would have accepted none of this for himself, and we see the king's confession pivot immediately in the next verse, likely because Daniel refused the gesture and pointed him upward. The principle, however, is crucial. The unregenerate mind does not understand the Creator/creature distinction. It is always looking to divinize the creature, whether that creature is the state, a political leader, or, in this case, a prophet.
What we are seeing is not regeneration, but subjugation. Nebuchadnezzar has been intellectually and spiritually conquered. He asked for a demonstration of power, and God gave him one so overwhelming that the only possible response was to fall on his face. This is a picture of God's common grace, and also of His authority. He is able to humble the proudest of men. He can make a tyrant kiss the floor. This is not saving grace, but it is a demonstration that God rules in the affairs of men, and even the most arrogant potentate is but a man, whose breath is in his nostrils.
A Politician's Confession (v. 47)
The king, likely after being redirected by Daniel, verbalizes his conclusion.
"The king answered Daniel and said, 'Truly your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.'" (Daniel 2:47)
Again, listen carefully to what he says. He does not say, "Your God is the one and only true God, and all other gods are worthless idols." He says his God is a "God of gods." In the polytheistic framework of Babylon, this is the highest compliment he can pay. He is admitting Daniel's God to the head of the pantheon. He is saying, "Of all the gods that are out there, yours is clearly the CEO. He is the chairman of the board." He is a "Lord of kings," meaning He has authority over earthly rulers like himself. This is a massive concession for a man like Nebuchadnezzar.
But this is a political confession, not a saving one. It is pragmatic. Nebuchadnezzar's gods failed the test. Daniel's God passed with flying colors. Therefore, it is only prudent to acknowledge the superior power. It's like a small country admitting the military supremacy of a superpower. It is a statement of fact, a recognition of the way the world is. This is the essence of a presuppositional encounter. Daniel did not argue from a neutral position. He did not try to build a case for God from common ground. He simply declared the revelation of God, and that revelation was self-attesting. It came with its own power and authority, and it crushed the king's worldview. The king's confession is the sound of his intellectual idols shattering.
He is acknowledging that Daniel's God is the master of reality, the "revealer of mysteries." But he has not yet bowed his heart to this God as the Lord of his own life. That will take another, more personal, and far more humiliating encounter, which we will see in chapter 4. For now, he is a conquered politician, not a converted soul.
The Spoils of Victory (v. 48)
The practical result of this encounter is the promotion of God's man.
"Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him rule with power over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon." (Genesis 2:48)
Here we see the outworking of God's dominion. This is not an accident. This is not a lucky break for Daniel. This is a strategic move by the King of Heaven. God does not just save souls for the sweet by and by. He is in the business of reclaiming every square inch of creation for His glory, and that includes the halls of government, the academic guilds, and the centers of cultural influence. Daniel is made ruler over the province of Babylon, the very heart of the empire. He is made chief prefect over all the wise men, the very group that had just been exposed as impotent frauds.
This is a picture of what we ought to expect as the gospel advances. This is postmillennial optimism in action. The stone cut without hands has just struck the statue, and the first result is that a servant of the living God is put in charge. God's people, when they are faithful, are competent. They have access to the ultimate source of wisdom. And the world, for all its bluster, is ultimately incompetent. It cannot solve its own problems. It cannot even remember its own dreams. When the world is in a crisis of its own making, it will, however reluctantly, have to turn to the people who know the God who is. And when God's people are faithful in that moment, God will grant them influence. This is not about seeking power for its own sake. It is about taking up the responsibility of godly dominion for the sake of the kingdom.
Covenantal Ambition (v. 49)
Finally, we see the character of a godly man in his use of this newfound power.
"And Daniel sought of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court." (Genesis 2:49)
Daniel does not ascend to his high office and forget the men who prayed with him in the trenches. His first act is not to consolidate his own power, but to extend it for the good of his brothers. He immediately leverages his position to establish a beachhead of faithfulness in the Babylonian administration. This is covenantal thinking. Daniel knows he cannot do this alone. He needs a team. He needs a band of brothers who share his convictions and his allegiance to the true King.
He requests that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego be appointed over the day-to-day affairs of the province, while he remains at the king's court, in the central place of influence. This is brilliant. He is delegating, building a faithful infrastructure, and positioning himself where he can do the most good. This is godly ambition. It is not the grasping, selfish ambition of the world, which climbs over others to get to the top. It is the ambition that seeks responsibility for the sake of the kingdom, and that brings others along with it.
This is a profound lesson for us. We are not called to be lone ranger Christians. We are called to build faithful families, faithful churches, and faithful communities. When God grants one of us a measure of success or influence, the first thought should be, "How can I use this to strengthen the brethren? How can I open doors for other faithful men and women?" Daniel understood that his promotion was not about him. It was about the God he served, and the people of that God. He was building an outpost for the kingdom of God in the heart of the kingdom of man.
Conclusion: The Unstoppable Stone
So what do we take from this? We see that the revelation of God has the power to bring the mightiest pagan rulers to their faces. We see that their initial confessions may be more political than personal, acknowledging God's power without submitting to His lordship. But we also see God's grand, optimistic strategy. He places His faithful servants into positions of high influence. He does not abandon the public square; He invades it.
And we see the character of those servants. They are men who, when given power, immediately use it to build and strengthen the community of the faithful. They do not seek their own glory, but the glory of their God and the good of their brothers.
This scene is a microcosm of the prophecy Daniel had just delivered. The stone cut without hands has begun its work. It is small, yes, just a handful of faithful men in a vast pagan empire. But it has been set in motion by the hand of God. And it will grow. It will break in pieces every iron, bronze, silver, and gold kingdom. It will become a great mountain. And it will fill the whole earth. The tyrant bowed then, and every tyrant will bow, willingly or unwillingly, before that work is done.