Toppling Statues
a sermon on Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel 2
Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.”
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.” The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
“You were looking, O king, and there appeared a great statue. That statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its midsection and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
“That was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings — to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, into whose hand he has given human beings wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air and whom he has established as ruler over them all — you are the head of gold. After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything, it shall crush and shatter all these. As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain and its interpretation trustworthy.”
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him. The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!” Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court. ~Daniel 2:24–49 NRSVUE
Just in time for the Olympics, nearby Montgomery County unveiled a statue they commissioned of their beloved hometown Olympic hero, gymnast Dominique Dawes.
Statues can be erected to preserve and honor history or people. They sometimes commemorate significant events, like an Olympic gold medal win. Statues can teach and inspire us.
I’m sure what comes to mind for many of us, though, when we think about the purpose and meaning of monuments is the debate about whether or not statues of Confederate soldiers should be removed.
Some claim these statues preserve our nation’s history. The Civil War was a major historical event. Others question why we would choose to honor the folks who lost the war and who were traitors to the United States. Those who want the statues removed rightly point out that most of the Confederate statues in America were erected in the early 20th century, during the same time that the NAACP was formed, the KKK experienced a huge resurgence, and an abundance of laws were passed to segregate and disenfranchise Black Americans. While some say the statues merely honor fallen soldiers, others believe they are meant to glorify the Confederacy and intimidate African Americans.
While statues often commemorate significant events and honorable people, throughout history and in different civilizations, it has not been uncommon for leaders to erect statues to claim power and dominance, colonize, and frighten their subjects into submission.
Today, we begin a 5-week study of The Book of Daniel. This book from the Hebrew Bible contains both familiar stories, like Daniel in the Lion’s Den, and apocalyptic visions.
Daniel was likely written in the 2nd century BCE. By this time, Judah has been invaded by Babylon twice. The temple had been destroyed and rebuilt. Many Jewish people had been deported and had been living in exile in Babylon for about 4 centuries. This was a period of great violence against Jews. Antiochus IV Epiphanes was ruler of the Babylonian Empire. He was ruthless and brutal.
While Daniel was written in the 2nd century, many of the narratives were set much earlier, after the 1st Babylonian invasion. That’s the case in today’s reading, which is why Nebuchadnezzar, not Antiochus, is king in the narrative.
While not as brutal as Antiochus, Nebuchadnezzar was still despised by Israel. In the story, he experiences sleepless nights because of a recurring nightmare he doesn’t understand. He desperately wants to know what the dream keeping him up at night means.
The king calls in his advisors. Perhaps to avoid exposing his vulnerability, he plays a demented game with them. He orders his advisors to tell him not only the meaning but also the content of his dream. It’s an impossible task! If none of the royal advisors can tell Nebuchadnezzar what he dreamed and what it means, then he will have all of the wise men in Babylon executed. Of course, none of them can do it, so off they go to be drawn and quartered.
At some point, Daniel is summoned by Arioch, the chief executioner, because he’s earned a reputation for being wise. Remember, Nebuchadnezzar ordered all wise men in Babylon killed, not just the ones who failed his twisted test. When Daniel discovers why he’s been sent for, he manages to keep his cool. He says that if the king will give him a little time, he’ll be able to tell him both the substance and meaning of his dream. For some reason, the manipulative monarch agrees.
Daniel, a faithful Jew living in exile, gathers with some close friends. He asks them to pray with him, to plead for God to be merciful and reveal the king’s mysterious dream. God is faithful and does have mercy on the devoted Daniel. When God answers his prayer, Daniel gives thanks. Now, he is ready to return to Nebuchadnezzar.
First, Daniel reminds the Babylonian king that no one that he deems wise, no magician or enchanter, no sorcerer or advisor, could reveal the dream because such a task is impossible for anyone except for Daniel’s God. He tells Nebuchadnezzar that God revealed the dream to him and wants the king to know its meaning. Then he begins to describe the king’s vision.
An enormous statue of a man is divided into five parts. The head is made of gold, the chest and arms are silver, the trunk and thighs are bronze, and his calves are iron. The feet are a combination of iron and clay. A special stone made by God appears and strikes the feet. The clay shatters, and, without a strong and steady base, the entire statue topples over, crashing to the ground. The stone then becomes a mountain that fills the entire earth.
That’s the content of the dream. Now Daniel shares the interpretation that God has given him.
Each segment of the statue’s body represents a different kingdom. The kingdoms are made from different metals because some are stronger than others, and they won’t all have the same value.
Daniel proceeds to butter up the reviled Nebuchadnezzar, whom he calls “good king,” by telling him that his kingdom is the portion of the statue that’s made of gold. It’s the most precious, most valuable, and the head of the entire creation.
His kingdom won’t last forever, though. The other segments of the statue represent kingdoms that will come after his falls.
Since these kingdoms are all part of the same statue, they’re all empires that will persecute the Jewish people. And since this story was written long after Nebuchadnezzar’s time, he may not have known what these kingdoms would be, but the Jewish people for whom the story was written do.
The final kingdom, the feet of iron and clay, will be divided. Parts of it will be strong, like iron, but other parts will be fragile, like clay. The divine stone that shatters the clay and destroys the entire statue represents God’s kingdom. This kingdom will never be colonized or destroyed. Another empire will never rule over it. This kingdom will be led by God and spread throughout the entire world.
The king is overwhelmed that Daniel knows his nightmare and what it means. He knows that this vision and message could only come from God, the God Daniel faithfully seeks, serves, and worships.
Nebuchadnezzar, who has robbed countless Judeans of their autonomy and freedom and forced them to bow down to Babylonian gods, proclaims that Daniel’s God is the great revealer of mysteries and Lord of all earthly kings. He not only spares Daniel his life but also promotes him, making him a governor. I love that the story ends with Daniel jockeying to get his buddies appointed to some cush positions, too. He’s looking out for others!
We should hear this story not so much for what it means to Nebuchadnezzar but for what it would mean to the Jewish people for whom it was written: people ripped from their homes and place of worship, people trying hard to keep their autonomy, culture, and faith intact while being colonized and forced to live in exile. It’s significant that these early stories in Daniel are written in Aramaic, not Hebrew, and that Nebuchadnezzar calls Daniel “Belteshazar,” the Babylonian name given to him.
That community needed to hear that no kingdom, except for God’s, will last forever. They needed a reminder that God was at work for their good, even when they didn’t see any signs of it. The promise that God will liberate them could help them not only survive but thrive during that long period of occupation and exile. Through Daniel, the people are encouraged to continue to seek God’s mercy and to give thanks every time they experience signs of it, because God has not forgotten them. God will liberate them.
Just as symbols, like Confederate memorials, can be used to intimidate people. Those same symbols can be transformed into images of hope.
In 1961, right smack in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, my home state of South Carolina began flying the Confederate flag on the state capitol grounds, where it continued to fly until 2015.
Ten days after a white supremacist murdered nine African Americans as they participated in Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, Bree Newsome bravely climbed the flag pole on the capitol lawn, cut down the Confederate flag, and handed it to police before getting arrested for her actions.
A month later, my family got to hear her tell her story at the Wild Goose Festival. The activists who dreamed up this act of resistance specifically wanted a Black woman to climb the pole and remove the flag and a white man to support her from the ground. Jimmy Tyson, a white rock climber, agreed to participate. Then the activists decided to approach Bree Newsome about being the climber.
I remember her saying that she met the activists in secret, not knowing why. When they told her the plan and asked her to participate, her initial instinct was to decline. Firstly, she didn’t know how to climb, but she feared that she might be killed in the act.
Newsome is a Christian, and so, before saying No, she went into a room and prayed. In fact, I believe she told us that she prayed all night. At some point in the wee hours of the morning, she sensed God telling her, like Esther, that this was her mission to do and that she would not die doing it. So she agreed.
She and Jimmy spent several weeks in the middle of nowhere. He taught her how to climb. They even practiced on a pole. Then the Mother Emanuel shooting happened, and they knew it was time.
I guess it was a combination of grief over the Mother Emanuel shooting and the heaviness of being a South Carolinian who knew why the flag was erected in the first place, but I sobbed as I watched video of Bree Newsome taking down the flag. It was justice rolling down like waters. Do you remember that, as she was handcuffed and escorted away by police, she recited the 23rd Psalm?
As a whole, the world is not just. Sometimes, evil people get into positions of power, and sometimes, decent people with power do evil things. White supremacy exists, as does violence of all kinds. People are colonized and live under occupation.
We have no guarantee that all of the terrible things in the world will get worked out in our lifetime. But we can trust that God has not and will not abandon anyone. We can seek God’s mercy and vision for what can be. We can ask God to fill us with courage, like Daniel and Bree Newsome, to use whatever privileges we have to stand up to abuses of power and work for justice. The Kingdom of God is coming, and our actions can help make a little bit closer to becoming reality.
