“No one on earth can make known what the king requests.”
A king has a dream. A terrible dream. He tosses and turns in the dark. What could this mean?
For days he can’t eat and he can’t sleep. The dream is haunting him. But good news — the king is, well, a king. Which means he has resources. Which means he doesn’t have to wait around for answers. He’s resolved to sleep again tonight.
The king makes the call — every diviner, medium, and sorcerer in the kingdom needs to be in the room by lunch. When I think about it, this has to be pretty routine stuff. The king is troubled, and no doubt he simply wants to be comforted by his trusted advisors. So as the wisemen file into the room, already they begin to formulate the metaphors they will use, that they’ve always used, to help the king know what action needs to be taken. The king will share the story of his nightmares, and the interpreters will point him in the direction of who they want killed or what decree they want made. If anything, the next step has already been decided. Now all that’s left is for the king to tell his servants the dream.
But the king does something no one expects. Unbeknownst to them, the king has grown tired of deception and smoke screens. He wants real answers. He wants the truth. So to insure that he gets what he wants the king orders his men not only to tell him the meaning of the dream, but for them to describe to him the dream itself. Even worse, if they get it wrong, there will be severe punishment.
In other words, the bill is due. You see, the king understood that anyone can make up an interpretation, but only truly divine revelation can tell you exactly what you dreamt about. The validity of the declaration must be legitimized by the testing of its source.
The reaction, expectedly, is outrage: “No one on earth can make known what the king requests…What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
While the sorcerers may not be able to see clearly from the haze of their lifestyle of lying, they do know one thing for certain: What the king is asking, no man can do apart from God. Who could tell another man his own dreams?
This story comes from the second chapter of the book of Daniel in the Bible. As the plot continues, Daniel, who is on the kingdom grounds by way of abduction, prays to the God of Israel and receives answers as to the contents of the dream and its meaning. The mystery was revealed to Daniel, not because of his superior wisdom, but because God mercifully gave him the answer. Daniel knew God, the one true God, and so Daniel was able to do what only God could do.
As I was reading this story this morning, Jesus came to mind. Specifically the event of the paralytic man being lowered down into a room that Jesus was teaching in. Jesus stands before the lame man, marvels at the faith of him and his friends and says, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
Without skipping a beat we enter into the minds of the teachers of the law who are witnessing this bold declaration: “He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
In other words — “Liar! No one on earth can forgive sins except God, whose dwelling is not with mortals. No one on earth can do this.”
Seems to me that the Pharisees are just as aware as the restless king was. They understand that, sure, anyone can simply say that someone’s sins are forgiven, but only a divine, heaven-sent God-man could have the authority, could have the power, to actually forgive a man of all his sins. The only difference is, while the king wanted proof of the trustworthiness of the message, I don’t think the Pharisees are as interested in what happens next.
Before their accusing thoughts can be blurted out, Jesus displays this authority over sin and the souls of man by commanding the paralyzed man to get up and walk home. Heaven and earth touch. God’s kingdom comes into clear focus, if only for a moment.
I can only imagine as the once paraplegic skipped by what the religious rulers were thinking.
He claimed authority over sin. He displayed authority over tendons, nerves, and cells. The validity of His declaration was legitimized, and it would continue to be legitimized, with every miracle, with every sinless day that passed, and with every breath he breathed after walking out of the tomb.
One thing was clear to everyone in that home that day — God is among us, dwelling with mortals.