We are deeply concerned by the crisis of young men dropping out of society. Despite so much bad news, we see many positives in the future. If men come together to support each other, this problem can and will correct itself. With the right support system, young men can achieve tremendous personal growth. 

There’s a strange thing happening in the American economy right now—what we read in the newspaper or see on TV doesn’t match what we’re witnessing with our own eyes. Job numbers reported in the media seem wonderful. Amazingly low unemployment that hasn’t been witnessed in 50 years! Hundreds of thousands of new jobs created monthly. Yet for all these rosy numbers, when we look at the real world, we see critically understaffed businesses, long waits for repairs, and customer service in the gutter.
America’s young men are in crisis, and the answer to this problem is spiritual, not economic or political. While the media continues to trumpet good news about the economy, the reason your real-life experiences don’t match such optimism is because these reports typically only give you part of the picture. What corporate media doesn’t tell you is that about 11 million jobs remain unfilled right now.
That’s why service is lousy everywhere and you can’t get a plumber. Those jobs go unfilled because millions of young American men between the ages of 25 and 54 aren’t working. At all. As Bloomberg reports, they’ve been left behind, with a lower percentage of men between those ages working than in 1970 — a statistic that emerged before the economic disaster brought by coronavirus lockdowns.
Millions of Young Men Doing Nothing All Day
So, how can millions of men be out of work when unemployment is extremely low? Easy, if you don’t count them.
Yes, the unemployment rate hovers at a record low figure, but this number doesn’t count all unemployed people. It only includes those who don’t have a job and are actively seeking one. This cheery (and erroneous) unemployment rate doesn’t count the millions of young men who aren’t looking for a job. Young males fitting this description are often referred to as “NEETs,” an acronym originating in the U.K. that stands for “Not in Employment, Education or Training.” These fellows aren’t working and, worse, aren’t interested in work.
Of course, this was already a growing problem in the last decade. But unemployment went full supernova during the coronavirus lockdown — and finally smart people are paying attention to it. Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs” fame recently hosted a podcast discussion on the crisis of young men not working.
To further understand the problem’s depth, Rowe interviewed economist Nicholas Eberstadt, who wrote “Men Without Work.” It explains the seriousness of this issue, documenting how the unemployment crisis goes far beyond simply not having a job. Too many men in their prime have fallen into a hollow existence. And their parents — and our tax dollars — subsidize such incredible waste.
What do such men do with their copious amounts of leisure? According to Eberstadt, they aren’t only not working. They aren’t going to church. They typically aren’t dating. They aren’t engaging in charity work or civic activities either, or even helping with housework.
Instead, they play video games, binge watch TV and movies, and, perhaps most concerningly, abuse drugs. So many young men are not only lost to our economy, but lost to their families as well. They are at risk of becoming another gloomy statistic in the opioid epidemic.
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Written by Andrew J. Miller |
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
In this life, many guides are full of errors and mistakes and will lead you astray. God’s Word will never fail us. It is completely trustworthy and reliable, it is inerrant and inspired by God himself.

Every day millions of people follow directions given to them by GPS. We are guided to our desired destinations by electronic maps. We input searches into these maps to know where to go for food and lodging and many other things. Without maps to guide us, or someone to give us directions, we would be lost.
However, Google maps cannot take you to God. This is why we need the Bible, God’s Word, the Scriptures. It is “the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy” God (Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 2). We do have an authoritative and accurate guide to direct us how we should live. “The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (Q&A 3).
God not only made us, but he gave us a magnificent purpose in life: to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Where the world portrays Christianity as dull, the Bible presents true religion as joyful, delighting in the Lord! “Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful” (Ps. 33:1). The Artist who created the beauty of our world invites us to seek his face and gaze on his beauty (Ps. 27). How can we do this? The Bible directs us! It is our authoritative, necessary, and clear guide, showing us what to do and how to live.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105). If you can imagine hiking in the dark, a lamp for your feet allows you to see what is directly ahead of you, so you do not trip on a root or step on a snake. A light for your path allows you to see what is down the road. The Bible guides us in both the long and short term.
Speaking of a path, the Scriptures are called our “canon,” our rule of faith and practice. We “walk by this rule” (Gal. 6:16). In the Greek athletic games (think of the Olympics), each runner had a lane marked out for them by a line—a canon (Greek: κανών). God marks out a path for us in his Word—he shows us how to know, glorify, enjoy, obey, serve, and praise Him.
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In this prayer, as we will see, the two themes surface which we have identified earlier as running throughout the entirety of Daniel’s prophecy. First, we see God’s absolute sovereignty over all of human history, including YHWH’s rule over the great empires depicted by the statue in the dream. Second, God’s fatherly care of Daniel and his friends is evident when YHWH protects Daniel and his three compatriots from the king’s wrath. YHWH enables Daniel to do what the Babylonian court experts cannot, that is to recount and then interpret the king’s dream.[3] 

Times Have Changed
The mood in the Babylonian court has completely changed between the time Nebuchadnezzar claimed the throne in 605 BC, and the scene which unfolds in Daniel chapter 2. In the opening chapter of his prophecy, Daniel describes Nebuchadnezzar as an all-powerful king, bestowing favors on those servants who have successfully completed their transformation from captured youths into humble and efficient servants in the Babylonian court, young men who come from the various peoples defeated by the Babylonians, now dedicated to serve the king and worship his Babylonian “gods.”
But in chapter 2 (which takes place two years later in 603 BC), the king is troubled and frightened because he has had a dream–the meaning of which escapes him. The royal court which seemed so dominant over its humiliated subjects is now depicted as a place of fear, helplessness, and brutality.[1] Whatever it was that the king had dreamed, coupled with the failure of Nebuchadnezzer’s magicians and astrologers to interpret the dream for him, initially leads to great peril for Daniel and his friends. But then it becomes an opportunity for Daniel to ascend in rank and importance in the court. This comes to pass because YHWH is Daniel’s shield and defender, and the source of both Nebuchadnezzaer’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation.
Chapter Two — The Big Picture
Chapter 2 of Daniel’s prophecy contains a 49 verse story dominated by Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a bizarre statue composed of four different metals (which represent four different earthly kingdoms), which is then destroyed by a giant rock (which represents an eternal kingdom established by the God of Heaven). The revelation given by the Lord to Daniel regarding the meaning of the king’s dream tempts us to focus entirely upon the sequence of future events revealed. Indeed, the dream contains a fascinating and remarkably accurate prediction of the rise of future empires and their eventual destruction. Yet, we must not overlook the big picture purpose of the story of the king’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation of that dream. Although the details of the vision which follows are interesting and important because the dream predicts the histories of the great world empires, this is not as important to Daniel’s message as the fact that only YHWH knows how the future will unfold, because he is the author of the future. It is YHWH’s kingdom, not any of the four kingdoms which Nebuchadnezzar sees in his dream, which triumphs over all other kingdoms of the world in the end.[2]
The account in Daniel 2 of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation of it is a single unit which is best covered in one long essay. But this requires far more space than is usual for a blog post. So rather than skimming over the entire chapter and then hitting the highlights (there are too many and the dream is too important for that), I will break the chapter in four parts. We will spend several posts going through the various parts. The first part is the king’s dream and his challenge to his court magicians to recall and explain it to him (vv. 1-13). The second part is God’s revelation of the dream to Daniel (vv. 14-23). We will cover both of these sections in this exposition. The third part of the chapter is Daniel’s God-given explanation of the dream to the king (vv. 24-45), and then finally, we have the king’s very favorable response after Daniel interprets the dream for Nebuchadnezzar (vv. 46-49).
The Key—Daniel’s Prayer to YHWH
The interpretive key to understanding the whole of the chapter correctly (the big picture) is found neither in the dream, nor in the interpretation of the dream, but in Daniel’s prayer to YHWH as recounted in verses 20-23. In this prayer, as we will see, the two themes surface which we have identified earlier as running throughout the entirety of Daniel’s prophecy. First, we see God’s absolute sovereignty over all of human history, including YHWH’s rule over the great empires depicted by the statue in the dream. Second, God’s fatherly care of Daniel and his friends is evident when YHWH protects Daniel and his three compatriots from the king’s wrath. YHWH enables Daniel to do what the Babylonian court experts cannot, that is to recount and then interpret the king’s dream.[3] As a result (vv. 46-49), Daniel is made a ruler in the province of Babylon, as well as chief prefect over the king’s wise men (counselors). Daniel also secures posts for Shadrach (Hananiah), Meshach (Mishael), and Abednego (Azariah).
We have in this chapter what amounts to a “court tale of conquest.” At first glance, the rivals are Daniel and the king’s advisors, but the real contest is between YHWH and the king’s idols [4]–just as it had been in Egypt in the contest between Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians. When the contest is over, it is clear to all–believer and unbeliever alike–that the Babylonian “gods” are no match for YHWH.
Daniel is the wisest of the so-called “wise men,” because YHWH has given him the wisdom and ability to interpret the king’s dream, while protecting Daniel and his friends.
A Very Bad Dream
When we consider the first 24 verses of Daniel 2, the first thing we notice is the specific time established by Daniel, “in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar” which would be the spring of 603 BC. We also learn that something was deeply troubling the king. “Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.” We do not know what caused the king’s troubles–whether he had too many goat meat Shish Kebabs or too much caffeine late at night–but his sleep was interrupted and after falling back asleep he dreamt (the time when dreams are the most vivid). Before the invention of artificial lighting it was very common for people to go to bed just after dark–then awaken for a time around midnight–and then go back to sleep until first light. This is likely what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He slept, was awakened, and then upon returning to sleep had his dream.[5] The king was deeply troubled by its content, a great metal statute with clay feet being crushed by a rock made without human hands.
Bring In the Chaldeans
In what appears to be a state of great distress, the king seeks relief from those in the royal court whom the king consulted in such matters. “Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.” The list given us by Daniel is important–magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers–men who claim to see the future, talk to the dead, or interpret strange phenomena (storms, earthquakes, droughts, etc.). These men (known as “Chaldeans” as a group) were practitioners of the occult (the demonic). Such men were common in the courts of the ancient world and understand such dreams to have regular patterns which could be discerned so as to “interpret” such dreams correctly. There are even ancient manuals from Babylon (“dream books”) explaining how to do this. But this was such a complicated a “science” that it took much time and study to master these manuals and be admitted to the royal court.[6] The folly of this will be exposed by the young man Daniel, the prophet of YHWH.
With the Chaldeans standing before the distraught and troubled king, we read in verse 3, “and the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.’” Either the king cannot recall the details of the dream–which is not uncommon–or else (and this is much more likely) the king recalls much of the dream but does not reveal the details so as to test whether or not his “court magicians” are actually interpreting his dream, or are merely offering flattering words meant to gain his favor and not provoke his anger. Nebuchadnezzar was no slouch. He is asking for much more than an interpretation of the dream. He is asking for a recounting of the specifics of what he dreamt, as well as an interpretation. He will put his court magicians to the test. He will not like the outcome.
“Tell Us Your Dream”
An important bit of irony appears in verse 4. “Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “`O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.’” The text of Daniel’s prophecy shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic until the end of chapter 7. The irony is that the king’s subjects begin with the common address offered by servants to someone of Nebuchadnezzar’s great prestige and power. This is a prayer to the “gods” (Bel or Marduk) offered on behalf of the king, who was often associated with the “gods” as though he were one of them. The irony in this is that Nebuchadnezzar is but a mere mortal, whose dream will reveal that his reign and kingdom will come and go. The king will not live forever despite the invocation of pagan “gods.” Some have wondered whether or not this is a bit of satire on Daniel’s part, pointing out the ultimate fate of Nebuchadnezzar and the futile efforts of his court magicians to bring about eternal life through the prayer they offer.[7] But Daniel will both recall and interpret the dream, only to tell the king about an eternal king and a kingdom which will not end, but endure forever (cf. v. 44). The New Testament will identify this kingdom for us (Revelation 11:15) –“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Likely unable to recall the essence of the dream if not all of its details, the king demands that his “spiritual advisors” tell him both the details of the dream and its interpretation. “The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, `The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.’” Serving in the court of someone like Nebuchadnezzar is like being chained to a lion–things are fine while the lion is well fed, in a good mood, and not worried about other lions. But should the lion get hungry . . . Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is much too important to let the Chaldeans get away with mere formalities typical of the royal court.
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