Lesson for June 15, 2022
The Book of Daniel
Chapter 2
Verses 1-15
“Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So, they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream. Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: ‘O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.’ The king replied to the Chaldeans, ‘The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore, declare to me the dream and its interpretation.’ They answered a second time and said, ‘Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.’ The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm,that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore, tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, ‘There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.’ Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So, the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, ‘For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?’ Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.”
Power, prestige, and wealth does not bring peace of mind. Only a believer with accurate Bible doctrine in their soul applied to every situation in life has true peace of mind. The opposite of peace is fear and Nebuchadnezzar had plenty of it. A dream he had was the source of his fear and he wanted to understand exactly what the dream meant. At this point, the story gets very interesting, and we see the hand of God working in a magnificent way. Daniel and his three friends who had been captured and taken to Babylon to be trained in the ways of the Chaldeans had already been made part of the king’s court and were part of the king’s advisors. There is a wonderful application of doctrine here. When believers find themselves in any circumstance of life, good or bad, reliance of God and His Word will carry them through if they continue to apply it properly. This is what Daniel and his three friends did, and they ended up in the service of the king. But God wasn’t finished using them to impact this nation.
The order went out to call the king’s closest advisors to the court to reveal a dream he had and to give him the interpretation of the dream. Now the fun began! Apparently, it was the custom of these “wise men” to simply make up answers to the king’s questions in order to fool him into thinking that they knew what they were talking about after the king told them the dream. But the king was on to their tricks. So, the call went out to call the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to come first and tell him what he had dreamed and then tell him what the dream meant.
The magicians were not what we think of today. The Hebrew word for magician is “chartummim” meaning horoscopist, as in one who draws magical lines and circles.
Conjurers is the Hebrew word “ashshaph,” which refers to the astrologers who attempted to interpret earthly events by reading the movements of the stars and planets and attaching divine meaning to them. They were skilled in a number of disciplines such as mathematics and science in order to pull off this charade.
Sorcerers is the Hebrew word “mekashephim,” which means to practice witchcraft and contacting the dead under demon possession. The Chaldeans were the religious priests of the pagan religion practiced in the Chaldean Empire at that time. Diviners were also advisers according to Daniel 2:27 which is the Hebrew word “gazrin” meaning prophet. Of course, they were being influenced by demons as well and their “prophecies” were satanic in origin.
All the tricks and gimmicks that these so-called wise men normally used to fool the king when they gave advice were not going to work this time. Instead of telling them what he had dreamed, the king told them to first tell him the dream and then interpret it. In the past, the king had told of his dream, and they could then makeup an interpretation of the dream by using their vast knowledge of science, math, astrology, etc. All of this was, of course, human viewpoint.
Being unable to tell the king what he had dreamed, these advisers resorted to a threefold defense. First, they used the defense that no one on earth could possibly tell the king what he had dreamed. Second, they used the defense that no great ruler or king had ever asked them to do this before. Third, they used the defense that only the Chaldean gods could tell him what he had dreamed, and that they don’t live on earth. Nebuchadnezzar was so upset, he ordered that all the wise men (which included Daniel and his three friends) to be taken and killed.
Verses 16-18
“So, Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”
In an appeal to the captain of the king’s bodyguard, Arioch, Daniel asked to see the king and ask for time so that he could learn of the dream and the interpretation from God. He then informed his three friends so that together they could pray and seek compassion asking God to reveal the mystery of the king’s dream so that they would not be killed along with the other advisers.
Verses19-23
“Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;Daniel said, ‘Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. It is He Who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him. To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, for You have made known to us the king’s matter.’”
God did as Daniel and his three friends requested in prayer and revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel. Notice how thoroughly Daniel understood the nature and character of God. He also acknowledged that it was God’s grace that had revealed the dream of Nebuchadnezzar to him. There is no mystery hidden from God and in His grace, he revealed it to Daniel because He still had a purpose for the lives of Daniel and his three friends.
Verses 24-30
“Therefore, Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: ‘Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.’ Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: ‘I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!’ The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, ‘Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?’ Daniel answered before the king and said, ‘As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days.’ This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.”
The king’s dream and its interpretation having been revealed to Daniel, placed him in a position to save his life, the lives of his friends and the lives of the advisers to the king who had failed to know the dream. Daniel’s orientation to grace caused him to give all the glory to God, which he announced to the king. This was the beginning of Daniel’s faithful witness for Jehovah (Jesus Christ) to the king, which eventually led to Nebuchadnezzar believing in Jesus Christ as his Savior. (Daniel 4:34-37)
Verses 31-35
“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” The king’s dream was regarding future events and future kingdoms that would come on the world scene. The king’s dream was of a great statue of a man made of varying materials which Daniel would describe and interpret their meaning. The head of the statue was made of fine gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron and the feet of iron and clay. The dream continued with a stone not made by mankind that struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the stone crushed the rest of the statue until it became so fine that the wind blew it away. And then the stone became a great mountain and filled the entire earth.
Verses 36-45
“This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle.
And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so, the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
The interpretation of the dream followed. The head of gold was King Nebuchadnezzar’s Chaldean Empire that ruled the world. The breast and the arms were the Medo-Persia Empire lead by Cyrus the Great, a believer in Jehovah (Jesus Christ), who would rule the world after Nebuchadnezzar. The belly and the thighs of the statue were the Graeco-Macedonian Empire under the leadership of Alexander the Great. The legs of iron were the Roman Empire lead by Julius Caesar. And the feet of iron and clay were the revived Roman Empire of the Tribulation lead by the Anti-Christ and the False Prophet both who will be demon-possessed. The stone which became a great mountain was the Lord Jesus Christ Who will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed during the Millennium.
Verses 46-49
“Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. The king answered Daniel and said, ‘Surely 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 ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel made request 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.”
The result was great promotion and honor for Daniel and his three friends. Daniel was made ruler (governor) over all of the Province of Babylon and was made the chief prefect (magistrate) over all the advisers in the kingdom. His friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were also made administrators over the province of Babylon.
We can learn a lot from this chapter regarding the faithfulness of God to spiritually mature believers and how He puts them in the right place at the right time to accomplish God’s purpose. We observe how the wisdom of applied Bible doctrine works in a crisis or in prosperity. We see the benefit of surrounding ourselves with spiritually mature believers. We learn that prayer is powerful, especially when used by spiritually mature believers to communicate with God. We also learn that in time of national crisis, we can be witnesses to others of God’s grace and faithfulness.
We can also see the Problem-Solving Device of a Personal Sense of Destiny in the lives of Daniel and his three friends. We know that these young men were students of the Word of God and understood the faithfulness of God.
Remember, a personal sense of destiny is realizing all the wonderful things that God has done for you, is doing for you, and is going to do for you. God’s work in a believer’s past, their present, and their future then comes into clear focus. This causes a person to put aside anything in their life that is a distraction to their spiritual life. And it causes them to keep looking to Jesus as their only real hope (confidence) for lasting peace and happiness. Finally, a personal sense of destiny will cause a believer to live their life in light of eternity.
So, where have we already seen this in the lives of these four young believers? We see this when Daniel and his friends refused to defile themselves by violating the Law of Moses by eating food sacrificed to pagan idols, knowing that God would provide their needs, and by being unafraid to confront the chief of officials regarding their diet. Also, in excelling in the Chaldean system and becoming ten times more intelligent than all the others by relying on the wisdom and intelligence God had provided for them, knowing that God had a plan and a destiny for them. Then in here in Chapter 2 we see the application of this when the King declared that all his advisers be died which included Daniel and his three friends. They showed no fear because they understood that God held their futures in His hand. Perhaps they knew these two verses:
Isaiah 41:13, “For I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand,
Who says to you, ‘Do not fear, I will help you.’”
Isaiah 46:4, “Even to your old age I will be the same, and even to your graying years I will carry you!I have done it, and I will bear you; and I will carry you and I will deliver you.”