CHAPTER 2 NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Nebuchadnezzar Dreams and Requires His Wise Men To Tell Him The Content of His Dream (Daniel 2:1). ‘And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled and his sleep broke from him.... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans so that they could tell Nebuchadnezzar his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.' The scene is impressive. The king called in his regular experts, ‘the magicians, and the enchanters... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramaic, “O king live for ever, tell your servants the dream and we will show the interpretation.” At first all seemed to be going smoothly. They had been here... [ Continue Reading ]
“The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word has gone forth from me (or ‘the thing is certain'). If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces and your houses will be made a dunghill (or ‘into ruins'). But if you show the dream and its interpre... [ Continue Reading ]
‘They answered the second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ' They were in a quandary and boldly held up their end. What else could they say? They could not believe that he quite meant what he said. So they repeated what they had previou... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The king answered and said, “I know of a certainty that you want to gain time, because you see that the word has gone forth from me (or ‘that the thing is certain'). But if you do not make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you. For you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak be... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WISE MEN ADMIT THAT WHAT HE ASKS IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THEM AND COME UNDER HIS FURY. “The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can show what the king requires, forasmuch as no king, lord or ruler (or ‘no great and powerful king' i.e. a king-lord-ruler) has as... [ Continue Reading ]
‘For this reason the king was furious and very angry, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.' The king's response was immediate. They had failed him and proved themselves fakes. So filled with anger and great fury he commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. This behav... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE OF HIS POSITION DANIEL IS INVOLVED IN WHAT IS HAPPENING. HE SEEKS GOD'S HELP. ‘So the decree went out, and all the wise men were to be slain. And they sought Daniel and his companions that they might be slain.' A decree was issued to his officers that all the wise men throughout Babylon we... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Daniel returned answer, with wisdom (counsel) and prudence, to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to slay the wise men of Babylon.' Fortunately for the wise men it seems that only limited forces had been sent out to carry out the sentence, made up of Arioch, captain of... [ Continue Reading ]
‘He answered and said to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree so pressing from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. And Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time, and he would show the king the interpretation.' It was presumably because the capta... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, asking them that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.' Daniel's next... [ Continue Reading ]
GOD REVEALS TO DANIEL WHAT HE ASKED. DANIEL IS FILLED WITH GRATITUDE AND PRAISE (DANIEL 2:19). ‘Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are h... [ Continue Reading ]
“I thank you and praise you, O you who are the God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has now made known to me what we desired of you. For you have made known to us the king's matter.” Having been lost in wonder and awe at the greatness of God, he now acknowledged His goodness, a... [ Continue Reading ]
DANIEL APPROACHES NEBUCHADNEZZAR AND REVEALS TO HIM HIS DREAM (DANIEL 2:24). ‘Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him. “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel in before the king and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ' Arioch appears to have been a good man who had no heart for the task that he had been set, and he also r... [ Continue Reading ]
‘The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” ' The king came straight to the point. He wanted no more excuses. The question was, could the man do what all had said was impossible, or was h... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Daniel answered before the king and said, “The secret the king has demanded is one that neither wise men, enchanters, magicians nor soothsayers can show to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.... [ Continue Reading ]
“As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind on your bed, what should come about hereafter, and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will come about. But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for the intent that the i... [ Continue Reading ]
THE VISION OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR (DANIEL 2:31). “You, O king, saw, and behold a great image. This image which was mighty and whose brightness was spectacular, stood before you. And its aspect was dreadful. As for this image his head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his... [ Continue Reading ]
THE INTERPRETATION OF THE VISION (DANIEL 2:36). “This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory. And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the fiel... [ Continue Reading ]
“And after you will arise another kingdom inferior to you.” As he gazed at the image, and probably saw his own face gazing back at him, his eyes moved down to the body. What he now looked at was no longer one, like the head, rather there was a plurality, a body and arms of silver. The kingdom of Ne... [ Continue Reading ]
“And the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. And as iron that crushes all these, will it break in pieces and crush. And whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's clay and part of iron, it will be a diverse kingdom, but there... [ Continue Reading ]
“And in the days of those kings will the God of heaven set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people. But it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand for ever. Forasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the moun... [ Continue Reading ]
NEBUCHADNEZZAR DULY HONOURS DANIEL (DANIEL 2:46). ‘Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours to him. The king responded to Daniel, and he said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province o... [ Continue Reading ]