Daniel 2:25-30

b. PROFESSION

TEXT: Daniel 2:25-30

25

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27

Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;

28

but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

29

as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.

30

But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.

QUERIES

a.

Had Arioch found Daniel or had Daniel sought Arioch?

b.

How did Daniel have the courage to talk about his God to king Nebuchadnezzar?

c.

Does Daniel mean in Daniel 2:30 that God's immediate purpose was to reveal something to a pagan king?

PARAPHRASE

Then Arioch, in great excitement, brought Daniel into the presence of the king, and said to him, O King, Behold, I have found one of the captives from Judea who claims he is able to tell you your dream and its interpretation. The king said, Belteshazzar, is this true? Are you able to make known to me both what I dreamed and its interpretation? Daniel replied, As far as my revealing to you myself what your dream wasI could not do it any more than your own wise men. No mortal could do such a thing! But there is a God of heaven who reveals secrets. And He has seen fit in His own purpose to reveal to you, king Nebuchadnezzar, in your dream, what is going to happen in the future. Yes, your dream was this: You dreamed of coming events. He who reveals secrets was speaking to you. But, it is as I said before, it is not because I am wiser than any other living person that I know this secret of your dream, but because God has chosen me to be His instrument to make known to you what your secret thoughts mean.

COMMENT

Daniel 2:25-26. ARIOCH BROUGHT IN DANIEL. I HAVE FOUND A MAN. ART THOU ABLE? Notice the precociousness of Arioch! He seizes the opportunity to feather his cap by claiming to have found an answer to the most perplexing problem Nebuchadnezar has ever had in all his life. In fact, Daniel had found Arioch! How could Arioch make such an incongruous statement seeing that he had just a few hours before this gained an audience before the king for this same Hebrew lad? Arioch is doing what is incongruous but normal for practically all underlings of some great monarchmaking the most of any occasion to put himself in favorable estimation by his superior.

The king, greatly vexed of soul, and constantly plagued by such machinations of his underlings, probably did not give Arioch's attempt at politicking a second thought. He was intent upon finding someone who could set his mind at rest concerning this troubling dream, The king, skeptical that anyone could do what he asked, makes a special point of asking Daniel if he is able to tell both the dream and its interpretation. The king calls Daniel by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar.

Daniel 2:27. THE SECRET. THE KING. DEMANDED CAN NEITHER WISE MEN. ETC.. Daniel quickly disavows any human ability to tell secrets. He wants the king to be prepared for his next statement which will be a testimony to the One True God. Daniel's words are also a mild rebuke to the king for expecting so much from any human wise man.

Daniel 2:28. BUT THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN THAT REVEALETH SECRETS. What a wonderful opportunity for Daniel to plant the seed of Truth in the mind of a pagan monarch. What courage it took to stand in the presence of such an absolute despot who considered himself a god and speak of The Living God. Daniel's courage was born of his faith in God and his knowledge of the situationthe extremity of Nebuchadnezzar's anxiety.

The phrase latter days can mean only one thing in its context! It refers to the days which follow from that present time unto the coming of the Messianic kingdom which occurred, of course, when the church was established on Pentecost, Acts 2. We shall treat this subject thoroughly in the remainder of the chapter.

Daniel 2:29. THY THOUGHTS CAME. WHAT SHOULD COME TO PASS HEREAFTER. Evidently the king had gone to bed thinking about the futurewhat is going to happen in my future. Nebuchadnezzar was somewhat of an Alexander the Great. He had conquered the civilized world of his day; he had done just about everything a monarch of that day could do in conquests, building, etc. With such personal glory already his he might well wonder what the future had in store. He was at the top of the ladder already! He lay down to dream because there were no more worlds to conquer! And what a dream!

Daniel describes his God as The Revealer of secrets and distinctly states that Jehovah has sent this dream to Nebuchadnezzar in order to tell him what shall happen in the future.

Daniel 2:30. AS FOR ME. NOT REVEALED. FOR ANY WISDOM THAT I HAVE. Again Daniel disavows any personal, meritorious claim upon the gift of God to interpret dreams. He makes it plain that he is being used only as an instrument through which God is making known to the king what all these secret thoughts and dreams mean.

We admire Daniel's courage before a great monarch such as this. We would also do well to reflect on the trust in God necessary for Daniel not to presumptuously claim for himself these powers to reveal secrets! What a temptation it would be for most of us to take to ourselves this glory rather than give it to God, Looked at from an immediate and physical or selfish perspective it could have been exceedingly profitable for Daniel to have claimed these powers all on his own. But, like Joseph, he said, It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer. (Genesis 41:16).

QUIZ

1.

Why did Arioch claim to have found Daniel when in the king's presence?

2.

Why did the king ask Daniel if he were able to tell the dream?

3.

How did Daniel rebuke the king's decree to kill all the wise-men?

4.

What had the king probably gone to bed thinking about before his dream?

5.

What does the latter days refer to?

6.

What is especially significant of Daniel's disavowal to any personal merit?