Daniel 2:1-13
Daniel 2:1-13
New King James Version (NKJV)
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.
My Thoughts:
I am sure like many other times the king woke up and called the “wise men” from the kingdom to interpret his dreams from the night before. But just as the dream interpreters of today, they would have had may stock interpretations ready for when he would call. So why today of all days does he ask for them to tell him his dream and interpretation? Maybe he had realized that they had been giving him stock answers and wanted to test them.
The punishment for not having the right answer may have been harsh but they did profess to know how to interpret dreams as well as predict the future. But when faced to perform this task they said “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” At this point the king knew that he and all his people were victims of their deception and his sentence was to be carried out.
Ellen White Statements:
“The historic events related in the king’s dream were of consequence to him; but the dream was taken from him, that the wise men by their claimed understanding of mysteries, should not place upon it a false interpretation. The lessons taught in it were given by God for those who live in our day. The inability of the wise men to tell the dream, is a representation of the wise men of the present day, who have not discernment and learning and knowledge from the Most High, and therefore are unable to understand the prophecies. The most learned in the world’s lore, who are not watching to hear what God says in His word, and opening their hearts to receive that word and give it to others, are not representatives of His. It is not the great and learned men of the earth, kings and nobles, who will receive the truth unto eternal life, though it will be brought to them.
Daniel’s exposition of the dream given by God to the king, resulted in his receiving honor and dignity. “The king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king,”—a place where judgment was dispensed, and his three companions were made counselors, judges, and rulers in the midst of the land. These men were not puffed up with vanity, but they saw and rejoiced that God was recognized above all earthly potentates, and that His kingdom was extolled above all earthly kingdoms.
So we see that the highest line of earthly education may be obtained, and yet the men possessing it may be ignorant of the first principles which would make them subjects of the kingdom of God. Human learning cannot qualify for that kingdom. The subjects of Christ’s kingdom are not made thus by forms and ceremonies, by a large study of books. “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou has sent.” The members of Christ’s kingdom are members of His body, of which He himself is the head. They are the elect sons of God, “a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people,” that they should show forth the praises of Him who has called them out of darkness into His marvelous light.” {FE 412-413}
Last thoughts:
It was during the 2nd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign which would have been (603-602, B.C.). So then how if Daniel would have been in training for 3 years could he have been one of these wise men? We know that Nebuchadnezzar was not king when Daniel was taken. His farther did not died until a few weeks or even a few months after Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem. So Daniel would have just finished up his training with in the past 12 months.
About bobh6
40 Days of study 
A lot of people like those “wise men” think God is somewhere else not connected with people, but the beauty of Christianity is that God is intimately connected to his people. It is selective based on a genuine desire for Him, but the invitation is given to everyone. There is only true power in having God in us, then everything is possible to them that believes. Believe in the power within them to guide and lead them to success, and I’m not talking about according to ther world’s standard; but finding purpose, love and life all in the loving character of our Father. Success in being united with the father as Jesus. This was Jesus prayer for us and untimately our goal…God in us without end.
I like your thought, thanks
Daniel was not with the group of wise men who went in to the King first. When he heard about the danger he was in, he went directly to the king and asked for a delay. Fortunately the king really wanted to know about his dream so he agreed. Daniel went home, gathered his friends and PRAYED to the God of Heaven. Not just a short prayer, but for the rest of the day. How many times do we just throw up a quick prayer and expect it to be enough? Now I am not saying quick prayers are not good enough because they are. There are times though in which prayers should be agonized over and I think this was one of those times. The wise men of those days did not really know much more then than they do now. Horoscopes do not give anything but general info of things that “could happen”. A lot of it is superstition and not from God. We should trust in the Lord for what is going to happen this day. Psalm 31:14,15–“Thou art my God. My times are in thy hand”
When I went through massage school, it was inundated with spiritualism. The one thing they say all the time is you can be like god, but they forget that we are His creations and no one can be like Him. All we can hope for is His love and protection. Put god first and everything else will follow.