Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Daniel 2:1-23

On January 2, during a Monday Night Football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills, a young man named Damar Hamlin made an awkward tackle. He stood up for a moment and then collapsed in cardiac arrest on the field. Millions watched in horror as this young man lay dying on national television. Medical staff from both teams rushed in and began performing CPR to try and save his life. Coaches and players from both teams were in shock, and weeping they knelt and began to pray.

The game was cancelled and for the next week Damar Hamlin lay in a hospital room fighting for his life. The National Football league asked everyone to pray for him and his family. One announcer went on ESPN, and in a live broadcast prayed with his colleagues.

Praise God, DeMar Hamlin did survive, and if you do a google search today, they credit the fast actions of the medical personnel on the field with saving his life. But for a moment, the world knew they were helpless. They knew there was nothing they could do, but it was up to God.

There are impossible situations in life that force us to trust and acknowledge God’s greatness. We all go through them. We all face situations we have no control over, and God is the only answer. And that is what we see in chapter two of Daniel. All the wisemen of Babylon, including Daniel and his friends are put into an impossible situation, and God is the only solution. So, they bow down and they pray, and they acknowledge the greatness of the one true God. (Read Daniel 2:1-23)

In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. 2 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. 3 And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 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.”

5 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. 6 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.”

7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”

10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

21 He changes times and seasons.

he removes kings and sets up kings.

he gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding.

22 he reveals deep and hidden things.

he knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells with him.

23 To you, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

for you have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what we asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.” (Pray)

By the time we come to our passage this morning God had already proven Himself to be faithful in the life of Daniel and his friends. Led by Daniel they made a choice to honor God and not be defiled by the king’s food and the wine which he drank. The king’s food and wine violated Old Testament dietary laws, so Daniel and his friends decided to honor God, and in turn God honored them.

He gave them favor with those who had authority over them. They were allowed to eat a different diet, and God blessed their faithfulness by giving them wisdom, knowledge, and influence. Remember when these four Hebrew children were presented to the King, he found them ten times better than all the wisemen in the kingdom.

However, as we read this chapter it becomes clear, even though Daniel and his friends are now among the wisemen of Babylon, they are at the bottom of the ladder. They are the low men on the totem pole. We can draw that conclusion because Daniel and his friends are not initially consulted about the king’s dreams. In fact, they don’t find out until it is too late, and they are getting ready to lose their life.

Yet again Daniel acts with wisdom and great faith, and God proves again that He is in control and can save His people from any circumstance. And what we learn from this passage is; impossible situations teach us to pray and acknowledge God’s greatness.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is, A Troubled King Vs. 1-11 Nebuchadnezzar was in the second year of his reign and he was beginning to see how difficult it was to run a kingdom.

All the problems he faced were beginning to cause him to have sleepless nights. Shakespeare once wrote, “Uneasy lies the head of the one who wears the crown” and never was that truer than with Nebuchadnezzar.

But it is important we understand where these dreams came from. It was the Lord who was causing these dreams. God wanted to reveal something important to Nebuchadnezzar and to the Gentile world. He wanted to reveal the everlasting Kingdom of God that is coming.

Notice the phrase “had dreams” in Vs. 1. This was more than one dream; this was a recurring nightmare.

The fact that God would communicate this truth to a Gentile King is evidence that God always intended His grace to go out to the entire world. He is not just the God of the Jews but He is the God of everyone.

But why doesn’t God just make this truth known to Daniel? Why doesn’t He just tell Daniel and let Daniel tell the king? Well, for three reasons really,

First God wants the king to know who is really in charge. He wants the king to know He has allowed Him to be the ruler and God will determine when his kingdom ends.

Second, God is going to expose the wisemen of Babylon for what they are; nothing, useless. They are false prophets who worship false gods.

And finally, God is going to elevate Daniel to a position of authority so He can use him as a witness to the world.

Let me ask you this, do you believe God communicates to us through dreams today? I certainly believe He can if that’s what He chooses to do. But this was an unusual circumstance, and that is important for us to understand.

Most of the time God communicates to us through the Holy Spirit when we pray, meditate on His Word, and seek Godly council.

The danger of believing God is speaking to us in dreams, is that our minds can produce dreams itself. (Five years after High School) Also, Jeremiah 25 tells us that demons can cause dreams to deceive us into believing the lies of Satan. So, it is dangerous to accept dreams as messages from God.

Notice Vs. 2 it says, “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.”

If God is going to show who the one true God is, He must get them all together. So, He gathers everything, they have put their trust in. He wants all the wisemen because He is going to expose them for just how unwise they are.

Nebuchadnezzar believes this dream is important. It must be about the future of Babylon. So, he does what any good king would do, he gets his councilors to help him understand what it means.

And they are eager to serve the king. In Vs. 4 they say, “Tell your servants the dream and we will show the interpretation.” These wise men are not ready for what comes next. Their job as councilors to the king has been easy until now.

In Vs. 5 he throws them a horrifying curve ball. He not only wants the interpretation, but he also wants them to tell him his dream. He says, if you are smart enough to predict the future, then you should be smart enough to describe the past. “Tell me my dream.”

Nebuchadnezzar is unstable. He is unhinged. He is threatening to kill them, their families and destroy their homes. And he is not bluffing that kind of cruelty was common in the ancient world. Nebuchadnezzar means what he says and says what he means.

Three times he insists they tell him the dream and then give its interpretation. He believes he has received this message from the gods, and he wants to make sure they get it right. If he tells them the dream, they can come up with whatever interpretation they want. But if they can tell him the dream, he will know their interpretation is true.

Then we get this amazing admission from the wisemen in Vs. 10-11. Vs. 10 says, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the kings demands.” Vs. 11 says, “No one can show it to the king except the gods.”

Finally, they have said something true. All their astrology, magic, and sorcery are useless. It is all built on a lie, and it is a lie that still exists today. People pray to crystals, visit so-called psychics, practice witchcraft, and read horoscopes trying to predict their future and it’s all about as accurate as the fortune cookies at the Chinese restaurants.

But there is a God in heaven who calls on us to trust Him and rely on Him. When we do, we don’t need to worry about what the future holds because we know who holds the future.

So, what we see here is a very troubled king who is creating fear and anxiety in the life of his people. What a contrast that is from Jesus, who fills our life with love, peace, joy, and kindness the fruit of the Spirit of God. Philippians 4:6-7

Let me ask you this who are the troubled kings in your life? Who or what causes you to fear and not trust God? Maybe it’s an employer or teacher who is demanding more out of you than you can accomplish. Maybe its fear of sickness and disease. Maybe its loneliness and depression. Whatever it is, every one of us face those situations, but only God can fix them.

We need to give it to God and acknowledge His greatness, because the reality is, it’s not our situation that needs to be fixed, it’s our heart, and until we begin to trust God we will be overwhelmed by an impossible world.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is A Condemning Decree, Vs. 12-16. The king has made up his mind. He is done playing games with these false prophets. So, he sends out a command to have them destroyed.

What is interesting is what takes place behind the scenes. Satan lost the initial battle. He tried to get Daniel and his friends to violate the Word of God by eat the king’s food. So now he turns and plans to have them killed by the king’s command.

Isn’t it interesting that Satan is willing to sacrifice all the false prophets of Babylon if he can only destroy these four faithful servants of God. Sinners of the world are expendable to Satan, but Jesus cares for and protects His people.

Notice Vs. 14 were told a man named Arioch is the chief executioner. He is the one being sent out to do the dirty work, and when he comes to Daniel and his friends, Daniel is shocked to hear about the king’s command.

They were new graduates of the university of Babylon. They were ten times better than the wisemen in the kingdom. How come they weren’t invited to the kings meeting? How come they didn’t hear about the dream.

Vs. 14 tells us Daniel spoke with “prudence and discretion.” Daniel is just a teenager, but he is wise beyond his years. And he speaks up, but he speaks up with caution and respect. He is careful. Obviously, there was something special about Daniel, he had a reputation of being trustworthy and faithful.

Just as God had given Daniel favor with Ashpenaz, He now gives Daniel favor with Arioch. Notice Vs. 15, He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. Arioch stops and delays his obedience to the king, and by doing so He risks his own life. But he takes the time to explain to Daniel what is going on. This is the grace of God preceding Daniel everywhere he goes.

Notice how Daniel responds, Vs. 16 “Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.” What faith? What incredible courage? Daniel not only approaches the king, but he asks the very thing the king had denied all the wisemen of Babylon, he asks him for time!!!

Vs. 8 tells us the king knew the wisemen were delaying; he knew they were buying time, but now he is willing to give Daniel time. Why? The grace of God. God’s favor going before him, and by faith he promised to show the king his dream and the interpretation because he knew the Lord would answer his prayer.

The same thing is true in your life. There is a relationship we can have with God that wI’ll allow us to walk in courage and in faith, knowing the Lord will answer our prayer. That doesn’t mean the answer is always yes. It doesn’t mean we always get what we want. But it means we will always have what God wants for us.

John 14:13-14 “Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in my name, I will do it.”

To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask according to His character, according to His Word and according to God’s will. It is to identify with Him and want what He wants.

The next thing I want you to see in this story is An Answer from God, Vs. 17-23. Daniel and his friends understood the matter was critical. They understood their lives were at stake. So, what is the first thing they do? They pray.

Notice Vs. 17-18, Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven.

Daniel goes to his best friends and asks them to pray. What a great example for us of the importance of prayer. So many people say they want to see revival in our nation. They want to see hearts turned back to God, but let me ask you this how much time do you spend praying for our nation?

I heard a story about a state senator who was meeting with a group of parents before a school board meeting. And he asked them this question, he said let me see a show of hands, how many of you want to see prayer back in schools? And every hand in the room went up. And then he said, okay let me see another show of hands, how many of you spend time praying with your children at home? And not one person raised their hand.

We don’t practice what we preach and when you get into a situation like Daniel, you want to be prayed up. You want to be studied up. You want to know your prayers are heard. You don’t want to find yourself in an impossible situation and not be able to pray.

Daniel understood the prayers of a righteous man were powerful and effective. But what he does next is even more amazing. Look at Vs. 19.

Daniel has just escaped the executioner; He has made a promise to the king. He called a prayer meeting with his friends, and then what does Daniel do? He goes to sleep. Vs. 19, “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night.”

Daniel is so confident in God he’s not even going to lose sleep over it. He prayed, put the matter in God’s hand, and did what the king could not do. He got a good night’s sleep, and as he did, God revealed the mystery to him. God gave him what he needed.

Then Daniel responds with praise. In vs. 20-23 We have this song of worship and praise. Daniel sings his praise not only for the answer to his prayer but what that answer represents. It represents the power and authority of God.

He says, God is worthy to be praised. God is worthy to be blessed. Why? well he gives several reasons why. First, because wisdom and power belong to God. He possesses these things in Himself. He is the source of all wisdom and power.

And he praises Him because the God of heaven is also the God of history. The God of the past is the God of the future. Notice He is the one who changes times, rulers, and kingdoms. The very thing that Nebuchadnezzar was afraid of Daniel is embracing.

He says, Lord, I praise you because when I look at the world, I realize you are in control. You are the Light of the World. You are the city set on the hill. In Vs. 23 he draws it down into a more personal level. He says, “To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you.”

And that should be our perspective of everything in life. It didn’t come from us; it came from God. All praise, honor and glory go to Him for what He has allowed us to do. Do you ever just stop and recognize Him for that? Do you ever stop and recognize that any wisdom and understanding you have come from Him? James tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above.

Daniel doesn’t miss his opportunity here. He is giving God the praise because he understands that what he has received came from God.

Conclusion

What we learn from this passage is; impossible situations teach us to pray and acknowledge God’s greatness. The good news is as Christians we don’t have to wait for that. We can acknowledge Jesus is great in our life right now. We can grow in our faith and our ability to trust Him. We can learn that God is faithful by being faithful to God.

God has the power and ability to bring good out of what seems like absolute disaster. Just as He did in the life of Daniel and his friends. God can lift us up out of our circumstances. He can redeem us. He can elevate us and give us influence in areas He wants to use us as His witness in the world.

I pray God would work in our hearts in such a way that when we come face to face with a crisis, we don’t panic but we pray, and we trust Him for the solution. God works through the prayers of His people, the question is, are you willing to go to Him in prayer? There is power in prayer. Daniel trusted the Lord and He answered him and when we trust the Lord, He will answer us as well.