Not So Sweet Dreams

I will be doing a few messages in Daniel in two parts, as the passage is fairly lengthy and has a great deal of information for us. Today will be one of those messages. It may be a bit shorter than most of my sermons, but I’m sure you won’t be upset at that.

Most of us have studied world history and forgotten most of what we’ve learned. It has been suggested that Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 could be a basic outline of world history, some of which is yet to come. This time period covers the period during Daniel’s time (6th century BC), through the second coming of Jesus Christ, which we recently covered in the sermon series in Revelation.

As we continue to look into Daniel, especially its prophetic aspect, I need you to understand that I will be looking at this from what is referred to as a premillennial viewpoint. If you weren’t with us during the Revelation messages, or if you do not know what this is, come talk with me afterwards and I will go into more depth and detail. It is also in this chapter, that we can be assured that Daniel is truly a prophet.

Most of us enjoy our sleep. Some of us find ourselves solving problems, which we are in the midst of during our waking lives, while we are asleep. Some people experience dreams that are extremely troubling and cause a rude awakening, upon which, every detail is clearly remembered. Others have dreams that are wonderful and delightful, yet cannot be remembered in any detail the next morning.

There are studies and schools of thought which deal with dreams and their significance. Sigmund Freud had a whole branch of psychology devoted to dreams and their interpretation and meaning. There have been movies and shows that deal with dreams or daydreams while whole plots develop, probably the most famous being the Wizard of Oz.

Today, we’re going to look at a world leader and how God chose to use this king’s dream time to let him know Who truly was in charge. As we get ready to embark into chapter 2, we need to understand that this is the first major dream of Nebuchadnezzar. It most likely took place early on in Daniel’s work for the king.

In addition, this covers a time period which scholars refer to as the time of the Gentiles. Here we’ll find a true history of the world through four major Gentile empires.

Though this sermon will be dealing with the information found in the chapter, I believe God has a very definite challenge for each one of us. One encouragement I believe we can all hold onto is this: Even in the midst of turmoil, we can always turn to God for help.

This morning, I invite you to follow along in your Bibles, as I will not be reading the whole passage out loud, but rather certain verses as we go along.

Frustration - 2:1-13

Historians suggest that Nebuchadnezzar was not actually king when the Babylonians first attacked Jerusalem, but was acting on his father’s behalf. He inherited the throne in the next year. As Nebuchadnezzar is supposedly getting his rest, his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him, according to verse 2. Whatever he had just been dreaming caused him intense inner turmoil.

At this point, the king called the Chaldean magicians (the textual scribes), conjurers, and sorcerers, which included those who dealt with supposed magic potions. They were expected to and supposed to help the king understand his troubling dream. The Chaldeans were known as a special class of priests. However, Nebuchadnezzar was pretty smart. He knew that anyone could come up with an “interpretation.” However, only someone who was truly gifted would be able to actually tell him what his dream was before they interpreted it. When we think about it, these guys were living a pretty cushy life based upon having jobs that were totally fake and/or enabled by Satan.

As a result, they tried to plead with the king to reveal the dream, but he refused, as he could see right through them. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar accused them of what they had been doing all along; lying to him. To which they responded in Daniel 2.10-11 “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.” They understood that even with all their black magic and evil practices, they could not come up with the information that was required. This was going to require something supernatural.

Brothers and sisters, we are reminded and encouraged that though Satan is permitted to do much; he has no power over God, nor does he have access to the hidden things of God.

This was the last straw for the king. He issued orders that all of them would be killed. But wait; this would include Daniel and his friends.

Remember what our theme is for this message? Now is probably a good time to be reminded of it. Even in the midst of turmoil, we can always turn to God for help. Sometimes, we must go back to the basics of understanding that God is in charge and Satan cannot supersede God in any way.

Supplication - 2:14-23

I first heard this from my dear friend, Pastor Arthur Enns, who is now in the presence of Jesus: Where God is not allowed to rule, He will overrule. Here, we see this in real life, as Daniel did not fear the situation, but replied with discretion and discernment.

From what it appears, Daniel and his friends were not part of the larger group who had been with the king already. Daniel seems to be completely in the dark as to what is going on here. It is entirely possible, that Daniel had chosen not to associate himself with the Babylonian wise men. Again, this is early in Daniel’s life. However, once Daniel got the information as to why they were to be killed, he went immediately to the king and requested time.

According to verse 17, he . . . went to his house and informed his friends . . . about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery . . . Instead of wringing his hands and complaining about the absurdity and unfairness of the situation, he knew exactly where to go. He went to God and God’s people. He understood that what the king had requested could only be accomplished if God revealed the information.

Do you feel that little twinge in your spirit as you read this? How often we are met with a hostile situation or something which threatens us. For many people, the normal reaction would be to become upset, anxious, or even angry. Wouldn’t it be better if we responded the way Daniel did? Church, we have that ability to go to the heavenly Father at any time and in any place. We can trust Him.

Then, we see that God revealed the mystery to Daniel in a night vision. Listen to Daniel’s praise in verse 20-23: “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.”

As brilliant and as gifted as Daniel was, he understood that wisdom and power belong to God alone. He controls calendars and kingdoms; He provides intelligence and insight; that which is unseen in darkness, He unveils in light. Daniel gives full glory to God for revealing what needed to be seen and understood.

Even in the midst of turmoil, we can always turn to God for help. Here, we see that though Daniel's insides may have been jumping and turning inside out, he knew the most basic thing about his walk with God: He needed to go to Him. He also needed to remember to give God glory. Christian, when we do this regularly during the good times, we will remember to do this during tumultuous times. Even in the midst of turmoil, we can always turn to God for help.

Conclusion

Well, my friends, I’m going to stop right here and pick up next week. Next week’s message will continue on with the reminder of turning to God, as we look into the specifics of the dream which so disturbed Nebuchadnezzar.