Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

We are coming now into the start of the revealing of the dream and its interpretation.

An introduction of sorts, to the dream.

And what we have discovered so far, and from this passage we are dealing with today is that the King had been thinking about his kingdom one night before he went to sleep.

I don’t know what he was pondering.

He may have been thinking about what next.

He was a go getter sort of guy.

A man who didn’t let the moss grow under his feet fo rlong.

He was always onto something else.

But he had conquered the known world at the time, at least in his area.

Maybe he was wondering where he should go next.

It didn’t bother him about how many of his soldiers he lost in battle to satisfy his lust for power.

He was probably looking for the next country to crush.

Maybe he was bored and wondering what to do next.

What keeps you awake at night?

When you go to bed what are you thinking about?

Not many of us are thinking about that next challenge to accomplish or next mountain to climb.

Usually when I go to bed, at least this week whenever I close my eyes to sleep I have been living with this passage.

In fact, I was laying down with my eyes closed and it dawned on me this is exactly what King Nebuchadnezzar was doing when he had his dream.

It hit me that he and I were thinking about the same thing 2500 years apart.

He was thinking about his kingdom.

We all are thinking about our kingdoms aren’t we.

We may not be thinking of a country to conquer, but we surely are thinking about what we are going to do the next day.

Possibly you are troubled by something that awaits you tomorrow, a difficult decision you have to make.

How are you to face it?

What are you to think?

What will get you through this night and into tomorrow to go through another day and another week?

Here is Daniel, he has a life and death situation before him, that God has laid out.

We don’t often have life and death decisions to make, but we do have lots of little ones that will creep us in one direction or another.

Like a builder who lays the foundation walls.

If they are not right on accurate, by the time he gets two floors up his walls are going to be way off.

But that might not have been noticed early on because he wasn’t paying attention to the little things.

And it is the little things in your life you need to pay attention to or when you get to the end you will find you are way off in life.

I. Daniel Before Arioch

So Daniel, once he realizes that God has revealed to him the dream and interpretation, offers up praise to God as we saw last time, and then makes haste to get to Arioch the captain of the guard, the chief executioner and tells him the news before he kills anyone of the wisemen.

Daniel declares to Arioch do not kill the wise men of Babylon.

I will show the king the interpretation.

In other words, Daniel knows the Scripture (Dream) and its interpretation and it brings life to those who know it and believe it.

The word interpretation used here in Daniel is a word that is used to follow a sentence of Scripture.

In other words, one would read a portion of Scripture and then say “this is its interpretation.”

Thus, this is one more highlight that what Daniel is about to do is give a revelation of Scripture then its interpretation.

He is about to proclaim to the king the truth of God’s Word regarding the future.

The fact that you have good news shared in a timely manner might just save someone else.

Just as it does here.

Be ready to give an answer for the hope you have in Christ.

You never know whether that word you share will bear fruit in someone else’s life for the glory of God.

II.

Arioch brings him before the king

v.25 Arioch brings Daniel before the king with confidence he will reveal its interpretation.

I will show the king the interpretation.

In other words, Daniel knows the Scripture (Dream) and its interpretation and it brings life to those who know it and believe it.

Now in v.25 Arioch brings Daniel before the king with confidence he will reveal its interpretation.

v.25 Arioch brings Daniel before the king with confidence he will reveal its interpretation.

Arioch, ‘in haste’ a word that means to be alarmed, dismayed, He is so alarmed at this, knowing the serious nature of what Daniel just told him, he quickly goes before the king with the news and brings Daniel to him.

The emphasis is on the mindset of Arioch that he wastes no time in bringing this news to the King.

The way Arioch puts this to the king is interesting.

He said, “I have found a man among the sons of the exiles of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

Notice:

1.I have found-it is as if he went looking for someone to accomplish this.

He didn’t go looking for anyone except those whom he was to execute. in fact, Daniel came to him, not the other way around.

But this is human nature, to take credit for something they didn’t do in order most likely to gain favor with the king.

2.the word ‘man’ is the word ‘gebar’ which is the root of the word meaning ‘strong man’ normally used of someone with strength and vitality of a successful warrior.

The word is used in to refer to God as ‘mighty man, a man of war.’ it emphasizes or distinguishes between women, kids, or any non-combatants.

This is a mid-teen young man.

But the word usage here suggests that Daniel is not your typical teenage boy.

He is referred to here as a mighty warrior, a man of war.

One who is strong.

This is not just some wimp of a pimply faced kid.

He is acting with the boldness of a mighty warrior, because as he will say there is nothing in him that makes this possible, it is all God.

God is the one who takes our weakness and makes us strong,

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3.from the sons of the exiles of Judah, this really makes a huge contrast with the wise men of Babylon.

just a lowly exile, a no body among nobodies to the king.

Anyone who was someone to him was unsuccessful, but here is this nobody, kid who God uses to reveal the truth to.

or , .

3.from the sons of the exiles of Judah, this really makes a huge contrast with the wise men of Babylon.

just a lowly exile, a no body among nobodies to the king.

Anyone who was someone to him was unsuccessful, but here is this nobody, kid who God uses to reveal the truth to.

This teaches us that God uses those whom He chooses, no matter a nobody, a teenage boy, or what to reveal the good news to others.

He gets the most glory out of using the low rung folks to reveal truth to the wise of this world, so that no flesh could glory in His presence.

Arioch presents Daniel to the king.

III.

Daniel before the King, v.26-30

The King asks Daniel, note that mention is made of his Aramaic name ‘Belteshazzar’ which means ‘bel protects the king/life’.

He asks him if he can make known the dream and its interpretation.

This is the same question the Eunuch asked Philip: can you make known to me the scripture?

that which I do not understand.

Same implied question Belshazzar asked Daniel in chapter 5

or Pharoah to Joseph in

really anyone who is troubled by a passage of Scripture.

Who can tell me what it means?

The question the king asks though is probably one of doubt, ‘can you really . .

.?’

one point of interest here is that the king must have been at the very least a bit intrigued by this youth who was in exile because he himself, the king, had defeated his king with ease and destroyed his city.

Furthermore, that his own wise men could not perform as he had commanded.

It must surely have surprised him of this turn of events.

That such a youth from a defeated country would be able to render some comfort to his troubled mind and soul.

I would suggest to you that you might face similar doubt at times that the way God is working things out in your life is really going to work.

It may seem that the only thing that really makes sense to you is the worlds way of doing things.

Here is a classic example, as mentioned above in .

The idea that we would be saved to eternal life by the death of someone else is complete folly to the unbeliever.

It makes no sense at all.