Daniel 2.30-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That The Mystery Was Not Revealed To Him Because He Was Wiser Than Others But To Give The King Understanding
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Wednesday March 28, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 2:30-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That The Mystery Was Not Revealed To Him Because He Was Wiser Than Others But To Give The King Understanding
Lesson # 54
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 2:1.
This evening we will study Daniel 2:30, which records Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery was not revealed to him because he possessed more wisdom than the entire human race.
But rather, it was revealed to him for the express purpose that he could make known the interpretation to the king so that he could understand the meaning of the thoughts in his mind.
Daniel 2:1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 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. 11 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.” 12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter. 18 so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. 21 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. 22 It is He who reveals the profound 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 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.” 24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.” 25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.” (NASB95)
“But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man” is composed of the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “but” which is followed by the first person singular personal pronoun ʾǎnā(h) (אֲנָה) (an-aw´), “as for me” and then we have the negative particle lā(ʾ) (לָא) (law), “not” which is followed by the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beth), “for” and its object is the feminine singular noun ḥā∙ḵemā(h) (חָכְמָה) (khok-maw´), “wisdom” and then we have the relative particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which is not translated and is followed by the particle of existence ʾî∙ṯǎy (אִיתַי) (ee-thah´ee), “residing” and then we have the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beth), “in” and its object is the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־י), “me” which is followed by the preposition min (מִן) (min), “more than” and this is followed by the singular construct form of the noun kōl (כֹּל) (kole), “any” which is modifying the masculine plural form of the noun ḥǎy (חַי) (khah´ee), “living man” and then we have the masculine singular noun rāz (רָז) (rawz), “mystery” which is followed by the demonstrative pronoun denā(h) (דְּנָה) (dane-awe), “this” and then we have the third person masculine singular peʿil (Hebrew: qal passive) passive perfect form of the verb gelā(h) (גְּלָה) (ghel-aw´), “has been revealed” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־י), “me.”
The conjunction wa is introducing a statement which stands in contrast to Daniel’s statement in verse 29, which records Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar that the Revealer of mysteries, the God who exercises authority over the heavens, made known to him what will take place in the future by means of a vision in a dream.
The conjunction is introducing a statement which records Daniel telling the king of Babylon that this mystery about the future was not revealed to him because of any wisdom that he possesses more than any other human being.
Therefore, the contrast is between God making known to Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the future and God not revealing this mystery to Daniel because he was wiser than any other human being.
The contrast is between Nebuchadnezzar receiving revelation from God about the future and Daniel implicitly receiving this same revelation from God, which he calls a mystery and says was not revealed to him because he possessed wisdom more than any other human being.
The noun rāz means “mystery” and refers to the content of the king’s dream as well as its interpretation since Daniel 2:26 records Nebuchadnezzar asking Daniel if he could tell him the content of his dream as well as its interpretation.
The content of the dream was a mystery because the king would not reveal it to his wise men and the interpretation was a mystery because the meaning of the dream could only be known if God revealed it.
The verb gelā(h) means “to reveal” and is used with the God the Father as the subject and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun rāz, “mystery.”
The word’s meaning is emphatically negated by the negative particle lā(ʾ), “not” indicating that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that this mystery “was by no means revealed” to him because he possessed more wisdom than any other human being on the face of the earth.
The noun ḥā∙ḵemā(h) means “wisdom” in the sense of having deep understanding and keen discernment through accumulated philosophic or scientific learning.
This noun is the object of the preposition bĕ, which is a marker of cause indicating that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery was by no means revealed to him “because” of any wisdom existing in him.
The particle ʾî∙ṯǎy indicates the possession of something and is used of Daniel possessing wisdom and the first person singular pronomial suffix –î (־ִי) means “me” and is the object of the preposition bĕ, which is a marker of location.
This prepositional phrase along with the particle ʾî∙ṯǎy indicates that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery was by no means revealed to him because he possessed wisdom more than the entire human race.
The preposition min means “more than” since it functions as a marker of comparative degree indicating a comparison between Daniel’s wisdom and the rest of the human race.
The noun ḥǎy is in the plural and means “human beings” or “human race” indicating that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery was by no means revealed to him because of wisdom existing in him more than the entire human race.
The adjective kōl is modifying the noun ḥǎy indicating that Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar that the mystery was by no means revealed to him because of wisdom existing in him more than “the entire” human race.
“But for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind” is composed of the conjunction lā∙hēn (לָהֵן) (law-hane´), “but” which is followed by the preposition ʿǎl (עַל) (al), “for” and this is followed by the feminine singular construct form of the noun diḇ∙rā(h) (דִּבְרָה) (dib-raw´), “the purpose” and then we have the relative particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “of” which is followed by the masculine singular construct form of the noun pešǎr (פְּשַׁר) (pesh-ar´), “interpretation” and then we have the preposition lĕ (לְ) (lamed), “to” and its object is the masculine singular form of the noun mě∙lěḵ (מֶלֶךְ) (meh´-lek), “king” which is followed by the third person masculine plural hafʿel (Hebrew: hiphil) active imperfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ (יְדַע) (yed-ah´), “making known” and then we have the conjunction wa (וְ) (waw), “and” which is followed by the masculine plural construct form of the noun rǎʿ∙yôn (רַעְיֹון) (rah-yone´), “the thoughts of” and then we have the masculine singular construct form of the noun leḇǎḇ (לְבַב) (leb-ab´), “mind” which is followed by the second person masculine singular pronomial suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “your” and then we have the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ (יְדַע) (yed-ah´), “you may understand.”
The conjunction lā∙hēn is a marker of contrast meaning that it introducing a statement which stands in contrast to the previous statement that the mystery was by no means revealed to Daniel because of wisdom existing in him more than the entire human race.
The conjunction is introducing a statement which records Daniel telling the king of Babylon that this mystery was revealed to him in order to enable Nebuchadnezzar to understand the meaning of the vision in a dream about the future.
Therefore, the contrast is between the mystery not being revealed to Daniel because he was wiser than the rest of the human race and this mystery being revealed to him in order to enable Nebuchadnezzar to understand its meaning and significance.
The noun diḇ∙rā(h) means “the purpose” and is the object the preposition ʿǎl, which is a marker of cause since it introduces the reason why an act is performed.
The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to make known” and is used with Daniel as its subject and its object is the interpretation of the king’s dream.
The masculine plural form of this verb is concealing Daniel’s identity in order to give glory to God since in context he has been emphasizing with Nebuchadnezzar that he did not come up with the interpretation on his own but received it from God.
This indicates that the mystery was revealed to Daniel for the express purpose that he would cause the king to know the interpretation.
The noun pešǎr means “interpretation” referring to Daniel interpreting or explaining Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him.
This time the conjunction wa is a marker of result meaning that the word is introducing a statement which presents the result for the previous statement, which says that the mystery was revealed to Daniel for the express purpose that he could make known to the king the interpretation.
Therefore, the conjunction indicates that the mystery was revealed to Daniel for the express purpose that he could make the interpretation known to the king “so that” he could understand the thoughts of his mind, i.e. the thoughts that were in his mind that compose this revelation from God.
The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to understand” and indicates that the mystery was revealed to Daniel for the express purpose that he could make known to the king the interpretation so that the king would understand his thoughts that were in his mind that compose this revelation from God.
The verb denotes that by knowing the interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar would understand or comprehend the meaning of this revelation he received from God that was in the form of a vision.
The noun rǎʿ∙yôn is in the plural construct form and means “thoughts” in the sense of contemplation or reasoning with focus on the content of the king’s thought.
Thus, the word is referring to the visions that God projected into his mind, which described what will take place in the future.
The noun leḇǎḇ means “mind” referring to that aspect of the human soul where a person’s mental activity takes place.
Daniel’s first statement in Daniel 2:30 expresses his great humility and echoes Joseph’s conversation with Pharaoh prior to interpreting his dream.
The interpretation of dreams is not a human art but a gift from God.
Humility is putting the glory and honor of God first in your set of priorities and the needs of other human beings ahead of your own needs.
Daniel’s conversation with king of Babylon reveals that he is putting the glory and honor of God and the needs of Nebuchadnezzar ahead of his own needs and desires.
Daniel’s second statement in Daniel 2:30 makes clear that God was attempting to reach out to this heathen king, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon.
In fact, by giving Nebuchadnezzar this prophetic vision of the future through Daniel, God was attempting to get the king to stop worshipping his gods and worship Him instead.
God’s purpose for giving Nebuchadnezzar this vision of the future was to cause the king to be humbled in the sense that He wanted the king to have proper perspective concerning himself.
God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to acknowledge the fact that his success and the success of his nation was directly attributed to Him.
So by giving the king this dream and having Daniel interpret it for him, God was teaching Nebuchadnezzar that He was sovereign over him and his nation, Babylon.
He was trying to teach the king that He was sovereign over the nations and his kingdom as well.
In fact, God calls Nebuchadnezzar “My servant” in Jeremiah 25:9.
God was intervening in the life of this heathen king, Nebuchadnezzar by giving him this vision of world history and the future of planet earth and by having Daniel interpret this vision for him so that the king knows that this vision is about the future of planet earth.
By having Daniel interpret this dream for him God was trying to communicate to Nebuchadnezzar that there is a God who is sovereign and who has a plan for this earth and humanity and in fact is concerned about him and all of humanity.
The fact that Daniel had a relationship with this God would serve to inform Nebuchadnezzar that it is possible to have a relation with the God of heaven.
God’s purpose in revealing the mystery to Daniel was to demonstrate to the king that He cared about him and was attempting to communicate with him with a view of having a relationship with him.
Babylon was the greatest superpower of the world in the sixth century B.C. and so if God could reach Nebuchadnezzar, then this would open a door for Him to reach out to the inhabitants of the entire Babylonian empire.
Furthermore, God is reaching out to the wise men by having Daniel tell the king the content of the dream as well as its interpretation.
This would no doubt be impressive to the wise men who would seek to know how and from whom Daniel received this great gift.
The occult priests, necromancers, witches and astrologers were deceived by the devil and his kingdom and in bondage to Satan.
Thus, God is seeking to deliver these individuals from bondage to Satan by using Daniel to tell Nebuchadnezzar what he dreamed and to interpret this dream for him.