A Bigger Story

Daniel 2:1–24 ESV

1 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. 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.” 24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

A Troubling Situation

Daniel 1 reminded us that the God of Israel is still in control, even when leaders fail and new ones take over. Nebuchadnezzar was not victorious by his own strength but by God’s permission. God had a bigger and longer plan in mind. His plan was to prepare the world for Jesus Christ, our solution for life. In Chapter 2, God gave Nebuchadnezzar a puzzling dream that would foreshadow God’s plan in Jesus. In this study, we will focus on the events leading up to the dream, and next week we will study the dream.

A Troubled King

The situation of Daniel and his friends sounds familiar to the experience of Joseph in Genesis 39-45. Joseph was also taken to a foreign land at a young age. And God used him to interpret the dream of a troubled King. Joseph showed integrity and confidence in God in a foreign and ungodly land. God was with Joseph and showed steadfast love to him in a foreign land. Nebuchadnezzar most likely had other dreams before, but this one caused him to have insomnia and great worry. In the Ancient East, leaders often placed a great emphasis on dreams. To them, dreams were windows to the future, and if understood properly, they could properly prepare for it. Nebuchadnezzar needed an interpretation and peace of mind, so he turned to his regular sources. However, the solutions of Chaldea and the like would prove insufficient. The wisdom of this world will never match up to God’s wisdom.

Paranoia will Destroy Us

Nebuchadnezzar was troubled to the point of paranoia. He would not allow his advisors to do their routine of interpreting troubling dreams. Usually, the king would give the dream, and then the wise men would interpret their methods. We might compare them to our modern psychic advisors, who start with some information and proceed to expound it with “hidden knowledge”. But in this instance, the king insisted that they give the information and the interpretation. Unfortunately, the wise men were better at fiction than with facts. Verse ten summarizes their response.

Daniel 2:10 ESV

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.

The king would not entrust the dream to them lest they steer him in the wrong direction. When they could not provide the dream and the interpretation, the king responded in greater paranoia and declared death for all the wise men of the land. This included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

Educated but not Indoctrinated

The Babylonian culture emphasized wisdom without God. It included studying nature, spirituality, and manipulation of the seen and unseen world to navigate life. Even today, our modern world still emphasizes sources of wisdom apart from God. Human wisdom and science may have replaced the magic arts of the Chaldeans as the only way to view life, but they fail to guide us in the way of truth. Only in God’s Word can we find God’s wisdom which reveals to us Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Be careful that your education, experience, and knowledge do not entice you to wander away from the God who is all-wise. Daniel and his friends were immersed in a culture and ideology that contradicted God’s desire and commands. Although Daniel knew the ways of the Chaldeans very well, Daniel chose to rely on God.

Daniel’s Request

Daniel’s problems just seemed to multiply. First, The King took him against his will out of his homeland to a foreign area. Second, the king forced Daniel to learn the ways of a pagan culture to serve in the royal court of a pagan king. And now, he and his friends encountered the threat of execution for the failure of the wisdom of Babylon. But just like before, Daniel relied on the One True God. He approached the Captain of the Guard with prudence and wisdom to request an opportunity to meet with the king. God would give Daniel wisdom to approach the king and meet the challenges of the day.

Proverbs 17:27 ESV

27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 16:13–14 ESV

13 Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right. 14 A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, and a wise man will appease it.

Even after three years of training in the ways and methods of the Chaldeans, Daniel knew that truth and wisdom come only from the God of Israel. Daniel acted in faith to request a meeting with the king. He had confidence that God would give reveal an understanding to this unprecedented situation. He gathered his God-fearing friends to join him in seeking the mercy of God. God honored the prayer for wisdom. Just like we learned in James 1:5, God is the source of wisdom for all times and seasons, especially trials.

James 1:5 ESV

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Daniel praises God

God showed His faithfulness to Daniel. And in response, Daniel composed this song of praise. Let’s look at a summary of the statements in this song.

God is eternal, and He is eternally beyond our knowledge and wisdom

God moves the geopolitical leaders according to His grand plan

God is the true source of wisdom; all else is “fake news”

God has a history that shows Him to be faithful.

God answers prayers for His glory

The Big Story

After God revealed the mystery, Daniel went to the King with great confidence, and God again gave Daniel success. On one level, our text shows us the blessing of trusting and obeying God that we should emulate. But alongside this is a larger story. It is the story of God working to draw Nebuchadnezzar to himself. God does this through things like troubling dreams and complicated problems. It is not until the end of Daniel 4 that we see the effect of God stirring the heart of this king. The pagan king will eventually become one who worships the One True God. Daniel may appear like an unfortunate actor in this drama that God is overseeing as he enters the dangerous world of the King. But God allowed this because He is sovereignly at work in the world and in the lives of his people. We can stand amazed at God, who is able to seemingly multi-task his work in the life of Daniel, his friends, the King, and the whole world.

As we reflect upon this, we should consider that God is always at work in ways that we may or may not recognize at first. Even when it appears that He has abandoned his people, He is presently at work in unseen ways. He may be allowing troubling dreams, uncomfortable conflicts, and the consequences of our sin so that we would turn our attention to Him. Therefore, we must remain in Him. We must keep our trust in Him.

How are you?

How are you responding to your current situation? Are you relying upon your experience, skills, education, or other things instead of God? Does the wisdom of this age appear more reliable than trust in God? Have you shifted your faith from God to something else? If so, turn your eyes back to God.

Have are you responding to the current events? Are you scared, worried, depressed, or confused? These are normal responses, but they are not your dwelling place. Our dwelling place is with Christ because He has chosen to dwell with us.

Daniel 2:11 ESV

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.”

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

While we should be concerned about what is happening in the world concerning movements, ideology, and politics, we should not be so distracted that we fail to recognize that God is at work in the lives of those around us who have yet to entrust themselves to Him. Pray that they will experience the hand of God’s grace as He seeks to draw them toward himself. Pray for wisdom and prudence as you interact with them. What may appear as a losing situation can be a turning point or another step in their coming to God. Remember that God is the one writing the story. Let us be faithful and obedient participants in the amazing history He is writing. May he be glorified in all things.