Daniel Chapter 2 (Part 2)

Daniel Chapter 2 (Part 2)

The Mystery Was Revealed to Daniel during the Night

King Nebuchadnezzar was furious because no one could tell him what his dream was, and he issued a decree to put death to all the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his friends.

From Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, Daniel got to know the king’s harsh decree. He went in and asked the king for time because Daniel need to pray and ask God first. He did not know what the king’s dream was, but he knew that the God he trusted knew. Only this God knew, and only this God could.

Daniel told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about this matter, urging them to plead to the God of heaven for mercy concerning the mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

In chapter 1, Daniel had demonstrated a testimony of faith. Through his faith in God, he resolved not to eat food sacrificed to idols, nor let such food defile him. God who searches hearts preserved Daniel and his friends. Even though they ate only vegetables and drank water, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.

Daniel and his three friends refused to take food offered to idols, thus before God separating themselves from the Babylonians. Now, because of the dream, the king wanted to kill all the wise men, including Daniel and his friends. Faced with such a pressing situation, they must pray to God to separate them, to protect them from being killed like any other wise men of Babylon, otherwise there would be no witness. (no difference between them and those wise men of Babylon)

★ The wise men of Babylon were idol worshippers.

Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.

They have mouths but cannot speak;

eyes, but they cannot see;

they have ears, but cannot hear,

noses, but they cannot smell;

they have hands, but cannot feel,

feet, but they cannot walk;

nor can they utter a sound with their throats.

Those who make them will be like them,

and so will all who trust in them. (Psalm 115:4-8).

★ Daniel and his friends, however, were men of God. God they trusted was the God who created heavens and earth and all things, who ruled over all things; everything was in God’s hands. They believed that God would surely open a way for them. Therefore, they prayed to the God in heavens, asking for His mercy and to separate them from the Babylonians.

→ God heard their prayer: “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God in heavens.” (Daniel 2:19)

• God made it clear to Daniel that king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was a “mystery.”

• God revealed “the mystery” to Daniel through a vision, which occurred “at night.” Night is a time of great quiet, and also a time when extraordinary things happen.

★ Examples in the Bible:

• That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. (Dan 5:30)

• As soon as Judah had taken the bread, he went out and it was night. (John 13:30)

• Jesus was arrested at night. (John 18:1-9)

• The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, Revelation 16:15)

→ Daniel responded with praise and thankfulness. (Daniel 2:20-23)

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.

He changes times and seasons; he set up kings and deposes them;

He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

He reveals deep and hidden things;

He knows what lies in darkness; and the light dwells with him.

I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers;

You have given me wisdom and power;

You have made known to me what we asked of you,

You have make known to us the dream of the king.”

• Why did Daniel say, “He changes times and seaons, sets up kings and deposes them ……”? Because king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was about changing times; a dream about deposing and setting up a king. This dream was telling Nebuchadnezzar: You are a king, but God reigns in the kingdom of men.

• God is light. God knows all that is in darkness; God knows what King Nebuchadnezzar is thinking right now.

• God revealed the dream to Daniel through a vision, and thus Daniel knew the meaning of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and was able to interpret it.

• Daniel clearly understood that this mystery was not something he could know through his own cleverness; it was a gift of wisdom and power from God. “For ever and ever, for wisdom and power are his”. Therefore, he gave glory to God, saying, “I thank and praise you, God of my fathers. You have made known to me what we asked of you, and you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

• Then Daniel asked Arioch, the king’s captain of guard, to take him to the king so that he could tell the king the interpretation of his dream.

→ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from the Judah who can tell the king what his dream means” (Daniel 2:25).

• There were many wise men among the Babylonians, but Arian said he “found a man among the exiles from the Judah ” who could interpret the king’s dream, and this man was so lowly, “among the exiles from the Judah.”

• By the way, it was not Arioch who “found” Daniel who could interpret the king’s dream. It was Daniel who initiated the communication.

• The king asked Daniel, who was called Belshazzar, “Can you tell me my dream and its interpretation?” The king had already asked other wise men this question, but none could tell him his dream; now the king asked Daniel the same question.

→ Daniel replied:

“No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and visions that passed through your mind as you lay on your bed are these: As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind…….” (Daniel 2:27-30)

• The king’s dream was a mystery, and no one could know it, including Daniel. But God revealed the mystery to Daniel through a vision, and Daniel knew it very clearly and told the king, “…… this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men, but so that you, O king, may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind……”

→ Nebuchadnezzar, lying in bed, pondered the future:

• The Babylonian kingdom was vast, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River.

• King Nebuchadnezzar, ruling over such a large and powerful territory, began to wonder in his second year on the throne: how long could his kingdom last? Could it last forever?

• As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about it at night. The king’s dream was a mystery, but only God in heaven can reveal mysteries. God is the revealer. God used the dream to tell King Nebuchadnezzar about the future.

→ “The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some the articles from the temple of God.” (Daniel 1:2)

• It is “The Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah…… into his hand”. Therefore, we need to know something very important: God had entrusted the king of Judah, its people and the land into hand of the king of Babylon.

• The king of Babylon was God’s servant, whom God used to discipline his people because they disobeyed God. The prophet Jeremiah spoke of a kingdom coming from the north to destroy Judah and take its people captive.

• However, the people of Judah were descendants of Abraham. God had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and later with David. God would not break his covenant, nor would he betray his covenant. God would surely watch over his people. Now God handed his people and the land over to the king of Babylon; God must have a plan.

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