The purpose of the Book of Daniel is to encourage the people of God in times of suffering. This chapter focuses on the suffering of God's people due to loss of national freedom. There is a prediction that Israel will face a lengthy period of foreign domination. However, God is in control and eventually the people of God will enjoy final victory when Messiah comes. The study is broken into two parts. The first will look at the historical circumstances of Daniel while in the second part the prophecy of Daniel chapter two will be examined.

I. Introduction (2:1)

1) Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.

This is a nightmare not a simple dream. It was so disturbing to him that he could not sleep. Here is the most powerful man in the world and he is impotent in the hands of God. Nebuchadnezzar, the conqueror of Babylon, the victor over Assyria, the plunderer of the great City of Hamath is filled with fear. God shakes him up. How? He creates in his mind a frightening image which topples and crashes to the ground. God is the source of this dream. Daniel says to the king “there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and He hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” This revelation is from God.

It is interesting that no matter how rich or powerful you are these things do not guarantee you happiness or peace of mind. Here was a great man. He had riches, status, lands and power. When he said ”jump!” you said “how high.” Two men are set in contrast to one another, Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. Daniel who had cause to be afraid was filled with confidence. Nebuchadnezzar on the other hand is filled with fear.

II. The Demands of Nebuchadnezzar (2:2-11)

A. Calling in the State Department (2)

2) Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

Nebuchadnezzar calls for help. I call this his State Department. This group is made up of some interesting departments. First there are the magicians. The Hebrew word for “magicians” refers to those who wrote with pen. The magician was not like Hodini, the illusionist, but rather more like the scholarly scribes. They were the ones who kept all the legal documents and acted as the King’s historians. Then we have the astrologers. They were trained in the sciences and especially studied the movements of heavenly bodies, the planets and the stars. Unfortunately their science was perverted by their fallacious and groundless belief that they could predict the actions of nations and the outcomes of events by the stars. They are comparable to today’s crystal ball gazers, tarot card dealers, and horoscope reading members of the occult. Then we have the sorcerers. The rendering of the Hebrew mekhashphim, i.e., mutterers, men who professed to have power with evil spirits. These were the group that practice the evil of necromancy. They sought to speak to the dead. Those who hold seances are called “sorcerers”. Finally we have the Chaldeans. Here is the priestly family who led the nation in the worship of the Babylonian gods. Quite a group. Keep in mind that these men represent the most brilliant, powerful, and influential group in the kingdom. They are summoned to the court by Nebuchadnezzar. An emergency meeting of the State Department is called.

B. Conversation at court (3-11)

There will be three rounds of discourse between the king and the state department.

1. First request and reply (3-4)

3) And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”

Nebuchadnezzar makes a simple request, “I want to know what this nightmare dream means.

4) Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.

Seems like a legitimate request.

2. Second request and reply (5-7)

5) The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.

6) “However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

The positive incentives are as desirable as the negative incentives are terrifying. Death and destruction of all that one owns, their family and fortune. The ministry in those days was kind of tough. Money, rewards, and promotion were the blessings.

7) They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

Again the request seems reasonable.

3. Third request and reply (8-11)

8) The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm.

You’re stalling. You’re trying to buy time to cover you’re inability to do what you say you are able to do.

9) “if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”

The king has been suspicious of them. Apparently their prognostications haven’t been very accurate. They reply with three objections.

10) The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.

11) “It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

1. Humanly impossible was their first objection (vs.10). They were right, but there was a man in Babylon who could receive from heaven this information.

2. Their second objection was “No Precedent!”. Again they were correct for no great ruler of the past ever made such a demand.

3. Their last objection was “only the gods possess such information”. But was it not their job to make contact with the gods and ascertain such information?

III. Decree of Nebuchadnezzar (2:12-13)

12) For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13) So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

The innocent suffer with the guilty. How often we see this. Daniel and his friends are seized along with the State Department .

IV. Daniel's crisis (2:14-30)

A. Daniel's confidence (14-16)

14) Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon;

15) he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

16) So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation.

Daniel did not know the dream when he made the request, but he knew the One who had the solution. Daniel is walking by faith and not by sight and we see his inner strength. What do we do in the time of crisis? How do we handle problems? The steps that Daniel takes are an example to us.

B. Daniel's preparation (17-23)

1. Fellowship (17)

17) Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

Battle partners! Galatians 6:2 reminds us to”bear one another’s burdens.” We need each other. A Christian without friends in the Lord is poor indeed. Do you have someone you can call and share your concerns? Loneliness and isolation is a problem for many people. The remedy is to establish with others a loving and caring relationship.

This is one of the purposes of the Church. God is in the world today building His church, a spiritual family. In this family we give of ourselves to each other and in return we establish wonderful relationships. Our lives are defined and we find meaning and purpose. How many friends in the church do you have to call upon in a time of trouble?

2. Prayer (18)

18) that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel calls on the character of God. The God we call upon in prayer must not be a stranger to us. We must know Him. God was Sovereign and in absolute control of all things. His life was in the hands of God (John 10:27-29) No one could take his life without God’s permission (Romans 8:31-39). His God was omniscient so he would ask God to tell them the secret, that is of the bad dream and its interpretation(Hebrews 4:13).

3. Praise (19-23)

19) Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Daniel does not have a vision, he has a dream. Visions occur in the daytime, dreams occur at night. Daniel gave praise to God. At no time do we find Daniel carried away with his own importance. Daniel is the only person in the world that knows the nightmare and the interpretation. He is about to save the day. He is not a glory grabber. Daniel gives God the glory and the credit because he is orientated to the Grace of God. He does not earn, deserve, or merit the wonderful privilege that God has given him. Dr. Billy Graham on Larry King Live was asked how he felt being on the list of the ten most important men in the century. “Larry, I don’t understand it”, he replied. “I am thankful that people think of me like this, but my success is God given. I am just a poor sinner saved by His grace. “ Here is the principle: The more we know about God, the greater God becomes and the greater God becomes, the less important we become and the less important we become the greater God is able to use us, and the greater God is able to use us, the more important things we do.

Another application is that we find Nebuchadnezzar fearful and angry. Fearful because of the nightmare and angry at the powerlessness of the State department. The State department is scared to death and if they don’t die in the furnace they will all have heart attacks and die of fright. Daniel is calm, cool, and collected.

20) Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.

21) And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel praises God for His eternality and omniscience. These attributes speak of the boundlessness of God. Life that has no beginning and end and knowledge that is total, perfect, and complete. All that can be known, God knows. Two important words now express time as organized by God (Jesus used this phrase Acts 1:7; Paul used this phase in 1 Thessalonians 5:1). Times in Hebrew is IDDAN and its Greek equivalent is CHRONOS. CHRONOS is where we derive the word “chronology.” What does it mean? Events that follow one after another, or a succession of events. This concept of time is expressed theologically as the dispensations: Innocence, Conscience, Human Government, Patriarchal, Law, Church, Tribulation, Millennium, and the Eternal State. God is in control of the succession of events or the dispensations.

Seasons in the Hebrew is ZEMAN and its Greek equivalent is KAIROS. These two words looked at time in longer periods, such as Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. However they are representative of the theological concept “The Ages”: The Age of the Gentiles, the Age of the Jew, the Age of The Church, and the Age of Christ. The dispensations and the ages, “times and the seasons”, explain God’s timetable for history and teach the principle: God controls history.

22) He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.

It is comforting to know that God knows what is in the darkness. The world situation is very dark at times. Difficulties come upon us which we do not understand. The darkness surrounds us. God knows what is in the darkness.

23) “I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; 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 demand.”

Daniel praises and thanks God.

C. Daniel's testimony (24-30)

This section explains who gets the credit. As that great hymn says “To God Be The Glory”.

24) Therefore Daniel went 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; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

25) Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

Note the “I” word, “I have found a man.” Arioch wants the credit. Reread the text. Daniel came to him. Arioch did not have anything to do with this. But this is a revealing contrast between two types of people and unfortunately can be found among Christians as well: The glory-gabbers and the glory-givers. It is obvious that Daniel is the glory-giver for he says “but there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets.” See the remaining verses 26-30.

Lessons:

1. Daniel’s confidence is based upon a knowledge of and a trust in the character of God. Daniel’s God was Sovereign, Powerful, and Awesome. Satan does not want believers to have confidence in God. He wants them to be self-confident, self- reliant and trusting in themselves. Daniel on the other hand does not have self-confidence, but rather divine confidence. Which is better? I want my confidence to be in God and not in Dave Farmer, Proverbs 3:5,6.

2. How did Daniel get this strong faith? Was he born with it? Nol He came by it the same way you and will, by studying the word of God and growing in grace. How else could He know that His God was sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, righteous, eternal, true and never changing.

3. Daniel called upon the Lord and you read his prayer. We see the absence of a number of things like, "Lord, if you get me out of this jam, I will do anything. Lord you are making a big mistake. I could be a big help to you in Babylon. I could be a witness. Or Lord you’re not being fair to me.

4. Fame and fortune do not guarantee happiness. Nebuchadnezzar could buy anything bt peace of mind.

5. God uses prepared believers. Daniel was God's man in the crisis and many Babylonians will be in heaven because of Daniel.

6. Prayer is the believers "Hot line" to God. Daniel was a man prayer. If you would subtract the prayer requests that Daniel made to God on his, others, and the nation of Israel’s behalf recorded in the Book of Daniel, Daniel would not be a very important person. He would not have accomplished very much. There is a great lesson to learn. We have not because we ask not. Daniel had much because he asked much. He knew how to pray and he prayed. The lack of our needs being met is sometimes due to our lack of prayer for those needs.

7. Prayer is the believers “Life Line” . How important is prayer to you? We pray sometimes and when it is most convenient. Prayer is a thing to do and rates along with going to work, shopping, etc. Just another detail of life. Daniel prayed daily because he believed his life depended on it. Do you believe that it is not safe to leave your home without a time of prayer? How important is prayer to you? How important do you think prayer was to Daniel (read ahead, Daniel chapter 6).