Daniel 2:17-30--God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Daniel 2:17-30
English Standard Version

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
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.”

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.

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Though the passage titles are not inspired, I like the way the ESV has titled this passage, putting the focus on God and not on Daniel.  This passage is about how God is superior to the gods that the Babylonians worshiped (especially Nebuchadnezzar's god Bel).  First, we see that the LORD is the God who hears and answers the prayers of His people.  Daniel had faith that the LORD would provide the answer before praying, but he still instructed his friends to pray all night for him while he slept so that he could clearly remember the dream and the interpretation that was given to him.  There is no super-spiritual reason given for why Daniel did this--his goal was simply for him and his friends to not be killed by the king.  However, God wants to save Daniel and his three friends for His reasons as the LORD has many lessons to teach the Babylonians about Himself and His people.

Daniel's immediate reaction once receiving the dream and the interpretation was to praise the LORD (we see his song set off in a block to show that it is poetic in nature).  He blesses the name of God forever because He is wise and mighty enough to change the seasons, set up and remove kings, and to give His wisdom and understanding to others like Daniel who lack wisdom and understanding.  (All of these statements have something to do with the dream and its interpretation, but Daniel rightly realizes that this dream is about revealing to the king who God is and what His kingdom is like, not just about revealing the future).

Daniel goes to the captain of the guard who had been appointed to destroy Daniel and his three friends (and all the other wise men) and tole him to save the lives of all the wise men because he would give the king the interpretation that he sought.  Notice that Daniel did not just lobby for his own life or himself and his three friends, he lobbied to save the lives of all of the wise men of Babylon.  The captain of the guard brought Daniel before the king and said, "I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."  (notice how Arioch tries to take credit for finding something he wasn't even looking for--we do that a lot when we try to take credit for our salvation).  Daniel will take the opportunity to set the record straight that this is all the work of his God, but he will take no credit for himself.

First, Daniel sets the stage by saying that none of the king's wise men (he lists all the different roles that have tried and failed) could possibly do this because they are mere men, and for a man this thing is impossible (I would imagine the king getting hot under the collar at this point).  Daniel continues, "But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days."  This would already set the king's mind at ease that he would start thinking this dream did not mean something was going to happen to him right now (not necessarily true).  It was because of the king laying in bed and wondering about the future that the LORD gave the king this dream.  The king imagined his own kingdom would cover the whole world and last forever.  Daniel reminds the king that it is not by any earthly wisdom that he knows the dream or its interpretation, but that all glory goes to God because God wants the king to understand the meaning of the dream that He gave to the king, but He wanted Daniel to deliver the meaning to the king.  The LORD knows not only the dream and the interpretation, but the thoughts of the mind of a pagan king and can give dreams to answer questions that weren't asked directly of Him.  I think that would be even more frightening to the king than the dream (which we will talk about next time).