🔸The fact that Daniel was given wisdom in all visions and dreams at the end of chapter 1 prepares him for the experience in Daniel 2.
- In Daniel 1: Daniel and his friends passed the test while the wise men failed.Â
- In Daniel 2:
• Daniel passed the test of being able to interpret dreams while the wise men failed the test.Â
• God showed that He was in control by revealing the dream and its meaning to Daniel. God did not instruct Daniel to consult the crystal ball, the signs of the zodiac, the psychics, mediums, shamans, witchdoctors, the channellers or the necromancers. God revealed the secret when Daniel and his friends prayed.
•The true God is distinguished from all false gods by the fact that He knows the end from the beginning.
The above indicates clearly that the God of Daniel (The God of the Bible) is superior to the god of Babylon.
🔸King Nebuchadnezzar is given a dream in Daniel chapter 2.
In this dream of Nebuchadnezzar, He has revealed to us the sequence of successive kingdoms that will come onto the scene till the second coming of Christ.Â
God gave Daniel the gift of prophecy to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
🔸The test of a true prophet:Â
•A true prophet lives according to God’s law and the testimony of Jesus (Spirit of Prophecy) – Isaiah 8:20, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 19:10
•A true prophet’s message will come to pass – Jeremiah 28:9
•A true prophet will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit – Matthew 7:20
•A true prophet will lead men to repentance and reform – Jeremiah 23:22
See also the following texts on True and false Prophets (Deuteronomy 13:1-3, Deuteronomy 18:22, Jeremiah 23:21-22, Isaiah 8:20, Deuteronomy 4:29-34)
The devil works through people, but influencing their minds. The devil wanted to kill Daniel and his friends. In Daniel 2:12-13, the devil took advantage of the situation and influenced the mind of the king to kill all of the wise men of Babylon. Instead of being successful in wiping them out, Daniel and his friends were brought to prominence in the kingdom and given cabinet positions.Â
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 1 to 2
1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. This dream disturbed him to the point where he could not sleep. God talks to everyone of us, just as he attempted to speak to Nebuchadnezzar, but we don't always hear His voice because we push it away or crowd it out. However, when a person falls into profound sleep, the God of heaven is able to connect with the stubborn. (Job 33:13-17).
🔸The king now calls upon his trusted interpreters to show him his dream.Â
•Magicians - They practiced superstitious rights and ceremonies of fortune tellers, casters of nativities.
•Astrologers - Pretended to foretell the future events by the study of the stars.
•Sorcerers - Pretended to hold communication with the dead.
•Chaldeans - These were a sect of Philosophers, similar to the magicians and astrologers, who made physic (the art or skill of healing), divinations (discovering future events or unknown things as though by supernatural powers) etc. their study.
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 3 to 9
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
🔸“I know of certainty that ye would gain the time”
We see a fight between the king and the wise men. The king states that the dream has vanished from him, while the Babylonian interpreters attempt to extract information in order to provide some sort of explanation. The king gives them an ultimatum: if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be rewarded and honoured; if you do not, you will be hacked in pieces, and so forth. We can see the king's frantic need for understanding.
The wise men continue to try to buy time from the monarch, and the king is well aware of this, as seen by his response in verses 8 and 9. He informs them that they are attempting to gain time, and he knows that if they can tell him the dream, he will receive an accurate interpretation. But because they can't, he realizes they're just making up the interpretation and ready to spout lies in front of him.
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 10 to 13
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
🔸“There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter”
The Chaldeans freely admit that they have no link or communication with the gods or the other side, despite their claims.
1 Corinthians 2:11-14 demonstrates that only a person connected to the true God can discern God's things, because spiritual things are spiritually discerned. The true God gave the monarch this dream, and only the true God can provide an accurate interpretation. These individuals were clearly not connected to the genuine God, as they were unable to discern this matter.
This also shows that Satan cannot read the thoughts of any person. Besides the fact that Satan does not have the ability to create life, he is also unable to read your mind.
🔸“The king was angry and very furious”
The king now sees the falsehood of their claims and became very furious. He ordered the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed, Daniel and his friends included. This shows that sometimes we are placed at a disadvantage because of other people’s decisions and actions, when it is no fault of our own. But always remember that, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 14 to 18
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
🔸Daniel seeks counsel from God
Immediately after consulting with the king, Daniel returns to his house where Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are present. Daniel reveals unto them the situation at hand so all could come before the throne of grace and partition God for mercy in their time of need, (Hebrews 4:16) also that they would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
🔸The question arises, why was not Daniel and his friends consulted first? For the king had found them 10 times wiser than all the other wise men in Babylon.Â
1. Because they were not called first, it resulted in the complete exposure of the false system the magicians and other pagan teachers held to. They were unable to do what they claimed they could.
2. If they were called first, the other group would not have been brought to a test. God gave the heathen system a chance first, so when they failed they would confess their utter incompetency, even under penalty of death. This would better prepare them to acknowledge God’s hand in this matter, as revealed through Daniel to God’s glory and honour.
3. With Daniel’s and his friend’s lives at stake, they would be led to seek the Lord more earnestly with their whole heart for deliverance.
Daniel Chapter 2 verse 19 to 30
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
🔸“The secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision”
When they entreated the Lord, He honoured them with revealing the secret unto Daniel. But God only honours those who honour Him and follow Him. (1 Samuel 2:30, John 12:26)
Daniel in turn praises God for revealing the matter to him. He then continues on to tell us that wisdom and might belong to God. (Psalms 147:5) That it is God that removes kings and sets them up, for He it is that is ultimately in control. (Jeremiah 27:5-6) Also that God controls the times and seasons and it is God that gives wisdom to the wise. He reveals the deep and secret things, and light dwells with God, for God is light. (1 John 1:5)
Because the matter was revealed to Daniel he went unto Arioch, chief of the executioners, and told him not to destroy the wise men, but to bring him in before the king so he could give him the interpretation. So the wise men were saved because of the man of God. The only reason why the wicked gain any blessings is because of the presence of the righteous (Genesis 18:26-33, Acts 16:25-26; 27:22-24). Arioch approaches the king with pride, for he states that he has found a man to give the king the interpretation.
🔸“God in heaven that reveals secrets”
Daniel points out the false religion of the wise men, astrologers, magicians, and soothsayers that could not show the king anything, reaffirming in the king’s mind that he cannot put his trust in their system of religion. Then he witnesses to the king about the true God in heaven that can reveal the secrets of the king’s heart and make known unto him the matter, for the king was thinking of future events v29. God was revealing unto the king what was going to be in the latter days and what was going to come to pass hereafter from this point forward. So God was revealing to Nebuchadnezzar the future just as he was thinking about this subject.