Reflections on Daniel 2

Daniel 02 (Contemporary English Version)
1. During the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had such horrible nightmares that he could not sleep.
   
2. So he called in his counselors, advisors, magicians, and wise men,
   
3. and said, "I am disturbed by a dream that I don't understand, and I want you to explain it."
   
4. They answered in Aramaic, "Your Majesty, we hope you live forever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream, and we will explain what it means."
   
5. But the king replied, "No! I have made up my mind. If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be chopped to pieces and your houses will be torn down.
   
6. However, if you do tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be greatly rewarded and highly honored. Now tell me the dream and explain what it means."
   
7. "Your Majesty," they said, "if you will only tell us your dream, we will interpret it for you."
   
8. The king replied, "You're just stalling for time,
   
9. because you know what's going to happen if you don't come up with the answer. You've decided to make up a bunch of lies, hoping I might change my mind. Now tell me the dream, and that will prove that you can interpret it."
   
10. His advisors explained, "Your Majesty, you are demanding the impossible! No king, not even the most famous and powerful, has ever ordered his advisors, magicians, or wise men to do such a thing.
    
11. It can't be done, except by the gods, and they don't live here on earth."
    
12. This made the king so angry that he gave orders for every wise man in Babylonia to be put to death, including Daniel and his three friends.
    
13. (SEE 2:12)
    
14. Arioch was the king's official in charge of putting the wise men to death. He was on his way to have it done, when Daniel very wisely went to him
    
15. and asked, "Why did the king give such cruel orders?" After Arioch explained what had happened,
    
16. Daniel rushed off and said to the king, "If you will just give me some time, I'll explain your dream."
    
17. Daniel returned home and told his three friends.
    
18. Then he said, "Pray that the God who rules from heaven will be merciful and explain this mystery, so that we and the others won't be put to death."
    
19. In a vision one night, Daniel was shown the dream and its meaning. Then he praised the God who rules from heaven:
    
20. "Our God, your name will be praised forever and forever. You are all-powerful, and you know everything.
    
21. You control human events-- you give rulers their power and take it away, and you are the source of wisdom and knowledge.
    
22. "You explain deep mysteries, because even the dark is light to you.
    
23. You are the God who was worshiped by my ancestors. Now I thank you and praise you for making me wise and telling me the king's dream, together with its meaning."
    
24. Daniel went back to Arioch, the official in charge of executing the wise men. Daniel said, "Don't kill those men! Take me to the king, and I will explain the meaning of his dream."
    
25. Arioch rushed Daniel to the king and announced, "Your Majesty, I have found out that one of the men brought here from Judah can explain your dream."
    
26. The king asked Daniel, "Can you tell me my dream and what it means?"
    
27. Daniel answered: Your Majesty, not even the smartest person in all the world can do what you are demanding.
    
28. But the God who rules from heaven can explain mysteries. And while you were sleeping, he showed you what will happen in the future.
    
29. (SEE 2:28)
    
30. However, you must realize that these mysteries weren't explained to me because I am smarter than everyone else. Instead, it was done so that you would understand what you have seen.
    
31. Your Majesty, what you saw standing in front of you was a huge and terrifying statue, shining brightly.
    
32. Its head was made of gold, its chest and arms were silver, and from its waist down to its knees, it was bronze.
    
33. From there to its ankles it was iron, and its feet were a mixture of iron and clay.
    
34. As you watched, a stone was cut from a mountain--but not by human hands. The stone struck the feet, completely shattering the iron and clay.
    
35. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed and blown away without a trace, like husks of wheat at threshing time. But the stone became a tremendous mountain that covered the entire earth.
    
36. That was the dream, and now I'll tell you what it means.
    
37. Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings, and God has highly honored you with power
    
38. over all humans, animals, and birds. You are the head of gold.
    
39. After you are gone, another kingdom will rule, but it won't be as strong. Then it will be followed by a kingdom of bronze that will rule the whole world.
    
40. Next, a kingdom of iron will come to power, crushing and shattering everything.
    
41. This fourth kingdom will be divided--it will be both strong and brittle, just as you saw that the feet and toes were a mixture of iron and clay.
    
42. (SEE 2:41)
    
43. This kingdom will be the result of a marriage between kingdoms, but it will crumble, just as iron and clay don't stick together.
    
44. During the time of those kings, the God who rules from heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never fall. It will be like the stone that was cut from the mountain, but not by human hands--the stone that crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. Your Majesty, in your dream the great God has told you what is going to happen, and you can trust this interpretation.
    
45. (SEE 2:44)
    
46. King Nebuchadnezzar bowed low to the ground and worshiped Daniel. Then he gave orders for incense to be burned and a sacrifice of grain to be offered in honor of Daniel.
    
47. The king said, "Now I know that your God is above all other gods and kings, because he gave you the power to explain this mystery."
    
48. The king then presented Daniel with a lot of gifts; he promoted him to governor of Babylon Province and put him in charge of the other wise men.
    
49. At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to high positions in Babylon Province, and he let Daniel stay on as a palace official.
    
    

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    Daniel, a mere exile in Babylon, brought as a captive of war, was suddenly thrust into power as a Babylonian authority, as outlined in the events of this chapter. As was true of Jeremiah, the book preceding Daniel, it is also true of Daniel that no event was mere coincidence nor were they the workings of men. Though the men involved likely thought themselves to be the cause of the events, it was God who worked behind the scenes orchestrating it all. Such was the case with Daniel in this second chapter.
    
    King Nebuchadnezzar had a recurring dream that troubled him, so he "gave orders to summon the diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams." (2:2) Though this may not have been the first time the king had requested an interpretation of his dreams by these so-called wisemen, in this instance he made the first-time request that they not only interpret the dream but that they reveal the dream itself. Failure to reveal the dream and its interpretation was punishable by death. Upon the failure of those wisemen summoned to fulfill Nebuchadnezzar's request, the king ordered that all wisemen in the country be executed. This included Daniel and his friends who had risen to the status of wisemen through the accounts of chapter one.
    
    Curious as to why he was sentenced to be executed, Daniel inquired as to the reason for this sentence. When he learned what had transpired he sought, and gained, entry to the king and asked that he be given time "so that he could give the king the interpretation." (2:16)  It should be noted in verse 14 that Daniel continued to respond toward his captors with "tact and discretion." Though anger and belligerence would be the natural response, even a justifiable response, under such circumstances, it is not the most productive response. It is certainly not the response that will allow one to be best used by God. So, with the king's permission, Daniel went to his friends and urged them to pray with him for God to give understanding of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its meaning.  God granted their request. When Daniel returned to the king ready to reveal the dream and its meaning, he gave full credit to God saying, "this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind." (2:30)
    
    God was revealing to Nebuchadnezzar, through this dream, his role, and that of other rulers, in the scheme of things. Nebuchadnezzar had just destroyed Judah leaving no Israelite rule in Palestine. Israel's time as a world-wide leader had ended. World events were emerging into a period sometimes referred to as “the times of the Gentiles.” As many Bible students understand it, this time of the Gentiles, which began with the defeat of the Israelites by Nebuchadnezzar, will last until Christ's second advent in which He will become the world-wide ruler and usher in the Millennial period. This was the overarching meaning of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. The huge statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream represented various world rulers, including Nebuchadnezzar, who will have power for a period of time. But they are all eventually crushed, not by human intervention, but by a stone, thought to represent Christ at His second advent. It will be God who intervenes to crush these world powers to establish His own reign.