Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
DANIEL 2
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”
4 Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
Application Notes
2:1-11 Dreams were considered to be messages from the gods, and the wise men were expected to interpret them. Usually the wise men could give some sort of interpretation as long as they knew what the dream was about. This time, however, Nebuchadnezzar also demanded to be told the dream. God sent a series of dreams to Nebuchadnezzar with prophetic messages that could be revealed and understood only by a servant of God. People from other time periods who received dreams from God include Jacob (Genesis 28:10-15), Joseph (Genesis 37:5-11), Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker (Genesis 40), Pharaoh (Genesis 41), Solomon (1 Kings 3:5-15), and Joseph (Matthew 1:20-24).
2:10-11 The astrologers told the king that ·no one on earth· could know the dreams of another person. What the king asked was humanly impossible. But this set up Daniel to show God's power. Daniel could tell what the king had dreamed, and he could also give the interpretation because God was working through him. Daily we face many apparently impossible situations that would be hopeless if we had to handle them with our limited strength. But God specializes in working through us to achieve the impossible.
2:10-11 The astrologers were unable to persuade the king with any amount of logic or rational argument. The king asked for something impossible and wouldn't let anyone change his mind. When power goes to a leader's head, whether at work, at home, or in the church, that leader may demand the impossible from his or her subordinates. At times, this may be the challenge needed to motivate workers to achieve more than they thought they could. At other times, it may just be the rantings and ravings of someone deluded with power. Just as Daniel dealt wisely in this situation, we can do the same by asking God to give us wisdom to know how to deal with unreasonable bosses.
2:11-12 By answering that the gods “do not live among humans” the astrologers betrayed their concept of the gods. They were admitting that they had no supernatural power backing them up. They believed in their gods, but that belief made no difference in their ethics or their wisdom. King Nebuchadnezzar was furious because their response revealed his suspicions that they were all simply telling him what he wanted to hear. Be careful always to speak the truth, not covering it up with convenient ties to protect your self-interest. Even people who do not know God will respect an honest, truth-filled answer.
2:11 The astrologers admitted that their gods did not “live among humans” and thus were unable to help them. Of course their gods weren't present and available—they didn't even exist This exposed the limitations of the astrologers. They could invent interpretations of dreams but could not tell Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed. Although his request was unreasonable, Nebuchadnezzar was furious when his advisers couldn't fulfill it. It was not unusual in these times for astrologers to be in conflict with the king. They sometimes used their craft to gain political influence.
2:16-18 Daniel was at a crisis point. Imagine going to see the powerful, temperamental king who had just angrily ordered your death! Daniel did not shrink back in fear, however, but confidently believed God would tell him all the king wanted to know. When the king gave Daniel time to find the answer, Daniel found his three c·losest, God-honoring friends, and they prayed. When you find yourself in a tight spot, share your needs with trusted friends who also believe in God's power and ask them to pray with you. Prayer accomplishes more than panic ever can. Panic confirms a lack of trust; prayer confirms hope in God. Daniel's trust in God saved not only himself but also his three friends and all the other advisers to the king.
2:19-23 After Daniel asked God to reveal Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, he saw a vision of the dream. Daniel's prayer was answer. Before rushing to Arioch with the news, Danel took time to give God credit for being the source of all wisdom and power and to thank God for answering his request. How do you respond when your prayers are answered? With excitement? Surprise? Relief? When God answers your prayers, don't dash off in your excitement, forgetting to thank him and give him credit for his answer. Match your persistence in prayer with gratitude when your requests are answered.
2:21 If you ever think that you still have much to learn in life or if you ever wish that you knew more about how to handle people, then look to God for wisdom. While educational institutions provide diplomas at great expense, God gives wisdom freely to all who ask him for it. We could pray Daniel's great prayer for wisdom every day. God will always answer us. (See James 1:5 for more on asking God for wisdom.)
2:21 At times we may wonder if God still controls world events. Daniel saw evil rulers with almost limitless power, but he knew and proclaimed that God “deposes kings and raises up others” and that his plans overrule all others. God governs the world according to his purposes. When we see evil and unjust people live long lives while innocent people suffer or die young, we may be tempted to question God. However, just as God was at work guiding Daniel and his friends, protecting and providing for them, he also directs the course of history in our lives. We may not always understand the timing and sequence of events, but assurance of God's sovereign power can bring us peace.
2:24 Daniel now had the knowledge and interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream. He could have used this knowledge for his own self-interest, to promote himself or curry favor. Instead, he selflessly thought of his friends and all the other advisers, even those who did not follow the living God. Think of those impacted by your decisions, especially when you are under stress. Speak up to protect the people around you from harmful decisions made by others.
2:27-30 Before Daniel told the king anything else, he acknowledged God's help, explaining that he knew the dream not through his own wisdom but only because God had revealed it to him. How easily we take credit for what God does through us! This robs God of the honor and gratitude that he alone deserves. Instead, we should be like Daniel and use our God-inspired actions to point people to him.
2:31-47 The head of gold on the statue in the dream represented Nebuchadnezzar, ruler of the Babylonian Empire. The silver chest and two arms represented the Medo-Persian Empire, who conquered Babylon in 539 BC. The belly and thighs of bronze were Greece and Macedonia under Alexander the Great, who conquered the Medo-Persian Empire in 334 through 330. The legs of iron represented Rome, who conquered the Greeks in 63. The feet of clay and iron represented the breakup of the Roman Empire, when the territory Rome ruled divided into a mixture of strong and weak nations. The type of material in each part of the statue depicted the strength of the political power it represented. The rock cut out of the mountain depicted God's Kingdom, which would be ruled eternally by the Messiah, the King of kings. The dream revealed Daniel's God as the power behind all earthly kingdoms.
2:44 God's kingdom will never be destroyed. If you are upset by threats of war, terrorist attacks, mass shootings, or even the prosperity of evil leaders, remember that God, not any world leader, decides the outcome of history. Under God's protection, his kingdom will never be destroyed. Jesus is coming back, and he will make all things right. He will exact judgment on all who oppose God. Those who put their trust in Jesus will be made new to live with him forever. They are members of his kingdom and are secure in him.
2:47 Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel and Daniel's God. If Daniel had taken the credit himself, the king would have honored only Daniel. But because Daniel proclaimed God as the source of his wisdom, the king honored both of them. Part of our mission in this world involves knowing God and making him known to unbelievers. We can do that by giving God credit for what he does in our lives. Our acts of love and compassion will impress some people, and if we give God credit for our actions, they will want to know more about him. One way to practice giving God credit is to keep a journal of answered prayers. This will help you (1) recall how God has touched your life, (2) reflect on these experiences periodically, and (3) share them with others.
2:49 After being named ruler over the whole province of Babylon and placed in charge of the wise men, Daniel requested that his companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, be appointed as his assistants. Daniel knew he could not handle such an enormous responsibility without capable assistants, so he chose the best men he knew. A competent leader never does all the work alone; he or she knows how to delegate and supervise. Here, Daniel surrounded himself with people he trusted completely. They shared the same faith, goals, and past experiences. God amazingly provided a way for these four incredible men to serve in places of authority throughout Babylon. We can also be assured that God is working behind the scenes today, even in places and cultures where those in authority reject him.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)