“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6
In Daniel 1, King Nebuchadnezzar has it all, but in chapter 2, he starts having problems. He starts having dreams, which we’ll see throughout the book, and it turns out there’s only one man for the job to rightly interpret them, and that’s the man of God, Daniel.
Some will ask why God uses dreams and visions to communicate with people. It’s because people tend to find the Lord in one of two ways: 1) persuasion and 2) power. Some people find the Lord through persuasion. They have mental objections to and questions about the Christian faith, so they need evidence, reasoning, and facts to get their questions answered. Others come through power. They get healed, an angel shows up, they have a vision or dream, God speaks to them, or some other supernatural thing happens. In both ways, God reveals Himself to His people.
This dream in Daniel 2 troubled Nebuchadnezzar and kept him up all night. He brings all the fake, false, counterfeit knowledge seekers, such as magicians and sorcerers, in to attempt to interpret the dream. Not only do they have a job to do, but their lives are on the line, as he says in 2:5, “…if you do not make known to me the dream and it’s interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.” That’s a rough performance review right there. If you think you’ve got a rough boss, that’s a really rough boss. He wants them to do the impossible and read his mind, or he’s going to dismember them and burn their house to the ground, and he has the authority to do so.
All these false prophets who work for him tell him, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand…” (2:10) meaning he’s got a God-sized problem, and they’re not God nor do they work for God. So he throws them out; he’s going to kill them, and then Daniel shows up.
Just like in chapter one, Daniel has “prudence and discretion” (2:14). When you’re under pressure, you need prudence. His life and the lives of his friends are on the line, and rather than screaming, yelling, and having a nervous breakdown, he has prudence, and it’s consistent throughout the book and throughout his life. After he hears the dream, he asks for a little time, and it’s granted, which is exactly what the godless enchanters and sorcerers asked for and were turned down. The point is this: If you belong to the Lord and are serving God, you may get grace and opportunity where others get punishment.
In tomorrow’s devotional we will look deeper into the life of King Nebuchadnezzar.
Pray and ask God to reveal the work He has for you to do in your family and your workplace.
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