Daniel 2:24-49 Daniel Interprets the Dream
Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”
Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”
The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”
Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.
“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.”
“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Nebuchadnezzar Rewards Daniel
Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
God has done it! God has given Daniel the dream and its interpretation. Daniel and his friends are saved, as are the rest of the magicians and wise men. Arioch, the commander of the guard, is thrilled, for he had no interest in having to slaughter the magicians and wise men. Now let’s examine the dream.
For reasons known only to God, He has chosen to give this pagan ruler a prophetic dream about his kingdom and the kingdoms to come. In the dream, there is a huge statue of a man with a head of fine gold, a chest and arms of silver, the belly and thighs of bronze, the legs of iron, and the feet a combination of iron and baked clay. A rock Is cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It stikes the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue is crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blows them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that has knocked the statue down becomes a great mountain that covers the whole earth.
The head of gold represents the Babylonian kingdom which will last between 609-539 BC. The silver represents the kingdom of Persia, lasting from 539-333 BC. The bronze represents the Greek kingdom from 333-49 BC. The iron and iron plus clay represents the Roman kingdom lasting from 49 BC-33 AD when Jesus is crucified and rises from the dead. Jesus is the stone cut form a mountain without human hands that smashes everything, reducing it to fine dust, while the Kingdom of God covers the entire earth.
Those of you who are history buffs might argue with the dates for the Roman Empire; however, this is a matter of world domination, not simply the existence of a kingdom. We might well ask why there are no more parts to the statue. What about all the other empires that have arisen subsequently? What about the Ottoman Empire for example, or the British Empire? Perhaps the answer is quite simple: The implications of this dream are not merely political but also spiritual. Once Jesus comes, all other kingdoms will eventually be irrelevant and will equally disappear.
Why does God give this mighty ruler a vision of empires crumbling and disappearing? God wants Nebuchadnezzar to realize that nothing is permanent, not even Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar is amazed at the wisdom Daniel has demonstrated and even bows in worship and commands sacrifices. Nebuchadnezzar praises Daniel’s God and promotes Daniel and his friends; however, there are still more lessons for this proud monarch to learn before he will truly worship God.
For the moment, we can leave Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael rejoicing that God has given Daniel the answers. But there are others in the kingdom who aren’t nearly so happy with this result. Envy and in-fighting among bureaucrats is also as old as humanity. Tomorrow we’ll learn how God has to deliver three believers.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, thank You, that You are a God who knows, who sees, who hears, and who understands. Help us to trust You so that when we are in trouble, we will seek Your solutions and nothing else. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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