Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
God's Conversation With a King #1
King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. The King was desperate to understand its meaning. “I want all my Magicians, Wisemen, and Astrologers to come and tell me my dream.”
“Oh King, what do you mean?”
“You heard me! Tell me my dream!!” The King glared at his servant, waiting for his reply.
His indignant stare caused panic in the Wiseman’s heart. “No one on earth can do what the king asks! Only the gods can do such things, but they do not live with men.”
“No. You tell me, no!! I, Nebuchadnezzar, have told you what I want. If you can’t or won’t comply, you will die.” The king gave the order to execute all the Wisemen in his kingdom. His executioners immediately went to carry out his command.
Daniel, the leader of the Jewish Wisemen, asked for time to pray and seek God about the dream. He had faith that God would give him the dream and its meaning. And God answered his prayer. Without a moment’s delay, Daniel went to Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel told the King, “The Lord has given you this great wealth and a kingdom above all others. He has shown you what will come to pass. Three kingdoms inferior to yours will rise after you and will be destroyed. During the days of those kings and kingdoms, God will set up His kingdom that will never end.”
The king honored Daniel and made him ruler of the province of Babylon and leader of all its Wisemen.
I originally wrote this in my book, Jesus and His Early Life. See the link. I was trying to imagine why the Wisemen would travel great distances to see Jesus, the newborn King of the Jews. That study led me back to the prophecy found in Daniel 2.
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God And A Proud King #1
Daniel 2:31
It was a sad day when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem. I can imagine a sense of shock and outrage when he walked into God’s temple and took some of His sacred things back to Babylon. (Daniel 1:2). He also brought back many people as servants and slaves. Daniel was among those taken. It was a major victory for the King. I can almost hear him brag about his god helping him defeat the great God of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar had no idea that the God of Heaven had given this dream to him.
The King of Babylon insulted God and thought the entire world revolved around him. He wanted the dream told to him and started killing all the Wisemen for not complying with his unrealistic demands. He thought he was like God and held the power of life and death. Then, in Daniel 3, he demanded that all people in his kingdom bow down to worship him and his golden image. But in Daniel 4, the God of Heaven gave him a lesson in humility.
On the other hand, Daniel did what no other Wiseman in the King’s court could do. But he didn’t take glory for God’s miraculous revelation. He told the King that the God of Heaven had revealed the secrets of his dream. (Daniel 2:27-28). Daniel knew it was an act of sheer mercy that the Lord revealed the King’s dream and interpretation. He even had his Hebrew friends pray for God’s mercy and God’s wisdom and knowledge to save their lives (Daniel 2:16-23).
I can only imagine how the King felt as Daniel revealed his dream. I want to describe this dream in my own words. I hope to simplify the dream and its interpretation. There was a beautiful image of what I would call a soldier. He had a gold head and protective armor of silver, bronze, and iron. Seconds later, Nebuchadnezzar watched a rock strike the magnificent soldier. The rock caused the soldier to explode and scatter his remains in the wind. All evidence of his existence was gone. Then the rock became a great mountain that spread throughout the earth.
Did the King have many disturbing nightmares about this great soldier? We can’t say. One thing is for sure. When God revealed the dream to him, the King knew he could trust Daniel’s interpretation. He might have even slept better, knowing the dream’s interpretation.
Daniel’s 4 Kings
Daniel identified Nebuchadnezzar as the gold head in the image of the soldier. The silver, bronze, and iron were kingdoms that would come after him. At first, it was disappointing that Daniel didn’t reveal the names of these kings or kingdoms. But, thank God, scholars and historians have identified them for us:
The Medo-Persians led by Cyrus the Great,
The Greeks and Alexander the Great,
The Romans and their Emperor Julius Caesar
See the link for a brief discussion of Daniel and these kingdoms.
Concluding Comments
First, Daniel 2:44 mentions the God of Heaven setting up an eternal Kingdom during the days of these kings. We all know that Christ came during the Roman Empire’s global dominance. They, like Babylon and the other kings before them, faded and passed away. Yeah, there is a small trace of these nations, but they are not even close to the major world powers they once were. But God’s Kingdom is everlasting and continues to increase. It is a Heavenly Kingdom that no ruler on Earth can destroy. It keeps growing in the hearts of those who accept and believe in Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
Second, the God of Heaven wanted to teach Nebuchadnezzar that there was only one God, and it was not him. This may be the biggest lesson God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to learn. But he didn’t understand and commanded people to worship him and the golden image in the next chapter. It’s going to take a great miracle and some extreme measures for him to realize what the God of Heaven wanted him to learn. We’ll talk more about his journey as our story in Daniel continues.
Third, Daniel lived to see the beginning of the Medo-Persian Empire. See Daniel 1:21, 6;28, and 10:1 that mentions Cyrus. He also worked with Darius, another king in the Medo-Persian Empire (see Daniel chapters 5-6, 9, 11). It must have been a tremendous blessing to see God’s plan for the nation of Israel unfold right before his eyes. Before our study is over, God will reveal alot more exciting things to him.
Thank you for joining me on a journey through the life of Daniel, a prophet who shaped the lives of kings. Have a great day.
Your friend, the Christian Writer
Your friend, the Christian Writer