On Daniel 2

One night, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. "His mind was troubled and he could not sleep." (v. 1) How many times has this happened to me? I lie awake going over and over things in my mind. No matter how tired I am, I just can't sleep! Sometimes God just wants to tell me something, as He was trying to tell Nebuchadnezzar something. If I will just stop and listen to Him or do what He is asking me to do, peace will come.

"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.'" (v. 5) This seems a bit severe! Imagine having a sleep-deprived dictator tell you that if you don't tell him what he just dreamed about and what it means, he will not only kill you, but cut you into pieces and destroy your home (not that you would care after you've been cut into pieces!). Those servants must have been shaking! I think it's funny how they handled it. They nervously replied, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it." (v. 7) Do you think their voices were quivering? I think mine would have been!

I like how God used this to glorify Himself and help the king see He is the only God. The astrologers set things up nicely when they responded, "Who one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men." (v. 11) Don't they? There is One who does, as He is about to reveal! (But not before the king, in his anger, orders the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. Unfortunately, this included Daniel and his friends, who weren't there at the time.)

When the commander of the king's guard showed up at Daniel's place to execute him, Daniel, of course, asks "with wisdom and tact" (v. 14) what's going on. Again, God is in control, and the king allows Daniel some time to interpret his dream. Daniel and his friends "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." (v. 18) Daniel and his friends are the only ones who turn to God. Even the wise men, who said that the gods could reveal the dream to the king, did not turn to their gods. How hopeless and depressing is it to believe in gods you don't feel comfortable turning to in your time of need?

And of course, God, being the sovereign, holy, wonderful God He is, revealed the dream to Daniel in a vision. And what is Daniel's response? "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His..." (v. 20). This prayer of praise and thanksgiving goes on until verse 23. How often do wonderful things happen in my life, and I forget to thank God? I am usually pretty quick to turn to Him when I'm in trouble, but when the trouble's gone, my tendency is to forget to thank God for His help. I need to follow Daniel's example instead.