Daniel 2:1-49 Daniel Dodges Death & Deciphers Dream

Introduction: Who will win?

Do you ever wonder whether Christianity will win in the end? We tend to see stagnation and decline and struggle for survival, not growth and victory and conquest.

Churches are small. Few in high office in our land have Jesus Christ as Lord. The bible is attacked, ignored or declared outmoded. The name of Jesus Christ is mostly mentioned as a swear word. Christian morality is attacked or ridiculed or redefined. Other religions gain ground. Islam, Eastern Religions, New Age, Atheism, Secular humanism. They attack the very fabric of Christian faith. All seem to get their air time in the modern media, and are regularly trotted out, but not the claims of Christ.

And within the church there is division and deviation. Church leaders join the world in declaring biblical teaching as outmoded and irrelevant. They are worse than the out and out pagans. Or there are the sects, which claim to be Christian, but declare that Jesus is not God.

Friends, these things are not new. Remember what Jesus said:

‘Don’t be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom.’ (Luke 12:32 NIV)

‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them’ (Matthew 18:20 NIV)

Think of the words of the Apostle Paul:

‘The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.’ (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV)

‘Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.’ (1 Corinthians 1:26-27 NIV)

And that is us.

Last year I watched the NRL Grand Final. I watched it about a month after it was played. Because I didn’t get to see the game live, it being played on a Sunday night.

Of course, I knew who won. That was THE reason I actually accepted the invitation. I knew the Saints were going to win. That is the only way to watch the team who for the last 31 years have grasped defeat from the jaws of victory. So I wasn’t worried when they dropped the ball, or gave away a penalty. It didn’t matter when the Roosters scored a try. Because I know how it would turn out in the end. The Saints would win.

Well friend, it is the same with Christianity. The Saints will win, in the end. And today, we’ve read the vision that predicts it all, 600 years before Jesus came to earth. God’s Kingdom will prevail. The game has already been won. The victor has already been determined. Now, as we watch our world, and see the rise and fall of nations, and stock markets, and the mighty and the proud, we can say without arrogance that we know the outcome. We know the end from the beginning. And even if things look bad, we need not worry. The Kingdom of God and his Christ has already prevailed. The Saints will come marching in.

Context

Daniel, you recall, is an exile, an unaccompanied child in a strange land. He and his three refugee friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azaria, have completed their course at the Royal College with distinction. In their final oral exams before the King they’ve topped the class and are better at Babylonian than their teachers. Moreover, they’ve passed a more important test. They kept the Old Testament food laws in a foreign land. They feared Yahweh more than the King.

A Disturbing Dream Endangers Daniel & friends (Daniel 2:1-13)

The King’s Test: Both the Dream & The Interpretation (verses 1-9)

And so the stage is set for their second test. It seemingly occurs very early in their service of the King[1]. Daniel appears on the scene like a new Joseph.

Consider the similarities between Daniel and Joseph (Daniel 2 with Genesis 41). A foreign King’s sleep is disturbed by troubling dreams. His magicians cannot interpret it for him. A young defeated and subjugated Hebrew is found. He had been forcibly removed from his home and now lives as a refugee in a strange land. He comes forward to interpret the dream. He humbly confesses that he has no innate ability. He gives all the credit and glory to the God of the Hebrews for revealing the dream to him (Genesis 41:16; compare Daniel 2:27, 30). And then he interprets the dream. The King is stunned. And he elevates the exiled Hebrew to Prime Minister over his nation.

This is the story of Joseph in Egypt. It is also the story of Daniel in Babylon.

But the stakes are even higher for Daniel than they were for Joseph. Not that Joseph’s life was easy, left to rot in an Egyptian jail after being kidnapped by his brothers, sold as a slave, and falsely accused of rape. And at least Daniel had three Hebrew friends who joined him in prayer, a comfort Joseph didn’t have. But Daniel faces a more intense trial than Joseph. Look with me at verses 4 to 5:

Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O 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. (NIV)

Pharaoh told the dream to Joseph, and asked him to interpret it. But Nebuchadnezzar wants someone to both tell him and interpret the dream. It’s possible he had forgotten the dream[2]. But it’s much more likely that he is testing them[3].

Nebuchadnezzar thinks the Magicians on his payroll are charletons. He suspects they are drawing a cheque for having nothing beyond the gift of the gab. So he sets a test for them. Tell me the dream (something known to me, but not to you, by which I can test your abilities), and then I will know that you can tell me what it means (verse 9).

Notice verse 4, that the astrologers answered in ‘Aramaic’. That marks a change that is not apparent to us as readers of English. Everything up until that point was written in Hebrew. From the word ‘Aramaic’ in chapter 2 verse 4, the Book of Daniel is written in Aramaic until chapter 8.

Hebrew was the language of Israel until the exile. Aramaic was the language of the Persian Empire. Aramaic, not Hebrew, became the language of Palestine down to the time of Jesus. That is, chapters 2 to 8 are written in the international language of the Persian Empire. Chapters 2 to 7 are written for the whole world to learn about the God of Israel[4]. In other words, the very language this chapter was written in indicates it is a revelation for the whole world.

Daniel is going in to the great King Nebuchadnezzar to speak truth to world power. He is going to declare the word of Yahweh, the God of Israel, not just for the next 14 years. But it will pertain to world history for the next 600 years, more than that, till the end of time. You and I, those of us sitting here in this building, are in the Dream that Daniel interprets in a way that we aren’t in Pharaoh’s.

The Kings Wrath: Death Decreed to Wise Men, including Daniel & friends (verses 10-13)

But the stakes get higher still for Daniel. The Astrologers say the King is unreasonable. Only the gods can reveal the dream, and they don’t live among men. So Nebuchadnezzar orders the summary execution of all Babylon’s wise men. So much for all his graduates! And Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, are summarily condemned to execution. I’d say this ups the ante.

Daniel Discernment Delays Decree & Divine Disclosure of Dream (Daniel 2:14-23)

Daniel’s Wisdom and Tact (verses 14-16)

But this is where we see why Daniel is truly a Wise Man. He is facing death. So he goes out to speak to his executioner. Verses 14 and 15:

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. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him[5].

Daniel does not run around screaming hysterically ‘We’re gonna die, we’re gonna die’. He doesn’t have a hissy fit or loose his cool at the unfairness or injustice of the situation. He doesn’t show disrespect for the commander or the King. But he summons all the resources of his self-control, politeness, calmness, delicacy and tact. The King’s executioner goes to kill Daniel. But Daniel stays Arioch’s hand with tact and discretion. And instead of killing Daniel, Arioch ushers Daniel in to speak to the King and ask for time. So Daniel and his friends execution is postponed. And in Daniel’s conduct we have illustrated for us Proverbs 15:1:

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (NIV)

And Proverbs 16:14:

A king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man will appease it. (NIV)

And Ecclesiastes 10:4:

If a ruler’s anger rises against you, do not leave your post; calmness can lay great errors to rest (NIV).

Are you always facing anger and wrath? Are you always getting into trouble? From your boss or manager or employer or creditors? From your colleagues or workmates. From your spouse? From your parents? From your children? From your teachers?

Then you and I need to learn from Daniel. A wise person like Daniel answers with tact and wisdom. A wise person has a gentle answer, not a harsh one. A wise person is calm in the face of danger or injustice, and doesn’t have a hissy fit or dummy spit, but stays at their post and appeases the ruler’s anger with calmness. Mighty God, please give us discernment to be Daniels.

Note too Daniel’s boldness. Tact and wisdom doesn’t mean you are a doormat. People of deep faith are bold. Daniel goes in to an angry King, who has previously refused to give more time, and asks for more time. And God has been preparing the way for Daniel. Just as Daniel found compassion and mercy before Ashpenaz in the Royal College, and Arioch, the Royal slaughterer, so he finds favour from the King himself.

Desperate Prayer for Mercy (verses 17-18)

So what did Daniel do with his extra time? ‘Let us eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die?’ No. Verses 17 and 18:

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 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 (NIV).

Nothing focuses the mind like a dead line. The four friends probably lived together. They seem to have one night’s reprieve. If they don’t come up with something, they face death.

So they ask the God of Heaven, the God of their Fathers, to have mercy on them and reveal the mystery of both the dream and it’s meaning.

James says, ‘Is anyone in trouble?’ He should pray. Daniel was in trouble and prayed. And God heard his prayer.

Are you in trouble? Perhaps it’s not execution. I hope not. But it might be financial trouble, relationship trouble, trouble with children, trouble in the marriage, with a friend, trouble with sickness, with sadness, with work, with home. We should pray. Let us learn from Daniel. Let us decide to be Daniels. Let us plead for mercy from the God of heaven.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere? We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.

The Dream Divinely Revealed & Daniel’s Doxology (verses 19-23)

And God answered Daniel’s prayer. Verse 19:

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. (NIV)

That is, it wasn’t a dream, it was a vision while he remained awake. Daniel probably was praying all night.

And then prayer became praise. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. Daniel praises God. He gives God the glory for revealing the dream: And what does he praise the God of heaven, the God of his Father’s for? Verses 20 to 23:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. ²¹ He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. 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, O God of my fathers: 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.” (NIV)

Is anyone of you happy? Let him sing songs of praise. And that is what Daniel does.

Daniel praises God for his sovereignty over the affairs of nature and humanity. Just as God sets up the four seasons by his wisdom, So God sets up the kingdoms of men, and then brings them down. The entire course of history, human and natural, lies in God’s hands. After all, as the children’s song teaches us, ‘he’s got the whole world in his hands. ‘ God is in control, and nothing happens without his saying so. Nothing happens in God’s world without God’s permission.

And this God who knows everything and controls everything also gives wisdom to the wise. Wherever wisdom is, God has been there first to give it. God reveals whatever wisdom the wise person has.

God is all wise, and God can do all things . And, we might add, he does all things for good.

That is why Daniel prayed to him in the first place. And that is why Daniel praises him afterwards.

Daniel Denies Ability & Declares Dependence on God (Daniel 2:24-28, 30)

Well, when the meaning of the dream is revealed, Arioch plays up his role in the whole affair: Verse 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.” (NIV)

But Daniel plays down his role: Verses 27 and 28:

“No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come." (NIV)

Again, verse 30:

"As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than other living men..." (NIV)

Daniel is humble and faithful in a far off land.

But this dream is bigger than Daniel. This is about what the God of heaven is doing. This dream is about where the great proud King of Babylon and his type fit into God’s plans for his world. This dream is about putting Kings and world powers back in their box.

The Dream Itself: 4 Human Kingdoms, then the Kingdom of God (Daniel 2:28-45)

Daniel first explains that the dream is about the things to come. It is about human kingdoms until the coming of the Kingdom of God. The dream is about the human kingdoms from 600BC till God’s King comes. The human kingdoms are represented by a statue. And the statue represents four human kingdoms. And I’ve pictured these on your outline.

Now, it is worth saying that not every body agrees with this understanding. But this is by far the way most people take it in the history of the church.[6].

In modern times it has also been popular among some to divide the last Kingdom up. Some say that the legs represent a different kingdom to the feet. They also see the toes are significant. And while they see each of the other Kingdoms are consecutive, many of these Christians say there is ‘a prophetic gap’ of many centuries between the time of the Roman empire and the time of the coming of God’s Kingdom[7]. God presses the pause button on the prophecy for some hundreds, indeed thousands of years.

But I don’t see any evidence of a gap of many centuries. Nor do I see any emphasis on the fact that there are ten toes on the feet, any more than there are 10 fingers at the end of the two arms, or two eyes and two ears and one mouth on the head.

Nor do I think that the time of the toes and feet is different to the legs. Rather, the legs, feet and toes represent one kingdom, which has certain characteristics. And it is all part of one statue which represent four Kingdoms, the kingdoms of men. And during the time of those Kingdoms, events happened which brought those Kingdoms to an end.

There was a rock, carved out but not by human hands. And it smashed the arrogant world powers and brought the whole statue down, feet first. And it grew to take over the world, never to fall or fail.

Friends, let me tell you about a Kingdom that commenced during the Roman Empire. The Kingdom of God. For Jesus was born into the Roman Empire. And in his preaching he announced this.

‘The time has come. The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news’ (Mark 1:14-15 NIV; ||Matthew 4:17).

That message started with John the Baptist. It continued with his disciples (eg Luke 10:9). And it is still being proclaimed. As Jesus said:

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12 NIV || Luke 16:16).

When the Pharisees asked him when the Kingdom of God would come, he said ‘it is among you’ (Luke 17:20). The Kingdom was among them because the King was among them. The Kingdom was among them because the citizens of the Kingdom were there -- the disciples of Jesus. When Jesus drove out demons by the Spirit of God, he declared that the Kingdom of God has come among his hearers (Matthew 12:28 NIV; || Luke 11:20). And just before he died and rose again, Jesus said that some standing with him would not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. (Matthew 16:28; Mark 9:31; Luke 9:27).

And then Jesus died and rose again as King of the Jews. And the Apostles went into the world and preached the gospel of the kingdom as a testimony to all nations (Matthew 24:14). Like the rock growing into the mountain, the Kingdom of Heaven grows, like a mustard seed, like yeast in bread (Matthew 13:31-33 NIV), like the growing seed (Mark 4:26). And the book of Acts tracks it’s progress and victory.

And friends, we are part of it, now. The Kingdom of God has been brought into the present through the preaching of the gospel. God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of his Son he loves (Colossians 1:13 NIV). The transfer of Kingdoms has happened for all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ. And all over the world this Kingdom is growing.

So friends, I don’t think we are in a gap period. We are in a growth period. We are not in the period of the ten toes. We are in the stone that grows. We are in the period when the Kingdom grows, when the gospel is going to the four corners of the earth, and will grow into a huge mountain that will cover the earth

Conclusion: Not by Human Hands

But where do we now see the crushing of human power and the arrogance of human kingdom? Where are the nations shattered by the rock, who is Christ? (Psalm 2:8-9; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

We see this with the eye of faith. It is now, but it is not yet. It has come in, but it has not yet covered the earth. But it will, and it is unstoppable.

And we must remember, ours is not a human kingdom, so it doesn’t use human methods (compare John 18:36). It adopts God’s foolish method of the cross. We preach Christ Crucified. A stumbling block to those who love human power and glory. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us being saved, it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). It demolishes strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). And with the eye of faith we see the gospel’s conquests, one soul at a time, as every new person comes to bow the knee to Christ. And we long for the day that the growing rock, which we are a part of, fills the earth as the waters cover the sea. May your Kingdom come, Lord Jesus, just as it has come in our lives, so everywhere.

Let’s pray.

[1] In the second year of his (Nebuchadnezzar’s) reign (1) It might be the third year of their training, and thus the first year when the four entered the King’s service, on the reckoning that Hebrew usage counted fractions of years as full years: see Baldwin, TOTC, 85-6; Young shows how the third year of training might have accorded with the 2^nd Regnal Year: 1^st yr of training = Yr of Ascension; 2^nd yr = 1^st yr of King; 3^rd yr – 2^nd yr of King: E J Young, 55-6. Driver was also of this opinion. (2) It might have been the 2^nd year of Nebuchadnezzar’s sole reign, whereas previously Nebuchadnezzar reigned as co-regent: So Calvin, Daniel, 115-6. (3) Josephus takes it as 2 years after the destruction of Egypt: Antiquities Bk 10 Ch 10 Para 3.

[2] So Josephus, Antiquities Bk10 Ch 10 Para 3. Also Baldwin, TOTC, 87

[3] So, for example, Young, 58, 60

[4] Dumbrell takes 1:1-2:4 & 8-12 in Hebrew as particularly for the Hebrews and interpreting the Aramaic sections. Ch 1 is introductory. Perhaps the Hebrew was important for it’s canonicity. Chapter 8-12 work out the consequences of Chapter 7 for Israel. Further, for Dumbrell, Daniel 2-7 is self contained with it’s sequence of authority and deliverance: Dumbrell, Faith of Israel, 2^nd Ed, 303-4

[5] Note, Young and Baldwin take the last clause as a promise, ‘and I will declare the interpretation to the King’, not a purpose or result clause, as in the NIV.

[6] It seems to be the way Josephus understood it, too. It is interesting and perhaps politic that Josephus says of this vision: ‘Daniel did also declare the meaning of the stone to the king: but I do not think proper to relate it, since I have only undertaken to describe things past or things present, but not things that are future; yet if anyone be so very desirous of knowing truth, as not to waive such points of curiosity, and cannot curb his inclination for understanding the uncertainties of futurity, and whether they will happen or not. Let him be diligent in reading the book of Daniel, which he will find among the sacred writings: Josephus, Antiquities, Bk 10 Ch 10 Para 4 (Whiston, 280). It would be politic for Josephus, a client supported by the Romans after the destruction of the temple in 70AD, would not mention the destruction of the Roman empire by the stone cut from rock.

Josephus later also adds that Daniel prophesied: ‘And that from among them (the descendants of the King of Greece) should arise a certain King that should overcome our nation and their laws, and should take away our political government, and should spoil the temple, and forbid the sacrifices to be offered for three years’ time. And indeed it so came to pass, that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel’s vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass. In the very same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them. All these things did this man leave in writing as God had showed them to him, insomuch, that such as read his prophecies, and see how they have been fulfilled, would wonder at the honour wherewith God honoured Daniel’: Josephus, Antiquities Bk 10 Ch 11 Para 7 (Whiston, 285).

It seems that Josephus relates Daniel’s prophecy of ‘desolation’ to both that which occurred under Antiochus Epiphanes (see Daniel 11:31) and the Romans (see Daniel 9:26-27).

[7] This is the view of James Montgomery Boice, who follows dispensationalists here. He says of the view he prefers: ‘Adherents must speak of a gap in prophecy into which the “times of the Gentiles” fit. Some have said that prophecy per se relates almost exclusively to Israel and that there is something like a stopping of the “prophetic clock” until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” J M Boice, Daniel: An Expositional Commentary, 42. There is nothing in chapter 2, however to indicate a prophetic gap. Moreover, chapter 2 is written in the Aramaic language, which makes a limitation of the prophecy’s application to Israel even more unlikely.