Daniel 1

In Our Last Lesson, We looked at Daniel 9, Daniel’s Prayer.

In this lesson, we go back to almost the beginning of the book, Daniel 2:

Note:  I use [brackets] to add notes in the verses to explain what is being said.  Any time you see the [brackets], you need to understand that the words included are not part of the original.

(Dan 2 NKJV) [the date:] Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. {2} Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. {3} And the king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream." {4} Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation." {5} The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, [The rules have been changed, we don’t do that any more.] "My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. {6} "However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation." {7} They answered again and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation." {8} The king answered and said, "I know for certain that you would gain time, [you’re stalling for time] because you see that my decision is firm: {9} "if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation."

{10} The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, "There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. {11} "It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." {12} For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. {13} So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel [Remember, he was considered to be one of their wise men.] and his companions, to kill them. {14} Then with counsel [tact – NIV] and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; {15} he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, "Why is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. {16} So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, [he is literally asking that his life, and the life of others be spared.] that he might tell the king the interpretation. {17} Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

(Dan 1:7 NKJV)  To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.  [The three men cast into the fiery furnace of Chapter 3]

 Daniel 2:18 “that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.”

In simple words, their prayer was heard!

 {19} Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

{20} Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.

{21} And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. {22} He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.

{23} "I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king's demand."

 {24} Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation."

 {25} Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, "I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation."

 “I have found a man” – Don’t we all love to get credit for something we have done!

 {26} The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?"

 {27} Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, "The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.

 {28} "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:

 {29} "As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.

{30} "But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, [by which our lives have been spared – added by Harley] and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

 {31} "You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome.

{32} "This image's head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, {33} "its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.

 {34} "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

{35} "Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

{36} "This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

 {37} "You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory;

 {38} "and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all; you are this head of gold.

In other words, Babylon is the first world empire represented by the head of gold.

 {39} "But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; [the Meado-Persian empire] then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. [the Grecian empire that would give the world the Greek language.] {40} "And the fourth kingdom [the Romans that would build a system of roads that would be great for travel] shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others.

 (Gal 4:4)  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

 {41} "Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. {42} "And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. {43} "As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

{44} "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

 "And in the days of these kings:”

Which kings? – I take it to be the toes because that is where Daniel stopped.

 the God of heaven will set up a kingdom -- it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms,

 Has this happened?  While thinking about that, consider these verses:

 (Psa 2:7-9 NKJV)  "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

 {8} Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. {9} You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"

Was all of this fulfilled with Christ’s first coming to earth?  Some say yes, but consider this:

 (Rev 2:26-27 NKJV)  "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations; {27} 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'; as I also have received from My Father;

{45} "Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure."

{46} Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. {47} The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret."

{48} Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts;

and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. {49} Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.”

–       He had influence with the king

A personal observation of mine:  I believe God chose this dream for this secular man.  I believe the same message is given to Daniel in Chapter 7 where the kingdoms of men are described as beasts.

In chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar erects an image of all gold.  Some have said it was like his saying, “Gold all gold!  There will not be another kingdom after mine!”  That’s conjecture.  The Bible doesn’t say.

So far, God is right on track!  All those kingdoms came about just as He said!

Scripture quotations marked "NKJV™" are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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