Time: About 605-539/538 BC.
What the Lord is Saying:
Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and wants to know what it means. He asks the astrologers, but they tell him that they want to hear the dream first and then they will tell them what it means. Neb isn't buying this and is bothered and makes a decree that all wise men of Babylon (including Daniel and his friends) will be executed. Daniel found out and asked for more time from the King. He asked his 3 friends to pray with him to have God reveal to them the meaning of Neb's dream.
That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision and Daniel praised God:
Lord, your name is to be praised forever and ever. You have all wisdom and power. You control the course of world events and you establish our leaders, setting up kings and removing others. You give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to scholars. Lord, you reveal deep and mysterious things and you know what lies hidden in darkness. Thank you for giving me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.
Daniel goes to Nebuchadnezzar and explains that only God knows the secrets of the dream. And God has revealed it now to Daniel.
First Daniel tells what Neb saw in the dream and then explains it.
Nebuchadnezzar - you are a great king with power, strength, honor, and sovereignty. God has made you ruler over all the world and put birds and animals under you control. After your kingdom ends a new kingdom, inferior to yours, will take your place. And then after that, a third kingdom, represented by bronze. And then a fourth, as iron. That fourth kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires. But, it will be divided, parts as strong as iron, other parts as weak as clay. Alliances will try to be formed, but iron and clay don't mix. And in the midst of these two kingdoms God will set up a forever kingdom that will not be destroyed or conquered. This is what is meant by the rock cut from the mountain. It was not cut by human hand. Your dream is true. God will intervene in man's life.
And King Nebuchadnezzar was awestruck by what Daniel had said and spoke that truly God must be the greatest of gods. Daniel was appointed to a high position and given many gifts. Daniel was made ruler over the whole province and chief over all the wise men. Daniel appointed Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego in charge of the affairs of the province of Babylon.
Promise: God intervenes in our lives. Give him an opening and He will come through for you.
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From Tabletalk, "The sudden rise and fall of powers and even the changes in our own lives prove that the Lord alone is our security." One day God will be recognized as all in all.
The statue in the king's dream made up as follows: head of gold--Babylon; chest and arms of silver-Media-Persia; middle and thighs of bronze--Greece; legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay--Rome. And a new kingdom ushered in by Jesus Christ.
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