Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Part 1)
Dan. 2:1-13
Introduction
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a troubling dream. He wanted to know its meaning, so he commanded and called the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. The task they face this time is not only the most difficult, in fact it’s just impossible. The king wanted not only to know the meaning of his dream; he insisted they first tell him his dream! What is frightening here is that Nebuchadnezzar was known for his cruelty and brutality if he is angry. Death sentence is pronounced to the “wise men” if they cannot provide the information he wants.
I. The Dreams (Dan. 2:1)
A. The words “dreamed dreams” can rightly be interpreted as one dream that keeps happening. In the Old and the New Testament, God uses dream to communicate His will. He is revealing Himself to a Gentile ruler! Why? God is in control of all nations! God loves all nations! He plans to redeem all nations (Gen. 3:15).
1. Pharaoh have 2 dreams and Joseph interpreted it to him. (Gen. 41)
2. In the NT, the Magi dreamed and they didn’t come back to Herod. (Mt. 2:12)
3. Here the king had dreams and Daniel, here in this chapter was sent by the Lord to tell and interpret it to him.
B. He was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. The context of this verse is that, he had dreams which occurred repeatedly but he forgot it. He could not sleep afterwards. The verb “was troubled” is also used of Pharaoh in Gen. 41:8. Two things why he is troubled:
1. He believed his dream was important. In his culture and religion, dreams were a means of revelation from the gods
2. Like the Pharaoh of Joseph ‘s day who did not understand his dream, he thinks that something was wrong. He does not know how to interpret it, he does not know what was wrong, lastly, he didn’t know what do about it.
3. There is an old Babylonian omen, “if a man cannot remember the dream he saw, his god is mad at him.”
Illustration/Application:
Does God still use dreams to communicate His will? Certainly, He can do so if He pleases, but this isn’t His usual approach. God guides His children today by His Holy Spirit as they pray, seek His face, meditate on His Word, and consult with their spiritual leaders. The danger is that our dreams may not come from the Lord. The human subconscious is capable of producing dreams, and Jer. 23:25-32 indicates that demonic forces can cause dreams that are Satan’s lies and not God’s truth. It’s dangerous to accept dreams as messengers from the Lord.
II. The so called “wise men” or counsellors (Dan. 2:2 -9)
A. These wise men professed to foretell the future by one means or another. They were called collectively to do their enchantments that the king may know the meaning of his dreams. If the method used by one failed to produce the desired result, hopefully the method employed by another would reveal the dream’s significance.
1. Magicians – – fortune tellers (Gen. 41:8,24, Ex. 7:11, 22; 8:7). professed to divine the future using many means; they were the sacred writers. The Bible makes no distinction between “white magic” and “black magic.” Every form of involvement in spiritism is strictly forbidden.
2. Astrologer-one who observes the heavens, believing the heavenly bodies influence men’s lives (Isa. 47:13; Dan. 1:20; 2:2,10,27; 4:7; 5:7,11,15).
3. Sorcery-the practice of witchcraft; wizardry; magic; divination; enchanting (Ex. 7:11; Isa. 47:9,12; 57:3; Jer. 27:9; Dan. 2:2; Mal. 3:5; Acts 8:9,11; 13:6,8; Rev. 9:21; 18:23; 21:8; 22:15).
4. The Chaldeans are philosophers. Daniel and his friends would have been classified with this group.
B. Their request (Dan. 2:4)
1. Tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. The wise men confidently asserted that when the king revealed the dream to them, they would interpret it to him. They were confident that with their collective wisdom, they could satisfy the king with an interpretation.
C. The King’s response (Dan. 2:5)
1. “The thing is gone out of me”, meaning he forgot it or it drifted out of his mind.
2. “if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
3. The king’s demand was unreasonable. To ask what is the dream and then ask what is the meaning or interpretation is really impossible.
D. The King’s punishments
1. The punishment is so severe. Death and burning of the wise men’s property
E. The King’s rewards (Dan. 2:6)
1. “ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour:” A good opportunity for the wise men to enrich themselves and gain popularity.
F. Did King Nebuchadnezzar forget his dream, or was he using this approach to test his counsellors to see if they were authentic? I honestly think he knows and remembers his dreams.
1. Yes, we forget our dreams but if it happens repeatedly, then you will remember it.
2. If you forget your dream, why bother? So, what if you forget it? life goes on.
3. If you are troubled by your dreams which affects you, let’s say personally and emotionally, then I would conclude here that the king is just testing his advisers.
4. The king may have thought also that the dream was a message about him and about his future that is why he is so concerned about it.
III. Uselessness of the wise men and their religion (Dan. 2:9-11)
A. The wise men, representing the various heathen methods for obtaining divine guidance, were unanimous about one thing: the king was being unreasonable in asking them to do the impossible. No king, they protested, had ever asked this of his counsellors. They could promise an interpretation if he told them his dream, but he
should not demand that they reveal his dream. This was beyond their ability and the ability of their gods.
B. Their response to the king not only reveals their impotence, but also that of their gods. It testifies to the futility of the heathen religions and introduces the God of Daniel, who can do what they and their gods cannot.
Illustration/Application:
Throughout Bible history, you find occasions when God exposed the foolishness of the world and the deceptiveness of Satan. Moses and Aaron defeated the magicians of Pharaoh and the gods of Egypt (Ex. 7-12), and Elijah on Mount Carmel exposed the deception of Baal worship (1 Kings 18). Jeremiah confronted the false prophet Hananiah and revealed his, wickedness (Jer. 28), and Paul exposed the deception of Bar Jesus the sorcerer (Acts 13:1-12). But it was Jesus who by His life, teaching, and sacrificial death declared the wisdom of this world “foolishness” with God, and that includes, all its myths, and Use religions (1 Cor. :18 ). The statement of the advisers in Dan. 2:10 wipes out astrology and other forms of human prophecy! Out of their own mouths they condemned their own practices!
IV. The Decree of the king (Dan. 2:12-13)
A. After the wise men revealed that they were unable to satisfy the king’s demands, the king was angry and furious. (Dan. 3:13,19). He issued an order for the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.
B. The decree was not only for those currently serving the king’s court, but on all who professed to be able to reveal the future. Since Daniel and his three friends were classified as wise men, the judgment also fell on them.
V. Conclusion:
King Nebuchadnezzar called his wise men because he had dreams that troubled him. He asked them to tell him the dream and its interpretation. He did it to test whether they are what they claim to be. Of course, they failed for they are fraud and deceptive. The punishment is death and burning of their properties. We will continue this next week
