Daniel Chapter 2d Series

b. Daniel Reveals the Dream to Nebuchadnezzar (2:24-49)

ii The Information (2:31-35)

First Daniel told the king what he had seen in his dream and then he explained the meaning.

(1) The Statue (2:31-33)

Nebuchadnezzar was a king who had subdued all his foes. He had built a virtually impregnable fortress-city on the Euphrates. Even though he was at rest at this time, he knew that other empires had risen and fallen. The one most fresh in his mind would have been the Assyrian Empire. He would no doubt have wondered what would happen to his own empire.

Could any other empire possibly be better than his?

Verse 31

Daniel tells the king exactly what he saw in his dream. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form therof was terrible. During his sleep Nebuchadnezzar sees an image in human form. Its appearance was terrible and it glowed with a brightness all of its own.

Verse 32-33

The statue was made almost entirely of gleaming metal.

(2) The Stone (2:34-35)

The king was contemplating this image with wonder and awe, when he saw a stone, cut without hands suddenly appear and smashed the feet of the statue so that the image was completely shattered and became like chaff that was blown away..

This stone then became a huge mountain that filled the earth. Upon hearing this accurate description, the king knew that Daniel was telling the truth and that he could be trusted. Only the God of heaven who sent the dream could have helped His servant know and interpret the dream.

iii The Interpretation (2:36-45)

(1) Of the Statue (2:36-43)

Verse 36

Notice the kind of confidence Daniel has in God. He doesn’t say, “This is what I think your dream means.” He has so much faith in God that the first words out of his mouth are – “This is the dream” I wonder what Nebuchadnezzar thought about this young Hebrew? I wonder if he was awe struck by Daniel.

What do people think of us as Christians?

Daniel, through God, had achieved something that the wisest men in the kingdom had declared impossible. Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Daniel doesn’t even wait for the king to say anything.. He doesn’t prolong the moment for any dramatic effect, he goes straight to the point and says, and we will tell the interpretation therof before the king.

Verse 38

God intended Israel to “Rule the World” that right has now moved to Nebuchadnezzar, he was “a king of kings” an emperor.

Verses 39-40

Even though this image gleamed and glowed in the eyes of this astonished Gentile emperor, the problem was that it was top heavy. Gold has a specific gravity of 19.3, silver has a specific gravity of 10.51, brass has a specific gravity of 8.5, iron has a specific gravity of 7.6, and clay has a specific gravity of 1.9.

Right from the start you can see that the image is doomed. So even though God allowed Gentile world empires to rule and dominate the earth, He never intended this innovation, made necessary by Israel’s sin, to be permanent. In the end the image would collapse of its own instability. God, however, had decided on a far more spectacular end to Gentile world domination.

Again you can see something quite interesting – Verse 38-40 Daniel concentrates on the head and feet of the image, that is on the beginning and the ending of the Gentile world rule. Daniel remained silent on the in-between stages as they became the subject of later visions given by God.

We see the kingdoms deteriorate by moving from head to the breast and arms, from the breast and arms to the belly and thighs, from the belly and thighs to the legs and finally to the feet. We also see the decline in the value of metals.

The successive world kingdoms of prophecy were not marked by a decline in the vastness of their territory, but rather by the amount of power the head of state had.

• The Head of Gold – Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian kingdom. It lasted fr0m 636 BC to 539 BC Jeremiah 51:7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand

The head is the most important single member of the body, and gold is the most precious of all metals. This dual symbolism spoke of an absolute monarch.

• The breast and arms of silver – The Medo-Persian kingdom (539 BC – 330 BC) Darius the Mede conquered Babylon (Daniel 5:30-31)

The government OF Medo-Persia was a government by law. The king could not change edicts once they were read into law (6:1, 14)