Daniel – Chapter 2 Part B
A. Chapter 2 Outline
I. The King and his Pagan Advisors (2:1-13)
a. The Fear (2:1)
b. The Frustration (2:2-13)
i. The Counsellors (2:2)
(1) Magicians
(2) Astrologers
(3) Sorcerers
(4) Chaldeans
ii. The Charge (2:3)
iii. The Cop-out (2:4-7)
iv. The Command (2:8-13)
II. The King and God’s Prophet (2:14-49)
a. God Reveals the Dream to Daniel (2:14-23)
i. The Petition (2:14-16)
ii. The Prayer (2:17-19)
iii. The Praise (2:20-23)
b. Daniel Reveals the Dream to Nebuchadnezzar (2:24-49)
i. The Information (2:24-35)
(1) A Statue (2:24-33)
(2) A Stone (2:34-35)
ii. The Interpretation (2:36-45)
(1) Of the Statue (2:36-43)
(2) Of the Stone (2:44-45)
iii. The Elevation (2:46-45)
B. Message
II. The King and God’s Prophet (2:14-49)
a. God Reveals the Dream to Daniel (2:14-23)
i. The Petition (2:14-16)
(Verse 13)
Satan was willing to sacrifice many of his false prophets for just four of God’s men. He had already failed once ….. Satan’s servants are expendable but God cares for His people. Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. [30] But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. [31] Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Can you imagine the shock Daniel and his three friends had when Arioch came to get them? They had only just graduated from the king’s grooming school, it is interesting to note that these four godly young men were not even at the original meeting about the dream.
Verse 14-15
Look at Daniel’s reaction. How many of us would have reacted differently? How many of us would have been defensive, angry, annoyed. How did Daniel react when the executioner came? Daniel answered with council and wisdom.
Proverbs 15:1-2 A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. [2] The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.
When it comes to solving the problems of life, we must ask God for the courage to face the problem humbly and honestly, the wisdom to understand it, the strength to do what He tells us to do, and the faith to trust Him to do the rest.
By delaying his orders Arioch was actually putting his own life at risk. This goes to show how important a personal testimony is. The Babylonian officers knew how trustworthy Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were after their conduct and testimony during their three years of training. Because of their testimony and actions during this time it was now helping to save their lives.
Verse 16
Arioch allowed Daniel time to speak to Nebuchadnezzar, and the king must have been surprised to see him. Apparently his rage had subsided and he was willing to make some concessions. After all, Daniel had not been at the original meeting, so he at least deserved an opportunity to obey the king’s orders.
Surely the king remembered the four Hebrew boys. Daniel and his friends had stood out the last time he went before the king, they were ten times better than the Babylonian magicians and astrologers, whose lives were now in danger.
Nebuchadnezzar surely would not kill his smartest councillors because of the incompetence of the others? By faith, Daniel promised to show the king his dream and the interpretation. He knew that the Lord would answer prayer.
ii. The Prayer (2:17-19)
Verse 17
Daniel went home; there is something appealing about that. He did not go to some lonely hermitage in the wilderness or seek out some shrine somewhere to fast and pray. He went home. Daniel’s religion was of the everyday, homey variety. He gathered some like minded friends around him – Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah –
Verse 18
Daniel urged his friends to desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret… Daniel called for a prayer meeting.
Throughout this book, Daniel and his friends are presented as men of faith and of prayer. They were far from home, but by faith they could look toward Jerusalem and the temple and claim the promise of 1 Kings 8:44-45 If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name: [45] Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.
Why did Daniel call God, “The God of Heaven?” Nothing shows the divine source and verbal inspiration of the Scripture more clearly than the way in which the names and titles of God are used throughout the Bible. Many people over the years have tried to use the diversity of divine names to show that the Bible speaks of other gods. Others (like the Jehovah’s Witnesses) have replaced every title with Jehovah.
However, all the names and titles are used in the most exact and careful manner. For example, in the entire Old Testament, Jehovah is always used in one particular sense and Elohim (God, plural form) in another.
When the Bible is talking about the Creator we have the Hebrew word Elohim, indicating the Triune God, now revealed in three persons as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Elohim is God’s official title (Prime Minister) – KJV = God
When referring to God’s covenant with His people and His dealings with the people whom He has made and taken into relationship with Himself, the Scripture uses the name Jehovah. This is God’s personal name – KJV = LORD / GOD / The meaning of the word is Redeemer, every time it is used in the Scripture it is connected with deliverance by God.
Daniel’s God was a personal God, He was a God of “mercies” unlike the remote demon gods of the Babylonian stargazers. He was the God of Heaven. The title occurs the first time in 2 Chronicles 36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up. (this was the last verse in the last book of the Jewish Bible.)
This title is used in 8 Books of the Bible, but when this title is mentioned in Ezra, Nehmiah, Daniel and Revelation they speak of the same period of time, a time when God had scattered His people among the nations because of their sin.
It was a name that was introduced because God’s earthly people had became Lo Ammi (“not my people”) and because God had withdrawn from their midst. It is a title that belongs to the “times of the Gentiles,” when God acts from Heaven rather that from between the cherubim in the temple as the God of Israel.
So what was the secret that Daniel was entreating God for?
The word secret (Chaldean – [Rawz] Raz) is used 9 times in Daniel Chapter 2 and is the equivalent of the Greek word (mustērion) moos-tay’-ree-on which is used 27 times in the New Testament. It means a hidden truth revealed only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals. Psalm 25:14 The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
God had hidden prophetic truth in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and would reveal not only the dream but also the interpretation to Daniel so that future events could be understood. James 5:16 …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Verse 19
After they prayed Daniel simply went to bed. Such was his confidence in God. What would have happened if he just paced back and forth all night waiting for an answer? He would have missed the answer to his prayer. As it was, God rewarded Daniel’s simple trust straight away. As he slept, God gave his faithful servant the same dream that he had given Nebuchadnezzar the night before.
iii. The Praise (2:20-23)
Verse 20
Daniel had asked for wisdom, and God gave it. James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
What is the first thing Daniel does after being told the dream and its meaning? Does he run boastfully to Nebuchadnezzar and say, “I did it! I did it!” Does Daniel turn to his companions and say, “See, I knew what to do!”
No, that is how some of us may have reacted, but Daniel’s is the example we should be following. The first thing he does, before anything else, is praise the Lord and gives Him the glory that is due.
Verse 21-23
This is one of the several recorded prayers of Daniel. Daniel was a man of purpose, a man of prayer, and a man of prophecy. God alone has revealed this secret to Daniel, and this is his tremendous prayer of thanksgiving. Now Daniel is ready to go in and ask again for an audience with the king.
When we face a crisis today, we need to follow the example of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and take the matter to the Lord in prayer. Not only take it to the Lord in prayer, but leave it with Him and have the faith that God will answer in His time.
Faith is living without scheming, and faith brings glory to God. Daniel could not take the credit for what happened because it came straight from God. Psalm 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
A.W. Tozer said, “Whatever God can do faith can do, and whatever faith can do, prayer can do when it is offered in faith. An invitation to prayer is, therefore, an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs.
