Daniel 2: 13-24
King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that upset him, but he couldn't remember the dream; and he asked his wise men to do the impossible.
(13) So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
Daniel and his friends were still in the Royal Academy, so they weren't among the wise men who were called to the king, they were still in training.
(14) Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
(15) he said to the king's commander, "For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.
So Daniel found out what was going on with the king. Then he was able to formulate a plan of action. This was a very wise response, instead of just reacting to the crisis.
(16) So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
The first thing he did was to put in a request for a continuance, to put off the executions; for the reason he boldly declared, that he would give the interpretation the king was asking for.
(17) Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, about the matter,
(18) so that they might request compassion from the God of Heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The next step was to enlist his friends in prayer and fasting, no doubt, because only God would be able to help him do what he proposed. They probably had an intense prayer meeting that night, as their lives depended on God.
(19) Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
They didn't stay up all night in prayer, they trusted God enough go to bed to rest. And while he slept, God gave Daniel the same dream, so he could face the king with the answer!
Then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven;
And the first thing he did in the morning was to give praise to God! During his quiet time he journaled his prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God.
His prayer tells us some things about God.
(20) Daniel said,
"Let the Name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
God is Almighty, all power belongs to Him. And He is all-wise in knowing how to apply His all-knowing (omniscience).
(21) It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
God has decided the tropical and ice ages; He has determined the climate changes that happen on our planet.
He removes kings and establishes kings;
God sets up governments and kings and rulers, and He will change them at His own discretion. He is the One who decides. He has already planned it all out ahead of time.
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
God is the One who gives wisdom to those who seek Him, and He will teach those who search for His ways, how He has designed this world to work.
(22) It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
What God has hidden, only He can reveal; we cannot find out anything that He hasn't decided to show us. And He has decided to show Daniel the dream He gave to Nebuchadnezzar, to reveal ahead of time the future history of the governments of the world, as He has planned it out.
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
God knows everything about everything. Daniel had read Psalm 139: 12 that says, Even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.
And all light comes from Him, because He is Light.
(23) To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Daniel gives all the credit to God, to praise and thank Him for granting their prayer to give him the wisdom and power to save them from the destruction decreed by the king.
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king's matter."
God gave Daniel the same dream he'd given the king, so that God would have the glory and honor, being the only God. He did this to begin to promote His own reputation among the population of this pagan nation.
(24) Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king."
So Daniel went back to the commander over the king's personal body-guard and asked him to take him to the king, to give the king the impossible information he had originally asked for.
This was very bold of Daniel. He had faith in God already, to even have suggested that he could answer the king; then he trusted God to show him, and enlisted his friends to pray together with him, to seek God. Then he went to bed, trusting God and expecting His answer. This increased his faith and trust even more.
So even while he was studying in depth all these pagan ideas and philosophies, he remained strong in his faith in the Lord God of his fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He never did relinquish his identity as a Hebrew Israelite Jew.
O my Father, may we also, no matter what is going on around us, or what books we are studying, retain our faith and trust in only You. Strengthen us, Father, through this time of enforced sequestration. Help us to not waste any moments of these re-arranged days You have granted us, but to use every minute to learn and grow, in every area we need more maturity: spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, relational, financial, and evangelical. And in every other way.
My Father, help us to grow up, to reach the maturity of the full stature of the Son of God, of whom we are the body.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, our Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus!
