Daniel 2:1-49
Q.1. Why did King Nebuchadnezzar refuse to reveal his dream? How did this demand identify a true prophet of God? What happened to the prophet? (Dan.2:1-13, 46-49)
Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged Daniel’s God – … Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a Revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery (Dan.2:47). However, he would still throw the Hebrew friends of Daniel into a fiery furnace, and God would still have to visit him with insanity. The king was wary of his own scheming advisers, including – … the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams (Dan.2:2). He could only be sure of their validity, by withholding the details of his troubling dream. They all complained because the king refused to play according to the rules of their game (Dan.2:10-11). The king’s impulsiveness played into God’s hand, as he then elevated God’s prophet. In an amazing turn of events, the king of the great Babylonian Empire, fell prostrate before Daniel, and gave him the position of ruler over Babylon, and leadership over the wise men (Dan.2:46-48).Â
Q.2. How did Daniel respond to his death sentence? What was his first response to God’s revelation? To whom did Daniel draw attention before the king? (Dan.2:14-30)
The first thing Daniel did when he heard about the king’s edict, was to appeal for more time, and gather his friends to pray – 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 (Dan.2:17-18). God answered their prayers during the night. Their first response was to praise the God of Heaven (Dan.2:19-23). The prayer clearly identified Daniel’s understanding of the vision. God is in total control, so is worthy of highest praise. Man prides himself in his achievements and successes. However, it is actually God Who – removes kings and establishes them (Dan.2:21). In response to the king’s request for Daniel to reveal his dream and explain it, Daniel replied – there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed (Dan.2:28). Daniel gave glory to his God.
Q.3. Why was Nebuchadnezzar appointed as king? What was the dream about? Who is the Stone made without hands? How will He supersede all other kingdoms? (Dan.2:31-45)
Daniel described the plight of the statue that was destroyed by – 34 … a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Dan.2:34-35). The different materials describe Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and succeeding empires, that would come and go. God used the analogy to drive home the fact that these kingdoms are just like a lifeless image, compared with the Stone that fills the whole earth. All the kingdoms of men will be destroyed. By comparison, God’s kingdom – In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever (Dan.2:44). Such is the vision of the future that will culminate in the everlasting reign of King Jesus – the stone rejected by the builders that has become the Chief Cornerstone (1 Pet.2:6-8).