Daniel and the dream – 22 May 2007

During the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had such horrible nightmares that he could not sleep. So he called in his counselors, advisors, magicians, and wise men, and said, "I am disturbed by a dream that I don't understand, and I want you to explain it."
They answered in Aramaic, "Your Majesty, we hope you live forever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream, and we will explain what it means." But the king replied, "No! I have made up my mind. If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be chopped to pieces and your houses will be torn down. However, if you do tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be greatly rewarded and highly honored. Now tell me the dream and explain what it means." Daniel 2:1-6 [CEV]

The king was keen to execute the wise men of Babylon as they had no idea what he had dreamt – but Daniel asked his friends to pray for God’s mercy, and during the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Daniel praised God, saying:

"Our God, your name will be praised forever and forever.
You are all-powerful, and you know everything.
You control human events - you give rulers their power and take it away,
and you are the source of wisdom and knowledge.
You explain deep mysteries, because even the dark is light to you.
You are the God who was worshiped by my ancestors.
Now I thank you and praise you for making me wise
and telling me the king's dream, together with its meaning."
Daniel 2:20-23 [CEV]

To cut a long story short, Daniel revealed the dream and its meaning to the king.
The king was pleased to have an interpretation and rewarded Daniel greatly for his God-given wisdom.

What strikes me is:
· Daniel had enough faith to promise an interpretation before God had revealed it
· God planted the dream in Nebuchadnezzar and the revelation in Daniel
· Daniel gave the glory to God not claiming magical power or human wisdom
· Daniel saved not only his own life but that of all the wise men of Babylon
· God showed Nebuchadnezzar his place in history and a glimpse of the future

What wisdom and understanding we have is God-given, and the world needs to learn more about it. Knowledge of the future will help us to know our role in the present –
can we save the lives of some wise men today?

Lord, give us wisdom and understanding and make us able to communicate the mystery of your ways to our neighbours today. Amen