Dare to be Daniel
Babylonian Dreaming

Nebuchadnezzar was a world leader. A man who had power and authority over an entire nation. But, like all of us, when he closed his eyes at night, he had no control over his sub-conscious hours. We are told in Daniel chapter 2 that he had a dream that left him troubled and anxious. He asked his advisors what the dream meant. Now, I do not know if the advisors in the White House, Kremlin or 10 Downing Street are presented with such tasks, but for Double Z, this was a big deal. Now, if these boys knew the dream and its interpretation, they could tell him what they thought he wanted to hear or what would put them in the best light. But, they were incapable, and admitted so, which is a virtue in itself. Their response was probably the wisest statement these wise men ever made: No man can do what you want; only the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Double Z was not used to this type of response. These were his handpicked advisors. They should know these things…after all they are the best and brightest in Babylon. We receive two insights into Double Z. One, for all his power, wealth and authority he was terribly insecure. He was frightened by a dream for crying out loud. Secondly, when he could not get an explanation from his trusted cabinet, he fell into a rage. He ordered his cabinet dissolved in the most literal of fashions. He ordered them all destroyed! Just the kind of cool and calm leadership the country needed an egomaniacal despot who issues death penalties to those who cannot interpret his dream. Nice!

Daniel and his friends are sought out to do the dirty deed. What a turn of events. Now Daniel can do away with the most powerful of the king’s advisors and he and his friends can move into their positions. Now they will be in charge of the nation that overthrew Judah and make things right again. Well, remember, Daniel did not see himself as a rebel within the enemy capital waiting for the right time to topple the evil Chaldean government. He was serving his God in a foreign land. This is not exactly an argument for the theonomists or even the neo-Calvinists. Daniel was not interested in claiming Babylon for Christ.

He asked the captain of the king’s guard what was going on that these men had to be killed. Upon hearing about the dream, Scripture says Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint a time that he might show the interpretation to the king. What was he thinking? If the wise and powerful advisors could not tell Double Z about the dream where does Daniel get off making such a request? Was this an act of hubris on his part? No. When he was granted the opportunity, he called a prayer meeting. You see, Daniel and the advisors were kind of on the same page. The condemned cabinet said only the gods could know the dream. Daniel understood that the sovereign God of the universe, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, did know.

So, Daniel called a prayer meeting. The hit squad of the king became the prayer warriors of God. And, the prayers of the saints yielded the interpretation of the dream. Daniel knew that all actions of a believer should be bathed in prayer. Notice again what Daniel did not do. He did not rush out to Double Z and proclaim “I figured it out”. No, his immediate response was to render honor, glory and praise to God for his mercy and grace in revealing the dream. He praised God for His eternal wisdom and power, His governing of history and for making His will and way known to His people. Only after prayer and praise did Daniel make way to the king for interpretation of the dream.

Daniels’ actions spared the lives of the king’s wise men. But, what the king and the court saw was only the end result of more obedience by Daniel, this time in prayer and worship. So now he could go to Double Z equipped by God Himself to speak the Truth in boldness. He assisted the oppressor king and saved the lives of those who lorded over him. What a corrective to us. We seem to think if we can get control of the government, all things will be better. Daniel sought to serve the king and save the lives of his enemies. He did not see himself as the agent of change for Babylon. He was an obedient man of prayer and worship used by His God.

We can discern many lessons from this incident:
1] Always be a life saver, not a life taker, even when it is your enemies.
2] Obey God but serve the king. Is this not what our Lord was saying in his render to Caesar talk?
3] Always bath your prospective efforts in prayer.
4] Seek the mercy and grace of God for you can…pagans cannot…that is why Daniel could obtain the answer and the advisors could not.
5] Always be thankful to the God Who provides. How often do we seek His wisdom and when He delivers we forget to be thankful?
6] God alone is to receive glory through our praise to Him for His eternal wisdom, governing of history and His fellowship with His people.

Many get hung up on the interpretation of the dream and are enthralled with the images in the dream. The message of the rise and fall of kingdoms of this earth not being an accident but an outworking of God’s judgment on the nations of the world for not following His word and law gets our end times motor running. This is important, because it applies to Judah, Babylon and the USA. But, those are matters in the eternal hands of God and His divine historical timetable. The message of Babylonian Dreaming for the individual Christian is to be obedient, faithful people of prayer and worship to the sovereign God of the universe. Dare to be Daniel as you live out your daily life in the company of all, even oppressors and enemies!