God Speaks | The Book of Daniel | Week 2
Series: The Book of Daniel | Week 2
Text: Daniel 2:1-23
The Lord wants us to hear Him and obey Him.
In Daniel 2 we see that revelation comes to humble hearts: Daniel gathers his friends to intercede, God discloses the mystery, and the king learns that heaven rules. Don’t confuse giftedness with character; the Master uses imperfect messengers, but He entrusts more to those who steward His word with obedience (cf. Matt. 13). Ask for dreams and visions, sharpen your spiritual sensitivity, and be quick to act on what the Lord shows you.
Here’s a thought: Neale Donald Walsch points out, “God is speaking to all of us, all the time. The question is not, to whom does God talk? The question is, who listens?”
Before I go to sleep at night, I ask the Lord to speak to me through my dreams. I confess that I usually forget my dreams, but last week I woke up thinking about a website address: “kaufennetworking.com.” I have not had this experience before so I searched for it online. What do you think it is? Nothing. There is no such website address. This isn’t the first time I have had dreams that make no sense, but I still ask the Lord to speak to me through my dreams before I go to sleep at night. I will tell you later about a dream I had that, with an interpretation, made perfect sense.
The most powerful man in the world heard God speak in Daniel 2:1-23:
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.” 4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” 5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.” 7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” 8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.” 10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.” 12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. 14 When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king's officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. 17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. 22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. 23 I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.” NIV
God speaks to:
Surprising Ears
Two cows were having an interesting conversation:
Bessie: Psst! Molly! Can you keep a secret? Come out to the field and I'll tell you.
Molly: No! Not out in the field. Tell me here.
Bessie: Why not out in the field?
Molly: You can't tell a secret out in the field, Bessie! It's a field of corn. There are too many ears!
Bessie: Boo!
Molly: Sorry! Was that joke too corny for you?
We are not just talking about surprising ears of corn. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the Neo-Babylonian or Second Babylonian Empire from 605 to 562 B.C. It was called Neo or New Babylonia because Babylon had already risen to power earlier and became an independent city-state more than a thousand years earlier, whose most famous ruler was King Hammurabi.
Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried the people of Judah into captivity in Babylonia. He plays a prominent role in the books of Jeremiah and Daniel and he appears in 2 Kings (24:1 and 25:22), Ezra (1:7 and 6:5), and Ezekiel (26:7 and 30:10). Nebuchadnezzar II was the oldest son of Nabopolassar, the founder of the Neo-Babylonian, or Chaldean, dynasty of Babylon. Nabopolassar was a general appointed by the Assyrian king, but he later rebelled against Assyria and established himself as king of Babylon in 626 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar succeeded his father as king in 605 B.C. and continued his conquest of surrounding nations.
The name Nebuchadnezzar means “O god Nabu, protect my son.” From his name and what we learn about him in the book of Daniel we see that he was a “spiritual man” who acknowledged that many gods exist, but he was not a follower of the God of Abraham and His descendants. While he led the nation in great military victories, he seemed to be much more concerned with rebuilding and beautifying the temple of the god Marduk in the city of Babylon and with temples in other cities around the empire. It’s surprising that God would speak to such a man!
People thought that dreams were messages from the gods, so they would cause concern for the dreamer. I remember this feeling when I was called into the principal’s office at school or the boss’s office at work.
The Egyptians and the Babylonians had compiled what we might call dream books that contained sample dreams with keys to their interpretation. Experts would be trained in dream interpretation and they would draw from their literature to explain the general theme rather than the details of people’s dreams and to prescribe the response. Important dreams were often repeated two or three times, and verse 1 indicates that he had more than one dream. King Nebuchadnezzar would not have admitted it if he had forgotten his dreams, because forgetting a dream was a bad omen indicating that his god was angry with him. I suspect the king remembered his dreams and that he wanted to test his advisers.
Nebuchadnezzar was greatly troubled by his dreams and he resorted to threats to find the interpretation that he wanted so desperately. Everyone around the king was in turmoil by the king’s angry, unreasonable demands. Cutting into pieces was a common punishment in many ancient nations. It was known to the Hebrews and was inflicted by the prophet Samuel upon Agag, king of the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:32). According to Babylonian customs, the house in which the criminal lived was usually destroyed, and the land upon which his house stood was cursed forever and could never be used again (from Manners & Customs of the Bible by J.M. Freeman and H.J. Chadwick).
The Babylonians spoke Aramaic, so from Daniel 2:4 through the end of chapter seven was written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew. Daniel might have written this passage in Aramaic rather than Hebrew because the focus was on the world power of the day.
Why would the God of all gods speak to such an unlikely candidate as King Nebuchadnezzar? The Lord is gracious – reaching out to those who do not deserve it – and merciful – withholding judgment from those who deserve it. He certainly gives the king a golden opportunity to turn to Him in response to these dreams. You would think that such an experience would make a life-changing impact on Nebuchadnezzar. As we read on in the book of Daniel, however, we see that it does not.
God spoke to surprising ears about 400 years earlier when King Saul of Israel had gone off the rails. He was filled with insecurity and jealousy as he tried to kill young David in 1 Samuel 19:18-24:
18 When David had fled and made his escape, he went to [the prophet] Samuel at Ramah and told him all that Saul had done to him. Then he and Samuel went to Naioth and stayed there. 19 Word came to Saul: “David is in Naioth at Ramah”; 20 so he sent men to capture him. But when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing there as their leader, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also prophesied. 21 Saul was told about it, and he sent more men, and they prophesied too. Saul sent men a third time, and they also prophesied. 22 Finally, he himself left for Ramah and went to the great cistern at Secu. And he asked, “Where are Samuel and David?” “Over in Naioth at Ramah,” they said. 23 So Saul went to Naioth at Ramah. But the Spirit of God came even upon him, and he walked along prophesying until he came to Naioth. 24 He stripped off his robes and also prophesied in Samuel's presence. He lay that way all that day and night. This is why people say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” NIV
Even though Saul’s heart was not right, the Spirit of God graciously and surprisingly came upon him so he could prophesy. We might think that when someone prophesies, receives a dream from heaven or hears God’s speaking, he or she is someone special. We tend to equate spiritual sensitivity with spiritual maturity. Beware of confusing giftedness with character. The Lord has spoken to and spoken through many people whose lives do not match the messages they receive and deliver. Our hope is not to be in the messenger but in the Master who gave the message. Remembering this can save us a lot of confusion and disappointment.
American author Neale Donald Walsch points out, “God is speaking to all of us, all the time. The question is not, to whom does God talk? The question is, who listens?”
Have you ever been surprised by the people to whom and through whom God has spoken? How does remembering this help us to stay humble when the Lord speaks to us?
God speaks to:
Surprising Ears
and
Listening Ears
While Nebuchadnezzar was filled with confusion and anger, Daniel appealed to the king for time, asked his friends to pray then sought God with greater urgency and fervency than he had ever done before. The king’s heart was filled with pride while Daniel’s heart was filled with humility. The king demanded that knees bow before him while Daniel bowed before the God of heaven – a description of the Lord used four times in Daniel chapter two but nowhere else in the book.
I think of Moses confronting Pharaoh’s magicians with the ten plagues of Egypt in Exodus chapters 7 to 11 and Elijah going toe-to-toe with Ahab’s and Jezebel’s prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18. Since the Lord is all-knowing and all-powerful, He knew that Nebuchadnezzar would not humble himself and serve the God of heaven. Why then, did God speak to this pagan, idolatrous king?
The Lord spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar to bring glory to Himself. Through the conversations and events here in Daniel chapter two we see that the Lord’s wisdom and ways transcend the wisdom and ways of humans and their gods. Marduk was the national supreme god, but the Babylonians worshipped thousands of gods. For example, our modern seven-day week originated with the ancient Babylonians, for whom each day was associated with one of the seven planetary gods.
What are the strongest days of the week? Saturday and Sunday, because the rest are weak days.
The Lord spoke to King Nebuchadnezzar to demonstrate His glory and grace through one righteous (albeit imperfect) person. Whether it is Abraham interceding for Lot and the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18, Moses interceding for Israel in Exodus 32 or Jesus interceding for all believers in John 17, we see woven throughout the Bible examples of one person’s open heart and listening ears making a significant difference through their prayers. Daniel’s response to the king’s demands prevented the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.
God can speak to us through our dreams while we sleep and He can speak to us through visions while we are awake. Even though Daniel was a teenager, I get the feeling this was not the first time he heard God’s voice. Like young David who had used his slingshot to kill a lion and a bear to protect the sheep he was watching (see 1 Samuel 17:33), he was confident he could take on the giant Goliath. As the saying goes, this was not their “first rodeo.” Daniel was ready because he had developed his sensitivity to God’s voice by listening and obeying.
We should not overlook or underestimate the role that Daniel’s three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, played in this intense situation. I don’t imagine this was the first time that Daniel turned to them for support and prayer. Instinctively Daniel knew what he needed to do – pray and ask his friends to pray. These four teenagers demonstrated humility, wisdom and spiritual sensitivity well beyond their years that night because they had already cultivated these qualities in their lives.
Dreams and visions are just two of the many ways that God speaks. I am confident that He speaks a lot more than we realize. While there are checks and balances to help us discern His voice – the Bible, inner witness and counsel of others to name a few – we should be inspired by Daniel to have listening ears. Talk to the Lord and ask Him to talk to you. Pay attention to the “photos” and “videos” that come to your mind when you are awake and when you are asleep
It’s one thing to hear God’s voice, but it’s quite another to obey God’s voice. Obedience is very important in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught in Matthew 13:10-13:
10 The disciples came to him [Jesus] and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. NIV
When we are faithful with God’s words, photos and videos He will give us more. He does not speak so we can look down our noses at others while we contemplate how spiritual we are. He does not speak just to give us a spiritual high, goosebumps or special memories of spiritual experiences. He speaks so that we will do or say something with it!
Howard Hendricks taught, “Biblically speaking, to hear and not to do is not to hear at all.”
While staying at the home of Benard and Alice Sakala in Lusaka, Zambia, I had a dream early in the morning of Wednesday, April 25th, 2018 in which I went to the barber for a haircut. The result was thick black medium-length African hair on the top of my head. As you can imagine, this was quite a shock when I looked in the mirror. I shared this at the Sakalas' breakfast table and we had a good laugh - except for my new friend, Deouse Kanyanta, who leads Holy Word Assemblies in Kabwe, Zambia. He went back to his room that night and prayed about it, then shared this interpretation the next morning:
Your dream is very important to the life of your ministry. God visited you in a vision at a barbershop when cutting your hair. The black African hair on your head stands for African brothers and sisters in need. It's an establishment of your passion and ministry. Then I saw elders of the church in Canada provide guidance to you and I saw your passion and vision for Africa grow.
When we wake up in the morning, do we anticipate the Lord will speak to us through the day? When we lay our heads down at night, do we ask for dreams from heaven? When He speaks, are we quick to obey?
God speaks to:
Surprising Ears
and
Listening Ears
The Lord wants us to hear Him and obey Him.