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.”
God is orchestrating the situation to bring all the players to the right spot. Nebuchadnezzar starts to have significant dreams about his kingdom and beyond. Although he doesn’t understand the content of these dreams, he knows there is something crucial in them. His only resource is to call the staff of seers and astrologers to interpret the dream. This dream disturbs him to the point that he has to call on professionals to tell him what it means. But you’ll notice that Nebuchadnezzar wants also to test these “wise men”. If they can tell him what the dream is, then the meaning, the king will believe them.
4 Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the 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 only 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 no one 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 humans.” 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.
The astrologers first ask for Nebuchadnezzar to tell them the dream, but Nebuchadnezzar does not. In fact, the king issues a threat: If you don’t first tell me the dream, then interpret it, I will cut you in pieces. I will reduce your home to rubble. In verse 10, you’ll see the astrologers, who are really frauds, slip up. They admit that the knowledge the king is looking for only comes from God. Their only recourse is to convince the king that he is unreasonable. The king has no need for “wise men” who can’t bring him the wisdom he desires. 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.
In these verses Daniel’s character is revealed. He doesn’t panic. He calmly deals with what is in front of him. Daniel knows a great truth: it takes time to to listen and wait on God. Therefore he asks for time, and since Arioch is predisposed to Daniel, he is granted the time.
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.
So what does Daniel do with his time? He prays. He gets others to pray with him. He knows that only God can meet his needs, not man, not himself.
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 deposes kings and raises up others. 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, God of my ancestors: 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.”
A great truth is revealed in this section of scripture: Our job isn’t about figuring God out, but understanding what God has revealed to us.
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.” 25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.” 26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?” 27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these: 29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
In verse 25 you’ll notice that Arioch tries to take the credit for finding Daniel. But Daniel turns the credit to God. He humbly admits that it isn’t him who is wiser, but he is there because God wants to use him to reveal truth to the king.
31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
The statue revealed in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is quite dazzling, but is very much mired in symbolism. First, we must note that the materials descend in value from top to bottom. First gold, then silver, then bronze and finally a mix of bronze and clay. These represent different eras of civilization, each of which we will look at in depth. The explanation of the dream is that there is a grand statue which is knocked down by a rock from heaven. Then the rock becomes a huge mountain.
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. 39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. 44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
You’ll notice that Daniel gives the king what he wants. He first reveals the dream to him. He does what the wise men of Babylon were unable to do, a feat they claimed that could only be done by God.
Second, Daniel describes the Gold head of the statue and its meaning. The gold head represents Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. Now Babylon isn’t a Godly place, yet it is representative of the way God rules. God rules as an absolute monarchy. He is the head, the ruler, the chief executor of everything. In the same way, Nebuchadnezzar runs Babylon, although not in a Godly way. As we move down the statue, we see in hindsight that all the sections are representative of different eras of rule.
The second section represents Persia (Silver). They ruled approximately from 539-331 BC. They did not rule for long, but they were able to overtake many lands quickly. One way this was achieved was through the machinations of King Cyrus. He collected smaller nations, giving them a simple choice: either you join Persia, or you suffer. This allowed many nations to fall under the umbrella of Persia quickly, and allowed Cyrus to amass a large army that steamrolled over the entirety of the known world.
The third section represents Greece (Brass or Bronze). Greece was in charge of the known world for approximately 200 years (331 BC to 168 BC). They were fast and mighty, led by Alexander the Great, and they overtook the nations in a lightning fast way.
The fourth section is representative of Rome (168BC - 476 AD). Rome was by far the longest-longest-standing empire amongst them, and you’ll notice, in the statue, they take the largest portion of it. Rome is depicted in prophecy as iron.
The feet of iron and clay represent a future nation of western Europe which is to one day come. This is the nation at the end of time, living during the return of Christ. In fact, when we look at the rock hitting the statue, we see that is Christ’s return, a return that destroys the governments of the world in one amazing reveal.
None of these empires has the same centralized rule of Babylon, thus not echoing the same rule as God. Each were much larger than Babylon, and thus de-centralized. Each of these following nation’s rulers stood for long periods of time. But the diminishment of power, despite the enormity of each empire, is significant. What we see is a general distilling of God in a society over time. Not that Babylon had God in it- Marduk was the main God of Babylon - but what we see are vast decentralized empires that fall further and further away from God over time. As societies increase and fall, God isn’t in it. When we get to verse 41-43 we are hearing about a future kingdom that is ruling at the end times. In this time there is a decisive event, a rock cut from a mountain (not literal) which will shatter the world dynamic. This rock will set up a kingdom (not made from man) that will not be destroyed. It will bring all other kingdoms to an end. When discussing the rock, we see that it isn’t something constructed by man, but something completely different. It isn’t religion, it isn’t even salvation. It is Jesus. The great society of end times is a revitalized version of the Roman Empire.
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.
Nebuchadnezzar rewards Daniel. He does this because Daniel is the only authentic wise man that he has.