The Dream

The Dream

(Daniel 2:24-27)

Yearly Theme:  “Kindness is… Amazing”

Series Title:  “KING of kings”

August 6^th, 2023

Something to think about:

We come to not only a passage of Scripture today, but an entire book, that is saturated with dream content and dream interpretation.  The Old Testament book of Daniel was written by a Jewish exile by the same name during the time of the Babylonian conquest of Judah.  Daniel, among many other men of nobility or royalty, was one of the chosen men of exiled Jews to be taught, and well-versed, in every branch of learning.  They were also to be gifted, knowledgeable, and wise in judgment, for the purpose of serving in Nebuchadnezzar’s royal palace.[1]  From the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule to the first year of King Cyrus’s reign, Daniel would serve under four kings as written in the Bible (Nebuchadnezzar 43, Belshazzar 14, Darius 3, Cyrus 6) over the span of two different empires (the Babylonians and the Medo-Persians).

It would happen that one night during the second year of his reign that Nebuchadnezzar would begin having such disturbing dreams that they began to affect his sleep.[2]  Because he had countless magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, Nebuchadnezzar sought their council.  However, instead of telling them the dreams he was having, he tested their knowledge and wisdom by demanding that they tell him what the dream was before they interpreted it for him.  When no one could do this, the king fell into a rage and demanded that all of the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers throughout the land of Babylon be put to death.

Being counted among these wise men of the empire, Daniel’s life was put in jeopardy as well.  Having received the message of impending doom, Daniel pleaded with the king, for more time to know and interpret his dream.  After being given permission, Daniel went home, told his friends what had just happened, and urged them to pray to GOD to reveal the king’s dream and what it meant.

The following passage explains what happened next:

Daniel 2:24-28 (NLT),

²⁴  Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon.  Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men.  Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”

²⁵  Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”

²⁶  The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true?  Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”

²⁷  Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.  ²⁸  But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.  Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.

Next week we will explore Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and what it meant.  For now, we will focus on two specific verses for the purpose of our discussion today.  The verses are as follows:  “Daniel replied, ‘There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.  But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future.’”

Key Point:  “Only Yahweh is supreme over all kings and lords.”

GOD is supreme over everything and more than able to reveal all answers to all questions.  And though we will never know all those answers to those questions this side of heaven, we know One who does know them perfectly and exhaustively.  So what is it that we should take away from Daniel’s experience and these specific verses today?

• Understanding comes from seeking the  answers from the  .

Matthew 7:7-11 (NLT),  ⁷  “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.  Keep on seeking, and you will find.  Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  ⁸  For everyone who asks, receives.  Everyone who seeks, finds.  And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.  ⁹  “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead?  ¹⁰  Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake?  Of course not!  ¹¹  So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

John 16:12-13 (NLT),  ¹²  “There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now.  ¹³  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.  He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

• The answer to most of our questions is  than we  .

Psalm 145:17-20 (NLT),  ¹⁷  The LORD is righteous in everything he does; he is filled with kindness.  ¹⁸  The LORD is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.  ¹⁹  He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.  ²⁰  The LORD protects all those who love him, but he destroys the wicked.

• Dreams are sometimes the only place that  is able to get our  .

Joel 2:28 (NRSV),  " Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Ephesians 5:10-14 (NLT),  ¹⁰  Carefully determine what pleases the Lord.  ¹¹  Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.  ¹²  It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret.  ¹³  But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, ¹⁴  for the light makes everything visible.  This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

Something to take home:

Pastor and author, Mark Batterson, in his book All In, writes:

“A few years ago, I met Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales.  It was sort of surreal hearing the voice of Bob the Tomato in nonanimated form, but Phil is as likable as the characters he created.  Phil started out with loose change and a God-idea called Big Idea, Inc.  The company sold more than fifty million videos and grossed hundreds of millions of dollars, but it all ended with one lawsuit.  As Phil himself said, ‘Fourteen years’ worth of work flashed before my eyes — the characters, the songs, the impact, the letters from kids all over the world.  It all flashed before my eyes, then it all vanished.’  Big Idea declared bankruptcy, and the dream died a painful death.  That’s when Phil heard a sermon that saved his soul.  If God gives you a dream, and the dream comes to life and God shows up in it, and then the dream dies, it may be that God wants to see what is more important to you — the dream or him.”[3]

Not all dreams are from GOD, but the ones that are can only be understood by seeking the GOD of the dream.  He is the only King and the only LORD of this world.  To seek anyone or anything else is truly in vain!

[1] Daniel 1:3-7.

[2] Daniel 2:1.

[3] Mark Batterson, All In:  You Are One Decision Away From a Totally Different Life, (Zondervan:  Grand Rapids, Michigan; 2013).