Today’s Reading: Daniel 2:1-11 (English Standard Version)
1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.2 Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.3 And the king said to them, I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.4 Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.7 They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.8 The king answered and said, I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm–9 if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.11 The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Takeaways:
- Before we look too far down our noses at Nebuchadnezzar, how many of us have wanted to have someone interpret our dreams? If we were kings…we could make people do that!
- This passage ends with a hopeless sort of feeling because all of the people that the king summoned could not interpret his dream.
- If this was a TV show…can you hear the music building in the background as frames appear of Daniel doing whatever he was going? Then a big orchestra fortissimo as the audience realizes that Daniel is the only one that can do this because of His God working through him.