What Is So Impactful about Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream?
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Have you ever had a dream that so troubled you, you couldn’t get back to sleep? Did you call (or text) a friend in the middle of the night to help you calm down? We tell our friends about our dreams, and then hopefully they can help us figure out the nature of it or assure us in some other way.
Dreams can be funny, intriguing, or scary. Rarely, though, is one unforgettable. As we find in the book of Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had an unforgettable dream – what we’d call a nightmare. But he didn’t call his friends; he summoned his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell him what the dream was.
Where Do We Find This Account in Scripture?
We learn in the first chapter of the book of Daniel that King Nebuchadnezzar “came to Jerusalem and besieged it” (Daniel 1:1). Nebuchadnezzar was a megalomaniac, a despot, and a law unto himself. In the culture over which he ruled, he was “it.” During the time when Jehoiakim ruled Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar brought vessels from the Jerusalem sanctuary and had them placed in the temple of his god. He also commanded his royal eunuch to bring some people of the royal family and of nobility to his court — 800 miles from Jerusalem. He requested “youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king’s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans” (Daniel 1:4).
Daniel and his companions, Mishael, Hananiah, and Azariah (all of the tribe of Judah) were part of the first wave of Judeans to be commissioned by the Babylonian king. Just as he had with Joseph when he was led into Egyptian captivity, the Lord gave Daniel favor with his superiors, including the chief eunuch (Daniel 1:9).
“As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17). The king found Daniel and his companions “ten times better than all his magicians and enchanters.”
The account of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah’s time in Nebuchadnezzar’s court is found in the book of Daniel, chapters one through four. The historical narrative regarding Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream is found in the whole of Daniel chapter 2.
What Happened in Nebuchadnezzar's Dream?
In his dream, Nebuchadnezzar saw a “great image, mighty and of exceeding brightness.” Its appearance was frightening. The head was of fine gold; the arms and chest were of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron and its feet were a mixture of iron and clay. As the king gazed at the colossus, “a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces.” Then the rest of the image was broken into pieces and “became like chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found.” The stone, however, “became a great mountain and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:31-35).
What Is the Outcome of This Story?
We read earlier about God giving Daniel understanding in dreams and visions (Daniel 1:17). King Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps as a test for his magicians, ordered them to tell him what his dream was. They could not, therefore the king, in a furious rage, commanded all the “wise men” of Babylon to be destroyed. Daniel heard of it, asked the chief eunuch to secure a time for him before the king, and then entreated his friends to pray and seek God’s mercy so they would not all be put to death.
God indeed showed Daniel his mercy and in a “vision of the night” revealed the dream and its interpretation to him. Daniel was given an audience with Nebuchadnezzar and disclosed his vision to him.
Nebuchadnezzar is the head of gold on the image. Another inferior kingdom, symbolized by the silver arms and chest, was to rise after him. A third kingdom, bronze, ascends after that. The fourth kingdom, represented by the iron legs, then comes to power. A divided kingdom shown as a mixture of iron and clay (iron and clay do not mix) would then come into power but will not endure (yet it endured longer than Babylon).
And the final kingdom would come into being as represented by the stone uncut by human hands. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar “God will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people.” It would break all the other kingdoms in pieces and would end them. This last kingdom “shall stand forever.”
How Does Nebuchadnezzar Respond?
In Daniel 2:46, “King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.” He called the Lord God, “God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries…” The king, who was used to lording his authority over all others, had been reduced by God to a mere spectator of events.
Nebuchadnezzar “worships” Daniel as God’s emissary, knowing it was God who gave and revealed the dream (Daniel always gave all the credit to God). The king lauded Daniel with high honors, great gifts, and appointed him as ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He also oversaw all the “wise men” of Babylon. Daniel also asked that his companions (now called by their Babylonian names, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) be given positions of power. Nebuchadnezzar honored this request, and he kept Daniel in his court.
Why Does God Communicate through the King, a Nonbeliever?
One might think the subject of the book of Daniel is Daniel, but it’s not. It isn’t even about Nebuchadnezzar or the other kings of Babylon. The book of Daniel is about God and His sovereignty. God uses a pagan king to reveal aspects of His character (eternality, omniscience, omnipotence, sovereignty, gifts of wisdom, knowledge and understanding, faithfulness to His people, and answerer of prayers) and Christ’s coming kingdom (He is the stone uncut by human hands whose kingdom will never be destroyed and will stand forever).
King Nebuchadnezzar basked in his “greatness.” He thought himself invincible. But God “changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; He reveals deep and hidden things” (Daniel 2:21-22). Nebuchadnezzar had power only because God allowed it in His perfect plan, and he needed humbling.
Look at what the Lord says in Isaiah 49:23, “kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for Me will not be put to shame.” The Lord also said, “for I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me; declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose” (Isaiah 46:9).
Nothing shall fall outside God’s providence, including using earthly kings to bring glory to His name. God will accomplish everything He purposes. God reveals His greatness to a pagan king, who acknowledges Him as God. But Nebuchadnezzar’s confession of the Lord is not conversion (the proof of this is in Daniel 3). This whole episode is an abject lesson to Nebuchadnezzar, Israel and to us! God is sovereign, and He reveals the mystery of His kingdom to demonstrate His power.
The first thing Daniel does when God reveals the dream is to pray and then bless God.
In chapter two, Daniel refers to God five times and blesses Him as “the God of heaven,” (2:18, 19, 28, 37, and 44). In this, Daniel exalted the Lord God high above the earthly king he served. In verse 45, Daniel told the king, “A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.” Nebuchadnezzar had to realize Daniel’s God has sovereignty over himself and his gods. Only the God of heaven knows all things.
Does God Still Communicate Things to Us Today through Dreams?
Think about the latest dream you had. Did it relate to anything? Was it weird and/or obtuse? This author had a recent dream where a person came into a room wearing a compressed cheese and nut hat. All I learned from that dream was we had some good appetizers wherever we were.
If a person claims to have prophetic dreams these days, it can be categorized as extra-biblical special revelation (that which is not found in the Bible). The Bible is God’s special revelation to us, as is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the canon of Scripture is closed. There is a period after Revelation 22:21’s “Amen.” Everything we need to know is found in the sixty-six books of the Bible, and our dreams are nothing like those found in the Old and New Testaments.
The prophets and Apostles laid the foundation (Christ being the chief Cornerstone – Acts 4:11), and it is only laid one time. There is nothing new to be revealed.
Our dreams are a product of many things. We may dream of who we were just with, someone we haven’t seen in a long time, a movie, upcoming hopes and/or plans, even what we had for supper. Rest assured; God is done with His revelation to us. We can sleep well knowing that.
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