ANSWERED PLEAS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 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, he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

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. 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.”

Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

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: 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.”

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. 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.”

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 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.

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. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 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.

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

Daniel 2:1-19a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In yesterday’s devotion, we saw how God had equipped His people, specifically Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, to carry out His purposes. You’ll remember the scriptures told us God imparted the “knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning”, giving Daniel the additional gift of comprehending “visions and dreams of all kinds.” It’s that last gift that we find coming into play in a big way during the next few devotions as we proceed through this book.

But before Daniel puts his ability to use, we find a dilemma arise for the four young men God had set aside to do mighty things in His name. Look at today’s scripture passage again here:

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 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, he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

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. 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.”

Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

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: 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.”

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. 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.”

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 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.

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. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 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.

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.  Daniel 2:1-19a

We know from Chapter 1 that Daniel and his counterparts had entered the king’s service by merit of their fitness and intellect. They were counted among the wise men of Babylon at that point. But as Chapter 2 opens, we find King Nebuchadnezzar turning to others in order to try and make sense of terrible dreams he had been having, dreams that left him sleepless with a troubled mind.

And so wanting to free himself from the torturous sleep visions, we see where Nebuchadnezzar sent for a cadre of so-called experts on the supernatural, “the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers”, who he thought would be able to tell them about what he had dreamed and what it all meant.

Once the group was assembled, note that the king did not tell them about the dream’s details. We see right away that the king’s assumption and expectation is that the collected visionaries would be able to know the dreams without being told of them. After all, they were allegedly the specialists in the paranormal and mystical things of life.

With the question posed, we find the astrologers speaking up first, clearly wanting the king to tell them about the dream first before they would attempt to analyze it. This obviously did not sit well with Nebuchadnezzar who demanded that the astrologers do what he asked them to do and added a little incentive to the mix, threatening to brutally kill them and destroy their homes if they did not deliver what he wanted. Conversely, if they could tell the king what he wanted to hear, then he would reward them handsomely, gaining gifts and great honor. Then the king demanded of the astrologers:

“So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

And in turn, the astrologers again asked the king to tell them the dream so they could interpret it.

By now, Nebuchadnezzar was growing increasingly impatient with the astrologers and being the smart leader that he was, assessed the men were simply trying to buy time, time the king did not have to give. So we see the king give an ultimatum:

Either the men tell him about the dream or he would bring the death penalty upon them for conspiring to tell him “misleading and wicked things” with the hope that the situation would change.

Then the king asked for a third time:

“Tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”

Knowing they could not deliver what the king was asking because they were really false interpreters, the astrologers told 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. 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.”

Read between the lines here and you’ll see that the astrologers were calling out Nebuchadnezzar as being unreasonable and expecting them to do the impossible, something that no human could do because only the gods themselves had the power and ability to satisfy the king’s request.

Obviously, this didn’t set well with Nebuchadnezzar who became so enraged that he not only wanted the astrologers dead but every other person who was designated as wise in Babylon. Unfortunately, this included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah who had men looking for them, men who had been ordered to “put them to death”.

Remember how God had equipped Daniel and the other three young men?

We see that equipping come into play in a big way here. For note that Daniel approached the Arioch, a member of the king’s guard, with “wisdom and tact” while asking:

“Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?”

Note how the covering of God had to be on Daniel because the king’s guard didn’t strike him down as he had been ordered to but rather fielded Daniel’s question and then even took Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar who honored Daniel’s request for time in order that he might interpret the dream. How else would you explain Nebuchadnezzar’s decision to give Daniel time when he was so impatient with the astrologers?

So what did Daniel do with the time he had bought?

He used it to join Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah in bringing a plea to the Lord, a plea for mercy and rescue to come concerning the peril they found themselves in, a plea to save them and the other wise men of Babylon from execution.

And as we see in our final verse in this passage, the Lord answered the pleas by revealing the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to Daniel, once again equipping him with what he would need to escape the danger he and the others faced.

Tomorrow, we will see Daniel putting the Lord’s revelation to work but before we leave today’s message, there are a few things we need to glean.

First, troubles can come upon us when we least expect it and come suddenly.

Go back to where we were when this chapter opened. Life was good for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They had been brought into the king’s service after the Lord kept them healthy through non-defiling vegetables and water before blessing them with the gifts of knowledge and understanding. All seemed well for them but things changed quickly after Nebuchadnezzar became infuriated at His visionaries who were unable to tell him about his dream. All of a sudden, Daniel and the other three young men were facing execution. That’s how fast difficulty and trials can come upon us.

This leads to the second takeaway for God is always with us in the midst of our difficulties.

Daniel was able to communicate face-to-face with not only the king’s guard dispatched to kill him but also the king himself without being killed. Rather, Daniel was able to get the time granted that he needed, the time the Lord needed to reveal to him the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

Finally, the Lord will always lead us through our dilemmas to a viable solution, one that is in line with His will and way. It was the Lord’s intention all along to grant Daniel the ability to interpret dreams and then impart on him the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream so he would be set apart from all the false seers on the king’s staff. His purpose was going to be fulfilled and no death decree from the Babylonian king was going to stop His plan from being carried out.

What problems are you dealing with today? What issues do you have before you that are leaving you awash in uncertainty and confusion?

I don’t know what you are going through but I do know that God is in control and He has a plan for your life. Turn to Him with your pleas and petitions, then display patience and trust as He answers your plea in His perfect time while His will is being done. Along the way, He will empower you with the things you’ll need to persevere through His plan until His glorious outcome emerges.

It happened for Daniel and it will happen for you and me too.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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