Alright, alright I think we'll just, we'll start. Now I know you're going to be disappointed because Brian's not here so we can't get to sing Dare to be a Daniel. So we'll just dive straight in, shall we? Let's do that one. Let's just pray together. Lord, we want to thank you that we are here. We're found in your house again. We want to thank you that we've gathered around your word, but also to have this time of prayer. We just ask that as we start the second chapter of Daniel, that you would continue to speak to us. Lord, open up our hearts, open up our ears, that we may hear and learn. We ask this in your name. Amen. Right, as I said to you, as you will realise as I prayed, we're starting Daniel chapter 2. And I've entitled this whole chapter, you'll be impressed by my ingenuity, I have a dream. Okay. It's very important. We're going to split this chapter up into three. So tonight will be the, not so much an introduction, but we'll be dealing with the first 13 verses. And then you're going to have to wait for a bit, but it gives you a chance to read and do a bit of background study on the rest of the chapter. I don't want to rush it through. It's very, it would be very easy just to rush this chapter through, but I think there's a lot that we can glean. as we go through so we're going to break again this chapter up into three but just as a just as just as a reminder You remember chapter one, we looked at the whole historicity of Daniel, how there's four things, four historical events or people that really root the book in history. We also made reference last time that chapter one spans the whole duration of the book. So chapter one is like a synopsis. It starts in around 605 BC when Daniel gets taken in the captivity and it finishes around 539 BC when you have Cyrus coming on to the throne. Okay, so you've got the Medes and the Persians coming in. So the chapter one really spans, it's a bit of an introductory, it sort of spans, and I believe it's there for a purpose. Because you remember when you looked at the four strategies, or the three strategies that were there, that the enemy will use, that they will use isolation, they separated the people from everything that they knew, everything that they were comfortable with. But then also for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Nazariah, they isolated them from their own people. They brought them into the palace. We looked at what that would mean for 15-year-olds. We also looked at the fact that not just isolation, but indoctrination, that they were there for a three-year course, a three-year academic course in many ways, in all of Babylonian language and literature. And we looked at what that meant. And that wasn't just nice books. They didn't do Shakespeare. They were really into occultism and occult worship and everything else. Because we've seen that in the East, in the sort of the empires at that time, they would run the religious schools as well as the other schools. So they ran them together. And so Daniel would have learned all about the rites and the rituals of Babylonian religion and worship. And that would include a cult activity as well. And we looked a bit at the astrology. as we touched on, that they were part of the wise men, the astrologers, and we'll see that again in chapter two. Then, not only was there isolation and indoctrination, but there was an attack on their identity. And we've seen that with the change in names. And we've seen how Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, they determined in their hearts, they resolved in their hearts not to compromise or conform in any way, and I raise the issue that they made a decision that there were certain things that they were prepared to do, like the education they had to learn, that didn't mean they believed it, they learned it, but there were things that they were not prepared to do. And because they were in captivity, they made that decision. And so here they determined in their hearts. And we've seen that this whole thing about defilement was about being ceremonially clean. how they approach God, how they can be clean before God. And they determined not to defile themselves. That whole determination was a willingness to stay true to God's will and commandments. That's the whole idea that was given here. And we see this within chapter 1. We've seen how God gave them favor. And we put that out there that this wasn't a, they arrived, and the next day they had but how they conducted themselves in the presence of their enemy or their captors, God gave them favor. And we looked at how that was the same with Joseph and other things. This wasn't the first time, but this seemed to be throughout scripture. We looked as well at one of the key themes of chapter one was the sovereignty of God. God was in control. God gave. We see this repeatedly throughout chapter one. God gave Judah over into the hands of the Babylonians. God gave them favor in the eyes of Ashpenaz. God gave them gifts and abilities. You see the sovereignty of God. And I believe that's there for a purpose. It's not there just for a nice little idea, but I believe it's there, as I say, if chapter one covers the whole span of Daniel's captivity, then this whole concept of God's sovereignty should be seen throughout the whole of Daniel's captivity. Okay, that's what I believe. We're about to win the chapter two. If you remember back to these little diagram I gave you, If you don't have one there's some spares over at the corner over there. But Daniel chapter 1 is written in Hebrew. The next block which we will be going into which will take us to whenever we get through it. Between chapter 2 and chapter 7 is in Aramaic. OK, and then it goes back to Hebrew again from chapter 8 through to chapter 12. We're about to enter the Aramaic section, chapter 2, and I believe this is on purpose. Because I believe chapter 2, from chapter 2 through to chapter 7, is God beginning to speak to the nation, speak to the empire, speak to the emperors, speak to the non-Jews, as it were. He's told the Jews he's sovereign. He's revealed himself in Jeremiah that they're going to go off there for 70 years. He's a God who can predict the future. He's revealed himself as sovereign in many ways and now he's about to deal. with these Gentile nations and that's why I believe chapter 2 through to chapter 7 is in Aramaic. The Jews could learn from it but this is really how God deals with Babylon and then the Medes and the Persians initially. So again I just want to put it out here as I say chapter 2 I've given the Title, I Have A Dream. Does anybody know who coined that famous phrase? Martin Luther King. Do you know when? A long time ago. It wasn't yesterday. He delivered it on the 28th of August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. When he made his great big speech, I have it here, but he said something, he said this, he said, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning. of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream." It's a wonderful phrase and yet we're going to come into a chapter which is filled with a dream. A God-given dream, a dream that will span all of what we know as history. But for them, it was future. Bit of present, but mostly future. And we're going to look at that. So I want to read from chapter 2, verses 1 to 13. Chapter 2, verses 1 to 13, and then we'll dig into it. It says this, now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king and the king said to them, I have had a dream and my spirit is anxious to know the dream. Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream and we will give the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, my decision is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me and its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made an eye shape. Now that's a bit of a downer if you don't get it right, isn't it? However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation. They answered again and said, let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation. The king answered and said, I know for certain that you would gain time. because you see that my decision is firm. If you do not make known the dream to me there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered the king and said, there is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter therefore or Therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. For this reason, the king was angry and furious and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out and they began killing the wise men and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. Wow. What a wonderful chapter, right? I think this is important. I think what's important, I think we need to let this bit lays the groundwork for what is to come next. I think many times we rush through to get to the interpretation, the statue, and we miss so much of what's in this chapter. I believe what God is trying to say and how God reveals himself. In this chapter and over the next three sessions, Nebuchadnezzar takes center stage with his dream or dreams. Okay, we'll approach this in a minute. Sort of highlighting false messengers and the authentic messenger and his source being the sovereign God who reveals the hidden. And I think this is a key development. Not only is in chapter one this overarching theme that God is sovereign, But now in chapter two, we're going to see he is not only sovereign, but he reveals the hidden. He reveals what no other man can or what no other so-called God can do. He is God above all gods. So we're going to see this great picture of God in here as he continues to develop his sovereignty. So first of all, I want to confront a contradiction or a so-called contradiction. For those who have read Daniel, or for those who have studied Daniel, or for those who like to be a bit argumentative, they might pick up on this one and go, oh, a bit of a contradiction in here. Because what they say is this. Verse 1 says, now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, and yet by the end of the chapter, by the verse 13, they're looking for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah to kill them. with all the wise men given the idea that uh the the understanding that he has already graduated but he was done a three-year course so how can he have done a three-year course and yet second year of king nebuchadnezzar reign doesn't make sense so they go aha a contradiction it's not the word of god little do they know they're wrong actually. This is the word of God and the word of God does not mislead and there is no contradictions in there. It says we are told by people who know a lot more about Babylonian history and records a lot more than I do, they would say that in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, if Daniel was taken into captivity in 605 BC, then this would make Nebuchadnezzar's second reign 603 BC. So how is this? How can this still be the third year of Daniel? Why are they going to kill him? Surely he's just a student. He's not a full-fledged wise man. But remember in chapter 1, it's already taken us to the point where he's been tested by the king and brought into the service. So again, people are beginning to debate, you know, how could this work? How can this be? The historical marker would suggest that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah have been in training for two out of three years. We see this in chapter 1, verse 5. But verse 19 implies that only after being trained for three years and being interviewed by Nebuchadnezzar did they enter the king's service. So chapter 1 is beginning to give us a bit of clue that this is actually a third year. So how does that work out? Nebuchadnezzar's second year but yet it's their third year. How does that work out? Well again you need to look at history and you need to look at how the development of the Babylonians and how they went about things and I don't want to bore you half to death because I mean unless you're really into these things history can get a bit dry. But 606, Nebuchadnezzar was the crown prince. His dad was the ruler. He was the king of Babylon and Nebuchadnezzar was the crown prince. Nebuchadnezzar commanded the army of his father. and he was in the mountains north of Assyria. So you see they're out at war, he's commanding the armies, he's the crown prince. Nebuchadnezzar's father returned to Babylon and after There was a reverse, after the reverse or the beat, he took a bit of a beating and he was heading home and he decided around 606, 605 BC that he was going to attack Jerusalem. Hence we've got the attack on Jerusalem and the first deportation. So his father had died and he was still, in one sense, viewed as the leader, although he was not established as king yet, he was the crown prince. But his father had died and he was the official leader. So he gets home and we're told that his father's death was on the 16th of August, 605 BC. and Nebuchadnezzar becomes king. Now here is the crucial point we need to understand. That, according to Babylonian recording, they record at the beginning of the first year. So basically, the way they would record it was even though he was king in 605, his reign never started counting until 604 okay so while he was already king and we would say that was his first year they would have went no no no his first year starts in 604 so yes scripture holds fast that Daniel had finished his three-year training course and it was Nebuchadnezzar's second reign according to the way Babylonian records are kept. So there's no contradiction, it bears out in history with how the history records everything So let's put that aside. So if someone says to you, contradiction, you just go, I'm afraid you don't know history because history says there's not. OK. And just move on. Now we get verse one. Concerned by dreams. Nebuchadnezzar is concerned by dreams. Now here's crucial. He says, now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep his sleep left him here's the interesting thing when you read different translations says nebuchadnezzar had had dreams he dreams came to him he dreamed dreams what does that mean Commentary, different translations put it out different ways. Different commentaries refer to this verse in various ways. But how do we understand this? Question, do you remember your dreams? Every single dream? It's very interesting how we can remember some, but we don't remember all. In fact, I barely remember my dreams. I mean, I know I've dreamt because it's been like a war in Ireland. I feel like I've been wrestling something. But I can't remember it. But I always know that if I remember my dream, it's important. I can never remember a dream, and it's proved out in my life. If I remember my dream, it's important for some reason. Now, I would propose, and this is my proposition here, this is not in any of the commentaries, this is not in anything other than my proposition here, that Nebuchadnezzar had a recurring dream. The same dream over multiple nights. He had this recurring, in essence, he had dreams, this recurring dream over multiple nights. to the point where he was so disturbed by it that he was almost fearful to go to sleep. His sleep left him. He couldn't sleep. So now, I don't know about you, if you've ever had a recurring dream and you think, I really don't want to go to sleep again in case I get that dream. That's what Nebuchadnezzar was. Can you picture over a period of time, you keep getting this massive dream about this statue whose head is gold and whose chest and arms are silver and you see the brass waist and then the iron legs and the clay and iron feet and this stone coming and bashing it and falling over. You get it every single night. Not a bit of wonder he couldn't sleep or his sleep left him or he didn't want to sleep if he's going to keep getting that dream. And this is important as well which will help us approach why he said what he said, okay? This is crucial. That's why I said I believe it's a recurring dream. It's not a one-off dream. It's not a dream that's so frightened him because a statue doesn't normally frighten somebody, but a recurring dream about the same statue, about the same thing, might begin to concern somebody. That's why I believe it's recurring and that's why I believe he was more fearful of going to sleep than just couldn't sleep. He didn't want to have the dream. I believe it makes sense that the dream or dream dreams of Nebuchadnezzar is a recurring dream also called a vision in chapter 2 verse 28. Okay, this is important. Daniel, we'll get to this in probably about part three. Daniel, when speaking to King Nebuchadnezzar, he talks to him and says that God gave you a vision. So this isn't just a dream. So Daniel shifts the idea of a dream. You know, King, you probably had too much cheese and you've been having this weird dream. He's moved the idea of a dream to this is what God is saying. Here's what the sovereign God is saying. about what is to happen. So again, we will see how Daniel will shift the idea that it's not just a dream, but it's a vision given by God. We are told that the impact of this recurring dream meant that his sleep left, or he did not sleep, or he did not want to sleep. Why did God give the vision to Nebuchadnezzar and not Daniel? It's one of the questions I asked. Why would God give Nebuchadnezzar this? and not Daniel? Interesting question when you think about it. Well, one, I believe it's twofold. One is because God is about to speak to the Gentiles and show them how sovereign he is, that he is God, not their so-called gods, but he is God. But two, could you picture, and I probably think this is probably as equal, can you picture if some little Jew rocked up to Nebuchadnezzar and went oh king listen your time's short son you don't have long left. I don't think the king would have listened to him. Do you? I don't. If he was to say, listen I believe, listen here's the vision, I got the vision, here's the vision, your empire is going to collapse and then there's going to be this empire and this empire and this empire. I think he would have been kicked out, probably chopped up into bits, knowing Nebuchadnezzar. So I believe God spoke to Nebuchadnezzar directly to get his attention. He wanted him to wake up and pay attention. And so he spoke directly, he gave Nebuchadnezzar this dream, this vision that disturbed him. We need to remember that we have started the second block with Daniel, as I said, which is in Aramaic, which is mainly for the Gentiles. of Judah as revealed through Jeremiah. So the Lord revealed His sovereignty over the kingdoms and empires of man to kings and emperors. He's revealing that He is God above all gods. No emperor is better than or higher than God. What He says happens. period. So then we get in verses 2 and 3, we get to call the Magi. I was going to say call the midwife but it's not, it's call the Magi. Call the Magi, it's very interesting here that verse 2 says the king gave the command, some say he immediately summoned. There is this almost fear or this tired weariness. You could picture going for weeks without sleep. And again, I'm putting it in there. I don't know how long this recurring dream was for, but you could just see it going without sleep. And he probably wanted to sleep. So he gives this stern command, this summon to get the wise men in to give him the interpretation. This wasn't an uncommon thing. This was a very common approach. And I'll put this out here at the very start, even though I may repeat it a bit later. This was very common for kings to give their wise men, they would call them in and seek guidance from the wise men. Give them dreams, tell them their dreams, and they would give the interpretation. Very common, very customary in that sense. but Nebuchadnezzar is about to break from custom. And we'll see this. We are unsure how many knights, as I say, knights this was, but we have this scene of Nebuchadnezzar and some of the wise men, in fact, five groups of wise men, we'll see this, but somehow Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah aren't there. We don't know why. We don't know what they're doing. We do not know why they're not there, because obviously they were 10 times better than the rest of everybody, but they're not there. And we don't know why. Well, I don't want to read too much into the chapter, but I think I know why. But that's for another time. So here we have, in verse 2, we have a list of why of wise men. They're described as magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers. This is important. In chapter 1, verse 20, we have magicians and enchanters, but now we have sorcerers, astrologers, and Chaldeans. Chaldeans had a split way of understanding. They were the ethnic group. That's one way that word could be used. Or they were diviners, people who would divine a hidden knowledge. And so they would consult the stars, or they would consult ruins, or they would try and divinize, generally through occultism, what the message was. So here you've got five groups of wise men or five parts of the wise men. Magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers and Chaldeans, diviners and they're there in front of the king. Surely one of that lot should be able to give... I mean, even if they got B in their end-of-year exam, where Daniel got A, you know, they got a B, surely they should still be able to give the answer. But no. No. The A team weren't there, and they couldn't get it. So we're going to see this as we go through. What's fascinating is this, the king called to himself all those he had at his disposal in order to get the interpretation. The text literally says to know the dream. He wants to know it. Okay, it's very interesting, that's what the NIV, and he adds what it means. So somehow Nebuchadnezzar has this recurring dream and it's twofold. He wants to know it, as in, you tell me, my dream, I want to know it. But he also wants to know what it means. It's bugging his mind. He can't sleep because he keeps getting this dream that he doesn't understand and therefore he set this test before these wise men. Tell me my dream and the interpretation. I want to know it and I want to know what it means. Twofold and I think this is very important. We can say that Nebuchadnezzar has forgotten it. That would be rather silly, because he's had it recurring. He does not understand it. That's a fair idea. The request from the wise men in chapter 2, verses 4 and 7, and the king's request in chapter 2, verse 5, implies knowledge of the dream. But a lack of understanding. He doesn't understand it. He remembers it, but he doesn't understand it. That's what the text implies. So he's trying to seek an understanding. He's trying to seek a knowledge of it. And therefore he sets this test. for them. In fact, literally it means to understand the meaning of the dream. So the king was determined to know or to have the accurate, and this is important, the accurate interpretation. And I'm sure you know by the passage he knows that they're very good at spinning a yarn, telling a bit of a lie. And he knows that. So he wants the accurate interpretation. And so what's the best way to know if your interpretation is true? you tell me the dream. If you can tell me my dream then I know the interpretation you tell me is going to be true. Okay and I think that's another interesting way. So we move swiftly on from verses 4 to verse 13 and I put this as custom concern and consequences. This is very important that we understand this. So verses four and five, well actually, from verse four, the second half of verse four through to the end of verse seven is in Aramaic. This is the bit that's in Aramaic. Chapter two, second half of verse four, right through to the end of verse seven, when it says, they spoke to the king in Aramaic. So the rest of that block is in Aramaic, okay? So now we're into the Aramaic section. Verses four and five, you've got the Chaldean speaking, oh king live forever, oh king live forever. Now we may say they're trying to butter him up a bit, flatter him a bit, you know, get him sweet, but this is very customary. This was a customary way to show, it was protocol for addressing the royalty in the Middle East. Okay, so they're doing what's custom. King lived forever. They want him to have a long life because if he has a long life, they have a long life. Hopefully. That's where that's coming from. Then comes the request. Tell us the dream and we will interpret it for you. They're going down the route of custom. What is customary? They're not expecting The twist, they're not expecting the turn of events. They have walked in thinking we've got this one sussed. O King live forever, now tell us your dream. We're ready for this. We're up to the task. So here they then go off into the Customary request we are informed that it was customary For the king to consult wise men on matters of law justice or meaning of a dream He was able to remember our desired advice on Okay, so law Justice or a meaning of a dream. That's what he would seek advice for It's best if he could remember the dream And yet here, we're told in this chapter that he could remember the dream. He just wanted to make sure that the advice they're giving him was right. So he wanted them to tell him his dream. So this was a turning of the table from Nebuchadnezzar. And I believe this, again, is setting up the scene. Because what I believe, and as I was reading this and looking into it again, is that What the wise men said was not untrue. No man can give you that dream. No man. There's no one alive that can tell you what your dream was. So they were telling the truth. So it's fascinating here that while they're known for spinning a yarn, in their defence, they told the truth. And we're going to see how God has used this to reveal how great He is. We'll see this. Therefore, we must understand that what Nebuchadnezzar requested could be defined as an unprecedented demand. The king's requirement was not only to interpret the dream, but also first to tell him what the dream was, then to give him the interpretation. This was the request his advisors could not fulfill. This was the change of request, the uncustomary approach. You'd almost picture, wouldn't you, if they had the nerve, one of them going up to the king and going, king, that's not how we do it here. We never do it that way here. We've always done it this way. It's a custom that you tell us the dream first, and then we tell you, we give you the interpretation. That's how it's done, but yet the king turned the tables. He wanted to make sure, and again I believe it's because of his fear of what this dream represented. He didn't know it, he didn't know what it meant, but somehow it struck at his soul and he knew there was an importance to it and therefore he didn't want to follow their lies and their stories. Verse 5 goes on and says, this is what I have decided or or what can be said this is what I command okay it's not just a decision this is a command that Nebuchadnezzar has given and they have to obey it or they face the consequences this word is a Persian loan word borrowed word meaning firm or certain. This is a command. This is a firm and certain command or decision that Nebuchadnezzar has made and he wasn't going to be changed. His mind was not going to be changed. He was not going to be swayed. This was firm. Give me my dream and give me the interpretation. The word of Nebuchadnezzar was law. He wanted to learn. So he wanted his learned man to give him the dream and interpretation or there would be death. Now, let us not gloss over that. If you remember back to the first part of chapter one, we are very aware that the Babylonians were known for their brutality and their cruelty. In fact, we read about that in 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 29. They're very good at cutting people into pieces and burning their homes. They're very good at that. We read about that in other parts of scripture. So when the king says, if you fail, you're getting cut into pieces and your house, and your houses are being burnt, it wasn't a veil threat. This was not an empty threat. This was something that Nebuchadnezzar has done in the past and the Babylonians were very good at. So let's not just think that this was a veil, a vague bluster on the king's behalf. These men made their living on the supposed ability to contact the gods to gain secrets. from the spiritual realm again I would like to say this is no different you you look at the cult you look at you look at all the there's a cult activity and you'll always have one person will say I have a direct line to God God speaking to me specially he's given me special revelation to secrets this is as old as the hills these things and yet people keep falling for it and they keep walking into it, and here we see it again. They made their living out of being able, this supposed ability to contact the gods and get the secret knowledge to be able to interpret. If they were really what they claimed to be, they should be able to tell Nebuchadnezzar both the dream and the interpretation. Now the stakes are higher. And I don't know if Nebuchadnezzar really got it, but the stakes have just been cranked up. Not just, are you good enough? Are you able to do what you say you can do? But the gods that we worship, can they do it? They're calling Ra and Nego and all these other gods In the question, can they, these deities that they worship, can they speak through these wise men to give the dream and the interpretation? So the stakes have just been cranked up to the highest level and I don't think Nebuchadnezzar really has got it. Verse 6, we jump in and says, It gives us that if the consequences for failure were high, so were the rewards for success. Now, one of the things I love about this, and I will bring it out now, is the rewards for success were gifts, rewards, and great honor. But who wasn't here at this point? Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. By the end of chapter 2, they got great reward, great honor. They got gifts. In fact, they were made sort of the leaders of the wise men. They weren't there. They didn't know what the rewards were in that sense at the start. All they knew was the consequence for the failure of the wise men. They were under threat of death, which we will get to. So if the consequences for failure were high, get cut into small pieces and get your houses burnt to ash. So the gifts for, or the success for, sorry, the rewards for success were also great. These great gifts, these rewards and this great honor. Verse seven goes on and says, in the light of this threat or failure and rewards for success, they repeat the request of verse four. They didn't really listen to the king. They come back and go, okay, king, this is great. Now tell us your dream. Yeah, I know you want us to tell you your dream, but you tell us your dream and we'll tell you your dream. It just sort of, it was a bit of a circular reasoning, a circular argument. They didn't quite get it, where the king was coming from, and they fell back into custom again, the customary approach. So here again, they were trying to stall for time and they said, you give us the, you give us the dream. They fell back onto custom and tradition, the way it's always been done. Verses eight and nine, we see this great thing. The king's accusation of misleading and wickedness will reveal either uncertainty in their ability or a trustworthiness in the wise men. Here he's saying, you either can't do the job, or you're a bunch of liars and frauds, scammers and cheats. This is what these reverses are bringing out. Nebuchadnezzar didn't fully trust his wise men. Somehow he knew in the back of his mind that what they were saying wasn't true. Was it because he had the experience because of what his father's wise men might have said? We don't know. But somehow he is aware that they don't always tell the truth. And so he says, I know this is what you're like. I know that you don't always tell the truth. I know that you play for time, and I know that all you're trying to do is fill the time, and you're trying to lead me astray. Now tell me my dream, and I will know that the interpretation is true. This is the crucial thing. Now, one of the things is this. Why on earth would he say, give me the dream and I know the interpretation is true? Surely they could tell the lie of the interpretation. Well, they could. But if you can reveal somebody's dream, what is hidden, that only they know, then you can reveal the interpretation. It seems logic. And it's a logic that Nebuchadnezzar had. If you can reveal what is hidden, then you can tell, Tell me the meaning of what is hidden. If you can't reveal what is hidden, then what you're telling me you're just making up. So we're going to go with that one. And the wise men didn't like it. It says here they were misleading and wicked and could be read as implying lies invented with evil motives. Perhaps they wanted the great reward, who knows. The text states, for you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time. The word here can also mean situation. They're playing for time. And they're hoping that if they say to the king, listen, here's the interpretation, if they wait long enough that perhaps situation will come about where they can go see see it's been the fulfillment they're trying to play for time in a way of trying to trick and hoping how things would change and to fit their words rather than give a true interpretation the king repeats the consequences for failing to tell him his dream not the interpretation notice this In these verses, verse 8 and 9, especially verse 9, it says, tell me the dream, and I will know the interpretation is true. So he's implying that the litmus test is you tell me the dream, and I will trust the interpretation. So he repeats it. Here's the consequences. Cubes and ices, or tell me the dream. It's your choice. It's a stunning challenge. In fact, it says to me, there's the literal translation, rather than saying, then give to me, there's this, it can also be translated, declare to me. Declare this confidence. Here is your dream, O King. This is what it means, this declaration of confidence, assurance and truth. Declare to me the dream and I'll know the interpretation is true. What a challenge, eh? Then we get on to verses 10 to 13. Again, this is a great thing. The Chaldeans, the diviners are the ones who are speaking at all this time. I don't know why the astrologers can't speak or the magicians just don't know what to say. I don't know. But the Chaldeans, the diviners are the ones doing all the speaking here. And they come off and they state the truth. There is not a man on Earth who can tell the kings matter. So therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever made this request. Notice what he said. No man on earth can do it. That's why our custom has always been this way, because no man can do it. So they're telling the truth. They're declaring what is actual fact, the truth before the king. No man can do it. Therefore, our custom has always been this way. But the king's not buying it. Within these passages, verses 10 to 13, we see certain things. That the wise men set up this situation in which only God, not man, can get the glory. They're going to set up the scene here. Because they have said, no man can tell the king his dream, only God. Only the gods can do that, but they don't live among us. Only God. And so now they've set up the scene that God is not just this God that's divorced from everything that's happening, but he is a God who's actively involved in the passage of time and in the Babylonian empire. And he's about to reveal himself as the God who reveals the hidden. So now you see, it's just been set up wonderfully to reveal God. And this is out of the mouths of the diviners. of the Chaldeans. They've set it up beautifully. So we see here that they're shortcomings. There's not a man on earth who could do what the king asks. Man cannot reveal what is hidden. Man cannot reveal what is hidden in the mind. Only God. Only God knows what you think. We see this throughout the New Testament. And God knew what they were thinking in their hearts. God knows what's in the minds of people. Mere men don't know. So they reveal the shortcomings. They reveal their shock at the break with custom. No king, however great and mighty he may be, has ever asked such a thing. They are shocked at this point. This is not how the game is played. Then we have their solution was to admit the only possibility of an answer is from the gods. Yeah, but they don't live among us. So sorry, King, you've no chance. Because we can't do it. Only the gods can, but they're not with us. So they reveal the solution, but their solution isn't really much of a solution, because they're trying to say the gods just don't care. They're not with us. So their whole thing of shortcomings and shock and solutions don't really help us. This response, understandably, angered the king. I'm going to say something here, and it's going to be important in about three weeks' time. So you can ponder on it. They ask for time. They say, king, you give us your dream. And the king says, you're playing for time. You're just wanting time. You're wanting to delay, you're wanting time. And I think this is very important because look at what Daniel asks for when he comes before the king. That's a hint, that's for you when you want to do a bit of reading before we get to that bit. But the response angered the king. It made him furious and he ordered the execution of all the wise men. Total execution, total wipe out of all the wise men. That class, that cohort, those qualified wise men, no matter what group they were in, they were going to get wiped out. And that included Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Included those four. So they went looking for them. They went looking for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So if someone can reveal the dream and the interpretation, he is speaking with or on behalf of God. That's what the wise men are saying here. If anybody can tell you your dream, they're speaking on behalf of God or the gods in their mindset. But for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, they would speak on behalf of the sovereign God, Jehovah. And we'll see this as we go through. 13. What I find interesting here is that when the command is given to kill the wise men, it includes Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah who weren't even there. It wasn't their fault these guys couldn't do their job. But they got the blame as well and they were going to get killed. Chapter 2, verse 1, recently we have to completely eradicate this group of wise men. We don't know where Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were, but the men were sent to find and kill them. Daniel and his friends had not been consulted and yet they were being penalised. This is the master plan. Again, I wanna bring out a master plan of the enemy here. I want you to see it. And I think the nice thing about Daniel is he's woven master plan of the enemy throughout Daniel. So if we see it, we understand in our day what the enemy's doing. For example, The master plan of the enemy, if he can't remove your identity, defile your holiness and your integrity, he will try to remove you out of the scene altogether. If he can't pollute you, he'll try to kill you. He'll try to get you one way or the other. And so we see this in Daniel. Very clear. And we see it in our world. We've heard it from open doors and other things. Our Christians are being killed just for being Christians. They can't be stopped. They can't be changed. They can't be dissuaded from being Christians. So they're killed just to get them out of the scene altogether. And so we see this is a strategy of the enemy. If Satan could kill Daniel and his friends, he was quite happy to kill hundreds of his servants. Notice that. It would appear that Satan didn't care how many other people died as long as he could get rid of Daniel. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. I know that's a bit hard to finish on, but this is the scene that's set up. Satan has gone to war against the people of God in the palace. He set up this scene through Nebuchadnezzar that no man can do what the king's been... what the king is asking for. And the gods he relies on, well, they're not here. They're off somewhere else. They don't live among men. You've no chance. So let's just kill them all and get rid of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Interesting approach. That's the first 13 verses as God has the scene set to reveal how sovereign he is over the empires of men. How he's sovereign over kings and emperors. How he's sovereign over history and future. How our God is sovereign. He set up the scene for what is to come next. Now, part two is going to be on the prayer of Daniel. I think there's a very crucial part in the prayer that we need to unpack a little bit. And then we will move on to interpret it. So next time, on the 18th of November, we'll get on to the prayer of Daniel. So you've got all that time to study the rest of Chapter 2. Isn't that exciting? Wonderful. Thank you.