Guess What I’m Thinking

It’s a nice quiet evening.  The monthly budget is finished, the kids are independently amused, and the itunes is playing several Derek Webb selections.  Seems like a great time to go over Daniel Chapter Two.

Here we lead off with the sleepy & confused King Nebuchadnezzar being pestered by a recurring dream.  It’s enough to keep him up.  So he gets all the king’s horses & all the king’s men brought in for a consultation.  But the kicker is that he won’t tell him the contents of the dream.  These guys must have felt like those poor phone psychics, when people mess with them by saying things like, “What do you mean, ‘Why did I call?’  You should know, you’re the flippin’ psychic!”

Needless to say, these charlatans can’t do the job.  But they are wise men, and they do the wisest thing they possibly can–they stall, by attemting to negotiate with the king for some details of the dream.   Not a bad idea, especially when they are presented with a request that is for them impossible.  But Nebuchadnezzar isn’t fooled.  And the king shows his ability to make a snap decision, deciding that since these sages are not worth keeping on the payroll, he might as well be rid of the lot of them.  Nebuchadnezzar orders the execution of not only the ones that he is angry at at the moment, but of every last government-issue truth guru in the kingdom.  Thus, this becomes a problem for Daniel.

 I’ve had some unwelcome people show up at the door.  Cable salesmen, kids raising money for band trips, missionaries for various fringe religious factions; you get the idea.  But imagine Daniel having the king’s guard, Arioch, stop by to carry out the execution order.  Y’know, I’d rather talk to the salesman, myself.  But Daniel is successful where the other guys weren’t.  He goes to the king, and is granted time.  Perhaps Daniel has already gained a great deal of respect, or maybe the king has cooled off a bit now that he’s had time to rethink his rash order. 

 Daniel then employs his afformentioned friends, Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego to pray.  And God comes through.  God gives Daniel the details of the king’s vision, and supplies the interpretaion as well.  Verses 20 to 23 of this chapter comprise a poetic thankful psalm, where Daniel thanks God for the information.  In verse 21, Daniel points out how it is God who sets up rulers, and God who takes them down.  We’ll see some examples of that later in this book.

 So Daniel goes to Arioch, who in turn gets him in to see the king right away.  I have to think that Arioch is eager to have this order removed.  After all, the Arioch must have some interaction with these magi that he has been charged with killing, and he probably finds the task distasteful.  So the king poses the challenge again to Daniel, and Daniel gives an answer similar to what Joseph said when he was called to interpret a dream.  That no wise man can do what the king demands, but that there is a God who reveals mysteries.  And then he lays out the dream for the king.  Gets the whole thing right.  Then he gives the interpretation.

 It works out well for both Nebuchadnezar and Daniel.  The king comes out looking good, being intrepeted as one of the greatest kings ever.  The king worships God, although later he’ll be shown to be a little fickle in this regard.  Daniel gets promoted to be chief of the wise men that he just saves from a quick end.  You’d think they’s be grateful.  In chapter six, we’ll find that for being so wise, these magi have short memories.

This account is a striking example of the providence and benevolence of God.  God delivers a clear preview of history, to both Nebuchadnezzar and us.  Using the vision to show that he is sovereign over all of histoy, and using the circumstances of it’s delivery to show that he covers the details of our daily lives.  Even going so far as to show mercy in saving the lives of four Israeli aliens.  And he does this in such a way as to show the king who’s boss, show the rank & file wise men that they really aren’t as smart as they think they are, and to show Daniel, Rack, Shack & Benny that he is protecting and promoting them.  This event sets up Daniel in a political position that will give him good view and a strong influence over the current and next two kings.  It’s a Jed Clampett-esque ride for Daniel, from death row to Beverly Hills.

I haven’t faced the doe or die type situations that Daniel did here.  Sometimes it’s just a matter of wondering if my friends will still like me if I talk about Jesus too much.  This is a good example for me; to have faith during a present crisis, pray, work hard, and let God do the rest.