Discussions in Daniel (5) Daniel 2:1-9
Daniel 2:1-9 Nebuchadnezzars dreams
Megan: I was drawn to ask myself this: How easily do I turn to others (Christians) for wisdom, answers or interpretation rather than seeking it diligently from the Lord?
Nick: Forgive me for going on a bit of a tangent with this, but the dreams have always interested me. If anyone can shed more truth on this let me know. In Gen 40:8…Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”
There is so much likeness with Joseph’s and Daniel’s time in captivity. God troubles the spirit of the enemy here with dreams, Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar both suffer, but this time Nebuchadnezzar demands the dream itself is told to him, giving nobody else a chance other than God to interpret. I believe God troubles our spirits with dreams sometimes to get our attention, I actually believe God has given me interpretation before when hearing other people’s dreams. All glory has to be given to God though, as Joseph does in Gen 41:16 “Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” I wonder when we feel troubled enough by a dream is our heart tender enough to receive the wisdom of God through interpretation?
Ian: Yes, I believe God can speak to us through dreams, but we sometimes have to wait on Him for the interpretation. Also, God gives some people the gift of interpreting dreams, where the Holy Spirit reveals to them the meaning of the dream. Dreams often involve symbols and metaphors whose meanings are not always immediately apparent. I think we neglect this aspect of God speaking to us. I’ve found The Divinity Code by Adrian Beale and Adam Thompson to be a good book on dream interpretation.
Mary: Two years into his reign, this powerful king who has decimated Israel, has dreams that disturb him to the core. How exciting – again we see the hand of God at work.
Nebuchadnezzar was looking to his experts in the Dark Arts to explain these dreams. I don’t think we appreciate how much a part of the culture these Dark Arts were. Egypt, Babylon and the other great powers routinely relied on occult practices for decision making and guidance.
But, skilled as they were, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t trust these guys enough to give him a truthful interpretation of his dreams. So he set them the challenge of telling him what the dreams were, as well as explaining their meaning. They were top of their grade in their magic skills, but this was beyond them.
We know what God is doing here, we’ve read the end of the story. But it’s good to remind ourselves that however powerful and impressive any authority appears to be, they are helpless before the might and wisdom of God.
May we as God’s people stay so in tune with Him that even the strategies of the enemy don’t rob us of our confidence in Him.