God and the King: Acknowledging God’s existence & wisdom

Daniel is my favorite book of the Bible. I love reading about how Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered and blessed when they obeyed God and followed His will.

But in my last reading, I realized that the book isn’t just about them, but is also about the people around them.

Take Nebuchadnezzar for example. The story of this king shows the process God uses to draw unbelievers close.

We’re initially introduced to the king at the end of the first chapter of Daniel, when he chose the best men out of the captives to enter into his personal service. He found none wiser than Daniel and his three friends, and they were all appointed.

The second chapter is where we begin to see God at work. Nebuchadnezzar was troubled by a dream, and he wanted his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and advisers to tell him its meaning. However, even though he wanted the meaning, he chose not to tell them about the dream’s content. Some scholars believe he forgot but would recognize it when it was described. Others think that the king was not confident in the wisdom of the wise men, and that he was concerned they were deceiving him. Either way, Nebuchadnezzar believed that if they had the wisdom and insight they claimed to have, they should have been able to divulge the content of the dream along with its meaning.

Of course, none of the wise men were able to tell the king what his dream was. After asking the king to reveal the dream a couple times and the king declining, they said in verse 11, “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.”

Their ineptitude infuriated Nebuchadnezzar, and he responded by issuing an order to kill all the wise men in Babylon. So the soldiers went out seeking the wise men, including Daniel and his friends.

Word of the king’s decree and its reason reached Daniel. He asked his friends to pray, and God revealed the dream and its interpretation to Daniel (v. 31 - 45). Daniel then asked to see the king.

Daniel proved that the wise men were right when they said that only a god could reveal the dream. He told the king that his wisdom and insight was not his own, but came from God. He then proceeded to tell the king about the dream and its interpretation.

When Daniel finished, the king was in awe. “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets," he said, "since you could reveal this secret” (v. 47).

God showed Nebuchadnezzar that He wasn’t like any of the other gods the king and his people worshiped. He was alive, wise, and actively involved in the lives of the people who served Him.

Acknowledging that God is real, wise and involved is the first step nonbelievers must take on the path to Salvation. They need to learn that He is alive, knows about the world and His people, and takes an active role in their lives.

*Interesting fact: Nebuchadnezzar was named after Nabu, the Babylonian god of wisdom. This is ironic, considering the king had to acknowledge that it wasn’t Nabu who revealed the dream and interpretation, but instead was God though Daniel.

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