Daniel 3:1

Daniel 3:1 says, Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.  Though Nebuchadnezzar had proclaimed Daniel's God to be a god of gods, that did not stop him from creating his own god.  This was a giant golden statue set up so it would be seen from a great distance.  Often people today set up their own golden idols to worship.  This may not be an actual statue, but wealth becomes the most important thing to them.  Verse two adds, Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.  Nebuchadnezzar invited, or more accurately summoned, all the important people in the kingdom to come to the dedication of the statue.  They may have felt honored to be there, but they were also placed in the position of having to acknowledge this statue as a god.  We can never feel honored to be invited to any great event if we must acknowledge some other god than the one true God simply by being there. Verse three continues, Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellers, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.  Since all the people involved in the government were there, we have to think that Daniel and his three friends were there.  Seeing this statue would have meant nothing to them.  We may be in the presence of idols today, though hopefully not because we have been forced to be there, but they should mean nothing to us.  Verse four states, Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,  Now came the king's command concerning the statue, which would change the requirement concerning the statue.  Verse five adds, That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:  They were ordered that anytime they heard music they were to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar had made.  This could be at any time, and they didn't even have to actually be in the presence of the statue.  Some religions are just as fanatical today about their false prophets and the worship of them.  Verse six continues, And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.  This made worshipping the image mandatory under the penalty of death.  Daniel and his three friends could no longer just be in the presence of the image but would be required to actually worship it.  We need to be certain that our faith in God is strong enough to stand the test if we are ever in such a situation.

Daniel 2:44

Daniel 2:44 says, And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.  During the Roman empire, God was going to establish an everlasting kingdom.  This would not be based on the power of men, but on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse forty-five adds, Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.  Daniel said that the stone cut out of the mountains without hands, or by God Himself, would defeat all the other kingdoms, no matter how powerful they were.  We know this was a reference to Christ, Who set up God's everlasting kingdom.  No matter how powerful nations are today, they will never be able to defeat the kingdom of God.  This is not a military kingdom, but a spiritual one.  Verse forty-six continues, Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.  Even though Daniel had given all the credit to God, Nebuchadnezzar chose to worship Daniel instead of God.  Even when we give God the credit for what good we do for others today, they may still only want to give us the credit, even if we make it clear that God is the One Who should be given the praise.  Then in verse forty-seven states, Nebuchadnezzar declares, The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Nebuchadnezzar does acknowledge God after worshipping Daniel.  He called God Daniel's God.  For Nebuchadnezzar God was not the only true and living God, but just another of many gods.  There are those today who may be willing to acknowledge God as one of many gods, especially if something good has been done for them in His name, but this is not enough.  Verse forty-eight adds, Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.  Though he hadn't asked for it, Nebuchadnezzar did reward Daniel.  Then verse forty-nine continues, Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.  Daniel did not forget his three friends.  They had been a part of his being able to tell the king the dream and the interpretation since they had been in prayer with Daniel about it.  We are never truly alone in our witnessing and working for God, so we should never serve God simply for our own benefit.  We should always give God the glory and share the benefits of God's blessings with others.

Daniel 2:37

Daniel 2:37 says, Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.  Daniel began by telling Nebuchadnezzar that he was a very powerful king, and that he was so due to the God in heaven.  We can debate whether God actually placed Nebuchadnezzar in power or just allowed he to rise to such power.  I personally believe that God simply allowed Nebuchadnezzar to rise to power.  If we believe that God places every ruler in power, then all the atrocities committed by those rulers would ultimately be God's responsibility.  It might look as though Daniel was now flattering Nebuchadnezzar, but he was simply interpreting the dream.  Verse thirty-eight adds, And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.  Daniel once more proclaimed the power of Nebuchadnezzar.  The debate from above still applies.  When Daniel said God gave everything in the land over to Nebuchadnezzar, did that mean that God placed him in power or simply allowed him to have that power?  Either way, Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that he was the head of gold.  Daniel said that Nebuchadnezzar was the head of the image and made of the most valuable metal.  Verse thirty-nine continues, And after thee shall arose another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.  Matthew Henry says this represented the Medes and Persians, and then the Greeks.  Daniel said that after Nebuchadnezzar there would be a kingdom inferior to his, and after that another that was represented by the brass in the image.  These kingdoms would be less powerful than Nebuchadnezzar was.  I believe that we can say that no matter how powerful we think we are, if we aren't following the will of God our power and influence will never last.  Verse forty states, And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.  There was to be a fourth kingdom that was powerful and brutal.  Matthew Henry says this was the Roman empire.  There will always be some nation that believes that it should be the most powerful, but all will fall when Christ returns.  Verse forty-one adds, And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.  Daniel said this last kingdom would be divided, but it would still have the strength of iron.  Verse forty-two continues, And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. Verse forty-three concludes, And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.  Daniel said that though this kingdom would be strong that it would never be truly united.

Danel 2:31

Daniel 2:31 says, Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.  Daniel begins to relate the king's dream to him.  Daniel said that in his dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a great image, whose brightness was excellent, but it's form was terrible.  I am not sure, but evidently Nebuchadnezzar remembered the dream as Daniel related it, or otherwise how could he have known that Daniel was telling him the truth.  Until there was someone there who could tell him what the dream meant, then it would have done him no good to remember.  When God reveals His truth today, the lost miss the message of the gospel, and we as followers of Christ are to be there to explain it to them under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse thirty-two adds, This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,  Daniel began to relate the way the statue was constructed, and the farther down he went in the description the cheaper the materials that formed it became.  Verse thirty-three continues, His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.  The statue went from a head of gold to feet of iron and clay.  No matter how wonderful the statue looked, it was built on a weak foundation.  Though this is not part of Daniel's interpretation, I believe that we can say that this applies to the things of this world.  No matter how wonderful they may look, they are built on a foundation that will crumble when judged by God.  Verse thirty-four states, Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.  Daniel said Nebuchadnezzar saw a stone cut without hands destroy the feet of the image, or statue.  Verse thirty-five adds, Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.  Daniel was still at this point telling Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was, but the image was destroyed, and the stone became great and filled the whole earth.  Verse thirty-six continues, This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.  Daniel had fulfilled the first part of Nebuchadnezzar's demand, which was likely the hardest part, and now he was ready to fulfill the second demand.  When confronted with a challenge that threatens our faith today, we must look to God for answers.  The first step may be to actually identify the problem, then we will be ready to take action.

Daniel 2:26

Daniel 2:26 says, The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?  Nebuchadnezzar asks Daniel plainly if he was able to make the dream known.  Since Daniel's Babylonian name is pointed out, that is likely how the king addressed him.  We can assume that by this time the king expected the captives to have become assimilated into Babylonian culture.  When people see followers of Christ today, they may assume that we are just like everyone else, but as Nebuchadnezzar was to find out, just like there was with Daniel there is something different about us.  Daniel was an obedient servant of God, just as we should be.  This could have been Daniel's opportunity to really make life easy for his friends and himself, but he chose to keep the emphasis on God.  Anytime we are doing something good in the world, we need to make sure that God receives the glory.  Verse twenty-seven adds, Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;  I believe that Daniel was simply pointing out the inability of any person to answer Nebuchadnezzar's demands by their own ability, and this even included Daniel.  Instead of claiming glory for himself, Daniel was to give the glory to God, as it should have been.  By our own abilities as followers of Christ, we are no better than any other person, but because of our relationship to Him we are.  Still, we are not to use this relationship with Christ for our own benefit, but like Daniel are to give God the glory.   Verse twenty-eight continues, But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;  Daniel had said that those who claimed a special ability to interpret dreams were helpless, but there is a God in heaven that revealth secrets. This should be our declaration in all things, especially situations in which there seems to be no answer: But there is a God in heaven.  God has not gone away since Daniel's day.  Then, after giving God the glory, Daniel begins to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream.  Verse twenty-nine states, As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.  Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that when he dreamed was what was to come to pass, and that God was revealing it to him.  We should not be surprised that if God reveals something to those who do not believe in Him that they would fail to understand it.  Verse thirty adds, But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.  Once more, Daniel did not take credit for interpreting the dream, but said it was revealed to him by God for the sake of those who were to be destroyed and that the king might know what was in his heart. This is what the gospel does.  The gospel is given for our sakes, not through any ability that we have, but by the power of God.  It reveals to us what is in our heart.

Daniel 2:20

Daniel 2:20 says, Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:  In this verse and the next three we have Daniel's words of blessing, or praise, to God.  Daniel begins by acknowledging the eternal wisdom and power of God.  When we are talking to God, we need to always remember Who He is.  God is the creator and redeemer Who sustains all who are His.  Verse twenty-one adds, And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:  Daniel said that God is the ultimate authority and source of wisdom in the world.  Though we can debate whether God places all rulers in power or simply allows them to rule for a time, we can be certain that ultimately all earthly rulers will be removed.  Likewise, we can be certain that all true wisdom comes from God.  Verse twenty-two continues, He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.  Daniel said that God revealed all the deep and secret things and knew what was in darkness.  Nothing can be hidden from God.  He will bring to light all those things done in darkness.  Verse twenty-three states, I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.  After praising God for Who He is, Daniel praised Him for answering their prayers.  We likewise should praise God not just for the fact that He is the source of all good in the world, but also for the fact that He hears and answers our prayers.  Through faith in Christ, we have a personal relationship with God.  Verse twenty-four adds, Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.  Daniel could have asked Arioch that he not destroy Daniel and his three friends, but he included all those who were to be destroyed.  We might sometimes think that when evil people, or simply those who deny God suffer that they are getting what they deserve, but that should not be our attitude.  As followers of Christ, we should pray for their redemption instead of their destruction.  Daniel said he could show the king the interpretation, which meant that God had answered Daniel's prayers.  Verse twenty-five continues, Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.  This took some faith on the part of Arioch, because he was not carrying out the king's command.  Sometimes, even those who aren't followers of Christ will help those who are in a time of crisis.

Daniel 2:11

Daniel 2:11 says, And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.  This is a continuation of the statement made by the magicians and astrologers, those who were thought to be the wise men of Babylon.  They said that there was no one who could answer the king except the gods.  They were almost correct.  There was none who could answer except someone appealing to the One true God.  We must always remember that what is impossible for man is possible for God, when we rely on Him for whatever we need.  Verse twelve adds, For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar was angry about their answer, and he decreed that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.  They most likely thought that if they said no one could do what the king asked that he would be satisfied.  Instead, they brought about their own destruction, which will be the fate of all those who claim to be able to tell the future without looking to God for guidance.  Verse thirteen continues, And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.  The king wasted no time in issuing the decree that they should be destroyed.  Daniel and his three friends were included in this round up.  Just as Daniel and his friends had been taken captive, they were now about to be killed through no fault of their own.  We may at times find ourselves in bad situations through no fault of our own, but we, like Daniel, must not allow it to shake our faith in God.  Verse fourteen states, Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:  Then verse fifteen adds, He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.  Daniel wanted to know why the king was so quick to decree the death of all for the failure of some wise men and magicians.  Arioch, who was in charge, told Daniel the reason.  If we are going to be condemned by the world, it is always good to know why.  Verse sixteen continues, Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.   Daniel didn't just rush in to see Nebuchadnezzar, but when he saw him simply asked for time with the promise that he would tell him the dream and the interpretation.  He needed time to pray to God for the answers.  We need to make sure that we pray and ask God for guidance in all that we do.  Verse seventeen says, Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:  Daniel did not just rely on himself, but shared the need with his three friends.  We do not need to feel that we are alone when confronting the evils of the world but should always remember that other Christians are at work and at prayer as well.  Verse eighteen adds, That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.  They were to desire the mercies of God that they would receive the answer and should not perish.  We today, by the mercy of God, have the answer to keep us from perishing spiritually, and that is accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  None of the other wisdom of the world can save us.  Then verse nineteen concludes, Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.  Daniel had remained faithful to God and God remained faithful to Daniel.  Daniel had placed his life in God's hands, believing that God would give him the answer for Nebuchadnezzar, and God delivered.  We can have that same assurance in life today, and since God has already delivered us to everlasting life, we should bless God by our actions.