Nebuchadnezzar's Dream - Daniel 2

Daniel 2:1 "And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him." See the last chapter of II Chronicles for a time prospective.

The problem with this dream is that the king does not remember it, only that it was very troubling. The king wants someone to tell him the dream and what it means. Of course, it is an impossible task for mere humans. Yet, the king demanded that his wise men tell him the dream and the meaning or he is going to put them all to death. That would have included Daniel.

v2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king."

I suppose these people had it pretty good so long as they could make up a convincing meaning for the king's dreams. But they are on the spot now, they have no way to fake this one. So they tell the king that he is asking something that no other king would ask of anyone. Well, Nebuchadnezzar is not just another king. He is the big boss and tells them that they will not have time to make up something.

v9 "But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed, therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof."

We find that they failed the test that the king put forth and so the decree went out to kill the lot of them. Daniel heard the news and asked to see the king.

v16 "Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation."

It would appear that Daniel has put himself on the spot but we must remember that Daniel is a man of faith and the first thing he did was gather his praying friends together to help him seek the Lord's help.

v18 "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."

We now know that Daniel did get help and that the dream was revealed to him. He did not go immediately off to tell the king but rather stayed long enough to give the Lord thanks.

v20 "Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his;"

Daniel did not take credit for the wisdom he received but rather remembered where his help came from.

Daniel told the king that the wise men could not reveal the dream but

v28 "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:

King's Meat Daniel 1

Daniel 1:8 "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."

I don't think it was that they could not have had better food from the market but rather that the meat and drink from the king's table was eaten in the name of their false gods and that is what Daniel objected to. He did not want to eat in the name of the false gods.

The key to this verse in that Daniel "purposed in his heart" . He had his mind made up before he had to confront the decision. But, he still had an attitude of humility with his keepers.

We should note strongly that the Lord had prepared the way for Daniel.

v9 "Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs."

Still the prince of the eunuchs was reluctant to agree with Daniel's request. Upon reading closely we discover that there was another eunuch put over Daniel by the name of Melzar. He did give Daniel and his three friends three days to prove themselves.

v12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days, and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink."

(pulse is vegetable type food, in some cases it talks of peas and such but here probably vegetables in general)

So after ten days Daniel and his friends were examined and found to look better than those who ate the king's meat.

v15 "And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat."

Again the Lord prepared their way and gave them the wisdom they would need to give meaning to the dreams of the king later.

v17 "As for these four children God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom, and Daniel and understanding in all visions and dreams."

It was finally time for the children to appear before the king where he talked with them. These four passed with flying colors. It says that Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus. It is now the second year of Nebuchadnezzar."

Request

I have a tag at the bottom of each post which makes it easy to tell a friend about this Bible study. It is not an in depth study but if you are in a hurry and need a subject to think about during the day. It is quick and easy to read over a study. Please tell someone once in a while. Thank you.

The Names - Daniel 1

Daniel 1:6-7 "Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah of Abednego."

I feel sure that there were more Hebrew children who did well and remained true to God but we are given these as examples. They stirred up quite a fuss in the Chaldean kingdom.

The meanings:

Daniel - God is judge. Belteshazzar - the lord's leader. (Don't confuse this name with the son of Nebuchadnezzar whose name is very similiar and was Belshazzar, notice the 'te' in Daniel's name.

Hananiah - Jehovah is gracious. (Nice name) . Shadrach - Royal (?) the meaning is a perhaps.

Mishael - who is what God is? Meshach - can't find a meaning for that name

Azariah - Jehovah is keeper Abednego - servant of Nego

These are wonderful names, that is the original names. It is no wonder they wanted to change them, otherwise every time they called the boys, they would be calling out an attribute of the one true God. However, Daniel kept his original name most of the time. God is judge.

v8 "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."

Daniel did not wait 'for the right time' to do what he felt was right. He started right off and it seems to me, in a quiet manner. He made friends or rather God gave him favor which allowed him to prove that serving God was a good way.

Daniel - Child, Leader and Prophet

Daniel 1:1 "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it."

We have studied the story how Nebuchadnezzar came and took Jerusalem under the will of God as punishment for their sin. It is the beginning of the captivity.

The king took back treasures to Babylon from the Lord's house. I'm sure he meant them as bounty but it turned out to be for safe keeping of the items.

The king also took some of the most promising children back with him to teach and to be in his company. Daniel was one of these children.

v2 "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god, v3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes;"

So not only are the treasures of the Lord's house preserved but also the king's seed is preserved. The bloodline is preserved.

Daniel came to Babylon as a child full of wisdom. The first part of the book is about the challenges he faced along with his friends. Then, we see him in his adult life as a leader after interrupting some very important dreams or visions of the king. He had his fair share of trials but is finally established. Then we see the visions Daniel saw and the explanation of them.

The book of Daniel should be studied along with the book of Revelation to help with an understanding of the end times.

v4 "Children in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongues of the Chaldeans."

Daniel had a good resume to start with but he improved on it. He also had the blessing of his Heavenly Father who answered the prayers he prayed. Daniel was a man of faith as illustrated by his statement to the king that God would show the vision.

Oblation - Ezekiel 48

Ezekiel 48:21 "And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof. See Revelation 21:3 and Joshua 18:1

It is, of course, appropriate that the book of Ezekiel end with an offering (oblation) for the prince. We know him and the coming king, Jesus Christ. This chapter should be read in conjunction with Revelation 22.

It tells of the dividing of the land of Canaan. I expect for the kingdom age but I am not sure. The words of this chapter are beautiful but there is still a bit of a cloud that is taken off in Revelation. It is amazing to me that our unworthy generation is able to see things that were kept from the old prophets. We are blessed.

Zadok, the priest, is given special mention because he did not go astray as the other Levites did. He is therefore allowed to approach the Lord.

v11 "It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray."

Although Zadok was of the priesthood, we see here a distinction between him and the Levites. It is like when the kingdom was divided and it became Israel and Judah. It is now Zadok and the Levites.

It is noted that Joseph gets two portions in the names of his sons.

v5 "And by the border of Manaseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim."

And so we end Ezekiel with a very appropriate verse. In the beginning of Ezekiel we saw the glory of the Lord depart the temple, then in the end we saw the glory of the Lord return. Oh happy day. Now we find another name for the city and it ought to be a joyous name.

v35 "It was round about eighteen thousand measures; and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there."

And that makes all the difference, to know that the LORD is there.

The book of Daniel is next.

River Too Wide & Lots of Fish - Ezekiel 47

Ezekiel 47 : 5 "Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

I saw the Mississippi at the mouth where it runs into the gulf. The waters are wide and move with the force of hundreds of miles of water behind it. It was frightening and magnificent at the same time. If it had not been muddy, it might have been a good comparison to this river.

v2 "Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side."

I'm thinking this is a clouded picture of the New Jerusalem we read about in Revelation. I should back up and get the first verse.

v1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar."

We are often pointed eastward in these passages. Ever looking toward the place where the prince is to stand.

Revelation 22:1 "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."

In Ezekiel, a man is showing Ezekiel these things, in Revelation, a man is showing John. I don't think he was an ordinary man though.

The rest of the chapter deals with dividing the land for the twelve tribes.

I did like one passage especially. It was about the fish in the river. My son, in heaven, would like this.

v10 "And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many."

From Engedi to Eneglaim, I might could catch a fish there.

Prince at the Post - Ezekiel 46

Ezekiel 46:2 "And the prince shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate without, and shall stand by the post of the gate and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate; then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening."

v3 "Likewise, the people of the land shall worship at the door of this gate before the LORD in the sabbaths and in the new moons."

What some have called superstition may have come about from this very chapter of Ezekiel. I have heard during my life that if you go in a door you should leave by the same door. In this chapter, it is commanded to leave by a different door than where they came in. It is a good example of how things get turned around.

v9 "But when the people of the land shall come before the LORD in the solemn feasts, he that entereth in by the way of the north gate to worship shall go out by the way of the south gate; and he that entereth by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; and he that entereth by way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate; he shall not return by the way of the gate whereby he came in, but shall go forth over against it.

I think this has to do with organization. If you can picture two lines going and coming from the temple. It would be difficult for everyone to get through if they turned against the traffic and there would be a log jam at the gates.

Remember, all Israel was to go to Jerusalem at certain times of the year.

The prince was different, he was to enter and leave by the same way.

v8 "And when the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by the way thereof."

Now look at the following verse. As sons, Christians have a great inheritance. We join Christ as children of the Father.

v16 "Thus saith the LORD GOD; If the prince give a gift unto any of his sons, the inheritance thereof shall be his sons'; it shall be their possession by inheritance."

Ephesians 3:6 "That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel;"

But, of course, our passage is concerning the temple activities when it is restored. I do believe that there are parallels with our spiritual worship.