Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him. Daniel 2:24
In 1478, Lorenzo de Medici, the ruler of Florence, Italy, escaped an attack on his life. His countrymen sparked a war when they tried to retaliate against the attack on their leader. As the situation worsened, the cruel King Ferrante I of Naples became Lorenzo’s enemy, but a courageous act by Lorenzo changed everything. He visited the king unarmed and alone. This bravery, paired with his charm and brilliance, won Ferrante’s admiration and ended the war.
Daniel also helped a king experience a change of heart. No one in Babylon could describe or interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream. This made him so angry that he decided to execute all his advisors—including Daniel and his friends. But Daniel asked to visit the king who wanted him dead (Daniel 2:24).
Standing before Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel gave God all the credit for revealing the mystery of the dream (v. 28). When the prophet described and deciphered it, Nebuchadnezzar honored the “God of gods and the Lord of kings” (v. 47). Daniel’s uncommon courage, which was born of his faith in God, helped him, his friends, and the other advisors avoid death that day.
In our lives, there are times when bravery and boldness are needed to communicate important messages. May God guide our words and give us the wisdom to know what to say and the ability to say it well.
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch,z whom the king had appointed to execute the
wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon.
Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exilesa
from Judahb who can tell the king what his dream means.”
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),c
“Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner
can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,d
28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.e
He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.f
Your dream and the visions that passed through your mindg as you were lying in bedh are these:i
29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come,
and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.j
30 As for me, this mystery has been revealedk to me, not because I
have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty
may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
INSIGHT
- How has someone’s bravery made a difference in your life?
- How can you rest in God’s power to act courageously for Him?
The book of Daniel spans seventy years (605–535 bc) of the Babylonian exile, Judah’s punishment for her covenantal unfaithfulness (Deuteronomy 28:36, 64; Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10–11). Daniel, given the Babylonian name Belteshazzar (Daniel 1:7), was one of the many teenagers of royal and noble descent deported to Babylon and educated in the ways of the Babylonians to serve the victorious Babylonian king (vv. 3–7). Daniel 2 tells of how Daniel rose to become Nebuchadnezzar’s chief adviser and right-hand man. He became adviser and confidante to the kings of Babylon (chs. 1–5) and Medo-Persia (ch. 6)—the superpowers of the ancient world. In chapters 7–12, God gave Daniel four apocalyptic visions of the course of human history, reminding His people that He’s the sovereign God of all creation.
PRAYER
Dear Jesus, thank You for the courage You showed during Your life on earth. Fill me with Your wisdom and power when I face tense situations. In Your name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: Daniel 2:24-30 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: 1 Chronicles 1-3; John 5:25-47
