May 24: THIS. IS. THE DREAM.

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, And He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days.” Daniel 2:27-28a

Daniel takes no credit for being “able to make known…the dream…and its interpretation” (v.26). No indeed! After making clear that no human could have learned the secret of the king’s dream and its meaning, he credits his heavenly Father and moves directly to the fact of His care – personally! – for the king: “He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.” (vv.28-29)

Already, the king is getting more than what he had demanded, for he never asked any of his advisors to tell him the secrets of his own thoughts. The king was worried about what the future held for himself and his kingdom. Daniel continues: “But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king…” (Daniel is acknowledging his praying friends, as they were included in the king’s death decree) “… and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.” (v.30 – see also Hebrews 4:12)

Drumroll….! “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” (vv.31-35)

The word translated image here may also be translated statue. It is interesting that the original word in Aramaic, transliterated “selem”, is the very same word in Hebrew. It unquestionably refers to an idol, and God has given Nebuchadnezzar a dream of a particularly enormous and magnificent one. The rampant practice of idolatry, with all its traditions and festivities, is being addressed here. Daniel’s description of the dream was succinct and perfectly accurate. Therefore, he could state confidently: “This is the dream.” (v.36a)

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever. Deuteronomy 29:29a