One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.” Daniel 2:1-3 NLT
Playing with fire increases the chances of getting burned. Playing with water increases the chances of getting wet. Putting a plate close to the edge increases the chance of it falling. Leaving the freezer door open all night means the food inside will be defrosted the next morning. Mopping the floor in the morning and serving spaghetti with red sauce for dinner is just asking for trouble. But it’s predictable, understandable and expected.
The impossible demand
So it’s interesting when King Nebuchadnezzar gathers together all his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers and demands them to do something mindboggling: interpret his dream without telling them the dream (Dan 2:1-3).
To make sure they understand the gravity of his request he tells them they will be torn ‘limb from limb’ if they don’t comply (Dan 2:5). Harsh, I know. But Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to know he was serious. Apparently, having them killed was the best way to convey that.
The precarious predicament
Even the most clairvoyant can’t read minds, let alone reveal what someone else dreamt. Yet, this was the precarious situation the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers found themselves in. How on earth were they going to interpret a dream they hadn’t heard? Theirs was a world of smoke and mirrors. And yet, none of those skills could help them in their current predicament. So they try logic mixed with a tinge of manipulation to appeal to Nebuchadnezzar’s rational side.
Nebuchadnezzar is told no king, no matter how ‘great and powerful’ has ever asked them to do such a thing. Unless he shares his dream, they can’t interpret it. Only the gods could accomplish such a feat. And they can’t ask them because evidently they didn’t live among people (Dan 2:10-11).
Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar was not happy with their reply and ordered the execution of all the wise men in Babylon. Showing not only was he serious, but he was also a man of his word (Dan 2:12).
A pause
In comes a man named Daniel who also has the unfortunate job title of wise men. He doesn’t refute his colleague’s claims. He concurs there are no ‘wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret’ (Dan 2:27). It’s just one of those common-sense laws everyone living on the planet intuitively knows – except Nebuchadnezzar obviously. One can’t interpret a dream unless they hear what it is first.
Then Daniel takes a slight detour and adds a pause. He says ‘but’. This is to let the king know the request he has made is impossible, it can’t be done by men. Or their gods because they don’t live among people. But what Daniel knows, which Nebuchadnezzar, the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers don’t, is there’s a God in heaven who’s different than any of their gods.
The God in heaven
The God that Daniel knows specializes in impossibility. In fact, three of Daniel’s friends would be thrown into fire so hot, it burned the soldiers who threw them in. But contrary to logic, they themselves didn’t burn (Dan 3:19-27).
Daniel also knew how the nation of Israel walked through the middle of a sea and surprisingly didn’t get wet (Ex 14). They also walked through a river and still didn’t get wet (Josh 3).
Daniel himself would be forced to spend the night in a lion’s den. And against all rational, he would emerge the next day without the tiniest nibble or scratch (Dan 6:16-23). Unheard of and unexplainable. Hungry lions, attack. Fire burns. Water makes things wet. But…there’s a God in heaven. He is the God of the impossible and this was who Daniel turned to.
Daniel didn’t shy away from sharing the truth with Nebuchadnezzar. What he was asking was impossible and unrealistic. Yet Daniel managed to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream and the interpretation. Because Daniel knew there was a ‘God in heaven who reveals secrets’ (Dan 2:28). And He lives among His people.
“Praise be to the name of God forever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Dan 2:20-23 NLT