Daniel 2 - An Impossible Test

Have you ever taken a test where no matter how hard you studied, you just didn’t know the answers? The questions were just too hard? I’ve been there. But the people in our story today took an even tougher test. These guys didn’t just not know the answers; they didn’t even know the question! That’s right… We’re continuing Daniel’s story today, and this time we’re going to hear from a guy named Arioch about the time where Daniel passed an impossible test! So let’s listen in.

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Daniel? Yeah, I’ve heard of that guy. I mean, who hasn’t? He’s kind of a legend in the palace by this point. Daniel, that servant from Judah who can do pretty much anything.

There’s something special about him and his friends. No matter what they do, they’re good at it. Give them the toughest scrolls in the palace to translate? They’ve got it translated by the end of the day. Give them a tough prophecy to interpret? They nail it. Make them scrub the floors? They’re shining brighter than the day the floors were put in!

Daniel and his friends might make a bunch of the other servants jealous, but they certainly make my job easier! The name’s Arioch. I’ve been the commander of the king’s guard for a few years now. And let me tell you, I haven’t always been a fan of these servants. Especially those that King Nebuchadnezzar recruits from other countries.

You have to watch those servants. They’re the ones that are most likely to want to kill the king. The story is always the same. They’re mad that they’ve been taken from their homes and want revenge. But not Daniel and his friends. Sure, I bet they missed home, but they served King Nebuchadnezzar loyally! We could use more servants like Daniel around.

But that’s not what you want to hear about. You want to hear about that dream of the king’s. Ooooh boy, that’s a good story. One of the craziest days of my career! And the crazy started right at the beginning!

Picture this: It’s a normal night at the palace. I’ve been relieved for the night and getting some much needed rest after guarding the king all day. But as commander of the king’s guard, you’re never totally off the clock. If anything goes wrong in the castle, I’m one of the first to be woken up.

But I’m not normally woken up because the king had a bad dream… Don’t get me wrong, I know nightmares can be scary, but the king’s a big boy… He should be able to handle his own bad dreams. But not this one. King Nebuchadnezzar was yelling and screaming up a storm, demanding all kinds of servants and wise men be brought to him immediately.

When a servant came to get me, I only groaned. It was 3am. Couldn’t this wait until morning?

Then I snapped to my senses. Of course not. This is King Nebuchadnezzar we’re talking about! This king’s got a temper like you wouldn’t believe. I did not want to get on his bad side!

So I changed out of my pajamas and into my armour and hurried off to the king’s side. And wouldn’t you know it, all kinds of the smartest and wisest people in the kingdom were already talking with the king.

“Oh king, may you live forever!” the wise men were saying. “Tell us what you dreamed. Then we’ll explain what it means” (Daniel 2:4, NIrV).

The king looked down at them from his throne. He didn’t look happy. I think he looked at each and every one of those wise men for a few seconds. Then he let out what almost sounded like a growl.

Finally, in his low, booming voice, he said, “No… I will not tell you my dream. You will tell me what I dreamed and what it meant.”

“But my king…” the chief wise man tried to interrupt, which only made King Nebuchadnezzar’s face grow angrier!

“I’m not done talking!” he yelled. “If none of you can do this, I will have you cut into pieces. And I will destroy your homes. Do not disappointment me.”

The room grew silent. I looked over at the wise men. Their faces were white. A few of them looked like they wanted to speak, but decided against it.

“But never let it be said I am not a grateful king,” Nebuchadnezzar continued, now smiling. “To the man who can correctly tell me what I dreamed and what it means, I will give riches and rewards beyond your imagination! Now come… Who can tell me my dream?”

Nobody moved. The wise men just looked around at each other, silently. Some of them bit their lips. One of them collapsed. Finally, the chief wise man said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, please! Just tell us what you dreamed. Then we can interpret it!”

The king was silent for a moment. Then, he rose from his throne. The chief wise man swallowed. He knew this wasn’t a good sign.

“I know what you’re doing,” King Nebuchadnezzar said quietly. “You’re trying to stall for time so you can come up with lies. So no… I will not tell you my dream! But I suggest you tell it to me soon if you want to save your lives!”

“But my king, what you have asked is impossible! Nobody in Babylon can do what you asked. This is too hard for even the gods!” (The Babylonians, of course, believe that there are many gods… But I learned pretty quickly after this whole dream thing that there’s only one God.)

At this, King Nebuchadnezzar sighed. “Arioch?”

I cleared my throat, too nervous to do anything else. “Yes, my king.”

The king turned around so he was looking away from the wise men. “Have these fools put to death!” the king commanded.

There was nothing I could do. The king had given an order, and I had to follow through with it. So I arrested the wise men in the king’s chambers and then sent some guards to round up all the other wise men in the castle. Apparently King Nebuchadnezzar meant what he said. He was going to have them all put to death.

That’s when Daniel approached me. Daniel was one of those wise men. He couldn’t understand why King Nebuchadnezzar would give such an impossible test, let alone why the king would have all the wise men in the kingdom put to death if they couldn’t solve it! But without a second thought, Daniel went to King Nebuchadnezzar’s chamber and said that he could interpret the dream. He would just need a little bit of time. And thank the LORD, Nebuchadnezzar told me to hold off on the death sentence until after Daniel returned.

Daniel went home to pray with his friends. They asked God to help Daniel understand the king’s dream so they could save not only their lives but the lives of all the wise men. And that night, God gave Daniel a vision and showed him exactly what he needed to know.

The next day, Daniel came to me and said that he knew what the king’s dream meant. I was a little suspicious, but I figured anything was better than killing a whole bunch of innocent men. So I took Daniel before the king, really hoping that he got it right.

“So Daniel,” King Nebuchadnezzar said with an amused grin, “Arioch here tells me that you can tell me what my dream means!”

“No my king,” Daniel replied. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped beating for a second. Great, thanks Daniel! I thought. The King’s probably going to be so mad he’ll have me killed too!

But then Daniel continued: “You have asked us to explain a mystery to you. But no wise man can do that. And those who try to figure things out by using magic can’t do it either. But there is a God in heaven who can explain mysteries. King Nebuchadnezzar, that God has shown you what is going to happen in the future…”

And with that, Daniel went on to explain this fascinating dream. King Nebuchadnezzar had been standing before a giant statue. The statue’s head was made of gold, the chest and arms were of silver, the stomach of bronze, the legs of iron, and the feet of iron and clay. And then a massive rock came falling from the sky and crushed the statue, piece by piece!

Then Daniel explained what the dream meant. He said that each part of the statue was a different kingdom. King Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was the golden head, and there were a bunch of kingdoms that were going to come after his. But each and every one of those kingdoms was going to be defeated.

But one kingdom, the rock that crushed all the others, that kingdom would last. And that kingdom, Daniel said, was God’s kingdom. God was going to set up a kingdom on Earth that was never going to be destroyed!

With this, King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed. He honoured Daniel and gave him all the rewards he promised. And then he said, “I’m sure your God is the greatest God of all. He is the Lord of kings. He explains mysteries. That’s why you were able to explain the mystery of my dream” (Daniel 2:47). And from that day on, Daniel became one of the most important people in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court.

Of course, King Nebuchadnezzar soon forgot about this dream and how he had praised God. But I didn’t. I’ve believed in Daniel’s God ever since that day. I believe that God is the forever King who explains mysteries! And I only hope that one day, I might be able to serve in His kingdom too!

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The crazy thing about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, guys, is that it actually came true. After Babylon came another kingdom, the Persians (silver). And after them came the Greeks (bronze). And after them came the Roman Empire (iron), but even that eventually split off into a bunch of weaker kingdoms (iron and clay). All of those kingdoms came and went.

Now you might be thinking, “But what about God’s kingdom? Where’s that?” And honestly guys, it’s partly here, just not in the way that we might be expecting. When Jesus came, died, and rose again, He began God’s kingdom on earth. But it won’t be completely set up until Jesus comes again.

In the meantime, it’s super important that we decide if we’re going to become part of God’s kingdom or not. To be part of God’s kingdom means believing that Jesus died to forgive us for all those bad things we’ve done in our lives. And the best part is that when we do that, we get to have a relationship with the King Himself, God, right now!

And if God’s kingdom is going to last forever, like Daniel said it would, then that’s something we’re going to want to be a part of.

~Brentagious