The Statue That the King Saw, Daniel
2:32, 33
Body
Part Material Empire Represented
Head fine
gold
Breast and
Arms silver Medo-Persia
Belly and
thighs bronze
Legs iron
Feet (a
mixture) iron
and clay
Toes iron
and ceramic The 10 Roman
Kingdoms
(v 44)
A Stone Cut Out Without Hands
Stone
represents God crushed
the feet of iron and clay
Remember!!
God Is Always In Control of Everything!
Chapter 2
Vv 1 – 18 The King's
Forgotten Dream
V 1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had
dreams; and
his
spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
A. The year is 606 B.C., and
the king has dreams that disturb him and kept him from sleeping.
V 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the
sorcerers and the
Chaldeans
to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
B. The king calls all his
wise men, those who practice magic and those who do sorcery to learn
what his dreams are all about.
1. Magicians
khar tome’ a horoscopist (as
drawing magical lines or circles) magician.
2. Conjurers—astrologers ash shawf’
to practice enchant a conjurer.
3. Sorcerers – kaw shaf’ to whisper a spell, i.e. to enchant or practice magic --
sorcerer
(use) witch (craft).
4. Chaldeans
master astrologers.
V 3 The king said to them, I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to
understand the dream.
C. The king tells them that
he has had a dream and he wants to understand it.
V 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: O king, live forever! Tell
the dream to
your
servants, and we will declare the interpretation.
D. Right on Oh king! Tell us
what you have dreamed and we will interpret it.
V 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, The command from me is firm: if you
do not make known
to me
the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your
houses
will
be made a rubbish heap.
E. Why doesn’t the king tell
them his dream? Maybe he can’t remember it or is testing them!
1. The king tells them that they had better
come up with an answer.
2. Otherwise, they are in big trouble.
3. They will be torn apart and their houses
will be destroyed.
a. Their wives and children will have no
place to live.
b. These people have been living the good
life on easy street.
c. Needless to say, the men are in a pickle.
V 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive
from me gifts and a
reward
and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.
F. However, if you tell me my
dream so I can get back to sleep, then I will reward you greatly.
V 7 They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream
to his servants, and we
will
declare the interpretation.
G. Of course they can’t
interpret dreams.
1. Only God can interpret dreams.
2. If God decides to tell someone how to
interpret dreams, then he can do it.
3. So once more they say, King, tell us the
dream and we will tell you what it means.
V 8 The king replied, I know for certain that you are bargaining for time,
inasmuch as you have
seen
that the command from me is firm,
H. All you are doing is
trying to stall for time since you see that my command is firm.
1. You just want to stall until I tell you my
dream.
2. You’re trying to buy time because you know
that I’ll have you torn apart.
V 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree
for you For you have
agreed
together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is
changed;
therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its
interpretation.
I. If you don’t tell me my
dream, there is only one thing for you—death.
1. You have made a pact together.
2. You have agreed to lie to me until I
change my mind.
3. But you had better tell me the dream and
its meaning.
V 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, There is not a man on earth
who could declare
the
matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything
like
this
of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean.
J. Oh how right they are!
1. There isn’t a man on earth who can do what
you have asked us to do.
2. No king or ruler has ever asked such a
thing from his wise men.
3. Notice the use of the word Chaldean.
a. First of all, this is the second king of
b. The idea is that no king or ruler has
ever in history asked this, not that no king of
has ever asked this of his wise men.
c. Which gives credence to the word,
“Chaldean” as meaning they have always been a king’s
court giving advice.
V 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is
no one else who could
declare
it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.
K. No human can declare this
to you, only gods.
1. They were partially right.
2. They missed it by one “s” God.
V 12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave
orders to destroy all
the
wise men of
L. So the king ordered them
killed.
a. Well guess who is included in this?
b. Daniel and his buddies.
V 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they
looked for Daniel and
his
friends to kill them.
M. Since Daniel and his
friends were among the wise men, they too would be killed.
V 14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the
captain of the king's
bodyguard,
who had gone forth to slay the wise men of
N. Daniel replies with
discretion and discernment.
1. What does Daniel’s name mean?
2. How does he see life?
3. He looks at this situation and says, “God
will Judge this for me. I don’t need to get worried.
I’ll just ask the right questions to see why we are going
to be killed.”
V 15 he said to Arioch, the king's commander, For what reason is the decree
from the king so
urgent?
Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.
O. Daniel asks why the king’s
command was so urgent.
1. He didn’t say, “Well what’s the big idea!
We’ve done nothing wrong. What’s the matter
with that dilbert?”
2. He knows that God will judge this
situation and it is God who will decide.
3. So by being diplomatic, he’s about to get
his answer.
V 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him
time, in order that he
might
declare the interpretation to the king.
P. Daniel doesn’t fear the
king because: (1) he has earned the respect of the king, and (2) he
knows that God will judge in his favor.
V 17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah,
Mishael and Azariah,
about
the matter,
P. Why do you think Daniel
involves his friends?
1. First of all, their lives are on the line.
2. He wants them to begin to make
intercessory prayer for this matter.
3. Now, how is each man going to pray?
4. Each will pray according to his faith in
God because of his name.
V 18 So that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning
this mystery, so
that
Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of
Q. Yes, they were making
intercessory prayer for their own lives.
1. However, they weren’t worried.
2. Each believed in the God of his own name.
3. They prayed for other lives, too.
Vv 19 – 30 The
Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
V 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel
blessed the God of
heaven;
A. Daniel gets a vision from
God.
1. He isn’t asleep and dreaming.
2. This is too important matter to be
sleeping on.
3. But as the four men are interceding in
prayer for themselves and others, Daniel is given
a vision.
4. As we will learn later, this isn’t just an
ordinary vision.
5. This vision will involve history for many
decades to come.
6. When the vision comes, Daniel begins to
praise God for the answer.
7. Do you praise God often enough and
strongly enough.
8. These men have had an awesome prayer
meeting, and you can only imagine the praise and
worship session that broke out when the answer came.
V 20 Daniel said,
Let the name of God be blessed
forever and ever,
For wisdom and power
belong to Him.
B. Holy are you God. Wisdom and power belong to you forever.
V 21 It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and
establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise
men
And knowledge to men of
understanding.
C. His praise shows much of the answer to his and his friends’ prayers.
V 22 It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the
darkness,
And
the light dwells with Him.
D. Nothing is hidden nor is too far beyond knowledge for God.
1. God knows what is hidden in the darkness.
2. Light dwells with Him.
3. James writes that there is no shifting
shadow around God.
4. All is light!
V 23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom
and power;
Even now You have made
known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known
to us the king's matter.
E. Oh praise you and thank
you Oh God!
1. What did Daniel and his friends praise and
thank God for?
2. Wisdom and power
3. For answering their prayers
4. You made known to us the king’s matter.
5. Thank you God for:
a. Saving our lives.
b. Telling us what the king needs to know.
c. For giving us favor in the kings eyes.
d. What has the king already promised to
the person who can tell his dream (v 6)?
1) Gifts
2) Honor
3) Rewards
V 24 Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to
destroy the wise men
of
king.
F. Don’t harm the wise men,
instead take me to your king and I will tell him his dream.
1. What time of the day is it?
2. It’s during the middle of the night.
3. Why isn’t the king sleeping?
4. Because he can’t sleep because of the
disturbing dream he has had and forgotten.
V. 25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke
to him as follows:
I
have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation
known
to
the king!
G. Good news, King, Arioch
says, “I have found a Jewish boy from the exiles who can tell you
your dream.
1. He introduces Daniel to the king.
2. And Daniel begins to interpret the king’s
dream.
V 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to
make known to me
the
dream which I have seen and its interpretation?
H. The king asks, “Are you
sure, young man, that you can make known to me the dream?”
1. A couple of things we need to look at.
2. We don’t know just how long it has been
that the young men have been in
3. We know for sure it’s been 3 years.
4. It could have been longer.
V 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, As for the mystery about
which the king has
inquired,
neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to
the
king.
I. No man is able to tell the
king his dream, Daniel admits.
1. Wonder if the king’s face got a little
red, here?
2. Wonder if the king thought that Daniel was
just like the other wise men—stalling for time?
3. “I’m sorry, Mr. King,” Daniel says, “But
nobody can tell the king his dream.
4. I’m surprised that Daniel got to continue.
V 28 However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has
made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar
what will take place in the latter days This was your dream and the
visions
in your mind while on your bed.
J. Can’t you imagine that
Daniel ran this next by real quickly after his statement in V 27.
1. Man can’t, but there is a God in heaven
who reveals mysteries.
2. God has made known to the king what will
take place in the latter days—or distant future.
3. Here is your visions that plagued your
mind while you are trying to sleep.
V 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what
would take place in the
future;
and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place.
K. Oh king, the thoughts you
had on your bed were of the future.
1. You wanted to know what will take place later on.
2. The very one who reveals all mysteries has
chosen to tell you what is going to happen.
V 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom
residing in me more
than
in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known
to
the
king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
L. But oh king, I want you to
know that it is through no wisdom that I possess that this takes
place.
1. Do you think that you would have told the
king that it was you who could do this?
a. Would you brag just a little bit and
take just a little credit for this great feat.
b. I think that is why today that a man is
given a great revelation of healing or revival,
but then he takes the credit for himself. God doesn’t
trust him with anything else.
2. Daniel tells the king, It is nothing that
I have done that brings you this news.
3. Not only that, but no man alive can tell
you the thing you are requesting.
4. God gives you this information so that you
can understand the thoughts of your mind.
Vv 31 – 43 The
King's Dream
V 31 You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue;
that statue, which
was
large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its
appearance
was awesome.
A. You saw a great statue,
large and brilliant and magnificent, standing in front of you with an
awesome appearance.
V 32 The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms
of silver, its belly and
its
thighs of bronze, V 33, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron
and partly of clay.
B. The statue’s head was of
fine gold.
1. The breast and arms of silver
2. Its belly and thighs of bronze.
3. Its legs of iron.
4. Its feet (a
mixture) of iron and clay.
V 34 You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it
struck the statue on its
feet
of iron and clay and crushed them.
C. Who cut the stone and
smashed the statue’s feet? God
V 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were
crushed all at the same time
and
became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them
away
so
that not a trace of them was found But the stone that struck the statue became
a great
mountain
and filled the whole earth.
D. Some scholars want to
interpret this verse as representing Jesus and his kingdom spreading.
1. This is contrary to the Gospels.
2. Matthew 13:24-30, read; 36-43; 2 Timothy
3:1-13
3. Since His kingdom isn’t represented as a
great mountain, this must be a reference to the
Millennial reign of Christ.
a.
All mountains will be brought low. Isaiah 40:3, 4; Psalm 114:6 (skip)
b. All valleys raised. Isaiah 40:3
c. Make straight his paths. Isaiah 40:3
Vv 36—38 The
Interpretation--
V 36 This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king.
A. First I tell you the dream
you had, and now I will give you the interpretation.
V 37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given
the kingdom, the
power,
the strength and the glory;
B. You may be king of kings,
but God has given you your kingdom, power, strength and your
glory.
given
them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head
of
gold.
C. Man and beast and birds of
the air, God has given them to you to rule over them. You are the
head of gold.
V 39— Medo-Persia and
V 39 After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then
another third kingdom of
bronze,
which will rule over all the earth.
A. The two kingdoms that
follow
Vv 40 – 43
V 40 Then
there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and
shatters
all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all
these in
pieces.
A. After these two kingdoms,
there will come a fourth kingdom that will be really strong.
1. Like iron that can crush anything.
2. This powerful kingdom will break to pieces
all the kingdoms.
V 41 In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly
of iron, it will be a
divided
kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the
iron
mixed with common clay.
B. You saw feet and toes
partly of clay and partly of iron.
1. The kingdom will have in it the toughness
of iron.
2. But it will be tough iron weakened by
common clay.
V 42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so
some of the kingdom will
be
strong and part of it will be brittle.
C. Notice the toes were
partly of iron and partly of pottery, ceramic.
1. They will be some strong kingdoms.
2. And there will be some weak
kingdoms—brittle, i.e. easily shattered.
3. This indicates problems within.
4. There will be someone inside who wants to
rule.
5. Remember that they assassinated Caesar.
6. When they did, Lucianisus, Mark Anthony
and Augusta his three generals took over.
V 43 And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine
with one another
in
the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not
combine
with pottery.
D. Although tough as iron in
parts other parts will be of a material that does not mix with iron.
1. This is the ten toed
2. It is noteworthy that these kingdoms are
from the old
3. We know that three of them will fall, and
a small kingdom will rise to rule the rest.
Vv 44 – 45 The
V 44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
which will never be
destroyed,
and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an
end
to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.
A. Those days represent the
tribulation period, the last 7 years of Daniel’s 70 heptads of Daniel 9.
1. Those kings are the ten mentioned as toes
above. Christ began his kingdom under Roman
Rule.
2. Another kingdom will be set up—what
kingdom? The millennium reign of Christ and
ultimately the eternal
3. No other people will be able to take this
kingdom.
4. It will crush and put an end to all
kingdoms.
a. The battle of Armageddon.
b. The ultimate battle against evil at the
end of the 1000 year reign.
1) Satan will be defeated and thrown into
the lake of fire.
2) The white throne judgment of Matthew
25 will take place.
3) The eternal order will begin and we
shall ever be with the Lord.
V 45 Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without
hands and that it
crushed
the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made
known
to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its
interpretation
is trustworthy.
B. Who cuts the stone? God
1. The stone represents God’s control of
history.
2. Remember everything happens for a purpose.
3. God formed all these plans during the 6
days of creation.
4. He knew what would take place and when.
5. Now through Daniel, God is revealing the
history of man through and including the
1000 year reign of Jesus.
Vv 46 – 49 Daniel
Promoted
V 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and
gave orders to
present
to him an offering and fragrant incense.
A. Why would the king of the
world bow down to worship a poor Jewish boy?
1. The young man had told him his dream.
2. The dream that Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar
was the exact dream he had.
3. The interpretation was believed by the
king because Daniel told him what would happen
to all those kingdoms represented by the statue.
V 47 The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods
and a Lord of kings
and a
revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.
B. Do you realize why you
must work your gifts?
1. Others will see the magnificence of God.
2. the king of the most powerful nation in
the world recognized that there was a God of gods and
a Lord of kings.
3. Nebuchadnezzar met The One True God this
night.
V 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he
made him ruler over
the
whole province of
C. The king promised to give
the one who could interpret his dream a huge reward.
1. He does.
2. He makes Daniel ruler over his whole
province.
3. He also became chief of all the wise men
of
V 49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-nego
over
the administration of the
D. Did Daniel ask that his
buddies be promoted because they were his buddies?
1. No.
2. He knows they are capable, fair, and
God-fearing young men.
3. He knows they will be part of the solution
not part of the problem.
Chapter 2 Study Questions
1. In verse 1, what
year is it?
2. How is the way
the king presents his dream to his wise men different from the
way most
kings present their dreams?
3. Were the wise men
right whenever they told the king that no man could tell him his
dream?
4. Did Daniel tell
the king that if given time he may be able to give him an answer?
5. Whom did Daniel
solicit to help him get an answer from God?
6. Whom did Daniel
tell the king gave the interpretation to his dream?
7. What does Daniel
do when he gets his answer from God?
8. What does the
statue really represent (no names of countries)?
9. Who is
represented by the head of the statue?
10. Who is represented by the breast and arms?
11. What does the ten toes represent?
12. Who cut the rock out of the mountains?
13. How was it able to crush the toes?
14. When will this event take place (the crushing of the
toes)?
15. This last kingdom mentioned will last for how long?
16. Who will rule and reign in the last kingdom?
17. What will be your part in this last kingdom?
18. What kind of reward did Daniel get?
19. Whom did he ask the king to give offices to?
20. Why?
Howard
Who You Are Isn't Based on Performance with God. Who You Are Should Have A Direct Bearing on How You Perform.
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