Daniel

Introduction: Because the people of Israel continued to worship idols God brought Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to take them captive. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it and the Lord delivered the king of

Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. Nebuchadnezzar put these in the treasure house of his god in Babylon. Then the king ordered that some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility be brought to him - young men, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. Among these were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed.

The king said to them, "I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means." Then the astrologers answered, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it." Then the king answered, "If you do not tell me the dream, I will have you cut to pieces. Tell me the dream,

and I will know that you can interpret it for me." The astrologers answered the king, "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing.” This made the king so furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So Daniel went

in to the king and asked for time, that he might interpret the dream for him. Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He urged them to plead for mercy from God concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be

executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: 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." Then Daniel said to the king’s guard, "Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I

will interpret his dream for him." So the king’s guard took Daniel to the king at once and said, "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means." The king asked Daniel, "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?" Daniel replied,

"No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. "As you were lying on your bed, O king, "You looked and there before you stood a large statue-an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure 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 baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them so the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were broken to pieces at the same time and became like chaff on a threshing floor. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the earth.” You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and

glory; You are that head of gold. "After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over

the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron-for iron breaks and smashes everything-and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands-a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and the interpretation is trustworthy." Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and

incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.