Isn’t it strange to wake up after a weird dream? It feels disconcerting to find myself in bed when an instant before I was searching unsuccessfully for a toilet in a foreign land. Thankfully, I tamp down that particular nightmare in my own bathroom.

King Nebuchadnezzar awoke in the midst of a confusing dream. He called his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (astrologers who read the stars for guidance) to explain the meaning to him, but with one catch—he refused to tell them the actual dream.

They freaked out, especially after the king laid out these terms: If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb. These advisors knew Nebuchadnezzar to be a man of his word, and they begged for more information. But the king refused.

The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”

Nebuchadnezzar may have puzzled over his strange dream and its meaning, but he certainly understood that his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans were full of hooey. His test was meant to clear them out. As king of a vast empire he needed honorable advisors who spoke truth, not a gaggle of self-aggrandized wizards mouthing falsehoods and foolishness.

Daniel, of course, saved the day. Thanks to the Lord, he interpreted the dream. In doing so he found himself promoted above all other leaders in the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar finally found a man he could trust.

As a side benefit, Daniel bailed out the magical advisors. You’d think they’d be grateful, but later they turned on Daniel anyway. They never got over their shame-faced humbling before the king. Jealousy is unbecoming, but not uncommon in a Chaldean.

Daniel 2

Photo by Javardh