I always am amazed at the depth of biblical stories! You sometimes get deep pre-stories and sometimes you are taught and can understand the human emotions and actions. In the scriptures there is more material than imaginable and yet “just enough” – so then you imagine how to fill in the gaps too…

I’m so glad to be reading and writing in the book of Daniel, and yes I’m educating myself for these new-to-me chapters with the video from Bible Project.  But, only tackling a few chapters at a time. I learned that part of Daniel was written in Hebrew and part in Aramaic (local language), interesting… It is all text captured while in captivity in Babylon, half the book is experiencing and half is prophecy… interesting…

Daniel has a reputation now in chapter 2, from just one chapter tale of his dedication to the Lord, where we learned he got his gained position from exile to student to king’s wise man. And yet he gets lumped into the crowd of “king’s magic men” – which upset the king – and this king Nebuchadnezzar is BRUTAL with punishment needlessly. The king asked the “magic men” to not only tell him about his dream meaning but the actual “reading of my mind” too – Even the wicked could appreciate that’s a God task… magicians can do tricks, but mind reading is beyond that scope. 

In the moment before punishment, Daniel asks a question of his captor with something we all should employ: TACT AND WISDOM! 

Daniel knew to praise the Lord, Daniel knew to wait upon the Lord. Daniel knew of his prior experience being protected by God and by using wisdom. “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…:

I bet you could fill in the blank of times God answering you, I know I could… Thus next time we are in a bind, let us try TACT AND WISDOM, and the power of prayer!

Amen

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Daniel 2 part 1, v1-23

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. When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”

Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”

The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven 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 and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever 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.”