When a powerful king is troubled and can’t sleep, chances are his whole nation is going to end up troubled, too. Nebuchadnezzar had only been king for two years when he had such an upsetting dream that he decided he had to learn what it meant.

“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.’” Daniel 2:2-3

This was easy work for magicians and sorcerers; they were in the business of interpreting dreams. So they assured him that after he told them the dream he would get his answer.

Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t going to make this job that easy.

“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.’” Daniel 2:5-6

The Sin of Babylon

This is a good point at which to stop and notice the national character of Babylon and the sins they practiced. Babylon was notorious in the Bible for leading the world into sin and here we see that magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers were primary players in that. People went to these charlatans instead of seeking the Lord, and magicians and astrologers offered empty spiritual advice that directed people away from God and the hope of eternal life.

These days we think of magicians, enchanters and sorcerers as entertainers at a party or in shows at the theater, but in Babylon they were professionals. People staked their lives on the word of these practitioners of the dark arts, and of astrologers who read the constellations.

Nebuchadnezzar was deadly serious when he called these mystical advisors to interpret his dream. If they had the powers they claimed to have, they should have been able to tell him what he dreamed as well as what it meant. If they couldn’t do those things, they were fraudulent advisors who deserved to die for leading the king astray.

Daniel Saves the Day

The royal wise men couldn’t possibly tell the king what he had dreamed so he ordered Arioch the commander of the king’s guard to kill all of the counselors in the kingdom.

This included Daniel and his friends, whom Nebuchadnezzar had previously acknowledged were ten times wiser than anyone else who advised him. When Daniel learned about the king’s edict he went to Nebuchadnezzar and asked for time to get an answer from his God. Then he asked his friends to pray for mercy from God and for a revelation of the mystery of the dream.

God answered their prayers that night when he showed Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed and what it meant. The next day Daniel had an answer for the king.

“The king asked Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), ‘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 the days to come.’” Daniel 2:26-28

Daniel then proceeded to unfold one of the greatest, most exact prophecies of all time. The events in the dream were going to play out for the next six hundred years exactly as Nebuchadnezzar dreamed them. But in that moment the king was so grateful to Daniel that he made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and he gave Daniel’s friends new roles as royal administrators.

The Meaning of the Dream

Nebuchadnezzar saw a huge statue in his dream, with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet made of mixed iron and clay. Each part of the statue represented a nation that would rise and fall in the coming centuries.

The golden head of the statue was Babylon, with King Nebuchadnezzar as its ruler. Daniel called him the king of kings because he had subjugated so many other rulers as he expanded his empire.

The chest and two arms of silver was the empire of the Medes and Persians, who were going to overthrow Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar’s death. They were a great empire, but less dazzling than Babylon at its peak.

The Persian Empire was going to be overthrown by the empire represented by the bronze belly and thighs. This was the Greek Empire, established by Alexander the Great. He rolled through the world like an unstoppable bronze war machine.

Next came the iron legs with feet of iron mixed with clay, representing the Roman Empire. Rome was going to march through the world, building roads, aqueducts, bridges and fortifications to connect the nations as never before. But Rome had feet of clay, and it was going to topple when sin and corruption weakened its empire.

The Greatest Kingdom

While Rome was still standing God introduced the greatest kingdom of all. He sent Jesus Christ into the world of the Caesars and through him established the kingdom of God on earth. The Son of God was the rock that smashed the statue of earthly powers and became a mountain that filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34-35).

“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.” Daniel 2:44-45

The kingdom of Christ has outlasted every other kingdom and it is still expanding and filling the whole earth.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue

Some time after his dream, Nebuchadnezzar built an imposing image of gold, about ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and called the leaders of the empire to worship it.

“The heralds loudly proclaimed, ‘Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” Daniel 3:4-6

Everyone complied with the king’s command except Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Some royal astrologers reported on their non-compliance and Nebuchadnezzar called them to him for an explanation.

“[They] replied to him, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve other gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’” Daniel 3:16-18

Deliverance

Nebuchadnezzar was furious at Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He had the fire stoked to seven times its previous size and threw the three men into it. They went in wearing their royal clothes and turbans, firmly tied up with ropes.

As the king watched, the three men got free of their bonds and walked around in the fire unharmed. He saw a fourth man with them, so he went to the mouth of the furnace and shouted for them to come out. They came out of the fire — completely untouched by flames or smoke.

King Nebuchadnezzar praised God for the courage and faithfulness of the three men and for his deliverance of them. Then he issued a decree that no one in his empire was allowed to say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “for no other god can save in this way.” Daniel 3:29

Nebuchadnezzar had moved from relying on magicians, enchanters, and astrologers to acknowledging the living God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He still thought of himself as the king of kings, but he was beginning to see that there was a God greater than he.