The Weird Dream

Daniel 4:9 - 18

⁹ I (King Nebuchadnezzar) said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. ¹⁰ These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. ¹¹ The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.

 ¹³ “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,^[c] coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

   “‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times^[d] pass by for him.

 ¹⁷ “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’

 ¹⁸ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

As usual, this is a strange dream.  But that is what makes it interesting.  I hardly ever remember the dreams I have.  So to remember one this detailed is interesting to me.  A tree so high it touches the sky, it feeds and houses every living thing.  Someone tells King Nebuchadnezzar to cut it down.  Then the dream says that someone will become like the animals for seven years.  These decisions are from God and his word is law.  How strange.  It would have scared me.  This is a nightmare, not just a dream.  I am not sure I would want my dreams interpreted.  I think that sometimes it's better not to know, than to anticipate the worst.

But King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel to tell him what the dream meant.  He now trusts Daniel, even making him the chief of the magicians.  The king knows that no one else can tell him what it's all about.  What confidence the king has in him.  What jealousy must rage under the surface of all the other magicians and wise men.  If I was Daniel, I would first pray, but then question the dream.  Is the King crazy?  Did this dream really happen? But I am sure Daniel, already had ideas.  

Take the Blinders Off!

Daniel 4:4 - 8


⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. ⁵ I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. ⁶ So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. ⁷ When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers^[b]and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. ⁸ Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)


As I read these verses, I found myself thinking about verse eight.  For the second time, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that bothered him.  For the second time, he first turned to the wise men, enchanters, magicians, and others that let him down last time.  For the second time, he had to wait for Daniel to do the work.  My first thought?  Some people never learn.  


Then the king tells us that Daniel's Babylonian name is Belteshazzar because he has the spirit of holy gods in him.  Totally got that wrong.  He has God on his side and the spirit of God was in him.  God gave Daniel the gift of interpreting dreams.  God has kept Daniel and his friends safe.  King Nebuchadnezzar sees only what the blinders show him, but as one of God's children, I feel lucky to have the insight that the king didn't have.  ...was blind, but now I see.  - Amazing Grace

Good Graces

Daniel 4: 1-3
1 [a]King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!

2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.

At the beginning of this chapter, King Nebuchadnezzar decides to reveal another dream he had.  Knowing how strong Daniel's faith is, he acknowledges God with praises.  He tells the nations he is over about the wonders of God and how awesome he is.  This man, a heathen, praises Daniel's God.  Is it because he really is impressed with God?  Is it because he wants something?  Why would someone who doesn't love God, spread his praises?  This, my friends, is called change.  King Nebuchanezzar's words in verse three sound more like King David's psalms.  He is changing, but he is not totally convinced yet, as we will see later.  But he respects Daniel and wants to be in Daniel's good graces.  He does this probably to make sure that the God who blesses Daniel will bless him.  Maybe he isn't totally convined yet, but why take that chance?

Only God

Daniel 3: 26 - 30

²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

   So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

 ²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

 ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Can't you just see the headlines in the Babylon business section of the news? Was everyone talking about the appointments of the three young men from Jerusalem?  I think we all would talk about the craziness that had just happened.  How King Nebuchadnezzar had an idol built and expected everyone to bow down to it.  How he got mad when Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego would not bow and kept their loyalty to God.  How the king threw his fit and got thrown in the fire.  But especially how there was rumored to be a fourth man walking in the fire with the three others, but only three came out unharmed.  Not one hair singed, nor did they even smell like smoke.  Now to me that is the miracle.

Yesterday, Mike smoked a turkey for someone.  I was so hungry every time the door opened because the fragrance of the smoked flavor was wafting about.  But even more so, just because I walked out to check on him and the turkey a few times, or to get something from the garage, my clothes smelled of smoke too.  How can you be near or in a fire and not smell like smoke?  Only God can do make that happen.

God changed those men's lives forever.  Even the king gave an order that no one could say anything against God without punishment.  Change is a great thing, and usually comes at a large price.  That price is not just an outward change, meaning that other people notice right off.  The price has to be an inward change that may be only significant to the one making the change, unnoticeable to others, at first.  But if God's change truly takes place, only later will others see what a transformation has been made.  And only God can and you can make the change happen.

The Beginning of Change

Daniel 3:24 - 25

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

   They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

 ²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

The book of Daniel is mainly about Daniel, but this chapter is about his friends.  This chapter is about how God is with you when the bad things happen and how he can change opinions about you and him in an instant.  This is one of them.  King Nebuchadnezzar had Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego thrown into a roaring furnace that killed the men that threw them in.  It should have instantly consumed these three godly men too.  But instead, the king watched and realized that a) the men did not die and b) there were more than three of them.  He stated that the fourth man looked like a son of the gods.  Well of course he did!  He was actually sent from God!  In the king's mind, there were many gods, not just our Holy God.  When the king realizes something supernatural has taken place, he is amazed.  God opened the king's mind to what really is, not what he expects.  

Do you look for what really is, or what you expect God to do?  I think we all just expect certain things and take God for granted.  We pray, expecting God to answer yes to whatever we want.  We expected him to heal our loved-ones, keep them safe, help us all to make the right choices, etc.  But as we all know, God has three answers for us...Yes; No; and Not right now.  We ask and plead and want it now, but we don't always get it.  This story is not actually about the three godly friends of Daniel, it is about the start of changing one man's heart, King Nebuchadnezzar.

God and His Blessings

Daniel 3:19 - 23

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.


Sadly, sometimes our anger gets the better of us.  We hear everyday of some violent act between people and the results and consequences of it. We hear of dictators and kings of countries giving orders for genocide and unspeakable acts against women.  King Nebuchadnezzar was no different.  Daniel's three young friends were taking a stand against the idol and him and the king got mad.  Really mad.  He didn't care about anything except showing his power against those who went against them.  As a result, the soldiers that took Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to their punishment were killed by the hot furnace.  
A fiery death has to be one of the worst types of death for medical examiners to deal with.  Trying to find evidence of who the victim is, how they were burned, makes it difficult.  Not to mention the memory that they will forever have from their senses, seeing, smelling, hearing.  Yeah, I know, it's graphic.  


But God had other plans for these men.  They weren't lucky, like some would think.  They were blessed.  This week, look at your life.  Each of us is blessed. No one will ever take that away from you.  Only you can decided if something is a blessing or not.  So look around.  What are you most thankful for this week?  Focus on that.  Stay positive.  Even if it looks impossible and bleak, it probably isn't.  You just have to make it to the other side.  Keep your eyes there.  Keep your eyes on God and his blessings.

Lifting Us Up

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting
in the LORD.
Psalm 112:7 (NIV)


Most days are better than some.  When the good times are here, we are grateful for all we have.  But when the times are bad, what do you do?  We turn to the Lord.  No matter what.  I receive a verse-a-day through my email (www.verse-a-day.com).  This was the verse I received. We always fear the worst and hope for the best.  Sometimes the best is not good.  I always fear what could happen and what does happen, usually doesn't seem so bad.  This verse is a big help.  This verse is talking about a righteous man and how he has God in everything he does.  How he depends on him, loves him, keeping himself upstanding and humble.  I am trying to give my fears and my worries to God.  It is so hard to do, but I keep in constant prayer with Him.  I am talking, walking and seeking during this dark time, but I know that God is in the situation and is keeping us safe.  It's not easy being in Satan's sights.  But we have all been there some time or another.  Keep us in your prayers, that is what we need from you.