Nebuchadnezzar’s dream

I received an insight from my reading today from the book of Daniel in the Old Testament when Daniel went before King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to explain the meaning of a dream he had that none of his wise men could solve.

(Personally, I believe the stories in the Old Testament about the children of Israel in captivity are rich with illustrations about how God would have us behave as representatives of His kingdom on earth. For instance, in this case, the king was about to execute all his wise men for not being able to interpret his dream and Daniel pleaded for their lives. “Don’t kill the wise men,” he said. “Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream” [Daniel 2:24]. I am sure this group of wise men included those who were diviners and sorcerers – followers of all sorts of black arts and enemies of the true God – and yet Daniel cared about them.)

“The revealer of mysteries has shown you what is going to happen,” Daniel told the king. “And it is not because I am wiser than any living person that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wanted you to understand what you were thinking about” (Daniel 2:29-30 NLT).

What struck me about this is Daniel’s humility and how he turned the focus off himself and onto what God wanted the king to understand about his dream and his troubled thoughts surrounding it.

In relation to what we know about God in the world, we are only messengers of what God wants others to know about Him. We are carriers of the gospel not for our own benefit but because God wants a relationship with everyone. The importance is the message. It’s important for us to get lost in the message and in what God wants others to know. Whatever insights we have to give are for someone else’s benefit, that they might understand better what they are thinking about when it comes to their own spiritual journey.

Daniel took no joy in seeing judgment befall the wise men of Babylon. This was not a contest; it was an opportunity for more people to come to know the true God.

God is constantly revealing His truth to people. We are merely pieces of the puzzle. The point is God wants to get through to people, and whatever we can do to aid in that process should be our joy.

Daniel could have seized the day for himself here. He could have gained notoriety for himself and he could have taken revenge on his enemies (remember they were in captivity). He did none of these. His goal was to help the king sort out his thoughts about God. Our joy should be in helping those around us to do the same.