“The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” Daniel 2:5-6
Nebuchadnezzar is troubled, anxious and becoming irritated. This dream keeps coming back, it obviously is something important but he has no idea what it means. His anxiety is growing as well as his impatience. He calls the wise counselors to his palace and tells them his dilemma. Likely he senses the smugness in their response. There is no empathy in their voices, they do not see this as a serious issue as he does. To them it is routine, just tell them the dream and they will look up the answer – no big deal.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans The king responds to the Chaldeans request to know the dream but the king’s answer will stun the smug advisers.
The word from me is firm The word is in Aramaic and therefore the translation is difficult. It can mean firm which means, do not ask me to budge, I will not change my mind. Or it can mean it is gone which means I cannot remember my dream. You will have to come up with it out of your wisdom. In either case, the Chaldeans face the same dilemma – they must tell th king his dream.
If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation Nebuchadnezzar is irritated – at not knowing the meaning of the dream, at getting no sleep, at the smugness of the Chaldeans and at their pretense of being wise. Nebuchadnezzar is likely suspicious of their abilities and this is his chance to test their accuracy – tell me my dream and what it means.
You shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. If they cannot meet the king’s demands they will be dismembered (Nebuchadnezzar is an expert at that). Additionally their homes will be leveled and a public outhouse will be built on their property. (Read 2 Kings 10:27.)
But if you show the dream and its interpretation The king provides an incentive. You shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor If they can do what they claim and tell the king his dream and give its interpretation they will receive great reward and great honor (glory). The king will reward their wisdom lavishly and openly.
Therefore The king has laid out the options and the consequences of each. Reward or punishment. One or the other. They are at a major fork in the road. Do they speak truth or error?
Show me the dream and its interpretation The king’s demand is repeated. You need to tell me the dream I dreamed and you need to tell me what it means.
What can we learn? God tells us this story as a way of showing us how He exalts Daniel in the kingdom. He tells us this story as a prelude to the unfolding the panorama of Gentile world history. There is something else God does. He is working in Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to bring him to God. This will happen over several chapters. In this portion of chapter 2 Nebuchadnezzar is confronted with the emptiness of the world’s wisdom. When it comes to revealing truth and telling the future, the wise men are worthless. They cannot back up their claims. If the king wants to hear the truth it will come only from the mouth of God.