The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. Daniel 2:10-12
The Chaldeans do not know if the king will not tell them his dream or if he has forgotten it. It appears God has allowed the king to have the dream but then to have forgotten it. If the king had remembered it, it is likely he would have told the Chaldeans to learn the meaning of what troubled him. The fact he can’t remember it is used by God to bring Daniel into favor with Nebuchadnezzar and to expose the king to the error he has been listening to. To do that God shows us how the Chaldeans reached rock bottom with Nebuchadnezzar. (Never underestimate God’s ability to quickly turn the course of events.)
The Chaldeans answered the king The Chaldeans answer the
king’s reiteration of his demand and their pending punishment if they
do not comply. We get the sense they are frantic and fail to control their tongues before the king. (Trusting in one’s flesh rather than listening to God will do that to you.)
There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand They tell the king his demand is impossible. It’s not possible for any man to do what the king asks. Interestingly, they have just spoken the truth. No man can do what the king desires – only God.
For no great and powerful king has asked such a thing The Chaldeans cross the line. Rather than humble themselves before the king they accuse him of being neither great nor powerful. Then they label his demand as outlandish. They have gotten personal.
Of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. We see their pride. Doesn’t Nebuchadnezzar know who they are? Yet, at the same time, they imply they are mere mortals. How can such a demand be made of them. (Notice how quickly they flee from their promises of divine
knowledge when they must prove they are not frauds?)
The thing that the king asks is difficult The demand is rare or difficult. The implication is his demand is outlandish and unreasonable. (See the plea? Please reconsider!)
And no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. Again the Chaldeans’ words, inadvertently, speak the truth. Only the living and true God can do what the king seeks. Why it would take an omniscient God to fulfill his demand. They set the stage for Daniel coming on the scene.
Because of this the king was angry and very furious The Chaldeans have failed to do what Proverbs counsels us. “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.” Proverbs 16:32 They have driven the king to rage and it too is personal.
Commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. The king, in anger, acts. Every wise man of any type in Babylon will be dismembered. And by the way that includes all the new graduates from the king’s leadership training program. Did Daniel just eat three years of vegetables for nothing? (God is in control.)
What can we learn? The whole Babylonian kingdom is about to be turned upside down. The situation is desperate – just the kind of situation God loves to work in..