“So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.”Daniel 4:6-7
This is the second time King Nebuchadnezzar received a dream
from God. The same thing happened in Daniel 2 with exactly the same reaction and response. Nebuchadnezzar’s fear caused him to cry out for help. Even kings tremble when God speaks. So I made a decree Nebuchadnezzar quickly seeks help. He issues an order to summon those who he thinks can provide answers. That all the wise men of Babylon We are stunned to see that the king summons all the wise men in the kingdom just as he did in Daniel 1. They didn’t help him then, why summon them now? Desperate men look for answers anywhere they can.
Should be brought before me The king’s servants quickly obey. The king wants answers.
That they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. The king wants to know what the dream meant. (Perhaps he had an idea but he feared the truth so he called in the “experts” to make sure of the proper interpretation. We see the irony in his request to them. The king wants the “wise” men to make known their interpretation of the dream (placate him) while God want the king to know the truth (trouble him about his standing with God).
Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in We are told the king calls all the wise men, the magicians, the enchanters (conjurers of spirits and astrologer), the Chaldeans (themagi) and the astrologers (diviners or astrologers). In other words the king is desperate – he calls in every conceivable person who could get in touch with the demon world. He wants someone to tell him it will be ”ok”.
I told them the dream This time the King remembers clearly his dream and he tells these “wise men” the vision he saw. They do not have to re-create the dream, they only have to look up the meaning in their occultic books and tell the king something that will calm his heart. But God is in control, the king will hear truth.
But they could not make known to me its interpretation We are shocked. The wise men tell the king they do not know the interpretation. This is extremely unusual because it was simply a matter of looking up the elements of the dream in a book and interpreting it. There is another reason however. The first time this phrase is used it is translated “will not”. When we look at the dream it does not take a lot of guess work to determine the meaning. These wise men may well have known what the dream pointed to. It was not that they could not tell the king the interpretation, it was they feared the interpretation of the dream and knew it meant disaster for the king. They did not want to be the bearers of this bad news. So God shuts their mouths.
What can we learn? King Nebuchadnezzar is no fool. He will remember that Daniel’s God gave him an answer to his dream when those of his own “gods” could not. So why did he go to them again for help? King Nebuchadnezzar shows us what his heart was like before personally meeting the one true God. The king reminds us of many people today who are stubborn. They refuse to acknowledge the true God exists. Nebuchadnezzar conquered all the nations of the known world. This proves to him his “gods” are mighty – he has no reason to ask Daniel’s God when the idols he worships made him victorious on the battlefield. God, however, is sovereign. He appointed this day to speak directly to King Nebuchadnezzar. He shuts the mouths of demons and the human instruments they speak through. Whether God uses fear or ignorance, they play mute – they won’t carry God’s message to the king nor would they receive the credit for the interpretation. God wants King Nebuchadnezzar to hear from him directly on thist day. So the God who opened the mouth of a donkey to speak to a false prophet shuts the mouths of false prophets in Babylon to keep them from speaking lies to the king. Daniel alone will deliver God’s message, one of truth. What a great God we serve!