People considered it normal to receive instruction through dreams, and there are several instances of this happening in the Bible, and of God's people interpreting the dreams of pagan rulers. Pharaoh is another example. God also spoke to his people in dreams and visions. At the same time this was not a daily occurrence. So God may speak to us in a dream, but the vast majority of dreams are just dreams.
The fact that this dream was different from the run of the mill dreams was that Nebuchadnezzar called together all his astrologers and magicians and others to try and work out the meaning.
There are times when people or organisation we work for will act in a totally irrational manner. Nebuchadnezzar was about to do that. He insisted that his magicians interpret the dream without him telling them what the dream was. Having made this totally unreasonable request, he then threatens them with terrible consequences if they don't manage to fulfil the request.
Not surprisingly his magicians are not impressed with this request and plead with him to act more sensibly. The king then flew into a rage and ordered the execution of all the wise men in the kingdom.
Note that he has a deep mistrust of the wise men. Paranoia is a common trait among powerful men. Hitler and Stalin are prime examples. More normal leaders (presidents and prime ministers) suffer from it if they have been in power for a time. In fact the longer someone has been in power the more they seem to be prone to this.
The decree would have included Daniel and his friends. Daniel acted with wisdom and tact. "Keep Calm and Carry On"! Daniel went to see the king and said he would interpret the dream under the king's conditions. If we act with calmness and trust in the Lord we can overcome all sorts of situations.
Daniel asked his friends to plead with God for mercy. Daniel knew who was the course of all things, and sure enough the mystery was revealed to Daniel. Daniel then praises the Lord.
So we see that even when the world around us is acting in the more irrational and unreasonable manner, we should still look to the Lord.
The fact that this dream was different from the run of the mill dreams was that Nebuchadnezzar called together all his astrologers and magicians and others to try and work out the meaning.
There are times when people or organisation we work for will act in a totally irrational manner. Nebuchadnezzar was about to do that. He insisted that his magicians interpret the dream without him telling them what the dream was. Having made this totally unreasonable request, he then threatens them with terrible consequences if they don't manage to fulfil the request.
Not surprisingly his magicians are not impressed with this request and plead with him to act more sensibly. The king then flew into a rage and ordered the execution of all the wise men in the kingdom.
Note that he has a deep mistrust of the wise men. Paranoia is a common trait among powerful men. Hitler and Stalin are prime examples. More normal leaders (presidents and prime ministers) suffer from it if they have been in power for a time. In fact the longer someone has been in power the more they seem to be prone to this.
The decree would have included Daniel and his friends. Daniel acted with wisdom and tact. "Keep Calm and Carry On"! Daniel went to see the king and said he would interpret the dream under the king's conditions. If we act with calmness and trust in the Lord we can overcome all sorts of situations.
Daniel asked his friends to plead with God for mercy. Daniel knew who was the course of all things, and sure enough the mystery was revealed to Daniel. Daniel then praises the Lord.
So we see that even when the world around us is acting in the more irrational and unreasonable manner, we should still look to the Lord.
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