Verse of the Day Devotion.  Daniel 2:19

“Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.” – Daniel 2:19   

The key event here is that King Nebuchadnezzar had a series of dreams one night that disturbed him to the point he was unable to sleep anymore. They were so troubling that he called in all the magicians, conjurers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to help him understand what this dream meant. Along with the magicians, conjurers and sorcerers, there appeared to be a class of soothsayers to the king which were labeled Chaldeans, or there is also the idea that the Chaldeans considered themselves a superior race which Babylon no doubt accepted.

Now God uses dreams to communicate to people, including those who do not follow Him. We see this here as well as in Genesis where He gives two dreams to Pharoah (See Genesis 41). The first spoke of seven good and seven gaunt cows, then another about seven good and seven thin and scorched ears of grain. The difference between these two sets of dreams is that Pharoah told all the magicians and wise men his dreams whereas Nebuchadnezzar would not tell his wise men the dreams but ordered them to tell him what the dream was, and after this tell him what it meant.

Now in both of these events, the king in each case brought together all the magicians and wise men in order to explain the dream. And in both cases they were unable to do so. However, when they listened to God fearing men, with the Egyptians Joseph and the Babylonians Daniel, they were able to receive the answer they were looking for. Joseph brought the correct translation to Pharoah, and Daniel gave, not only the interpretation but the dream as well, to Nebuchadnezzar.

How was both Daniel and Joseph able to give each king what he wanted? They heard from God. In the case of Daniel, “Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” Daniel 2:17-18. They did not attempt to give their own interpretation of the dream, but they allowed God to give them what He meant by these dreams. In the case of Daniel, “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision.” Daniel 2:19.  And it was revealed to him because he, along with his three friends, went to God for the answer.

And after God revealed it to Him, they acknowledged His work in this. “Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel answered and said, Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. And it is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to men of understanding. It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. To Thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For Thou hast given me wisdom and power; Even now Thou hast made known to me what we requested of Thee, For Thou hast made known to us the king’s matter.” Daniel 2:19b-23. Daniel never endeavored to figure this out on his own. He understood he did not have the wisdom to determine the meaning of the dreams, just as Joseph did. They laid it in God’s hands to guide them to the truth. And when He provided that meaning to Daniel,  he and his friends gave all thanks and the glory to God almighty.

And this is a great picture of how we are to live our lives. God has promised He will be there for us, no matter what need we may have, be that in things, trials, tribulations, or anything else. “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. We can trust Him in everything, even those things that seem impossible, such as telling someone a dream that person had along with an accurate interpretation. There is nothing He will not do, unless He has a better way. This is the God we serve, the one who will always do what is best for us. And in this, we can rest and be at peace.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.