Daily Bible Study

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Day 3 Daniel 2:1 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. 2 Then, the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So, they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm. If you do not make the dream known to me and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces, and your houses made an ash heap. 6 However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore, tell me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” 8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time because you see my decision is firm. 9 If you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know you can give me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore, no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious and gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time so that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So, Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. 21 He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. 22 He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. 23 I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You made known to us the king’s demand.” Were you given an unfair challenge that no one could solve? What did you do? Sometimes leaders will challenge their subordinates to learn who they can depend on and whom they cannot. A story was told about a teacher who gave bean seeds to her students and told them to plant them, water them, and bring them back in several days to show her the result of her challenge. One student couldn’t get the bean to grow no matter how much water and fertilizer she gave it, while the other students had amazing results with their seeds. When the students brought their plants to the teacher to show her the results of their efforts, she showed disappointment to all those whose plants looked healthy. It was then she revealed that the seeds she gave them were dead seeds. She praised the student who didn’t cheat to make the plant grow and gave the student a position of honor in the class because she could depend on that student. King Nebuchadnezzar dreamt a dream and wanted the interpretation. When his magicians, soothsayers, and astrologers couldn’t give him an interpretation, he decided to kill all of them. When Daniel learned about the king’s decision, he went to the king and asked for time to learn what the king dreamt and went to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, to tell them what transpired, then with prayer, went to sleep and the Lord gave him the dream and the interpretation. When He did, Daniel blessed and praised God for the interpretation of the dream. As Christians, can people depend on you to do the right thing? Are you a person of integrity and honor? Many Christians want honor and prestige among their peers and will do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. When their peers learn about the methods taken to achieve notoriety among them, they demote or distrust them and don’t give them the honor they hoped to achieve. It is better to be honest and keep your integrity than to gain your objective by dishonest means. Let’s pray: Father, You know my heart. Search me and show me what I need to change so that my heart is right with You and there is no falsehood in me. Let me be a person of integrity in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 16 July 2023 by Valerie Routhieaux The image belongs to me.