DANIEL AND THE KING'S DREAM
MEMORY VERSE
Daniel 2:44a, ESV
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed
DAY 1
Daniel 1:8-17, NIrV
8 Daniel decided not to make himself “unclean” by eating the king’s food and drinking his wine. So he asked the chief official for a favor. He wanted permission not to make himself “unclean” with the king’s food and wine. 9 God had caused the official to be kind and friendly to Daniel. 10 But the official refused to do what Daniel asked for. He said, “I’m afraid of the king. He is my master. He has decided what you and your three friends must eat and drink. Other young men are the same age as you. Why should he see you looking worse than them? When he sees how you look, he might kill me.”
11 So Daniel spoke to one of the guards. The chief official had appointed him over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 12 Daniel said to him, “Please test us for ten days. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat. And give us only water to drink. 13 Then compare us with the young men who eat the king’s food. See how we look. After that, do what you want to.” 14 So the guard agreed. He tested them for ten days.
15 After the ten days Daniel and his friends looked healthy and well fed. In fact, they looked better than any of the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard didn’t require them to eat the king’s special food. He didn’t require them to drink the king’s wine either. He gave them vegetables instead.
17 God gave knowledge and understanding to these four young men. So they understood all kinds of writings and subjects. And Daniel could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
BIBLE STUDY
When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Judah, he carried off their best and brightest people to serve him in his kingdom. He wanted them to speak Babylon’s language, read Babylon’s books, eat Babylon’s food, and worship Babylon’s gods. He even gave them new Babylonian names! But Daniel and his friends wanted to live by God’s laws, not Babylon’s. Eating the king’s food and wine would make them “unclean” according to God’s rules. So they convinced a guard to let them eat veggies instead. And God miraculously kept the four friends fat and full during their 10-day-long veggie test!
+ Why didn’t the guard want to let Daniel eat veggies instead of the king’s food? (vs. 10)
+ How did Daniel and his friends’ answers compare to the other wise men? (vs. 20)
DAY 2
Daniel 2:1-11, NIrV
1 In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, he had a dream. His mind was troubled. He couldn’t sleep. 2 So the king sent for those who claimed to get knowledge by using magic. He also sent for those who practiced evil magic and those who studied the heavens. He wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood in front of the king. 3 He said to them, “I had a dream. It troubles me. So I want to know what it means.”
4 Then those who studied the heavens answered the king. They spoke in Aramaic. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, may you live forever! Tell us what you dreamed. Then we’ll explain what it means.”
5 The king replied to them, “I have made up my mind. You must tell me what I dreamed. And you must tell me what it means. If you don’t, I’ll have you cut to pieces. And I’ll have your houses turned into piles of trash. 6 So tell me what I dreamed. Explain it to me. Then I’ll give you gifts. I’ll reward you. I’ll give you great honor. So tell me the dream. And tell me what it means.”
7 Once more they replied, “King Nebuchadnezzar, tell us what you dreamed. Then we’ll tell you what it means.”
8 The king answered, “I know what you are doing. You are trying to gain more time. You realize that I’ve made up my mind. 9 You must tell me the dream. If you don’t, you will pay for it. You have gotten together and made evil plans. You hope things will change. So you are telling me lies. But I want you to tell me what I dreamed. Then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”
10 They answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what you are asking! No king has ever asked for anything like that. Not even a king as great and mighty as you has asked for it. Those who get knowledge by using magic have never been asked to do what you are asking. And those who study the heavens haven’t been asked to do it either. 11 What you are asking is much too hard. No one can tell you what you dreamed except the gods. And they don’t live among human beings.”
BIBLE STUDY
Usually, dreams are just our brains working things out while we sleep. But rarely, God used dreams to send special messages, sometimes even to men like Nebuchadnezzar who didn’t believe in him! The king ordered his best Babylonian brains to explain the message of his bizarre dream. But he was suspicious. If he shared his weird dream with his wise men, they could simply lie and make up something that sounded smart. So he asked his wise guys to not only tell him the dream’s meaning, but also what it was he dreamed. Of course, only a person who could read minds would be able to do that!
+ What did Nebuchadnezzar say he would do if the wise men couldn’t explain his dream? (vs. 5)
+ Why did the wise men say they couldn’t do what Nebuchadnezzar asked? (vs. 11)
DAY 3
Daniel 2:12-23, NIrV
12 That made the king very angry. He ordered that all the wise men in Babylon be put to death. 13 So the order was given to kill them. Men were sent out to look for Daniel and his friends. They were also supposed to be put to death.
14 Arioch was the commander of the king’s guard. He went out to put the wise men of Babylon to death. So Daniel spoke to him wisely and carefully. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did Nebuchadnezzar give a terrible order like that?” Then Arioch explained to Daniel what was going on. 16 When Daniel heard that, he went to the king. He told him he would explain the dream to him. But he needed more time.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house. He explained everything to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He asked them to pray that the God of heaven would give him mercy. He wanted God to help him understand the mystery of the king’s dream. Then he and his friends wouldn’t be killed along with Babylon’s other wise men. 19 During that night, God gave Daniel a vision. He showed him what the mystery was all about. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said,
“May God be praised for ever and ever!
He is wise and powerful.
21 He changes times and seasons.
He removes some kings from power.
He causes other kings to rule.
The wisdom of those who are wise comes from him.
He gives knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He explains deep and hidden things.
He knows what happens in the darkest places.
And where he is, everything is light.
23 God of my people of long ago, I thank and praise you.
You have given me wisdom and power.
You have made known to me what we asked you for.
You have shown us the king’s dream.”
BIBLE STUDY
King Nebuchadnezzar was furious his wise men couldn’t tell him what he dreamed. He wanted them all dead. That included Daniel and three of his friends! If you remember, the best Babylonian brainiacs reminded the king, “Only a god can know what another person dreams.” And Daniel knew they were right. That’s why he asked his three friends to pray. If God didn’t reveal the mystery of the king’s dream, they were toast! But God came to the rescue in the nick of time! That night, Daniel had a vision (like dreaming when you’re awake) and saw exactly what Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed.
+ What did Daniel tell King Nebuchadnezzar he could do? What did he ask for? (vs. 16)
+ Write down 2-3 of the things Daniel said about God in his prayer of praise. (vs. 20-23)
DAY 4
Daniel 2:24-30, NIRV
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch. The king had appointed him to put the wise men of Babylon to death. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king. I’ll tell him what his dream means.”
25 So Arioch took Daniel to the king at once. Arioch said, “I have found a man among those you brought here from Judah. He can tell you what your dream means.”
26 Nebuchadnezzar spoke to Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar. The king asked him, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream? And can you tell me what it means?”
27 Daniel replied, “You have asked us to explain a mystery to you. But no wise man can do that. And those who try to figure things out by using magic can’t do it either. 28 But there is a God in heaven who can explain mysteries. King Nebuchadnezzar, he has shown you what is going to happen. Here is what you dreamed while lying in bed. And here are the visions that passed through your mind.
29 “Your Majesty, while you were still in bed your mind was troubled. You were thinking about things that haven’t happened yet. The God who explains mysteries showed these things to you. 30 Now the mystery has been explained to me. But it isn’t because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive. It’s because God wants you to know what the mystery means, Your Majesty. He wants you to understand what went through your mind.
BIBLE STUDY
Daniel and his three friends were super smart. That’s why they had been carried away from Judah: to join Nebuchadnezzar’s collection of wise guys. Often times, smart people like to show off exactly how big of a brain they have. But that’s not what Daniel did when he spoke to Nebuchadnezzar. “What you asked,” Daniel told the king, “is impossible!” No one in the world, no matter how clever their mind was or how many books they read, could tell another person what they’d dreamed. “But,” Daniel said, “there’s a God in heaven who can. He’s my God and he’s shown you a picture of the future!”
+ What job had Nebuchadnezzar given to Arioch, the commander of his guards? (vs. 24)
+ Why could Daniel tell the king his dream when all the other wise men couldn’t? (vs. 30)
DAY 5
Daniel 2:31-35, NIRV
31 “King Nebuchadnezzar, you looked up and saw a large statue standing in front of you. It was huge. It shone brightly. And it terrified you. 32 The head of the statue was made out of pure gold. Its chest and arms were made out of silver. Its stomach and thighs were made out of bronze. 33 Its legs were made out of iron. And its feet were partly iron and partly baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out. But human hands didn’t do it. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay. It smashed them. 35 Then the iron and clay were broken to pieces. So were the bronze, silver and gold. All of them were broken to pieces. They became like straw on a threshing floor at harvest time. The wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain. It filled the whole earth.
BIBLE STUDY
What a weird dream! It began with a gigantic statue. In real life, statues are sculpted using just one type of building material. But this strange “dream statue” was split into four different parts made from five different materials: gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay. But the weirdness didn’t stop there. Invisible hands cut out a rock, which then smashed into the statue’s feet. It blasted the humongous thing into a million bits so small that the wind could blow them away. And it case that wasn’t strange enough for you, the strange statue-smashing rock somehow grew into an earth-filling mountain!
+ How did Nebuchadnezzar feel as he dreamed his dream? (vs. 31)
+ What five building materials made up the statue in the king’s dream? (vs. 32-33)
DAY 6
Daniel 2:36-45, NIRV
36 “This was your dream. Now I will tell you what it means. 37 King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the greatest king of all. The God of heaven has given you authority and power. He has given you might and glory. 38 He has put everyone under your control. He has also given you authority over the wild animals and the birds in the sky. It doesn’t matter where they live. He has made you ruler over all of them. You are that head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom will take over. It won’t be as powerful as yours. Next, a third kingdom will rule over the whole earth. The bronze part of the statue stands for that kingdom. 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom. It will be as strong as iron. Iron breaks and smashes everything to pieces. And the fourth kingdom will crush and break all the others. 41 You saw that the feet and toes were made out of iron and baked clay. And the fourth kingdom will be divided up. But it will still have some of the strength of iron. That’s why you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 The toes were partly iron and partly clay. And the fourth kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. 43 You saw the iron mixed with baked clay. And the fourth kingdom will be made up of all kinds of people. They won’t hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. It will never be destroyed. And no other nation will ever take it over. It will crush all those other kingdoms. It will bring them to an end. But it will last forever. 45 That’s what the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain means. Human hands didn’t cut out the rock. It broke the statue to pieces. It smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold.
“The great God has shown you what will take place in days to come. The dream is true. And you can trust the meaning of it that I have explained to you.”
BIBLE STUDY
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a special dream of a humongous four-part statue. Daniel explained that these four sections were pictures of four powerful kingdoms. The head of the statue was made with gold. That part of the statue stood for Nebuchadnezzar’s mighty kingdom of Babylon. Just like gold is the most precious of treasures, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was the greatest kingdom on the planet.
But what about the other parts of the statue? As Daniel explained to the king, they were pictures of kingdoms from the future, ones that would take over after Nebuchadnezzar was dead and buried. The next two kingdoms after him wouldn’t be as great as Nebuchadnezzar’s, just like silver and bronze are not as valuable as gold.
The fourth section of the statue was a mix of strong iron and weak clay. It was a picture of the fourth kingdom to rise up. Like iron, it would be mighty, smashing all the enemies in its way. But just as it’s impossible to mix iron and clay, this powerful kingdom would be made up of all kinds of people who didn’t mix well with each other.
And history unfolded just like God showed the king in his strange dream. Over 60 years later, Babylon was conquered by Cyrus of the Persian empire. After the Persians came the Greek empire, led by Alexander the Great. He had the goal of conquering every inch of the known world (and he almost succeeded)! The Persians and Greeks were the “silver” and “bronze” kingdoms from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
And the fourth kingdom, the “iron” one? That was the mighty Roman empire. Like iron, they smashed their enemies in battle. And as iron and clay don’t mix, the Roman empire was a poor mix of different cultures and people groups. The conquered countries of Rome often had big troubles playing nicely with each other.
But what about the statue-smashing rock, the one cut out by something other than human hands? This rock was a picture of God’s kingdom! God sent his Son Jesus into the world during the days of the Roman empire. But Jesus didn’t come to swing a sword at Roman soldiers in battle. Instead, he came to rescue sinners from death! And he won the greatest victory for us when he died for our sins and rose from the dead!
In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the statue-smashing rock grew into a great big mountain that filled the earth. In the same way, God’s forever kingdom has spread all over the world. It grows one person at a time, as people turn away from their sins and believe the good news of Jesus! And while the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and even Rome have all fallen and faded into history, the kingdom of God is still alive and growing, thousands of years later! In fact, God’s kingdom will be around forever!
+ Below are the five parts of the statue. Say which kingdom each part represented.
Gold –
Silver –
Bronze –
Iron and Clay –
Rock –
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