Sermon Tone Analysis

Daniel 2:1-23 "Babylon's False Religion Exposed"

 

Babylon was the largest city in the world, covering 2,500 acres.

She was encircled by a double layer of defenses: each layer consisting of an outer wall, an inner wall, and a canal or river.

Between the inner and outer defenses was irrigated land with a network of canals.

Dominating the city were temples, palaces, and 300 foot high towers.

In her midst was a garden so beautiful it was considered to be one of the wonders of the world.

Running lengthwise through the city was a road 40-50 feet wide and paved with stone.

Running width-wise was a river.

A number of years ago archaeologists in Iraq excavated large parts of Babylon.

They unearthed walls 21 feet thick and reinforced with towers every 60 feet.

They found a throne room in the palace measuring 165 X 143 feet.

She was a mighty city, a capital city.

Her king ruled much more than her 2,500 acres; her king ruled the mightiest empire of that time.

It is hard to believe, but there came a day when a dream – a simple dream - caused an uproar in this city, mighty Babylon.

I sometimes have dreams and even nightmares.

But neither the city of Edina nor the State of MN take notice.

Yet, this one dream was enough to cause an uproar in Babylon and call the existing order into question.

Everything and everyone was upset.

Scripture tells us that "/Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep/" (v. 1).

Because of his anxiety, he made wildly unreasonable demands of his wise men - demands which they could not possibly meet.

These demands filled the wise men with terror - with good reason.

For unless the demands were met Arioch, Babylon's chief executioner, was going to cut off their heads.

All this was the result of a dream!

Mighty Babylon, capital of an empire, was in turmoil because of a dream.

So the great king looks to human wisdom for a fix.

Now there is one big difference between my dreams and Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

It’s clear from Scripture that Nebuchadnezzar's dream was a revelation from God.

It was God Who spoke to the king through the dark mysteries of sleep; it was His Spirit that gave the king the vivid and intense dream which troubled him so much.

In v 29 we’re told the circumstances leading up to Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

The king was lying in his bed and as he was /lying there, his mind turned to things to come …./”

The king, in other words, was thinking about the future.

He was concerned and anxious about what it would bring.

He wondered if he would be able to maintain his position and authority in the face of internal unrest and foreign enemies.

He worried about the state and power of his beloved city, Babylon.

That's what he was musing over.

Nebuchadnezzar's worries were the troubled thoughts of a man who had no peace of mind, spirit, or soul - especially when his mind "/turned to things to come/."

King Nebuchadnezzar was a man filled with fear and anxiety about the future.

His worries are quite typical of a man who doesn't have a living relationship with the Lord.

For you see, those who know the Lord have no need and no reason to fear the future; they know that all things lie in the Lord's hands, that nothing happens without His will, and that all things work out for the good of those who love the Lord.

What happened as the king was lying in his bed thinking about the future?

Well, God gave to Nebuchadnezzar a glimpse into the future.

Through a dream God showed this monarch how shaky his throne and how transitory his kingdom really was.

What he saw in his dream made Nebuchadnezzar very uneasy and very anxious.

In his great distress King Nebuchadnezzar threw his palace, his city, and his empire into a state of turmoil.

No one could rest until Nebuchadnezzar received the answers he wanted.

What does the king do after the Lord gave him his frightening vision of the future?

Where does he look for answers?

Where does he go for a fix?

He does exactly what the world always does in times of upheaval.

Each time this remedy is tried it is found to be useless, yet the world keeps right on trying the same prescription.

Like all secular humanists, Nebuchadnezzar sought help not from God but from man.

He looked to human wisdom to supply the answers he wanted so desperately.

Nebuchadnezzar did not know, in the words of the Apostle Paul, that (1 Cor 1:25) ... /the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength/.

The king summoned his advisors: magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

When they came in and stood before the king, he said to them, "/I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means/."

King Nebuchadnezzar made this sort of demand of his advisors because great stress was placed back then upon dreams and visions.

It was believed that through them the gods passed on messages about the future of men and nations.

There they stood before the king - magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

·       Magicians: they try to influence people and events through black and white magic; often they make use of poisons, medicines, herbs, and secret potions.

·       Enchanters: they try to influence people and events through charms, enchantments, and spells.

·       Sorcerers: they attempt to gain knowledge of the future by interpreting dreams, consulting with the spirits of the dead, studying livers or entrails of livestock, analyzing the movements of wild animals.

·       Astrologers: they observe the courses of the sun, moon, stars, and planets for the purpose of determining the character of individuals and the direction of events.

There they stood before the king - magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

These scholars represented the four branches of ancient science.

These scholars represented the sum total of all that was then known by the secular world about the heavens and the earth.

Surely, from among them Nebuchadnezzar would find an answer to his questions.

Oh, the bankruptcy of human wisdom: There they stood before the king - magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

"/Tell me what my dream was and interpret it," demands Nebuchadnezzar /(v.

5).

The wise men of Babylon could give the king no answer to such a demand.

But if the king told them the dream they would tell him the interpretation (v.

4).

Nebuchadnezzar was no fool.

He wanted a firm guarantee that his counselors were not simply making up an interpretation - one that would sound pleasing to the king.

If they would first tell him exactly what he had dreamed, he could then be absolutely sure that their interpretation was reliable.

We see here that Nebuchadnezzar did not completely trust his servants.

This is not all that surprising.

In his heart of hearts the king must have known, as must the magicians themselves, that the religion of Babylon was mere superstition and not truth, that her gods were not gods but merely figments of man's imagination, that the words of the advisors were not from the gods but only the deceit of human minds.

There they stood before the king – magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

Nebuchadnezzar says to them, (quote, v. 5).

Babylon's wise men were dumbfounded, and scared.

Once more they replied, "/Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it/" (v 7).

Then the king answered, "/I am certain that you are trying to gain time/" (v 8).

The king knew what his advisors were trying to do: they were hoping for time during which they either learned details about the king's dream or during which the king forgot his unreasonable demands.

Again the king repeated his demand: "/Tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me/" (v.

9).

Can't you hear the indignation as the astrologers answered the king?

They said, (quote, vv.

10-11).

Do you realize what the Chaldean wise men admit to here?

They admit they have no contact with the gods.

None of them have stood in the council of the Lord to see or hear His word so of course they don't know the dream or its interpretation.

Those who do not know the one only true God can never rightly interpret any revelation which He has given.

This is also an admission that their heathen religion is nothing but fluff and show - there is nothing real about it or the gods they claim to worship.

They also admit that all their magic arts - their black and white magic; their charms, enchantments and spells; their divination; their observation of the sun, moon, stars, and planets - are but worthless human devices.

They admit to the bankruptcy, the emptiness, of human wisdom.

There they stood before the king - magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers.

These wise men could give King Nebuchadnezzar no answer to his questions.

This turn of events should not surprise us.

The bankruptcy of human wisdom is to be expected.

For one thing, it has no place for the reality of human sin.

For another, it does not acknowledge the Creator God or His revelation.

Opportunity for Church: As we will find out by reading further into chapter 2, the bankruptcy of human wisdom provides the perfect opportunity for Daniel to step onto the stage.

As long as Nebuchadnezzar is not afraid and the magicians are held in high esteem, Daniel will not be able to get a hearing.