Daniel 2 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application

Daniel 2 Bible Study

TIMELINE:

• The Book of Daniel opens in the 3rd year of the reign of King Jehoiakim, 606 BC. Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel in Babylon. Daniel was taken to Babylon about 14 years before Ezekiel was called by God to be a prophet (Ezekiel 1-2).

• Daniel 1:21 informs us Daniel was in the palace of Babylon until the first year of King Cyrus (539 BC).

• Daniel 2 is dated to the 3rd year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar. Most historians place this around 602 BC. Nebuchadnezzar appears to have co-ruled with his father, Nabopolassar, for a few years, and this 3rd year may refer to his reign as sole sovereign.  

• Below is a useful list of kings of Judah and dates for their reign:

  • Amon (642-640 BC)

  • Josiah (640-609 BC)

  • Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)

  • Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)

  • Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)

  • Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, (597-586 BC)

OUTLINE:

• KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM (2:1-13):

  • Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian Empire, had a dream one night that disturbed him.

  • Nebuchadnezzar demanded that his magicians and wise men (the Chaldeans) tell him the contents of the dream and its interpretation.

  • When the magicians and wise men heard the demand, they were afraid. It was common for a king to ask to have a dream interpreted, but not without the dream first being described to the interpreters.

  • Nebuchadnezzar got angry at the incompetence of his magicians and wise men, and told them he would kill them all unless he got what he wanted.

  • The interpreters responded, saying, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter… no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” (2:10-11).

  • Nebuchadnezzar immediately issued a decree that the enchanters, wise men, and magicians of Babylon were to be killed.

• DANIEL APPEARS BEFORE NEBUCHADNEZZAR (2:14-30):

  • When the captain of the king’s guard arrived at Daniel’s house, Daniel responded with “prudence and discretion.”

  • He asked for an audience with the king to be scheduled.

  • Then he informed Hananiah, Michael, and Azariah on the matter, asking them to pray that God would show mercy and reveal the dream to him.

  • “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night” (2:19).

  • Daniel praised God for His help, and then went in to speak with Nebuchadnezzar.

  • Daniel didn’t pretend that his ability to interpret dreams stemmed from his own wisdom or skill. He gave glory to God, saying, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days” (2:27-28).

• DESCRIBING THE KING’S DREAM (2:31-35):

  • Then Daniel began to recount the details of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that God had revealed to him in the vision.

  • Nebuchadnezzar saw a large image, “mighty and of exceeding brightness.”

  • The head was made of gold, the chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, it’s legs of iron, and its feet were fashioned from part iron and part clay.

  • Then a great stone appeared, a stone “cut out by no human hands,” and it struck the image and broke it into tiny pieces. The wind carried the pieces away until there was no trace of the image that had once stood there.

  • The great stone then became a great mountain and filled the earth.

• THE INTERPRETATION OF THE DREAM (2:36-45):

  • Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom was represented by the head of gold.

  • The chest and arms of silver represented a kingdom that would come after his.

  • The middle and thighs of bronze were another kingdom.

  • The iron legs and feet of iron and clay represented a kingdom that would be strong as iron, but would have weakness. Strong as iron in one sense, but brittle as clay in another.

  • In the days of those kings (iron and clay), God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed. God’s kingdom would break and outlast all other kingdoms. The ruins of the others would be carried away by the wind, but God’s kingdom would stand forever.

  • It would not be a kingdom that rose to power through human might, it would be like the stone, fashioned and cut by the hand of God.

• NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S RESPONSE (2:46-49):

  • The Emperor of Babylon fell on his face and honored Daniel.

  • He said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries” (2:47).

  • Daniel was given high honor and gifts and made him the ruler over the province of Babylon and prefect over the wise men.

  • Daniel also requested a promotion for his 3 friends, and it was granted by the king.

FULFILLMENT OF THE DREAM IN DANIEL 2:

• Daniel makes it clear that the head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom (Babylon).

• The other elements represented kingdoms that would follow Babylon, specifically 3 kingdoms. What were those kingdoms?

• From world history, it seems natural to interpret this dream as referring to the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire.

• Babylon is pictured as gold, Persia as silver, Greece as bronze, and Rome as the iron legs with the iron and clay foundation.

• They were all human-built empires, but they were crushed by something that wasn’t made with human hands, the great stone.

• The stone appears to represent God’s work, God’s kingdom. It outlasts all empires and grows to fill the whole earth (2:35).

• It was in the days of the iron and clay that God would “set up a kingdom” that would never be destroyed (2:44).