In this episode of Add Bible, we dive deep into the second chapter of Daniel, as Brad Lidge lends his voice to narrate the mysterious and prophetic dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. Discover how Daniel, with divine assistance, unfolds the secrets hidden within the king’s dream, revealing God’s magnificent plan that stretches far beyond Babylon. From the awe-inspiring image to the prophetic kingdoms, this episode invites you to witness faith in action and the power of divine revelation.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
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Today we are in Daniel chapter 2. Listen to our guest reader Brad Lidge, former closer for the Philadelphia Phillies, read the 49 verses of Daniel chapter 2.
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Daniel chapter 2. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams. His spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, O king, live forever. Tell the servants your dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the word for me is firm. If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered a second time and said, let the king tell his servants the dream and we will show its interpretation. The king answered and said, The Chaldeans answered the king and said, 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 or Chaldean. The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Ariok, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Ariok, the king’s captain, Why is the decree of the king so urgent? Then Ariok made the matter known to Daniel, and Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, He reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter. Therefore Daniel went into Ariok, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation. Then Ariok brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him, I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation. The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said, 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. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these. To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this. And he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. But as for me, this mystery had been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than of the living. but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold altogether were broken in pieces and became like the shaft of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, And into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all. You are the head of gold. Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all things. And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom. But some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that the stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, a great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain and its interpretation sure.” Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel and commanded that an offering and incense be offered upon to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, Truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.
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In 1988, when I read this chapter as a young man myself, at 33 years old, I wrote, God gives wisdom, blessings to young men in authority. God blesses his people for his glory. Daniel’s obedience saves lives and results in promotions for him and his friends. In 2005, I see in my Bible reading journal, I wrote this. I missed reading this morning. Up late, booking Florida cruise flights, then alarm didn’t go off, but had to leave by 6 a.m. for Cheyenne, Wyoming, for a cabinet meeting for the Gideons, and I woke up at 5.45, and I had to go in the snow. So my journal entry is noted at 10.20 p.m., reading with Terry, daniel chapter two verses one through twenty four so yes i missed in the morning but i didn’t miss reading the bible that day as i picked it up late that night when i got home i wrote impossible no one can interpret a dream you don’t even know but god Those great words God gives to Daniel, the dream and interpretation, thanks to prayers of him and his three buddies. Lord, increase my faith, even in the impossible. In 2012, I read Daniel chapter 2 in two different days, breaking up the chapter. So on the first day I wrote, Dreams or nightmares? The king’s dream causes his spirit to be troubled and his sleep left him. Sounds like a nightmare to me. He gathers all his wise men to give him the dream and its interpretation. He doesn’t seem to have much respect for this bunch, and I was referring to verse 9, and he is okay with destroying them all. They do answer correctly, though, by reminding the king no human can do what he has asked, only the gods. Daniel, part of the king’s wise men, is also rounded up to be killed, but Daniel responds with prudence and discretion. By faith, he asks the king for time to fulfill his request. And Daniel shares his need with his three friends for prayer support. God answers their prayer and Daniel gives God the glory. The next day I finished the chapter and I wrote in my journal, Daniel gives God the credit and the glory for his ability to interpret the dream. Why would God show Nebuchadnezzar the future? An evil Gentile king. And then I quoted verse 47, truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings. Amen. Our application out of Daniel chapter 2 is God is the God of the impossible. It is impossible for any man to interpret a dream he doesn’t even know. Another application is to go to the Lord. In verse 17, Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery. verse nineteen then the mystery was revealed to daniel in a vision of the night then daniel blessed the god of heaven so go to the lord even when things appear to be impossible and give god the glory in your prayer closet and in public Verse 27 says, Daniel answered the king and said, No wise man, 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. Proclaim God’s glory, even in public. and lastly watch for god’s result of your obedience to him verse forty seven the king answered and said to daniel truly your god is god of gods and lord of kings hallelujah we serve a god of the impossible and he gets the glory Father, we give you praise and thanks for Daniel chapter 2. We thank you that when Daniel heard of an impossible situation, he went to you in prayer. And you graciously heard his prayer and gave him the dream and the interpretation for the king. So that the king could honor you and give you the glory. Bless us, Lord, as we believe in you, even when it seems impossible. And then remind us to give you the glory. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible today. We make very few financial appeals after our daily programs, yet from time to time it is necessary to do so. Today is one of those days, so please don’t shut me off. The Ezra Project started in 2002 with one mission, to connect God’s people to God’s Word. Back then, and still today, I believe the number one need in the Christian church is to come back to God’s Word. I’m not a preacher. I don’t have a pulpit to encourage Christians to engage in their Bibles or a church to support this radio program. But with your help, we can continue to proclaim God’s Word to you and thousands of others. Ours is a unique approach. We don’t preach the Word or even teach the Word. We share the powerful impact of God’s Word in a normal life over 50 years of daily Bible reading. I started reading my Bible at 15 years old and have virtually read my Bible every day since. In AddBible, I share my personal Bible reading journal starting in 1983 and continuing to this day. I share from my heart how the Bible has intersected my life and how it can intersect yours. We need less preaching about the Bible and more personal engagement in the Bible. We need to know the Bible is still applicable to a 21st century life. That’s our mission at the Ezra Project. If you agree that the greatest need among Christians is to get back into the Bible and apply it to our daily lives, I invite you to visit our website, EzraProject.net, and donate today. You can do it online or by mail. 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