Read
Daniel 2:24-35
²⁴Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, who had been ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”
²⁵Then Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell Your Majesty the meaning of your dream!”
²⁶The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”
²⁷Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can tell the king such things. ²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
²⁹“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. The revealer of mysteries has shown you what is going to happen. ³⁰And it is not because I am wiser than any living person that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wanted you to understand what you were thinking about.
³¹“Your Majesty, in your vision you saw in front of you a huge and powerful statue of a man, shining brilliantly, frightening and awesome. ³²The head of the statue was made of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs were of bronze, ³³its legs were of iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and clay. ³⁴But as you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain by supernatural means. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. ³⁵The whole statue collapsed into a heap of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. The pieces were crushed as small as chaff on a threshing floor, and the wind blew them all away without a trace. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.

Reflect

It is tempting to take credit for something that God has done for us. When answers come, especially if they affect others, it is very enticing to try to elevate ourselves so that it appears that we have things under control. Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard tried to elevate the importance of himself and Daniel by stating, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell Your Majesty the meaning of your dream!” Daniel, though, didn’t take any credit for himself. Daniel gave all credit to God, who revealed the dream to Daniel.

Respond

1. Why did Daniel ask the commander not to kill all of the wise men?
2. Why did the commander say that He had found someone who could tell the king his dream?
3. What two lessons can we take away from today’s reading?

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