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Daniel 4:9-18

 ⁹I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means.
 ¹⁰While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. ¹¹The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. ¹²It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.
 ¹³Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. ¹⁴The messenger shouted,

   Cut down the tree and lop off its branches!
      Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit!
   Chase the wild animals from its shade
      and the birds from its branches.
 ¹⁵But leave the stump and the roots in the ground,
      bound with a band of iron and bronze
      and surrounded by tender grass.
   Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
      and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field.
 ¹⁶For seven periods of time,
      let him have the mind of a wild animal
      instead of the mind of a human.
 ¹⁷For this has been decreed by the messengers;
      it is commanded by the holy ones,
   so that everyone may know
      that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world.
   He gives them to anyone he chooses
      even to the lowliest of people.

 ¹⁸Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

Reflect

Today’s verses told the story of the kings dream.  It is important to note that in verse 9, the king says that the “spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve.”  After all that King Nebuchadnezzar had seen, he still didn’t recognize God as supreme over all.  He lumped God into his whole group of gods.  Just another god among many that were worshipped that day. 

But God had another idea.  He was talking to the King through his dreams but the king didn’t know it. God would use Daniel (Belteshazzar) to witness once again to the king.

Respond

 
1. Why was it so hard for the king to recognize that God was supreme and the only God worthy of worship?
2. How was God working in the king’s life during this time?
3. Why do you suppose the king didn’t consult Daniel first, before the other wise men of his kingdom?

 
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