1. After King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed, what impossible thing did he ask the wise men to do?

The King asked the wise men to not only tell him what his dream meant, but also to tell him what he had dreamed. This was something that no king had ever asked from his wise men ever before. The Babylonian people thought that their gods gave them dreams, but Yahweh was going to use this to show that he is the only God.

2. What did Daniel do when he found out about the King’s command to kill all the wise men?

Daniel wisely talked with one of the King’s servants and asked to speak to the King. Daniel asked the King to give him some time for God to reveal the dream and the interpretation to him. So, Daniel went and prayed and fasted with his friends and God answered them.

3. What did Daniel proclaim about God when God revealed the dream and its meaning to him?

Daniel blessed God and praised him because God is the only one who has the wisdom to reveal hidden things. Nothing is hidden from God. God is not only wise, but God is also sovereign. God sets up and removes kings. God is in total control over every nation. Even though the people are in exile, God is still completely sovereign over them and over Babylon. Daniel went before the king and proclaimed that it was God who revealed the dream and the interpretation to him. There is only one God who reveals the future.

4. What was the dream and what did it mean?

The king dreamed of a giant statue with all kinds of parts each representing a kingdom. At the end of the dream, a stone came, struck the statue, and grew into a huge mountain, filling the whole earth. This meant that God is going to set up a kingdom later that will keep growing and the whole world is going to be a part of God’s eternal kingdom. It will conquer all kingdoms and never be destroyed.

5. What did the King do after Daniel revealed his dream to him?

He bowed to Daniel and offered sacrifices to Daniel. (Daniel must have been horrified). Then, the king recognized Daniel’s God as the supreme God. This did not mean he believed in only one God, just that he realized that Daniel’s God did something that the other gods did not and could not do. He made Daniel ruler of the wise men and ruler over all Babylon. (Sound familiar? See the similarities with Joseph in Genesis 41.)

6. What does this teach us about who God is?

God is sovereign over all the world and over all kingdoms and kings. God sees his people and promised he will be with them even in exile. He will never abandon his people. God is also all-knowing and has all wisdom. God is the one who knows the future and can reveal the future. God will set up a kingdom that will always reign and never be destroyed. He is the one who holds all power to keep his kingdom going and no one can come up against him. 7. How does this point us to Jesus and his kingdom? Jesus is the one who is ruling and reigning at God’s right hand right now (Hebrews 1:3,13). He will keep reigning until the Father sends him back to set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed. We can trust and hope in the fact that Jesus never leaves us and never forsakes us, no matter how wicked and evil earthly kingdoms on earth are and how long they endure. We can trust God’s wisdom, and we can trust that he will come again. Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and he is the stone that the builders rejected that has become the chief cornerstone that is filling the earth with his people and one day will fill it completely. We can trust and wait for him knowing he will not fail.