Its been over 30 years since King Nebuchadnezzar's first prophetic dream...
DANIEL 4:4-9
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
6 Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
8 But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying:
9 "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
6 Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
8 But at last Daniel came before me (his name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god; in him is the Spirit of the holy God), and I told the dream before him, saying:
9 "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
The king's immediate response to his second dream was similar to the first, as he summoned his wise men. They still were unable to interpret his dream, but this time he did not threaten to cut them into pieces. This shows that the king is becoming less harsh, his character changing, as he is aging. He turns to Daniel again to interpret his dream.
Based on the description of Daniel in verse 8, it appears that King Nebuchadnezzar still does not get the picture. He describes Daniel as Belteshazzar, which is the name of his god, yet in him is the Spirit of the holy God.
"Nebuchadnezzar could not seem to dislodge his polytheistic thinking. You see, the truth that Daniel's God is the one and only God had never taken root in the inmost places of Neb's heart, transforming even his subconscious values and beliefs. In his estimation, he greatly honored the God of Daniel by ascribing Him as higher than all other gods. Daniel must have been frustrated beyond description at times." (moore)q u e s t i o n : Have you ever felt you'd made tremendous progress with someone regarding his or her understanding of spiritual matters, only to realize at times that he or she still didn't get the picture? If so, what did you end up doing?
I have several friends who will sometimes come to me for advice on their troubles. I would always give them the word of God rather than my own advice because I know that my advice will always fail. Though even after hearing what God's word is, they ask, "So what do you think?" And I can't seem to see where they misunderstand about God's word being the truth and how HE is our counselor, how they must seek Him for guidance and advice. They would rather hear mans wisdom rather than God's, hearing negative remarks and criticism rather than encouragement. Its so easy to want to hear the miserable truth about yourself coming from someone else... instead of hearing the truth from God. Or for example, a girlfriend coming to you about relationship problems. Instead of listening, they would rather dish out their frustration and vent about the other person... just hoping that you will side with them rather than their boyfriend or spouse or crush. They don't come for advice, they come to vent... and when you begin to start talking about God, they immediately say, "You've never been in this situation, you will never understand." What's even more alarming is when they think that God won't understand what they're going through. They don't know what Christ did for them, and they can't seem to understand that God is the only one beyond any man who would understand heartbreak, rejection, brokeness, loneliness, etc...
