The Thing is Gone from Me - Daniel 2:5

In the book of Daniel, Daniel said, “in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation”, and in Daniel chapter two and verse five Daniel shared how Nebuchadnezzar told the Chaldeans, “the thing is gone from me” where we read,

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

The verse reads, “The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me:” Daniel began with the words, “the king answered and said” which means “the royal ruler and leader, Nebuchadnezzar, replied, responded, uttered, declared and proclaimed” “to the Chaldeans” or “toward the men of Chaldea”, “the thing” which means “the word, affair and matter” “is gone from me” or “exists as separate and apart from me, King Nebuchadnezzar”,. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar declared to the men of Chaldea and astrologers that he was not backing off the following statement. 

The verse goes on to say, “if you will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.” Daniel continued with the words, “if you will not make known unto me” which means “whether and in case you, astrologers and men of Chaldea, shall in no way or manner certify, inform, communicate or reveal to me, King Nebuchadnezzar” “the dream” or “the mental imagery”, “with the interpretation thereof” which means “alongside and accompanying the meaning or rendering of the dream”, “you shall be cut in pieces”or “you, astrologersand men of Chaldea, will be executed and made to be divided into members or limbs”, “and your houses” which means “and your, astrologers and men of Chaldea's, habitations, abodes and dwelling places” “shall be made a dunghill” or “will be decreed, made and set as a refuse heap or outhouse”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar declared that in case the astrologers and men of Chaldea did not reveal his “dream” to him along with the meaning of it, they would be divided limb by limb and their homes would be turned into refuse or outhouses. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel just how serious King Nebuchadnezzar was about his “wise men” revealing his “dream” and the meaning of it to him. He told them that he could not remember what his “mental imagery” was, and if they did not recall it and what it meant, not only would they be severed limb by limb, but their homes would be turned into refuse houses. This is a pretty heavy duty threat. Who would want to be one of his advisors? However, this was the man God was using to reveal His Divine purpose to save mankind. God loves people, and when He gave this “dream” to King Nebuchadnezzar, regardless of his own demeanor, God used Him because He loves people. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead three days later so when we yield our lives to Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to cleanse us from all unrighteousness regardless of what our demeanor has been. 

Next time Daniel shares how Nebuchadnezzar tells the Chaldeans what will happen, “if you show the dream”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".