Daniel Chapter 4 Verses 4-7

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I had a dream which made me afraid; as I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6 Therefore I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in; and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.

Poor Nebuchadnezzar. Every time things seem to be going well, he has a troubling dream. Here we have a repeat of what we saw in Chapter 2.

The king was at ease and was prospering.

Verse 30 implies that when this occurred, Nebuchadnezzar’s building activities had been completed.

These events probably took place after Egypt had been conquered and Jerusalem destroyed and about 8 or 9 years before the siege of Tyre in 573 mentioned in Ezekiel 26:7.

The seven year illness of Nebuchadnezzar in this chapter may have been from 582 to 575, a period in which we know of no military operations.

Thus, he was at ease and prospering. This may have been a source of his problems!

Recall Jesus’ parable of the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21. There we had a man who had everything but God – and God called him a fool. (If there is any parable that captures the spirit of our own age, it is that one.)

Again he makes a decree. (He does this a lot doesn’t he!) This decree commands that all of the wise men be brought forward to interpret his dream.

The ‘astrologers’ mentioned here were not mentioned in the list found in Chapter 2. The king seems to be grasping at straws in his increasingly desperate attempt to understand his dreams. (He may be ready to call the Psychic Hotline next!)

As before, the Chaldean wise men are unable to interpret the dream.

Note that this time, Nebuchadnezzar tells them what the dream was. Their inability to interpret it means that it must not have been listed in their dream manuals.

Even if they knew or guessed the meaning, they probably would have lacked the courage to tell the king. Even Daniel later hesitates to tell the king what the dream means.

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