Daniel 2:24–30

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

Here we go again. It’s all about who’s God. The psychics said, “The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” (Daniel 2:11)

Now Daniel says the same thing, except it’s God (singular) not the gods (plural).

And Daniel makes sure that he gets none of the credit. It’s all about who’s God. He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.

Daniel says something clever. He says that the secrets aren’t made known to Daniel; they’re made known to you (the king). Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams are from God. His dreams may be troubling, but Daniel is recasting them as something important and wonderful—that the king is privileged to receive.

He’s got Nebuchadnezzar on the hook. Now all he has to do is reel him in.

He isn’t just teaching Nebuchadnezzar about God; Daniel’s helping him see God. This will ultimately lead to a different kind of faith. Nebuchadnezzar won’t just have memorized that God is real, he’ll have experienced it.

Indoctrination is useful. We should teach our children about God and His plan of salvation. But if they never experience the reality of God in their lives, their faith will be endangered by the normal college experience.

Teach your children to pray.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.