the god of the impossible

Revealer of secrets, these are the words of an unbelieving king. That king was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He went to Jerusalem and besieged it. The Lord gave Jehoiakim, king of Judah, into his hand (Dan. 1:1-2). Why did God allow a heathen king to take captive his people? Sin! See 2 Kings 24:1-5. God is merciful. He sent prophets to no avail. Here, their sin gave a foothold to their enemies. 

Back to King Nebuchadnezzar 

He was a king that God blessed with a prophetic dream. The dream made him anxious. He felt one of his wise men should interpret the dream, but he also knew the opportunistic nature of the wise men. He summoned the astrologers, sorcerers, magicians, and Chaldeans. The king asked them to tell and interpret the dream. Twice they told him they needed to know the dream before they could interpret it for him. That response angered the king. He said, “For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” 

What an Amazing Thought 

I’ll not tell you the dream. You’re the wise men, you tell me! An ingenious way to get the truth. But the wise men told the king “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.” (Daniel 2:10). The wise men were correct. No man can tell these secret matters, but God can! Nebuchadnezzar was a ruthless ruler, and he ordered the wise men executed for their failure.

Death to All Wise Men

When Daniel heard about the king’s decree, he inquired of the kings’ captain, “Why is the king’s decree so urgent?” That got Daniel an audience with the king. Daniel was a young man whom God gave knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom. Throughout the Bible are instances where God grooms and raises people for His purpose and season. 

Wise Men Seek Him

The king grants Daniels’ request to seek mercies from God of heaven concerning this secret so that Daniel and his companions would escape death, unlike the wise men of Babylon. God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel (Dan. 2:14-18). Just imagine, with all the wisdom these men had, it wasn’t enough to save them. Only the Lord God could do that! Daniel and his companions seeking God led to the king becoming a believer in the God of Israel. 

The Unbelieving Becomes the Believing!

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel and commanded that they present an offering and incense to him. The king said, “Truly your God is God of gods, the Lord of kings and a revealer of secrets (Dan. 2:46-48). The king promoted Daniel because God used him to reveal a secret that the wise men said, “There is not a man on earth that can tell the king’s matter.”