DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 2.31

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Two

The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar

(The Rise and Fall of Empires)

 

 

Review

Previously, Daniel, in an audience with King Nebuchadnezzar, queried why the wise men of Babylon were unable to declare the dream to him. By this question, Daniel allowed himself to boast, “There is a God in Heaven that revealeth secrets and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days." Hence, Daniel does not credit himself but ascribes God for revelations.

 

 

1. The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar (2:1)

2. The Demands of Nebuchadnezzar (2:2-11)

3. The Decree of Nebuchadnezzar (2:12-13)

4. The Decision of Daniel (2:14-23)

5. The Disapproval of Daniel (2:24-30)

6. The Disclosure of Daniel (2:31-35)

(Verse 31)

 

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image (statue). This great image, whose brightness was excellent (dazzling), stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible (awesome).

 

Daniel proceeds to describe Nebuchadnezzar’s forgotten dream. It was a statue composed of various metals. He also employed the word great (used 2 times) emphasizing its exceedingly immense and overwhelming height and power. It is also noteworthy to mention the statue, in the form of a man, was not an idolatrous one. But later, however, Nebuchadnezzar would replicate an image of himself to be worshipped (cf. Daniel 3:1, 5).

 

 

(Verse 32)

 

This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

(Verse 33)

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

 

The Statue

The image which terrified Nebuchadnezzar nightly was a statue of a man consisting of five parts of the body from head to toe. The five elements corresponding to the image are mentioned as follows:

1. The head was of fine (pure) gold (v.32)

2. The chest and arms were silver (v. 33)

3. The belly and thighs were brass, or bronze (v. 33)

4. The legs were of iron (v. 33)

5. The feet were a mixture of Iron and (baked) clay [potsherd, most likely brittle, pottery or ceramic tile fragments (vv.33-34)]

Furthermore, the towering statue of Nebuchadnezzar was immobile.

 

Observations

1. There is a decreasing value of metals from top to bottom

a.  For example, Silver is less valuable than gold, etc.

 

2. There is a decreasing value of specific gravity or density of metals from top to bottom. Approximate values include:

a.  Gold – 19.3

b.  Silver – 10.5

c.  Brass – 8.4 (copper and zinc alloy resistant to corrosion)

 

3. There is a decreasing value of metal weight from top to bottom in pounds, as shown:

a.  Gold – 1204 lbs.

b.  Silver - 650 lbs.

c.  Brass – 537 lbs.

d.  Iron (cast) – 487 lbs.

 

4. There is an increase in the hardness of the metals as they decrease in weight

 

5. The gold at the top of the image represented is more than two times as heavy as the bottom

 

6. Conclusion: The entire statue is top-heavy

 

 

(Verse 34)

 

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

(Verse 35)

Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

 

A Stone

Next, Daniel describes a stone cut without hands, i.e. having no human source but formed by God. The stone remarkably strikes the statue’s feet mixed with iron and clay. As the monument collapses, the whole image is broken into pieces, disintegrates into fine dust, and like a threshing floor, the chaff is blown away by the wind.

 

Afterward, Daniel also indicates the stone was cut from a mountain:

Daniel 2:45 - Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

 

Imagery

A. The Stone:

There are two schools of thought concerning the identity of the stone:

1. It represents Jesus Christ

a.  Christ is seen as the chief cornerstone (cf. Isaiah 28:16; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:6)

b.  Psalm 118:22 - The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner (cornerstone).

c.  Christ will come at His Second Advent and set up His earthly millennial Kingdom and reign over the entire earth

 

2. It represents the Church

a.  The church is a rock cut without hands (cf. Matthew 16:18). This is only implied in the Old Testament (cf. Isaiah 42:5-9; 49:5-6), the Jews being blind, because they were living in the Times of the Gentiles

b.  The church grows into gigantic proportions and fills the entire earth

 

Note: This incident is reminiscent of David’s victory over Goliath:

1 Samuel 17:49 - And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.

 

B. The Summer Threshing Floors

Threshing floors are often circular spaces, cleared of rocks, in fields, hills, or plateaus. They are primarily used for threshing wheat and other grains. Either a farmer would use a staff to beat the sheaves of wheat, or cattle would stomp on the harvested grain to separate the ripe grain from the husks. Since summertime is arider, the chaff (waste) would be dry enough so that the afternoon breeze can blow it away from the grain.

Ruth 2:17 - So she (Ruth) gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

 

By using the term summer threshing floors, it presents a vivid example of the wind blowing the dry dust from the fallen statue. The threshing floor is additionally emblematic of unbelievers, whereas believers are symbolic of grain. Hence, God’s people are to be separate from the world (cf. John 15:19; Romans 12:2; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15, 4:5).

 

C. The Chaff

Chaff or husks is depictive of ungodly unbelievers that wind up in the eternal Lake of Fire (cf. Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8)

 

D. The wind carried them away that no place was found for them

Leaving no trace, everything was blown away by the wind. Likewise, the fate of the lost is figuratively blown away: 

Revelation 20:11 - And I saw a Great White Throne, and   Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Revelation 20:15 – And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.

 

 

 

 

E. The Great Mountain

1. The great mountain is representative of Mt. Zion (cf. Isaiah 2:3; 56:7; 66:20).

2. It is connected to Messiah and His Kingdom (cf.  Psalm 1:2; 1 Corinthians 15:24)

3. Zion is also antitypical of the eternal Mount of God’s glory (cf. Psalm 50:2; Psalm 132:13; Joel 3:7)

Isaiah 2:2 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.

 

 

7. The Details of the Dream (2:36-45)

(Verse 36)

 

“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

 

The Dream Explained

After telling Nebuchadnezzar the content of his forgotten dream, Daniel makes a smooth transition and proceeds from the content of the dream to its interpretation and explains it to the king. Successively, he iterates what each part of the vision represents.

 

Notice how Daniel, void of pride, honestly references the vision: Not I will give the interpretation, but we will give the interpretation.

Question:

Who are the “we”?

Answer:

The “we” refers to God, Daniel, and his three friends.

 

But there is a God in Heaven

Please notice all attributions to the God of Heaven thus far:

1. The God in Heaven gave Jehoiakim into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (1:2)

2. The God in Heaven brought Daniel into favor with Melzar,  the prince  of the eunuchs (1:8)

3. The God of Heaven brought Daniel into favor with Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard (2:14)

4. The God in Heaven gave Daniel and his three friends knowledge, and skill in learning and wisdom (1:17a)

5. The God in Heaven gave Daniel additional skill in understanding all visions and dreams (1:17b)

6. The God in Heaven caused the king to delay the execution of all the wise men, including Daniel and company (2:16)

7. The God of Heaven revealed the king’s dream to Daniel (2:19)

8. The God of Heaven is the source of wisdom and might (2:20)

9. The God of Heaven changes the times and seasons (2:21a)

10.   The God of Heaven removes kings and places them in power (2:21b)

11.   The God of Heaven gives wisdom to the wise (2:21c)

12.   The God of Heaven gives knowledge to those having  understanding (2:21d)

13.   The God of Heaven reveals deep and secret things (2:22a)

14.   The God of Heaven knows what is in the darkness (2:22b)

15.   The God of Heaven has light living within Him (2:22c)

16.   The God of Heaven is praised for wisdom, might, and revealing secrets (2:23)

17.   The God of Heaven makes known to the king what shall come to pass in the latter days (2:28, 29)

18.   The God of Heaven will tell the interpretation of the king’s dream (2:36)

 

In the following study, the very next verse will pick up the theme of God’s sovereign control. So, the God of Heaven continues to play a major role throughout the book, not only in the life of Daniel but also to His chosen people during the length of their seventy-year chastisement.

 

QUESTIONS:

1. What did the image in the king’s dream resemble?

2. What were its five major components?

3. What were the materials described in the image?

4. What was the major flaw in Nebuchadnezzar’s image?

5. What did the stone cut without hands accomplish?

6. What is the symbolism of the threshing floor in Scripture?

7. What are three things attributed to God?

 

 

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