Quote for the Day
“What the king asks is too difficult.”
Today's Prayer
This week pray for those on the road that they will be able to seek out God’s will and wisdom rather than that of the world. Ask God to give a special blessing this week to each person traveling and away from their family.
Daniel 2:1-13
Daniel 2:1-13 (NIV)1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is just one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men.”12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of . 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
Message
Imagine your boss walking over and saying, “We have a problem with one of our customers, and I need you to fix it.”“No problem,” you answer, “Who is the client and what is the problem?”“I cannot tell you that. Just get it fixed and have the report on my desk in the morning.”This is exactly the case with King Nebuchadnezzar. Why has he become so irrational in his thought process? I believe it is a simple combination of two things we see every day in our workplace and world. First, King Nebuchadnezzar is living life without the benefit of God’s wisdom and instruction. This is a sure-fire way to NOT succeed. Depending on the Creator to solve a problem with creation seems to be the best place to go. Second is that he has come to distrust his advisors because he has seen through their schemes and lies of the past. At all levels of a company or political regime, but especially at the top, greed and power begin to corrupt many individuals. The king has seen this, and his irrational request is his way of finding the truth. Nebuchadnezzar’s solution was to kill all those without the answer and then hope for the best. I often wonder what he would have done if none of his wise men had come up with the answer and he then killed them all. Who then would he use for support and wisdom?What about us? When we are unable to find the answer to our difficult questions, and those around us have no answers, where do we go? Daniel when to THE source for all his decision making …The Creator of the Universe, God Himself. Sounds like a great plan for us.
