Daniel Finds Favor with the King

“Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.  The king answered unto Daniel, and said, of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.  Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon”.  Daniel 2:46-28

In my blogs of August 7 and 8, 2022, I wrote about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream that Daniel was able to interpret for him.  To briefly recap, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, dreamed of an image which Daniel interpreted as the kingdoms of the earth with the first being Babylon, then the Medes and Persians, the Greek empire, the Romans, and then the kingdom described as a Stone cut out of a mountain without human hands, which is the kingdom of Christ.  Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with the interpretation, but he didn’t really understand all the implications.

It appears that things were “looking up” for Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.  Nebuchadnezzar was so impressed with Daniels’ knowledge that he fell on his face, prostrating himself as a show of deep respect and humility, and began to worship Daniel.  He commanded his attendants and all others who were present to offer an oblation and burn incense before Daniel.  What I know about Daniel from scripture would convince me that he would not and did not accept the king’s offer of that which only belongs to God.

Daniel must have indicated to the king that he was not the one to be worshiped, but it was the God of heaven to whom all honor and worship must be paid.  When Nebuchadnezzar replied to Daniel, one might assume that he had made a real change of heart because he recognized as truth that Daniel’s God was a God of gods, a Lord of lords, and a revealer of secrets because Daniel had been able to interpret the dream.  However, did Nebuchadnezzar really believe the interpretation?  One would think that the king would be angry if he really believed his kingdom would be taken from him.  He was likely a narcissist and a megalomaniac who believed that no one had power more than himself.  Wouldn’t Daniel’s interpretation be intimidating to the king, but the king’s focus was like on the head of the image, the golden age of his own reign.  His self-absorption was such that he didn’t consider his own future.  He may have assumed that his reign would go on forever.

As stated before, things were “looking up” for Daniel and his three friends.  Surely it was because they were “looking up” to the God of heaven for all of their provisions and protection.  Nebuchadnezzar showered Daniel with many great gifts and appointed him ruler over the whole province of Babylon.  Daniel’s important position would have allowed the Jewish captives to fare better than they otherwise would have without his influence.  Therefore it was a real benefit for the Jews to have one of their own in the royal court.  Nebuchadnezzar also put Daniel in charge of all the wise men of Babylon, giving Daniel a godly influence over them.

Daniel did not forget his three prayer-partners either.  He requested that they be given positions in the government of Babylon.  The king obliged Daniel, placing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the various departments of the Babylonian government, while Daniel remained in the king’s immediate office, giving him daily access to the king.  For now, all was going well for the captives of Judah.  However, there were trials to come soon.

Next time:  How Quickly Things Can Change