Based on Daniel 2:1-30 (New King James Version)
“Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, ‘I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.’ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, ‘O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.’ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, ‘My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.’ They answered again and said, ‘Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.’ The king answered and said, ‘I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! 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.’ The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, ‘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. It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.’ For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, ‘Why is the decree from the king so urgent?’ Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said: ‘Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. ‘I thank You and praise You, o God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.’ 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.”
This king Nebuchadnezzar was a real person, and his reign was between 605 and 562 BC. And such was his kingdom that there has been no other like it, not only because he dominated the known world, but because of its incredible order and structure within his reign. It was a kingdom that was 100% subject to its king, and the king's commands were respected by all, both small and great. What the king said was done, without question and urgently. It was something unprecedented, and something totally impossible today. King Nebuchadnezzar not only ruled and was obeyed because he was the king, because of his human power, but because there was deep respect in the people he ruled. And that was not an accident, but rather, because he was wise and not weak, and he was not hypocritical, nor did he have alternate agendas (very different from the present).
But this Nebuchadnezzar was a very unique person, even though he came from a pagan nation. And his spiritual value was revealed as time went by as God dealt with his life. He began in one way, but what was deep within him did not develop until later. Those who have some knowledge of Nebuchadnezzar may say that he was a bad and perverse man because he destroyed the nation of Israel and the few survivors that he allowed to live were taken as slaves or among the poorest, left on the land to cultivate it for his kingdom. You could say this, but it would be a serious mistake. God allowed Nebuchadnezzar to destroy all Israel and Judah because they sinned against God and exceeded His mercy (His mercy is very great, but not unlimited). God sent His people priests and prophets for many years to tell them to turn from their evil ways, but they persisted in their rebellion. Therefore this happened, as it is written: “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.” Jeremiah 25:8-9.
How can we see that God saw something more in this king? His vision was revealed not only because Daniel and his friends sought God for the answer, but Daniel declared it: “…that you may know the thoughts of your heart.” God gave him that vision because Nebuchadnezzar was always sensitive to God, even when he was in his paganism. He was not a man who was concerned with the pleasures and vanities of this world. He wanted to understand what would happen in the future, and God granted it to him, as God also dealt with him until his conversion came, as he himself declared: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” Daniel 4:37. So then, are you sensitive to God, or are you only looking to satisfy your desires in this world? Lord bless! John. God bless Israel!