Last week we noted that king Nebuchadnezzar had been given a dream by the Most High, by the God of the Jews, the only true God. He was quite troubled by this dream. He didn’t know what it meant. So, he called his advisors to him, but was unwilling to tell them his dream as a test to see if they truly could interpret his troubling dream. They couldn’t tell him what his dream was and demanded more time. This enraged the king and he intended to have all his advisors (which would have included Daniel and his three friends) mercilessly and cruelly killed. They were all in a very precious position. The king wasn’t about to give in to his advisors and recount his dream to them.
But what about Daniel?
The first part of his response is found in vv. 12-15:
12 Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14 Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.
The king’s patience had grown thin. He was now “angry and very furious.” The word “furious” coming from a root similar to that from which came the Hebrew word for the wrath of Pharaoh (Gen 40:2; 41:10). But Nebuchadnezzar had rightly judged that his soothsayers, psychics and astrologers were impotent to help him in his need, so he “commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed” (Daniel 2:12). He had no use for wise men who had no wisdom.
“As was already evident in the scale of the rewards that he promised and the punishment he threatened, Nebuchadnezzar did nothing by halves. In line with the king’s normal pattern of overreaction—it is tempting to say “overkill”—the decree of death involved far more people than those who had faced the original demand to interpret the dream. Perhaps he concluded that if the wisdom of his counselors was insufficient for this crisis, what good was it in any situation. The failure of his diviners to reveal his dream and its meaning thus resulted in a decree of death for all his wise men, including Daniel and his three friends (v. 13)” (Iain Duguid, Daniel in Reformed Expository Commentary, p. 21).
Warren Wiersbe makes the point that in chapter 1 “Satan had lost one battle, but now he would try to pull victory out of defeat by having Daniel and his friends killed. The Evil One is willing to sacrifice all his false prophets in the city of Babylon if he can destroy four of God’s faithful servants. Satan’s servants were expendable, but the Lord cares for His people” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: Old Testament, p. 1349). On a deeper level, the king’s decree was an attempt by Satan to rid the world of Daniel. But Daniel’s life was in God’s hands.
In the midst of his anxiety the King went for the quick fix: kill them all! If he had thought it through, he may not have included Daniel and his friends. But he didn’t think it through. Fortunately, someone else slowed things down and did think things through (Daniel).
So the death warrant was signed and sent out, so that “they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them” (Daniel 2:13). Why? Simply because they were a part of this class of advisors for the king. It was not that Daniel had become a sorcerer, magician, or enchanter (cf. 2:2); such positions would have compromised his devotion to Yahweh. Nor had Daniel failed the king as the other advisors had.
It is not entirely clear from verse 13 whether the executioners killed the wise men right where they were when found or whether they were being collected for a public execution. The latter is more likely the case as subsequent scripture reveals that Daniel has the time to ask questions and pray.
Put yourself in Daniel’s shoes for a moment. After being preserved out of the holocaust of the destruction of Judah and then miraculously protected in the king’s court even though they had not eaten the king’s food, and now they were condemned simply because the king had had a sleepless night and was upset with his counselors! It seemed proof of the monumental meaninglessness of life! Yet, in the face of all this, Daniel did not panic.
Although the wise men previously could hardly be accused of discourtesy, there seems to be an additional dignity and calmness in Daniel’s approach to the problem. As Keil expresses it, “Through Daniel’s judicious interview with Arioch, the further execution of the royal edict was interrupted.”
The arresting officers arrived and Daniel replied “with prudence and discretion” (2:14) to Arioch. “Prudence and discretion,” how these qualities are needed today, especially in the midst of escalating anxiety and anger. Here again we see an example of Daniel being a “non-anxious presence.”
Daniel’s calmness and courage in the face of acute anxiety show what kind of man he really was. Remember, crises do not make the man, they reveal the man. Daniel illustrates how a great man handles a crisis. Don’t panic. De-escalate the situation through a calm demeanor and sound reasoning.
I think, first of all, that this means that Daniel didn’t just blurt out the first thing that came to his mind. He stopped to think. He remained calm.
Prudence is the virtue of making wise, God-honoring choices and acting in a way that is consistent with the way God has ordered life to be lived. As Jerry Bridges points out, “Prudence uses all legitimate, biblical means at our disposal to avoid harm to ourselves and others and to bring about what we believe to be the right course of events.”
Jay Wood says that prudence “is the deeply anchored, acquired habit of thinking well in order to live and act well” (“Prudence” in Virtues and Their Vices, p. 37). What is amazing is that Daniel had this ability as young as he was. It often takes years to develop such a skill in life. This is one of the reasons Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, to “give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth” (Prov. 1:4).
Joseph Pieper, in Four Cardinal Virtues, says that our knowledge transforms into prudent action through three stages: deliberation, judgment, decision (p. 12). Our prudent actions and decisions depend upon having done the work of deliberation prior to the moment of action. In other words, think before you speak or act.
The other virtue is discretion, not discernment, but discretion.
Discretion “is “the ability to avoid words, actions, and attitudes which could result in undesirable consequences.” A person practices discretion by thoughtfully considering the possible consequences before taking any action. He values silence, both to allow himself to think before he speaks, and then after he has spoken, to allow the hearer to consider his message. He is cautious and thoughtful, because he knows careless actions often hurt people and damage relationships. He wants to help others, and he realizes others may be influenced by his choice of activities, music, and entertainment” (https://iblp.org/character/discretion/).
Discretion is a combination of knowing just what to say, when to say it and how to say it. Again, it is amazing that Daniel possessed this ability while yet a young man.
Carelessness, recklessness, impulsiveness, Irresponsibility, and a lack of concern are all opposites of discretion. If we possess these diabolical traits, we will fail to see others as important or worth our effort to respond to them in a tactful and healthy relational way. We will have the world’s mentality of “let it all hang out” or “I just tell it like it is,” which we believe gives us permission to say a careless word, even unintentionally, that causes hurt or to use words and actions to tear others down.
Perhaps the king’s decision in itself did not surprise Daniel, since he surely realized that many of the wise men were charlatans (deceivers). However, the harshness of the verdict puzzled him.
It is quite possible that the purge of these imposters had already begun. While the ESV says in v. 13 that “the wise men were about to be killed,” that it was imminent, the NKJV says “they began killing the wise men.” Do Daniel’s words to Arioch resolve this when he says, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon…”? Maybe they were being assembled for execution, but the executions were not yet in progress. On the other hand, it may be that he is merely asking that it be stopped at this point. Regardless, it was a very precarious position Daniel was in.
But he didn’t allow this to push him into an impulsive reaction.
Instead, what Daniel did was ask a question of Arioch, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” (v. 15) Notice that Daniel begins not with an accusation or demand, but a question. He didn’t just hear part of the story and then fly off the handle and react. He asked and then listened so that he could understand the whole picture. He determined to hear things from Nebuchadnezzar’s point of view (through Arioch). He curiously inquired about the situation in order to gain more information.
Kent Hughes, in his book Disciplines of a Godly Man, said, “The true test of a man’s spirituality is not his ability to speak, as we are apt to think, but rather his ability to bridle his tongue.” We should be “quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger” (James 1:19).
Proverbs 18:13 gives us this wise advice: “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” In other words, do go off half-cocked, slow down and get the facts before you react.
Too often, we start talking without really knowing what we’re talking about. “At the most practical level, this describes someone who habitually interrupts. Interrupters see no real need to let the other person finish. They aren’t really engaged in a genuine conversation. They aren’t responding to what you actually said. Rather, they see the interaction as one more opportunity to air their own opinion” (Tim and Kathy Keller, God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life, p. 188).
Many arguments could be avoided by first asking simple, neutral questions and then listening, really listening to what the other person has to say.
Good listening involves three things, according to Wayne Mack:
1. Letting the other person speak without interruption.
2. Giving the other person your undivided attention.
3. Making sure you really understand what the other person is saying or thinking.
For example, if a husband comes home hours late, his wife might say, “You don’t care about the nice meal I made. You are always late. You always put your work first.” It would be much better first to ask a question, and not a loaded question such as, “Why are you home late again?”
A better question would be, “Is everything OK?” or “were you delayed?”
Neutral, fact-finding questions can help you understand the whole story rather than acting based on assumptions that may turn out to be false.
And Carolyn Mahaney says, “Attentive listening entails an eagerness to hear everything with regard to (another’s) thoughts, feelings, and experiences. It’s more than just keeping our mouths shut.” It’s an eagerness to understand the other person.
One thing listening does is that it slows down our response. We don’t launch into our perspective or our solution right away. Talking right away really does give us good exercise, for we have a tendency to jump to conclusions, fly off the handle, carry things too far and dodge responsibility for myself.
Daniel and his friends had not been at court when the king asked for the professionals to come and interpret his dream, so he personally applied to the king for a stay of execution, promising something that the court psychics were unable to provide—to tell the king his dream and the interpretation of that dream.
Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. (Daniel 2:16)
John Walvoord says, “In verse 16, only the briefest summary is offered of what actually transpired. Undoubtedly, Daniel expressed to Arioch the possibility that he could interpret the dream and secured Arioch’s co-operation in going before the king. It would hardly have been suitable, especially with the king in the mood he was in, for Daniel to go in to the king unannounced without proper procedure. Possibly, the king by this time had cooled down a bit. In any event, Daniel was given his audience in which he asked for time and promised to show the king the interpretation” (John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation).
In contrast to the other wise men who were so filled with terror that they had no plans and had already been cut off from any additional time, Daniel, who had not been a part of the king’s frustration with his older counselors, was granted his request. It is possible that his calm demeanor, his courage in speaking forthrightly to the king, and his previous integrity enabled the king to give him favor.
How he gained access is not reported, but the reason for his request is not surprising: “that he might show the interpretation to the king.” This was an act of faith, for Daniel did not even have knowledge of the dream yet. Apparently he was very persuasive, because he left the palace alive. Surely, although Daniel had proven himself “ten times better” (Dan. 1:20) than the other wise men already, it was once again the favor of Yahweh (Dan. 1:9) upon Daniel that made the difference.
So God may have put this thought in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar: “Why kill my four best counselors just because of the incompetence of the others?”
Notice that unlike chapter 1, where Daniel went through the chain of command (being new to Babylon and the king’s court), and he addressed his petition to the chief of the eunuchs, the one directly in command. Then he didn’t go directly to the king. But here Daniel goes directly to the king. He doesn’t back down in fear just because the king’s authority is absolute and his mood is sour. He approaches the king with God-given courage. Why? Because he feared God more than he feared man, even the most powerful, most fearsome man on earth!
Apparently, with the promotion he had received from the king back in chapter 1 had afforded him more opportunities to associate with the king.
Verse 16 says, “Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.”
The first thing that Daniel asked for was time.
Isn’t it interesting that Nebuchadnezzar would not give his professional psychics any more time (v. 8, “you are trying to gain time”), but was willing to give Daniel time (v. 16ff)? Could he discern a difference in motivation between Daniel and his other advisors?
It definitely shows his high respect for Daniel. This was a highly unusual move for an imperial king who had just condemned his top brain trust for making the same plea. But Daniel had God’s favor.
Daniel asked the king for time, for a time when he could return and “show the interpretation to the king.” So this wasn’t just a stalling tactic. Daniel knew that it would take time to listen to the Lord and to wait upon Him for an answer, and Daniel was willing to take the time if the king would grant it. Even though God had given Daniel an unbelievable power to understand and interpret dreams and visions, that gift didn’t keep him from praying when the crisis came.
Apparently, Daniel’s request had a ring of confidence, something that was missing entirely from the whining of the professional court psychics.
Gleason Archer reveals: “The stage was now set to show the reality, wisdom, and power of the one true God—Yahweh—as over against the inarticulate and impotent imaginary gods the magicians worshiped. It is the same general theme that dominates the remainder of the book and serves to remind the Hebrew nation that despite their own failure, collapse, and banishment into exile, the God of Israel remains as omnipotent as he ever was in the days of Moses and that his covenantal love remains as steadfast toward the seed of Abraham as it ever had been” (“Daniel” in Daniel-Minor Prophets, Vol 7 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 42).
But this is not all that Daniel did, as we will see next week.
Grace Still Amazes 