Daniel 2:1-16
How many similarities there are between the times of Daniel and of Joseph! God speaks to Nebuchadnezzar, as once He did to Pharaoh, by means of prophetic dreams (Genesis 41:1-57). The interpreter He has prepared to explain them is in each case a young captive from the nation of Israel. It is because he kept himself from all defilement (cf. Genesis 39:1-23) that Daniel was chosen to reveal God’s secrets. Dear young friends, do not forget this: it is only to the extent that you keep yourselves pure from the world that the Lord will be pleased to teach you and to use you.
We notice how Daniel remains in the background until it has been made fully evident that men are naturally incapable of understanding God’s thoughts. The Chaldeans themselves affirm, "There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter . . . except the gods . . ." (vv. 10, 11; Daniel 5:11). They can only demonstrate their ignorance, as once the magicians of Egypt did (Exodus 8:19). The conclusion reached by the Chaldeans should have humiliated and confounded the proud monarch! On the contrary, he flies into a rage and orders all the wise men to be killed. By contrast, v. 14 emphasises the prudence and good sense of Daniel. He asks for time to lay this whole matter before God.