Daniel 2

Daniel, being one -

"...of the king's seed, and of the princes..." (Old Testament | Daniel 1:3)

...lived in such a manner to be worthy of the Lord's blessings. When Nebuchadnezzar was so frustrated with his "magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers", because they could not tell him what he had dreamed, he commanded that all his "wise men" should be destroyed. And because of Daniel's present position in the kingdom -

"...they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:13)

What is interesting is what Daniel did when he heard of this, what many would consider, terrible news -

"...Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:17 - 18)

This event reminded me of Ammon response, after having had the king's flock dispersed and the king's servants weeping that they would now be slain -

"Now when Ammon saw this his heart was swollen within him with joy; for, said he, I will show forth my power unto these my fellow-servants, or the power which is in me, in restoring these flocks unto the king, that I may win the hearts of these my fellow-servants, that I may lead them to believe in my words." (Book of Mormon | Alma 17:29)

It may have been the same for Daniel and his companions as -

"Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his..." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:19 - 20)

Daniel proceeded to recount to the king his dream and its meaning upon which the Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed -

"...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." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:47)

Both Ammon and Daniel looked at what appeared to be bad things as opportunities. As a result -

"...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.
49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:48 - 49)

I have one more thought this morning on the interpretation of the kings dream. Daniel explained that the parts of the image that the king saw were kingdoms of the earth. What caught my attention was the last kingdom or -

"...the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." (Old Testament | Daniel 2:40 - 43)

I sense this final kingdom was of great strength but also with divisive weaknesses. It reminded me of our political system today.