The Impossible Deadline

The Story

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream that troubled him so much he couldn’t sleep. He called in all his magicians, astrologers, and wise men. But he added an impossible condition: they had to tell him what he had dreamed, and then explain it. If they couldn’t, they would all be executed.

“No man on earth can do this,” they protested. “Only the gods could reveal it.” Furious, the king ordered every wise man in Babylon put to death, including a young Jewish exile named Daniel and his three friends.

When the captain of the guard came for him, Daniel calmly asked what was happening. Then he went to the king and asked for a little time. He went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and the four of them prayed for God’s mercy.

That night, God revealed the secret to Daniel in a vision. Before doing anything else, Daniel stopped to praise God. Then he went to the king and described the dream exactly: a great statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay, struck down by a stone cut without hands, which grew into a mountain that filled the whole earth. God, Daniel explained, would one day set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed.

Reflection