“One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.” Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!” They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.” The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.”
Daniel 2:1-18 NLT
There are two things to note. Firstly, people know when they are not being taken seriously. Nebedchednezzar was a tactical genius. But he was also egomaniacal. Throughout his career, he assigned men to make him look wise. These were known as wise men, sorcerers and magicians. They would con the people about the king and his authority. Yet he knew when something was beyond them. This is why they were bothered with his request. It went outside of what they had ever been asked to do. Secondly, Daniel does not fight this. Instead he acknowledges the kings demand and asks for time to consider it. Daniel acknowledges a higher power in God, and even views the king’s power as an extension of this. His response is thusly concerned, but not rebellious. Instead he respectfully seeks out the her authority for what his next move should be. This is a prime example of how to behave in any myriad of situations where we did not cause our problem before a tyrant, boss, parent or other authority. Daniel didn’t reject that authority, but folded it into its proper space. In doing so, he managed to avoid incurring the king’s wrath, while also acknowledging the king’s authority. He displayed wisdom in a very tenuous moment, just before asking to pray.
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