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            The chapter begins with king Nebuchadnezzar praising God, although the notes say he was not sincere and still didnt believe that He was the one and only God, yet physically he was giving Him praise. God knows our hearts, He knows what we believe deep down despite what we act like in the physical. 

            Nebuchadnezzar couldn't fool God like he thought he could and after some time his actions showed how he felt, when he seeked magicians, astrologers, chaldeans and soothsayers again to interpret another dream. As usual,  they couldn't help him so after seeking help from them then he chose to seek Daniel's help. His actions here showed that he was still placing hope in false gods by going to them for help before Daniel, the one who God was using to represent Him. 

            The dream showed Nebuchadnezzar and his strength over the dominion and how great his ruling was. But then it showed him as the king, powerless, living and grazing with the beasts in the field . My NIV bible notes say that Nebuchadnezzar would go insane and become like an animal and seven times shall pass over him (7 years). Everyone will know that God is in charge and He holds the power and will give it to whomever He chooses. Nebuchadnezzar needed to lose his pride and see that God was the almighty, not Nebuchadnezzar. 

            Pride is a dangerous thing and we can learn from Nebuchadnezzar how harmful pride can be. We need to always remember that what we have is not because of our doing, but because of what God is doing for us. We are simply receiving and being obedient to what God is placing in front of us. If you have a great job and you worked hard for it, remember that God was the one who lined that position up for you, you are simply working with Gods plan and being a good worker and steward of what He set in place for you. Be cautious of pride and dont give it a place in your heart. Repent and Replace pride with thankfulness for what God has blessed you with. (See John 1:3). We only exist because God made us, any gifts or talents or hard work capabilities we have are only because God gave then to us which makes no basis for pride. This was some Nebuchadnezzar was going to have to learn the hard way. How blessed are we that we dont have to learn this the hard way, we can learn from Nebuchadnezzar and get rid of any pride that might be lurking. 

            At the end of the dream there was shown a chance of redemption for king Nebuchadnezzar,  that the kingdom would be given back to him once he came to know that Heaven rules, God is in charge. Daniel urged the king to break off his sins of being righteous and his iniquities by showing kindness and mercy to the poor so that maybe there would be a lengthening to his prosperity. 

            God gave Nebuchadnezzar 12 months to change his heart but their wasn't any repentance in him so the dream was fulfilled and at the end of the time Nebuchadnezzar finally opened his heart to God. 

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            King Nebuchadnezzar had a statue made in gold that was 90 ft high by 9 ft wide. He ordered everyone to bow down and worship this statue anytime a horn blew, thus making his devotions to God short lived. Anyone who refused to bow down and worship this statue was to be sent to a burning, fiery furnace. 

            When the horns blew and everyone else worshiped, the chaldeans saw that Daniel's friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego did not follow orders. The boys when questioned by the king simply said that they didnt need to answer and that their God would deliver them, and that they will not worship their idols and gods. They stood up for their faith and loyalty to God and out of their love and fear of the Lord they didnt give in and worship the statue.  

            Nebuchadnezzar was furious,  so he demanded that the furnace be even hotter and that the boys be burnt in it after being bound up. The fire was so hot that the men who took the boys to be put in the fire were taken up by the flames and killed. As the king watched the fire burn with the 3 boys in it, he stood up in shock and asked if they had put just the 3 men in the fire. His counselors replied by telling him yes, just the 3 men. He was shocked because he saw 4 men loose, walking in the midst of the fire. They were not hurt or burnt and the 4th man was like the son of God. Nebuchadnezzar went to the mouth of the fire and told the boys that serve the Most High God to come out. He praised God and told everyone that no other God could deliver like this. The boys were then handed a promotion in the province of Babylon.  

           To have faith like this is inspiring. They believed God would deliver them and protect them as they were being put in a fiery furnace to their death and God saved them. Faith like this is what we should strive for. It would have been a thousand times easier and less scarier to bow down and worship the idol made of gold and beg God for forgiveness. The strength and courage to stand up for our God is incredible in this testimony.  Not only did they show their love and commitment to God but God was given the opportunity to show everyone just how powerful He is by delivering them from the fiery pit of death. 

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            This chapter begins with Nebuchadnezzar having a dream that shakes him and confuses him. He is not able to sleep well after having this dream so he decides to have it interpreted. It was common back then for astrologers to attempt to interpret dreams, so he calls his astrologers, magicians and the chaldeans and demands that they not only interpret the dream but first tell him what the dream was even about without him telling them, so he will know that they aren't giving him a false interpretation.  The chaldeans say this is impossible for any man to do so he orders them to be killed. 

            This is when Daniel comes in, he asks the king to give him some time to accomplish this. Daniel then goes back to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and they all pray that God would give them insite and wisdom on this. Daniel has a night vision and receives the dream as well as what it means.

            Before Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar the dream he first gave credit where it was due and explained that by the grace of God, he was given knowledge of the dream and its meaning. Daniel explains the image Nebuchadnezzar saw, a head of fine gold, chest and arms if silver, belly and thighs if bronze, legs of iron and feet of part iron and part clay. A stone was cut out without hands which struck the image on its feet and broke them in pieces. The iron, clay bronze and silver were then crushed together and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them were left. And the stone that struck the fert became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This dream revealed Daniel's God as the power behind all earthly kingdoms. 

            Daniel explains that God has given Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom of power, strength and glory and has made him ruler, he is the head of gold. The other medals were kingdoms to come and the stone was Gods kingdom. This showed the power God has and He is behind all earthly kingdoms,  He is in control. Nebuchadnezzar said that Daniel's God was the God of all gods and appointed Daniel to have a seat in the gate of the king. 

            From this we learn of another way God can communicate with us. God will speak to people, but for some who have a hard time quieting their minds to hear Him, he may convey a message through a dream. God showed His power when the magicians and astrologers failed to do something impossible to them, but possible for God. He also showed that He is in control and is behind kings of kingdoms whether they know it or not. God can use world leaders to fulfill His plans, it might not make sense to us but it all works out with His bigger picture.