Who was Daniel? He was one of the Hebrew exiles from Judah after the destruction of Jerusalem. There are three others mentioned in these chapters: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Nebuchadnezzar gave them the Babylonian names Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel he named Belteshazzar which means 'Protect the Life of the King'. For the sake of brevity, I'm going to condense and paraphrase this account but without deviating too much from the original.

King Nebuchadnezzar, architect of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, had a dream one night. As so often happens, when he awoke from the dream he was greatly troubled by it though it was even then vanishing from his memory. So he summoned his wise men to tell him the meaning of the dream. These guys were not much more than charlatans, so-called experts in the occult. The first thing they said when they heard his request was, "Oh great eternal majesty, tell us the dream and we will tell you what it means."

To which the king said, "I don't remember the dream. You guys are my wise men so don't try to trick me. Tell me the dream and its meaning and you'll be richly rewarded. Otherwise my anger will be great and you know what that means."

The wise men pleaded with the king, "What you ask is impossible. Only the gods can reveal your dream to you."

So the king became enraged with anger and ordered all the wise men in his realm to be put to death. When Daniel heard about this he boldly approached King Nebuchadnezzar's commander of the guard and said, "Grant me an audience with the king."

So Daniel stood before the king and said, "Your Majesty, spare the lives of your wise men and allow me time to beseech from The Lord, the God of heaven whom I serve, to reveal this mystery to me." Daniel returned to his house. He and his Hebrew friends prayed to The Lord for mercy that he would shew to Daniel Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the interpretation of it. That same night "the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision." In the morning, Daniel was brought once more before the king. "Can you tell me about my dream and the meaning of it?" Daniel's answer to this question reveals the kind of person he was. "No, your Majesty, but 'there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.'" Daniel gave credit where credit was due.

Before your Majesty fell asleep your mind was absorbed by future events and what would come after you. In your dream you looked and beheld an enormous, shining statue. The head was made of the purest gold, its arms and chest of silver, The belly and thighs consisted of bronze, its legs of strong iron, and its feet and toes part iron and part clay.

As you beheld this magnificent statue, a rock appeared as if cut out of a mountain, but not by a man. It struck the feet of the great statue and smashed them. Then the statue collapsed and completely disintegrated into fine dust, which blew away on the wind. Not a trace of it was left. All that remained was the stone and you were amazed to see it grow until it filled the whole world. The Lord, the God whom I serve, desires your Majesty to know what the future holds. He has revealed to me the meaning of your dream so that you may understand.

At this time He has given your Majesty dominion on earth. You rule over all according to His will. "You are that head of gold." After you shall arise three other kingdoms sequentially represented by the silver, bronze and iron parts of the great statue in your dream. In the latter days the iron kingdom will be split up. This was shown to you by the feet and toes being a mixture of iron and clay. Some parts will retain the strength of iron while other parts will be fragile, and so the kingdom will never again remain united.

It is at this time, in the days of these kings, that the God of heaven will establish His kingdom. This is the meaning of the rock. Insignificant though it seemed when it first appeared, but it will bring an end to all earthly kingdoms. It will not pass away or be replaced. It will reign over the entire earth and endure forever.

So, your Majesty, the Lord has answered the queries of your mind as you lay on your bed, and given you a preview into the future. "The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy."

The king was so impressed he knelt before Daniel, paid him honor and praised his God as being above all other gods. He even went so far as to give Daniel and his three Hebrew friends high positions in his government. Sadly, as is the way with many who wield great authority and power, these feelings of generosity and goodwill don't often last.

Apparently, King Nebuchadnezzar became obsessed with the meaning of the statue in his dream. It would seem he found the idea of other great powers succeeding him disagreeable. How can I surmise this? Because soon afterwards he ordered the construction of a statue made entirely of gold, not just the head. He had this image, which stood about 90 feet tall, erected outside of the city and then ordered all the important officials in his government to its dedication. There is more. Everyone in attendance were told to bow down and worship the image the moment they heard the herald of many musical instruments. Whoever did not obey the order would immediately be put to death.

You see, the king had another thing prepared that would act as not-so-gentle persuasion towards obedience: A fiery furnace. Anyone who did not heed the order would be cast alive into it. Rather a nasty way to go, don't you think? So, when the herald cried out and the musical instruments sounded, everyone fell prostrate to the ground and worshiped the golden image of King Nebuchadnezzar. Everyone, that is, except for Daniels three friends - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Why Daniel was not present is not known. When the king was informed he became enraged with anger.

The three Hebrew men were brought before King Nebuchadnezzar and he offered them a second chance to worship the golden image. They refused, of course, knowing what the very first of the Ten Commandments states, which they repeated word for word to the king. To this the kings anger boiled over and he had his soldiers bind the three Hebrew men together and thrown into the fiery furnace. The heat was so intense that the soldiers carrying out the order succumbed to it.

Not so for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, as the king was amazed to observe. Not only were they unharmed but they were walking free in the midst of the fire in the presence of a fourth person. At this the king was gob-smacked and more so as the appearance of this fourth person struck him as being divinely different.

And so this story comes to an end. The three Hebrew men walked out of the fiery furnace. They were still fully clothed, not a hair on their heads singed, nor even the smell of smoke upon them. King Nebuchadnezzar that day perhaps learned a lesson in faith and humility and who truly deserves to be revered and obeyed.