Daniel 2:12 Commentary and Bible Study

The response of the magicians and astrologers has hardened the king’s attitude and made him furious, so he issues another edict to destroy them, to get rid of them completely. He has not forgotten his power of over them, and so urgent is his aim to know the meaning of his dream that, if they cannot or will not try to interpret it, he is now going to finish with them. This is, as we might say, the nuclear option. The decree goes forth that all must be killed, and this would have extended to the four Judaean young men who recently graduated into the court circle, because while they were not astrologers, they had been educated by them. They are evidently considered under the same decree. It is a crisis created by God, and will God forget his own people at this time? Of course not. He will provide for them. He will use this situation to bring good, if they obey him. But his will is that we must go through certain difficulties, and this was a sharp difficulty. Circumstances seem to trap us in which we played no part. Does it mean the Lord is displeased with us? In this case, obviously not. Daniel and his friends had done the right thing, and they were not being punished for sin, but they were about to be used by God in a signal way. In such situations we do not cower, but we continue to move forward, praying for guidance and seeking to honour God. We wait on the Lord, looking to see what he is accomplishing through this trial.