Daniel 2:24
Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
Daniel went at once to Arioch, the officer the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon concerning the forgotten dream, and pleaded that they not be destroyed but spared, asking to be brought before the king with time to show the interpretation. God opened the forgotten dream and its meaning of the image to Daniel in answer to united prayer with his companions, so he and all the threatened wise men and great men were spared from death. The prophecy of which this plea is part has been fulfilled with remarkable exactness in history, testifying to the inspiration of Scripture and anchoring faith that the coming of the Lord is at hand. His intercession to save even idolatrous wise men revealed the Spirit of Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost, opposite a persecuting zeal that would destroy those who do not worship as prescribed, and the more striking because those same men later schemed from jealousy to kill him. His course in meeting the death decree with counsel and wisdom, bold faith before the secret was revealed, and diligent application joined with dependence on God is given as a pattern for those upon whom the ends of the world are come, illustrating the blessing God's people bring to others.
Setting and Plea
The verse belongs to the account of Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream, which he had forgotten, and for which the Babylonian wise men had been summoned before him. That making known of the forgotten dream and its interpretation took place many years before Belshazzar's feast.
Arioch was the officer whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. Daniel went in to him at once concerning the death decree.
He asked Arioch why the decree was so hasty. He pleaded that the wise men of Babylon not be destroyed but be spared. He asked to be brought before the king and presented himself before the king to request time. He promised to show the king the interpretation and to explain the dream.
Arioch then brought Daniel before the king, presenting him as a captive from Judah who could make the interpretation known.
God gave Daniel the interpretation of the dream and the meaning of the image. By that revelation the threatened wise men were spared, including Daniel himself. The great men of the realm were thus saved from death and from an ignominious death.
Because Daniel had made known the forgotten dream and its interpretation, the queen-mother remembered him years later when the wise men could not read the writing. He was therefore brought before the gorgeous terror-stricken throng to reprove the king and to read the message from heaven.
Prophecy and Divine Wisdom
The verse stands in the prophecy of Daniel 2, which has been fulfilled with remarkable and wonderful exactness as seen in the record of history. That exact fulfillment testifies to the inspiration of the Scriptures and anchors faith amid rationalism and skepticism, leading to positive faith and to belief that the coming of the Lord is at hand. Contrary to the popular belief that Daniel's prophecies are mysteries that cannot be understood, this prophecy can be understood and explained even by children, and through them interest grown people.
God opened the interpretation to the Hebrew captives who felt themselves exiles in a strange land with God as their only dependence, and not to those charmed by the splendor of Babylon. The first thing God did in the interpretation was to silence the wise men of Babylon by placing them where they had to acknowledge their inability to bring the forgotten dream back to the king's mind. In this God shows human wisdom to be folly so that man may not glory in his wisdom, exposes the inefficiency of scientific power in the Chaldean magicians, and displays the superior wisdom possessed by those who worship Him. By revealing the divine science of eternity He seeks to lead princes and people from broken cisterns to the living fountain.
Character and Example
Daniel met the death decree with counsel and wisdom rather than retaliation, asking why the decree was so hasty, pleading that the wise men not be destroyed, and seeking to be brought before the king to request time. His bold promise to show the interpretation was made in faith before the secret was revealed, resting on fear of the Lord and on close, living connection with the God of all wisdom and with the God he served. That boldness also rested on diligent, thorough application under God's training to tax every faculty, master principles, and gain knowledge through close application and diligent effort to secure knowledge. His promise led at once to making the danger known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah and joining them in united prayer desiring mercies of the God of heaven concerning the secret, which was then revealed to him in a night vision followed by blessing God.
In another light, Daniel went to Arioch after God had already revealed the king's matter to him, and used the knowledge God had given him not only to save himself and his companions but also to plead for the lives of the other wise men and to promise to explain the dream. His plea to spare the wise men revealed the Spirit of Jesus Christ and the transforming grace of God in him, for true followers do not share Satan's pleasure in grieving and afflicting God's creatures but share their Master's work to seek and save the lost and call sinners to repentance. This stands opposite a persecuting religious zeal that would afflict, oppress, and destroy idolaters who dishonor God and do not worship as prescribed, exposing them as deceivers deserving death. It is the more striking because Daniel earnestly interceded for the very men who later secretly schemed to kill him from jealousy over the favor and honor he received from kings and nobles as the greatest man in Babylon.
Through Daniel God preserved the lives of all the wise men of Babylon from execution and from death, illustrating the blessing God's people can bring to others. Their deliverance was made an example of the spiritual blessings offered through connection with God. His course is given for admonition and as a pattern to those upon whom the ends of the world are come, proving that human effort to tax every faculty joined with prayer and dependence on God and with living connection to God brings heavenly wisdom that endures examination, is of great service in strait places, and gives glory to God as supreme. That pattern rejects mental and spiritual indolence, routine, laziness, and apathy, since God will not supply deficiencies that come from such indolence.