Daniel 2:5-11. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is troubled by dreams and he is demanding an interpretation. He calls his magicians and sorcerers, as well as th Chaldeans, and demands that they interpret his dream rightly under pain of death, insisting that he not be lied to. The Chaldeans, after first saying just tell us the dream and we will interpret it, change their tune when Nebuchadnezzar warns them not to lie to him. They then say that an interpretation if his dream is impossible for any man, only the gods could do such a thing.

We know that Daniel will eventually be the one to interpret this dream, but putting that aside, I'm thinking how important it is for leaders to allow themselves to have brave truth-tellers among their closest advisors. Clearly Nebuchadnezzar did not, given his need to threaten his advisors with death if they didn't tell him the truth in interpreting his dream. The fact that they admitted that they could not do this shows how used they were to lying to him or telling him what they thought he wanted to hear. If they coundn't spin, they coudln't speak!

It is so difficult for leaders to bring into their inner circle people who will speak honestly to them. Usually, the kind of people who rise to leadership positions are not the kind of people who want to be countered in any way, and they surround themselves with yes men. But when fate, or dreams, or even just reality, breaks in on their plans and schemes, troubling them because things are not going the way they planned, they had better have somebody to help them through it!

Also, I am wondering why I've gotten three days in a row about Nebuchadnezzar. I'm going to think about that and about whether God is trying to tell me that there is someone he is using now to accomplish his Justice, as he did with Nebuchadnezzar, but who also will be set up for a mighty fall, as Nebuchadnezzer was.