Ultimate Questions
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Ultimate Questions

 (ID: 1636)

When King Nebuchadnezzar was haunted by a troubling dream that no one in the kingdom could explain, he became morose and uneasy. Alistair Begg helps us see that what Nebuchadnezzar was wrestling with was not just the security of his kingdom. He was facing the ultimate questions of life that we all face—questions of existence and purpose. Can we rest at night knowing we have confronted these same questions?


Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; hhis spirit was troubled, and ihis sleep left him. 2Then the king commanded that dthe magicians, ethe enchanters, the jsorcerers, and kthe Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and lstood before the king. 3And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and hmy spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4Then kthe Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,1 m“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5The king answered and said to kthe Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ntorn limb from limb, nand your ohouses shall be laid in ruins. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, pyou shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. qTherefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to rgain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9if you do not make the dream known to me, sthere is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till tthe times change. uTherefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10vThe Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or vChaldean. 11The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except wthe gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12Because of this the king was angry and xvery furious, and ycommanded that all zthe wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought aDaniel and his companions, to kill them.

Copyright © 2024, Alistair Begg. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

Alistair Begg
Alistair Begg is Senior Pastor at Parkside Church in Cleveland, Ohio, and the Bible teacher on Truth For Life, which is heard on the radio and online around the world.