What does Daniel 4:6 mean?

Just as Nebuchadnezzar had summoned court advisors to interpret his first frightening dream (Daniel 2:2), so he gathers his wise men to address his second dream (Daniel 4:4–5). However, this time he tells the men the dream rather than require them to tell him both the dream and its interpretation (Daniel 2:3–6; 4:7). A major facet of the prior incident was the inability of Babylonian magicians to uncover the secret of the king's dream (Daniel 2:8–11). This raises the question of why Nebuchadnezzar would not immediately speak to Daniel, or why he would bother wasting time with the other court advisors (Daniel 4:7). There are several possible explanations, all of which might have been true in various proportions.

A practical reason might have been location. The king is said to have commanded wise men to be "brought," so at least some of them would have been serving elsewhere at the time. Daniel had been set in high office (Daniel 2:48) and was not likely serving as one of the king's on-hand counselors. The court magicians and enchanters would have been near at hand. They would have been the first ones to arrive and there would have been no reason not to let them attempt an answer. That these men were consulted first may have been because they were closest and Daniel had not yet arrived.

And yet, the king is said to be calling "all" his wise men from the kingdom, not merely Daniel. The wisdom of the world seems incredibly attractive to unbelievers. Knowledge and ability, separated from an understanding of God, leads to false reassurance. Of course, what limited people consider wise is foolish to God (1 Corinthians 3:19). The ultimate answers to life's riddles and problems rest in God's Word. The psalmist writes in Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." In verse 130 he writes: "The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."

In an earlier incident, Israel's king Ahab delayed speaking with a legitimate prophet because he didn't like what God's messenger typically had to say (1 Kings 22:8). Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar was hoping other counselors could offer something less challenging than Daniel.