diff --git a/bundle/direct/bundle_plan.go b/bundle/direct/bundle_plan.go
index 3fab4c3f4f..e5e4123011 100644
--- a/bundle/direct/bundle_plan.go
+++ b/bundle/direct/bundle_plan.go
@@ -763,6 +763,17 @@ func (b *DeploymentBundle) makePlan(ctx context.Context, configRoot *config.Root
 				pat,
 				func(p dyn.Path, v dyn.Value) (dyn.Value, error) {
 					s := p.String()
+					// Resource keys are used as identifiers in plan paths and looked up
+					// via dyn.NewPathFromString, which splits on '.'. A variable reference
+					// in a resource key (e.g. resources.schemas.${var.schema}) cannot be
+					// resolved at this stage and would be split into multiple path
+					// components, causing a nil dereference downstream in PrepareState.
+					// Reject early with an actionable error.
+					for _, c := range p {
+						if dynvar.ContainsVariableReference(c.Key()) {
+							return v, fmt.Errorf("resource key %q cannot contain variable references; use a literal key and parameterize fields like 'name' instead", s)
+						}
+					}
 					resourceType := config.GetResourceTypeFromKey(s)
 					if resourceType == "" {
 						return v, fmt.Errorf("cannot parse resource key: %q", s)
diff --git a/bundle/direct/bundle_plan_test.go b/bundle/direct/bundle_plan_test.go
index ccfb7cb517..08cac22363 100644
--- a/bundle/direct/bundle_plan_test.go
+++ b/bundle/direct/bundle_plan_test.go
@@ -3,8 +3,13 @@ package direct
 import (
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config"
+	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/config/resources"
+	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/direct/dresources"
+	"github.com/databricks/cli/bundle/direct/dstate"
 	"github.com/databricks/cli/libs/dyn"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func TestDynPathToStructPath(t *testing.T) {
@@ -35,3 +40,28 @@ func TestDynPathToStructPath(t *testing.T) {
 		assert.Equal(t, tc.expected, node.String())
 	}
 }
+
+// TestMakePlanRejectsVariableInResourceKey verifies that a variable reference
+// in a resource map key (e.g. resources.schemas.${var.schema}) is rejected
+// with a clear error rather than panicking with a nil pointer dereference
+// inside PrepareState. Regression test for issue #5098.
+func TestMakePlanRejectsVariableInResourceKey(t *testing.T) {
+	rootCfg := config.Root{
+		Resources: config.Resources{
+			Schemas: map[string]*resources.Schema{
+				"${var.schema}": {},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, rootCfg.Mutate(func(v dyn.Value) (dyn.Value, error) { return v, nil }))
+
+	db := dstate.NewDatabase("", 0)
+	adapters, err := dresources.InitAll(nil)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	b := &DeploymentBundle{Adapters: adapters}
+
+	_, err = b.makePlan(t.Context(), &rootCfg, &db)
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "${var.schema}")
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "cannot contain variable references")
+}