Who's running this kingdom anyway?
That's the question this chapter answers for Nebuchadnezzar. He's experienced the sovereignty of the Lord twice.
- In chapter two, Daniel told him his dream and the meaning of it. The king responded by falling prostrate before Daniel; it was a serious even when a proud king like Nebuchadnezzar bowed before an exile. He said:
Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery."
- In chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar saw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saved from the fury and rage of Nebuchadnezzar and from his fiery furnace. He said:
Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!
And then declared, "no other god can save in this way."
This chapter is Nebuchadnezzar's third and final encounter with the Lord. It is a letter written by the king to his people to give an account of the events and to declare the Most High God and to inform them of just who has been, and forever will be, running this kingdom and all others.
Daniel 4:1-3
Nebuchadnezzar was the world superpower and one of the four great kingdoms of mankind's history. He held worldwide influence, if not authority, over most all people of the time. The king was pleased to use his influence and authority to declare Yahweh a miracle working God with power over all other gods. This declaration of "Most High" put the Lord above his own national and cultural gods. He's not dismissing his gods or dealing with them in any way. He's essentially found them to be of less value than he had anticipated. The Lord was a living, power and active God that moved in the King's life in a personal way.
The beginning of the word of praise in verse three offers a repeat of the 'signs and wonders' giving additional emphasis. In addition to His miracle power, the kingdom in eternal and authority spans time.
Daniel 4:4-8
The king was contented, lying on his bed. His kingdom was vast, his wealth great, his authority unmatched. Along with many other lands, cities, kingdoms and people, Nebuchadnezzar had destroyed Jerusalem, killed thousands and hauled the remaining children of Israel into captivity. Twice he saw God's might and authority. Twice he acknowledged it but did not humble himself and submit to it. The Lord brought a dream to the king that terrified him. Once again, the king summoned his counselors to interpret it for him. Daniel 'finally' arrived after the apparent disappointment of all the others attempting to deal with the dream. Daniel may be named after the god of Babylon ("Bel protect the prince") but the spirit was God of Israel. The phrase 'spirit of the holy gods' was the king's polytheistic understanding of the gods in general as he attempts to understand Daniel's god.
Archeologists note an inscription on a building of Nebuchadnezzar where Babylon is compared to a spreading tree. Trees are often seen as symbolic in scripture as well as outside of scripture. See 2 Kings 14:9; Psalm 1:3; 37:35; 52:8; 92:12; Ezekiel 17. A parallel to the dream is seen in Ezekiel 31 where Assyria and the Egyptian Pharaoh are portrayed as trees.
Daniel 4:9-12
We can see in this verse that when Nebuchadnezzar said 'spirit of the holy gods' his speaking of Daniel's God, of whom nothing is too difficult. The dream was of this enormous tree in the middle of the land (could be understood 'middle of the earth'). It was large, strong; larger and stronger than any other. It touched the sky; this sky is the place where gods and angels dwell. All the earth looked to the tree for protection and sustenance.
Daniel 4:13-17
This being that Nebuchadnezzar saw is translated to 'angel' in the NIV, 'watcher' in the NKJV and ESV. The Aramaic word here is sometimes translated to 'sentinel' or 'messenger'. The word means 'be wakeful or 'be on the watch'. This is the only use of the word in the scriptures. It does appear in the Genesis Apocryphon from Qumran Cave 1. It is used there as a term for an angel. The king understands this being to be a holy one, created by God and in service to him.
The angel calls for the cutting down of this great tree. He calls with a loud voice or with notable strength, volume or might. This tree must have seemed like it was beyond destruction. Its size was beyond anything imaginable for a tree, surely no one could take it down! But a single voice from heaven calls for its destruction; the branches were to be removed, it's leaves and fruit scattered. Those who sought shelter under it were to flee for their safety. The giant tree would be reduced to a stump, a mere fraction of its former size. It would struggle for life. I would be bound, as if it were shackled to prevent growth. It is simply reduced to nothing.
Then the words of the angel seem to switch from talking about this tree, to talking about the man. The dew will settle on this man, no different than the animals or plants, neither knowing better or caring. The great tree would become as like an animal. His mind would be changed; he thoughts would be altered to that of an animal. The clock would be set to 'seven times'; the Aramaic word is unknown, so we don't know the duration.
This is all declared by the watcher as sentencing from a verdict. The decision was declared so:
The living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.
This is the lesson the king failed to learn on the two previous occasions. Nebuchadnezzar was blinded by his own pride. His tree was so large and so vast; so many relied on it for shelter as they exalted him. It had all gone to his head to the point he thought he was sovereign and eternal. The Lord would supply him a reminder of who is Most High. Nebuchadnezzar gets a preview of his own education process.
The king knew the spirit of the holy gods was in Daniel; this is Nebuchadnezzar's way of saying Daniel was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is what sets him apart from all the other counselors. Nebuchadnezzar seems to recognize that.
Note: Nebuchadnezzar tells his own dream, he doesn't test Daniel to tell the dream to him. He trusts in Daniel's abilities.
Daniel 4:19-23
Daniel was overcome with a great fear; his thoughts terrified him. The Aramaic word means he was struck dumb for an hour. Daniel had previously been called to reveal to the king that there would be another kingdom after his. This was after he was shown to be the head of gold on the statue. Now, Daniel was called to reveal the details of the fall of his kingdom and the loss of his mind. Telling the king bad news was not a good thing to do. At the same time, we get the sense that Daniel cared about the king and seeing his friend fall in the way the dream detailed was troubling. See Daniel's distress, the king encourages him to not be troubled or scared.
Daniel knows this dream is God's revelation, while he wished the bad news was for someone else, this revelation was for the king for his good and God's purpose. Daniel interprets the dream:
- Nebuchadnezzar is the tree.
- Large and strong – the power of the Babylonian kingdom over all others at that time.
- Spreading, visible to the ends of the earth – the influence and authority was far-reaching. All the world watched this superpower .
- The top touched the sky – taller and stronger than others, almost god-like in nature as it ascended to the abode of gods.
- Providing food & shelter – the success of the kingdom meant the kingdom provided for many. So many people relying on the king fed his pride.
Daniel detailed that Nebuchadnezzar's sovereignty was impressive by the world's standards. Although Daniel knew it was nothing compared to God's sovereignty.
Daniel 4:24-27
The watcher's words were the decree of the Lord, God's will. This decree was against the king, given to humble him. Daniel would be 'driven away' from people because his mind will be like an animal. His diet will be like that of an animal. This would go on for seven periods of time. It was fact that the king would be restored, but when acknowledging that heaven rules. The 'phrase 'the heavens to rule' should be understood as the kingdom of heaven, God's kingdom. The stump would remain bound until that time. This insanity of Nebuchadnezzar has a name; boanthropy, where a person believes they are an animal and acts accordingly.
Daniel offers his advice; it is pointless to war against God. The war should be fought on sin in agreement with God. Daniel advises:
- Stop sinning (unrighteousness)
- By doing what is right (righteousness)
- Stop evil behavior (merciless)
- By being kind to the oppressed (mercy)
Daniel 4:28-33
Everything happened as Daniel said, but it didn't happen immediately. It was twelve months later; the dream probably forgotten about. There was no change of heart from the revelation, no righteousness and mercy. It's not hard to imagine the scene. Nebuchadnezzar was a builder, constructing opulent palaces and grand structures for himself and his reputation. He built the famed Ishtar gate, some twenty temples, vast fortifications and shipping docks.
On one of his inscriptions, Nebuchadnezzar boasted, "The fortifications of Esagila [the temple of Marduk] and Babylon I strengthened, and established the name of my reign forever"
As he walked on the roof looking over all he had accomplished, he became proud. His declaration that he had built this great kingdom was the glory he robbed from God. He patted himself on the back for his mighty power and majesty. This glory was all due to the God Most High.
The words hardly left his mouth when the judgment fell on him. He kept his mind long enough to hear the voice from heaven decree that his kingdom would be stripped from him along with his sanity. The king had to acknowledge:
- God is sovereign
- He sets up kings and kingdoms
Daniel 4:34-37
At the end of the prescribed time, his mind was restored. Nebuchadnezzar testified to the heavens his acknowledgment of God's sovereignty. He praised the Lord Most High. He had come to know the Lord.
- Eternal Sovereignty – not the superficial, partial and worldly that moth will eat, rust will destroy, thieves will steal or will burn away on judgment day.
- Eternal Kingdom – not the temporary one in which 'after you another kingdom will arise' (2:39).
- Man is nothing before God – apart from God, humanity has no value. It is the breath of God that gave us life, without it, we are but mere dust. God is no respecter of man (Romans 2:11). We are nothing apart from him, whether we realize it or not.
- God has providence over the affairs of man – God cannot be controlled by men. As a clay pot we don't get to ask, "What have you done?" (Rom 9:20). God's plan and ways will always be better than ours.
Remember, this is Nebuchadnezzar who wrote this, the leader of the worlds superpower at the time. This letter was written to 'the nations and people….. in all the earth'.
As the king's mind was restored, so was his honor and splendor; these are the characteristics that were out of balance (like an overgrown tree) that landed him in trouble with God. It is honor that someone might look up to the king and revere or respect him or be in awe of him. Splendor is the countenance, the inner being of a person. These were returned that Nebuchadnezzar might rule again the kingdom God gave to him. All that the king had and accomplished was lifted in thanks and praise to the One who allowed it.
The king's humiliation is sandwiched between his declaration of power, authority and sovereignty he saw in himself; and, his declaration of God's omnipotent power, omniscience and divine providence, having abandoned the idea of his personal sovereignty.
His pride and sin drove him to insanity.
Repentance and faith renewed and restored his mind.
Spurgeon said:
Most men quarrel with this [the sovereignty of God]. But mark, the thing that you complain of in God is the very thing that you love in yourselves. Every man likes to feel that he has a right to do with his own as he pleases. We all like to be little sovereigns. Oh, for a spirit that bows always before the sovereignty of God.
The bible being the tail of two cities, the city of man, Babylon; and the city of God, Jerusalem. Babylon appears in the bible as a picture of the world. As we saw God contending with the heart of Nebuchadnezzar we might be able to see it as a broad illustration of God dealing with humans in general. As man was driven from the garden of Eden, from the presence of God, this contention exists 'until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes' (v.33).
This gentile king had been humbled, he came to know the Lord as the One and only Most High God, not just another god. Do you know the providence and power of the Lord? Or, are you still holding to your sovereignty while God contends with you?
©2018 Doug Ford
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