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Nebuchadnezzar writes an affidavit to the world. His memorandum includes the entire Chaldean Empire; this is not restricted to the province of Babylon. Daniel 4:1-3 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages that live in all the earth; Peace and prosperity be multiplied to you. I thought it good to tell you about the signs and wonders that the Most High God has demonstrated toward me. How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. Unlike the king we saw earlier, the Nebuchadnezzar we see here does not try to force people to serve and honor the God of Israel. He merely tells his story and allows them to take it and use this information as they see fit. Nebuchadnezzar has mellowed in the one or two decades that have passed since the incident with the golden image. There is some disagreement over when this edict was written. Many scholars believe it was issued shortly before his death, making it 564-563BC. The reference to God's mighty signs and wonders is an understated translation of the actual words used. He says they are "stupendous." He is offering a sense of awed wonderment at the miracles of God. He describes God's kingdom as everlasting and His dominion as unchanging, quite different from the kingdoms of men that change dramatically from one year to the next (as we will see in the next chapter). Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom didn't change dramatically during his reign, so this is a strong observation. Daniel 4:4-5 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace: I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Having completed a number of successful military conquests, Nebuchadnezzar was quite content. Yet his dream made him afraid. We've seen this before, in chapter 2, but this time we see a king willing to admit his weaknesses. A remarkable change for this arrogant tyrant who craves power so much. In that part of the world, dreams are thought to come from the gods (even today), so people see a great deal of meaning in dreams. Something about this dream in particular made Nebuchadnezzar deeply concerned about his future. He probably understood part of it, giving him a sense of foreboding. Daniel 4:6-7 Therefore I made a decree to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might tell me the meaning of the dream. The magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans and diviners came before me. I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its meaning. Familiar territory for those reading the Daniel account. The wise men are brought in because they are supposed to understand these messages from the gods. The Bible doesn't say that they "can't" interpret the dream, as is implied in some translations. It just says they "didn't" interpret the dream. We are about to see a dream that is quite negative about the king and his position of power. If you were a wise man in the kingdom of Babylon, and you had to tell this hot-headed king really bad news with the risk that he would fly into a rage, would you willingly tell him? It is possible that these wise men didn't know the meaning of the dream, but even Nebuchadnezzar appears to have some understanding of its meaning so it seems doubtful that they were clueless about it. Chances are they knew much of what it meant but were too terrified to tell him. Daniel 4:8-9 But at the end Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. Before I told him the dream, I said, "O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation. It is a remarkable sign of respect that the king refers to Daniel by his Hebrew name. When he was first deported to Babylon, he was given a Babylonian name and it would be customary for the king to refer to him that way alone. However, here he refers to Daniel and then gives his Babylonian name as an aside so that everyone familiar with that name knows who he's talking about. The king says that Daniel is the "chief of the magicians." Don't take the word magicians too seriously. It comes from the root word "stylus" that refers to the instrument used to inscribe the complex Cuneiform letters. It doesn't mean magicians in the sense we use today, but essentially just means "wise men." Daniel was the head of the entire body of wise men. Nebuchadnezzar says he knows that the Holy Spirit is in Daniel. Clearly Daniel has established a ministry in his position. He has walked the talk during the entire term of his service to the king, establishing himself as someone different from the pack. How much impact is your life making on those around you? Though the king's statement at first seems to be just a message of confidence in Daniel's ability, there appears to be a challenge implied. The king knows the dream is bad news and may be trying to box Daniel in so he doesn't bail on him as his other wise men did. Daniel 4:10-12 These were the visions of my head while I lay in my bed: I saw, and beheld a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height of it was great. The tree grew and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and it was visible to the end of all the earth. The leaves of the tree were fair, and it had much fruit, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of the air lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. Trees and plants are common metaphors in the Bible for kingdoms. This tree grows to cover the earth with plenty of fruit to feed everyone. In a few verses we'll see that one of Daniel's admonitions to the king is to regard the plight of the poor. There is a clear implication that Nebuchadnezzar is no longer using his kingdom's wealth to look after the needs of the empire. Saddam Hussein also took riches from the country for his own good while his people went hungry. Just the day before American bombs began to fall, his son took $1 billion in cash from the bank. Many of the Iraqi people were starving during Saddam's reign. Daniel 4:13-18 In the visions of my head as I lay upon my bed, I saw a watcher, a holy one came down from heaven; He cried aloud, and said, 'Chop down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it, and the birds from his branches. But leave the stump of his roots in the earth, with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from a man's and let a beast's heart be given to him until seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the verdict by the word of the holy ones so that the living may know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men.' This is the dream that I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, O Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of the wise men of my kingdom are able to tell me its meaning. But you can for the spirit of the holy gods is in you." The term used to describe the angel is "watchman." One other reference has been found among the scrolls of the Dead Sea caves using the phrase "watchman angel" implying that this may be a special class of angelic messenger. Note the reference to the tree being called a man. Nebuchadnezzar probably understood the kingdom metaphor and understood that this was a reference to himself. No wonder the dream terrified him with its talk of cutting him down and turning his mind to that of an animal! Seven times mean seven years. Why is the verdict declared about this fall from greatness? To tell the world that God is sovereign. The watchman angel explains that this edict is the fulfilment of the entire purpose of the events described in the dream! |
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