In our study of Daniel chapter four, we look at how pride can turn a dream into a nightmare. We are reminded that pride is what brought about the rebellion of angels and the same thing can happen with men.
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"From: N'vukhadnetzar the king "To: All the peoples, nations and languages living throughout the earth: "Shalom rav!
This chapter opens with a royal proclamation from the King of Babylon. This proclamation is different and the greeting would have made the people take notice. The king, in chapter 3, was full of pride and all about self but, as we see here, he is thinking of others in wishing them abundant peace.
"I am pleased to recount the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.
The king begins what we will see is his testimony of what God had done in his life. The people would have known that something had happened because this man had built a statue of himself and made people bow down and worship him as a god. Now, he is prepared to tell them of the real God.
"How great are his signs! How powerful his wonders! His kingdom lasts forever, and he rules all generations.
It is amazing that we see this man who had been so prideful now humbling himself in worship of God Almighty.
"I, N'vukhadnetzar, was contentedly living at home, enjoying the luxury of my palace; but as I lay on my bed, I had a dream which frightened me, followed by fantasies and visions in my head which frightened me even more.
Now, the king begins to tell us what caused such a dramatic change in his attitude and it started with a dream that got his attention.
So I ordered all the sages of Bavel to present themselves to me, so that they could tell me the interpretation of the dream. When the magicians, exorcists, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream; but they couldn't interpret it for me.
As we saw in chapter two, the ungodly cannot interpret the things of God and so, when all the "wise men" were called in to the king they could not help him. This is the same lesson that many of us need to learn today as people are chasing after all kinds of wisdom but many are unwilling to go to the true source of wisdom which is God. Instead of seeking counsel from God's word, even Christians try the latest self help nonsense and psycho babble.
Finally, however, Dani'el (renamed Belt'shatzar, after the name of my god), in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, came before me; and I told him the dream:
It is interesting to note here that the king is still caught up in idolatry as he describes Daniel as having the "spirit of the holy gods". There are many today with this same type of attitude in that they want to say that we are all going the same place just taking different paths. As we shall see, that is still idolatry and it is detestable to God.
'Belt'shatzar, chief of the magicians! Because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the meaning of the visions I saw in my dream.
We see that the king had made Daniel the chief of the magicians and so acknowledged the power of the God that Daniel served. But, he was still caught up in idolatry as God does not share his position with any other so-called gods. He has seen the power of God at work through Daniel but does not reject the false gods as he had looked to them first.
Here are the visions I had in my head as I lay on my bed: I looked, and there before me was a tree at the center of the earth; it was very tall. The tree grew and became strong until its crown reached the sky, and it could be seen from anywhere on earth. Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant; it produced enough food for everyone. The wild animals enjoyed its shade, the birds in the air lived in its branches, and it gave food to every living creature.
So far, the vision seems to be a good thing as it is a giant tree that is providing food and shelter to all. It reminds me of the tree of life described in Revelation 22 where God provides for his people and the fact that Nebuchadnezzar was caught up in his pride and strength as he considered himself to also be a god.
I looked in the visions of my head as I lay on my bed, and there appeared a holy watcher coming down from heaven. He cried out: "'"Cut down the tree, cut off its branches, strip off its leaves, scatter its fruit! Let the wild animals flee from its shelter! Let the birds abandon its branches! But leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the lush grass of the countryside; let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share the lot of animals in the pasture;
Now, we see the dream start to become a nightmare as it is decreed that the magnificent tree be cut down. Many times a tree is used as the symbol for a man in the Bible and Nebuchadnezzar must have thought of himself as this magnificent tree. It must have shocked him to here the angel say that it must be cut down. The good news is that they did not uproot the stump so there was the ability for the tree to grow again. We see that the stump was restrained from growth on its own by these bands. We, like Nebuchadnezzar, can become arrogant and see ourselves as a mighty tree but we must remember to worship the Creator of the tree and give Him the praise instead of becoming arrogant.
let his heart and mind cease to be human and become those of an animal; and let seven seasons pass over him.
Now, we see that this man will be driven to act like an animal for seven years. Nebuchadnezzar may have still held out hope that it was speaking of someone else but deep inside he must have been horrified at the thought that it was speaking about him.
"'"This order is issued by the watchers, the sentence is announced by the holy ones, so that all who live may know that the Most High rules the human kingdom, that he gives it to whomever he wishes and can raise up over it the lowliest of mortals."
God explains the purpose of his actions which is so that men can understand that he is in charge of all creation. Part of that being in charge is the fact that he puts whoever he wants in positions of authority. Usually, these are not the most superior of men but they are there because of the will of God and for his purposes. This is true today as well in that God puts our political leaders in their place to fulfill his purpose and many times they are humbled by the fact that they are being used and cannot do it on their own.
"'This is the dream which I, King N'vukhadnetzar, saw. Now you, Belt'shatzar, tell me its interpretation. None of the sages of my kingdom can tell me the interpretation, but you can do it, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.'
Once again, we see that the king tries all other options before turning to the man of God. He realizes that there is something special about Daniel but he still does not acknowledge the hand of the one true God. Like Daniel, many times people will know that we (Christians) are different. They will see the power of God displayed and still not acknowledge him.
"Dani'el, whose name was Belt'shatzar, was in shock awhile, frightened by his thoughts. The king said, 'Belt'shatzar, don't let the dream or the interpretation frighten you.' Belt'shatzar answered, 'My lord, if only the dream were about those who hate you, and the interpretation about your enemies!
Daniel must have immediately known the message behind the dream and he was worried about telling it to the king.
The tree you saw which grew and became strong until its crown reached the sky, and it could be seen throughout the whole earth, that had beautiful foliage and abundant fruit, enough to feed everyone, under which the wild animals lived, and on whose branches the birds in the air built their nests - it's you, your majesty! You have grown and become strong - your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your rule extends to the end of the earth.
We have all probably had someone tell us that they had good news and bad news for us and ask which we wanted to hear first. Here, Daniel gives the king the good news first which is the fact that the king has become as great as the tree of his dream.
"'Now the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven, who said, "'"Cut down the tree, and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the lush grass of the countryside; let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share the lot of the wild animals until seven seasons pass over him."
Now, the bad news is that the tree is to be cut down. God is good and even with this bad news comes hope. We see that the roots of the tree are not removed but instead are only restrained by the iron and bronze. In this, we see that God is in control of all things and all things happen in his time.
"'This is the interpretation, your majesty; and it is the decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: "'You will be driven from human society to live with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like an ox and be drenched with dew from the sky, as seven seasons pass over you; until you learn that the Most High rules in the human kingdom and gives it to whomever he pleases. "'But since it was ordered to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be kept for you until you have learned that Heaven rules everything. Therefore, your majesty, please take my advice: break with your sins by replacing them with acts of charity, and break with your crimes by showing mercy to the poor; this may extend the time of your prosperity.'
The full meaning of the nightmare is made known as judgment is pronounced on King Nebuchadnezzar. Even in this judgment there is hope as Daniel pleads for the king to repent and acknowledge the hand of God at work in the lives of men. He even tells the king that it could possibly be avoided if he would repent immediately. We notice also that this is not simply reciting some words but is backed up by action. The same thing is true for us today in that genuine repentance will be accompanied by action and not simply saying some words.
"All this happened to King N'vukhadnetzar. Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Bavel, the king said, 'Bavel the great! I built it as a royal residence by my power and force to enhance the glory of my majesty!'
The number twelve, throughout the Bible, is associated with the display of divine authority and here we see that twelve months after his vision the king is still denying God's power. The king still does not acknowledge the fact that God had him there. We may be quick to criticize the king but we must ask ourselves if we don't do the same thing sometimes. It is easy to forget to give the credit to God when he lifts us up and blesses us.
No sooner had the king spoken these words when a voice came down from heaven: 'King N'vukhadnetzar! These words are for you: '"The kingdom has left you. You will be driven from human society to live with the wild animals. You will be made to eat grass like an ox and be drenched with dew from the sky, as seven seasons pass over you, until you learn that the Most High rules in the human kingdom and gives it to whomever he pleases.' "Within the hour the word was fulfilled. N'vukhadnetzar was driven from human society, he ate grass like an ox, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.
As soon as he spoke this blasphemy, he was reminded of the judgment that had been promised and it was swiftly executed. I am sure that the king did not expect this swift judgment as he climbed up to the roof. In the same way, we walk around many days without remembering that Yeshua could come back at any moment.
"When this period was over, I, N'vukhadnetzar, lifted my eyes toward heaven, and my understanding came back to me. I blessed the Most High, I praised and gave honor to him who lives forever. "'For his rulership is everlasting, his kingdom endures through all generations. All who live on earth are counted as nothing. He does what he wishes with the army of heaven and with those living on earth. No one can hold back his hand or ask him, "What are you doing?"'
The events unfolded just as the dream had shown and, at the designated time, Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself and acknowledged God. As promised, his sanity was restored and this is a beautiful promise to each of us in that, if we humble ourselves and call on Yeshua, he will restore our relationship with the Father.
"It was at that moment that my understanding came back to me; and for the sake of the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor also came back to me. My advisers and lords sought me out, I was re-established in my kingdom, and to my previous greatness even more was added. So now I, N'vukhadnetzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven: "'For all his works are truth, and his ways are just; and he can humble those who walk in pride.'"
Many things may seem to be given up when we come to faith in Christ but the biggest thing is pride. It was only after the king was humbled that he could see God at work. Likewise, it is only after our pride has been dealt with that we can see what Yeshua did for us on the cross. Like the king, it may look like we have lost much more but God can restore more than we ever had just like he did for Nebuchadnezzar.
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