The Testimony of the King

The Testimony of the King

Daniel 4

Imagine for a moment you are a traveler visiting the ancient city of Babylon in the days of Daniel. The rumors you heard and the brochures you read would not do justice to the beauty and grandeur you would find there.

As you approached the city from the north you could hear the ripples of the river Euphrates in the distance. It sat just a quarter mile away and cut a path through the city itself. By now, the 50-foot walls are visible, because they stretched as far as the eye could see, encompassing a city the size of Chicago. The Greek historians wrote about how you could hear the chariot races taking place on top of the huge fortifications.

Of the many gates that entered into the city, there was one you had to see, the famous Ishtar gate. It was rebuilt and adorned by King Nebuchadnezzar himself. It was lined with bright, blue glazed bricks with images of bulls, dragons, and lions engraved on them, and when the sun shined on the walls it was a spectacular sight to behold. But this was only the beginning of the beauty of Babylon.

As you walked along the processional way that led into the city, ahead of you rose the king’s shrine to the ancient Babylonian god Marduk. It was a massive complex at the center of the city that towered 250 feet or 26 stories in the sky.

Of course, it would take you weeks to see all the city had to offer, but one thing you wouldn’t want to miss were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. One of the seven wonders of the world, they were built next door to the king’s palace and contained large terraced of trees, flowers and waterfalls. The rumor is that King Nebuchadnezzar built them for his homesick Median bride.

With so much to see it becomes easy to overlook the details, but they were there-right under your feet. As you stooped down to retie your sandals on the parkway, you couldn’t help but notice the name inscribed on every brick was the man responsible for all the beauty, King Nebuchadnezzar, written on every stone.

That’s no surprise to us, ancient rulers and modern-day rulers want to boast and let everyone know about their great achievements. What is a surprise is when someone so powerful, so arrogant and full of pride comes to faith in the one true God. Jesus Himself said, “it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” This story teaches us there is no one beyond God’s ability to redeem.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is The Proclamation of the King, Vs. 1-3. Chapter 4 begins with news from the king he wants everyone to hear. Notice Vs. 1, “King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell on the earth.”

This sounds like the beginning of a state of the union address. If this was a leader today, the announcement would be broadcast by every major media outlet. ABC, NBC, and CBS would all be at the scene, because the king wants everyone throughout the whole world to know what he has to say.

But what was so urgent the king wanted everyone to know? Did he conquer another kingdom? Did he begin a new building project? No, he wants them to know how incredible God is. Vs. 2, “It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most- High God has done for me.”

Isn’t that amazing? But wait a minute, we have heard the king praise God before. But doesn’t something seem different now? I mean notice what he says at the end of Vs. 1, “Peace be multiplied to you.”

That doesn’t sound like Nebuchadnezzar. Is this the same Nebuchadnezzar that was threatening to kill all the wisemen of Babylon and destroy their homes? Is this the same Nebuchadnezzar that flew into a rage because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to his image? Is this the same Nebuchadnezzar that through those men into a fiery furnace? Now he wants all people, everywhere throughout the entire kingdom, to live in peace.

Only God can do that. Only God can take a heart that is hard and destructive and make it new. Only God can change a person from the inside out and give them new life that produces love, peace, joy, and kindness.

But wait a minute we have heard Nebuchadnezzar praise the God of Daniel before, how is this any different? Notice the end of Vs. 2, “I want to show you what the Most -High God has done for me.” This is personal. This is my God. He even proceeds to sing this beautiful hymn in Vs. 3 that is so like the Psalms and expresses a man’s deepest needs being fulfilled.

I think what we see here in Chapter four is evidence of a true conversion. I know many of your study Bibles will disagree with me, but if it’s not, what is it? If this is not a true conversion, then what we have is an entire chapter in the bible, written by an unbeliever, who is praising God.

No, I believe the Lord has changed this Pagan king’s heart. He desired peace on earth and good will toward man. He wanted to tell everyone about what God had done in his life. That sounds like a man who was saved.

The one thing that is true about every true conversion is you want to share what God has done in your life. You want others to experience the good news that life can be different. That grace and forgiveness are available to those who humble themselves and follow Christ. So,then this whole chapter becomes the testimony of the King.

The next thing I want you to see is The Warning of the King, Vs. 4-27. This is a warning from God to Nebuchadnezzar that if you do not humble yourself, you will be humbled. This is Nebuchadnezzar looking back on life, and what brought him to faith in God.

His testimony begins with another dream that terrified the king. Notice Vs. 4-6, “I Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I laid in my bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. So, I made a decree that all the wisemen of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

What’s interesting here is the king turns to the old methods. Just like he did before, he turns back to the wisemen of Babylon to get his answers. However, once again they don’t have the ability to help him, but notice he is not threatening anyone this time.

So you can tell something is different in his life. He is still not trusting God but he is not threatening anyone either. Perhaps, that’s because he knows he can turn to Daniel. He knows Daniel is going to tell him the truth.

Maybe he is just not sure at this point he is ready to hear the truth. Many times, hearing the truth about our life can be more difficult than just believing the lies we have created ourselves.

Notice Vs. 8, “At last Daniel came in before me- he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the Spirit of the Holy Gods.” It is important for us to understand that Pagan religions didn’t refer to their gods as Holy. They thought of them as being in control but not Holy. Only the God of Israel was referenced this way. Notice how at this point Nebuchadnezzar still is not claiming Daniel’s God as his god.

But what we see is a great amount of respect from the king for Daniel. He calls him the chief of the magicians, and says, “no mystery is too difficult for you.” The king knows Daniel will tell him the truth, and he is comfortable telling him the dream, Vs.10-18.

It’s a very bazaar dream of a tree that grows and fills the earth. Its top reached into the heavens and the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field all sheltered and fed from it. And then a watcher from heaven came down, and this is the only place in scripture where this word is used to describe a heavenly being. So, we are not sure what this is, but it is some type of angelic lumberjack, because it cut the tree down, leaving only a stump and it strapped the stump to the ground, as a way of making sure it didn’t grow again.

Then in a strange twist we are told the tree is a man who becomes an animal in his mind. And this takes place for seven years or seven periods of time until he comes to realize who is really in charge. In other words, until he is humbled enough to understand God is the one who rules the kingdoms of the world.

What is interesting to me about this dream is not how bazaar it is, but how God continues to deal with the heart of this Pagan king. In fact, I would say other than God, Nebuchadnezzar has been the most prominent character of the first four chapters of Daniel.

Now understand the theme in the book of Daniel is the sovereignty of God. He is in control, ruling and reigning in the lives of his people. His people are safe in His hands as He is protecting them and guiding them. That is the theme. But when you consider the people involved in this story so far, there is only one constant in every chapter, and it is not always Daniel.

Daniel isn’t even mentioned in chapter 3, but Nebuchadnezzar is. So, this story becomes the climax of Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Throughout this story we have seen the king’s pride and anger, and now we see his judgment and restoration. This is the last time we will hear from him in the scripture. That is because God finishes dealing with his heart and in the end God wins.

When Nebuchadnezzar finishes telling Daniel the dream, he is stunned. Daniel is shocked by what he hears. Notice Vs. 19, “Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies.”

Notice the mutual respect between these two men. They are becoming brothers. The King is concerned about Daniel, he doesn’t want him to be afraid to tell him the truth, and Daniel shows a great amount of loyalty and compassion for the king. He says, “King I wish this dream was for your enemies.”

There is a great lesson in this for us. It is good sometimes to rub elbows with the lost. As long as you approach it with the purpose of redemption, we should look to build relationships with people who don’t know the Lord. Think about how different Daniel was from this pagan king. They had nothing in common. One was a Hebrew slave and the other was the most powerful man in the world. Yet we see a mutual respect and a growing friendship because God was at work in their hearts.

However, Daniel is not going to compromise on the Word of God, so he tells Nebuchadnezzar the truth. The purpose of this dream and the interpretation are repeated three times in this chapter, Vs. 17,25,32. God is going to judge this man so that he knows the Most -High rules the kingdoms of the world and sets whoever He wishes on their thrones.

Notice Vs. 20-25, “The tree you saw, 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most- High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most -High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. “

I don’t think Nebuchadnezzar was surprised that he was the tree in the dream. Of course, he was! But I think he was probably shocked by the details of God’s judgment. He was going to lose his mind. He was going to begin to live like an animal. How humiliating this would be for the most powerful man in the world. But God could have killed him like other powerful men in the bible who refused to repent.

Acts 12:21-23, “On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.”

But this wouldn’t be the case for Nebuchadnezzar. God had a greater purpose for his life, and he was shown mercy. Notice the end of Vs. 26, “Your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules.” God’s promise to the king is when you humble yourself before me, I will restore your life. I want you to understand that is God’s promise to each one of us today.

1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you.” God’s economy is simple; exalt yourself and be humbled or humble yourself and be exalted. That is exactly what Daniel councils Nebuchadnezzar to do.

Vs. 27, “Therefore O king, let my council be acceptable to you; break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may be perhaps a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Think about how bold this is by Daniel. He calls the king out and tells him exactly what his sin is. He says, you practice unrighteousness, you oppress the people, you need to change that.. Remember Daniel is speaking to the most powerful dictator in the world, who is known for fits of rage. However, I think Nebuchadnezzar knew Daniel was speaking the truth in love.

If Nebuchadnezzar will just humble himself and turn from his sins, then there would be no need for God to humble the king. And the same thing is true in our life we can avoid a lot of sorrow and humiliation if we will just turn and humbly give our heart to the Lord.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is the humbling of the king, Vs. 28-33. Nebuchadnezzar has heard the truth from Daniel. He knows what the dream means. But did that change the direction of his life? Not yet, God needed to humble him first.

Notice Vs. 28-30, “All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

It sounds like the king did well for about a year. We really don’t know but it speaks to the overwhelming patience of God. But he eventually began to practice his old ways. He slipped back into the old routine and was walking on the roof of the palace looking down over his kingdom and began to swell up with pride again.

“Look at all I have built. I did it all by my power and for my glory.” The city, the gates, the temple, the gardens they all belong to me.” C.S Lewis in Mere Christianity wrote, “A proud man is always looking down on things and people, and of course, as long as you are looking down, you can’t see something that is above you.”

That was the case with Nebuchadnezzar. He couldn’t see that God was in control of it all. Even though God had shown mercy and been patient, He is also holy and just and he is going to deal with sin and that time had come for Nebuchadnezzar. God’s voice began to thunder from heaven and judgment began to fall. Look at Vs. 31-33.

31 While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox. 33 Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Now as amazing and bazaar as this sounds to us, let me emphasize this happened. There is a psychological condition known as zoanthropy in which a person actually believes he is an animal. There have been 50 cases reported in international scientific literature in the past 150 years where people actually believed themselves to be and lived as animals. So, this description of God humbling Nebuchadnezzar is not hyperbolic language, this is what happened.

God caused him to lose his mind and live like an animal. Why? Because God hates pride. Proverbs 8:13 says, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Peter tells us that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Jesus said, “He who humbles himself will be exalted but he who exalts himself will be humbled.”

That brings us to the final thing I want to show you in this passage, The Restoration of the King, Vs. 34-37. We saw Nebuchadnezzar proclaim the greatness of God to the people. We saw his testimony that God warned him of the coming judgment. We saw God humble the King in his pride and now we see God restore the King by His grace.

Notice Vs. 34, At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever.”

Nebuchadnezzar had been looking down on his kingdom and looking down on his people, but now he turns his eyes in the right direction. He lifted his eyes to heaven, and when he did, God restored his mind. I want you to know the same thing is true in your life and in mine. When all we can see is the world around us, we will lose our mind but if we fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith we will be restored. He turns chaos into conformity and insanity into reason just like he did for Nebuchadnezzar.

With his sanity restored we see Nebuchadnezzar and he has a new perspective on life. He breaks in one final song of praise, Vs. 34, “I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation.”

To me this sounds like a life that has been transformed. You don’t hear the pride anymore. In fact, I believe you hear repentance, especially at the end of Vs. 37 where he says, “Those who walk in pride He is able to humble.” Nebuchadnezzar recognizes he has been walking in pride. He recognizes his sin, and he thanks God for correcting him. That sounds like repentance.

So, what do we learn from this story? We learn God is patient and longsuffering when it comes to dealing with the sin in our life. But we also learn there is a moment when judgment comes. God is righteous and just, and He will judge our sin. It is better to humble yourself than to be humbled by God.

We learn God never stops pursuing his people. He didn’t give up on Nebuchadnezzar and He doesn’t give up on us. We can walk away from God, we can choose a different path, and He continues to come after us. The bible says, God chastens those He loves. (Prodigal son)

We learn there is no one to far from God that can not be redeemed. There are people in our life; family, neighbors and friends, we have prayed for and witnessed to and it just doesn’t seem possible that God could reach them. This story teaches us to never give up. If God can change the heart of Nebuchadnezzar, He can change the heart of anyone.