Daniel 4 - God humbles King Nebuchadnezzar

[ Intro ]

Today we’ll be going through Daniel chapter 4. Here in this chapter we are going to read about another dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had and how he sees the power and sovereignty of God. In the previous weeks, as we went through the first 3 chapters, King Nebuchadnezzar had witnessed God’s power twice in miraculous ways.

One by a dream he had about the statue representing kingdoms, and his was the Gold head. Daniel told what the dream was and what it meant. Although the king honored and praised the Gold of the Bible at this time, he had not surrendered and accepted that he was the one true God.

And we see his pride in all this as well when in chapter 3 we read about the massive statue of gold that he had setup and commanded everyone to bow to it, or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Which is where he witnessed the second miracle when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were thrown into the fire for not bowing and he sees them along with what many believe to be Jesus in the fire and then Shadrach Meshach and Abednego walk out of the furnace without even smelling like smoke.

Once again the King honors and praises the God of the bible. Even to the point of saying No-one is allowed to talk bad about God or else they will be cut into pieces.

But we know he still hadn’t surrendered. Even in these times of praise, he references the one true God existing alongside other gods. He still did not understand and had not surrendered. He was still a man full of pride.

In chapter 4 we get to read about an interesting shift in the Kings view of the one true God. And keep in mind the timeframe between all these events, there could be around a 30 year gap from that first miracle to what happens here in chapter 4.

So let’s dive in and read chapter 4. We’ll start with verses 1-3

[ Body ]

Daniel 4:1–3 NLT

1 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: “Peace and prosperity to you! 2 “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. 3 How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations.

The king had a message sent to the entire kingdom. This was to all that were under the rule of the king, which was many nations. Babylon was the dominant power of the world at this time.

Now we see the king starts out by praising the God of the Bible. And this isn’t because of the previous miracles he’s witnessed that we just discussed from chapters 2 and 3. This is in regards to the new dream he had and how God demonstrated his power to him throughout the coming events that we are about to read.

Before we get into those details, I want you to examine how he praised God. It is direct with no reference to any other god existing.

When he praised God in the last two miracles we discussed, here’s a couple phrases he used.

When Daniel revealed his dream and explained what it meant he said “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods”

And with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he said “There is no other god who can rescue like this!”

He had still believed in the pagan gods existing alongside the God of the Bible.

But here at the beginning, and we’ll read these verses again, 2-3

Daniel 4:2–3 NLT

2 “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. 3 How great are his signs, how powerful his wonders! His kingdom will last forever, his rule through all generations.

Sounds like he had a change of heart and belief.

Now let’s read about what happened in verses 4-18.

Daniel 4:4–18 NLT

4 “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. 5 But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. 6 So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant. 7 When all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. 8 At last Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream. (He was named Belteshazzar after my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) 9 “I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means. 10 “ ‘While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. 11 The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. 12 It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree. 13 “ ‘Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 The messenger shouted, “Cut down the tree and lop off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field. 16 For seven periods of time, let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. 17 For this has been decreed by the messengers; it is commanded by the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses— even to the lowliest of people.” 18 “ ‘Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

So just like the first dream we read about with the statue, the King is terrified and really wants to know its meaning. Interestingly, this time the King actually tells the wisemen what the dream was first instead of demanding that they tell him what his dream was and then what it meant.

But just like the first dream, his other wisemen are totally stumped. They cannot tell him what it means. But at least the King knows he can always trust Daniel, so he allows him to interpret the dream. And one thing you might have noticed here is how the king originally believed Daniel had the ability to interpret dreams.

In verse 9 it read:

“I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means. “

He refers to multiple gods giving Daniel the powers to interpret dreams.

At the beginning of the chapter, up to verse 3, we talked about how the king praised God compared to how he did in the previous chapters and how there was a big difference. And in these verses from 4 to the end of this chapter is really him telling everyone what happened that led him to change in his belief in the God of the Bible. So you have to remember in the midst of this explanation this is the context of him still believing that there is many gods. It’s not until the end of the explanation that we read about the change in his heart.

Now just a quick recap on what was in his dream:

We saw a large tree that produced enough fruit to provide for all the animals to eat. And all the animals also came there for shelter and living. In verse 10 we read “All the world was fed from this tree.“

Then suddenly a messenger/holy one comes down from Heaven and commands that the tree’s branches be cut off, leaves shaken off, fruit scattered, animals chased away. So suddenly everything was taken away from this glorious tree. Except, the base and foundation was kept. The stump and roots were left in place. But it was placed in chains of Bronze and Iron.

You might wonder what’s the deal with the chains, Bronze and Iron are often a symbol of Judgement in the Bible.

So keep that in mind as we go into the next section where Daniel explains the dream.

Daniel 4:19–27 NLT

19 “Upon hearing this, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) was overcome for a time, frightened by the meaning of the dream. Then the king said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t be alarmed by the dream and what it means.’ “Belteshazzar replied, ‘I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you! 20 The tree you saw was growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. 21 It had fresh green leaves and was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. 22 That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth. 23 “ ‘Then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of time.” 24 “ ‘This is what the dream means, Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to my lord the king. 25 You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. 26 But the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules. 27 “ ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.’

With the first dream, it probably wasn’t as hard to share the interpretation because it was so positive towards the king. But now here, Daniel has to share some tough news. How would you like to share news with someone that they are going to driven out of society and live like an animal. Literally eat grass like a cow and stay outside in a field. When it reads be drenched with dew of heaven, it just means that he’ll be living outside without shelter, which is why he’ll be covered dew. As hard as it’d be sharing this news with anyone, imaging telling it to a king, who could have you ordered to be tortured and killed if he wasn’t in a good mood. And from the past, Daniel knows that this king is full of pride, so this is certainly going to make him angry. Funny how Daniel tries to add a little bit of encouragement and advice to the king, just try and stop committing sin, do some good works and maybe God will continue to allow you to prosper.

One other note, you’ll see that the duration that the king will suffer is going to be seven periods. We’re not 100% sure exactly what a “period” was here, but many believe that it was referring to years. So 7 periods would be 7 years.

Let’s continue on and find out what the king decides and what happens to him:

Daniel 4:28–37 NLT

28 “But all these things did happen to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve months later he was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. 30 As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.’ 31 “While these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. 32 You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.’ 33 “That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws. 34 “After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. 35 All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ 36 “When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. 37 “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

Well obviously we can see King Nebuchadnezzar did not turn away from his pride and did not learn or believe that God is truly in control. And we can see that very clearly from what we read in verse 30. “As he looked out across the city, he said, ‘Look at this great city of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor.” Babylon was truly a great city, and the King believed that it was all because of him. You can just picture this scene as he’s walking around the rooftop, just amazed with what he believed he had solely accomplished. In what seems to be the peak of his pride, God takes it away from him. It says while the words were still in the King’s mouth, talking about how great he was, the voice from heaven called down. God’s timing is always perfect.

But don’t forget what we read in verse 29, this was 12 months after Daniel had warned him. God gave him mercy for an entire year to change his ways. And sure enough, in that moment of his great pride, the seven periods began where he would be kicked out of society and live like an animal. His kingdom was taken away from him. Verse 33 reads it was in the same hour that he had heard the voice of God that he was then kicked out of society.

And we get some details on how his appearance changed. “His hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws” But we still see God’s mercy, as soon as the 7 periods passed his sanity returned and he did praise and worship the one true God. You read about his praises for God through verse 35. And God blesses King Nebuchadnezzar by returning the kingdom back to him. And at the end of verse 36 where the King spoke of his honor being returned and how his advisors sought him out again, it reads he had even greater honor than before. He was even more blessed.

Can you imagine being a citizen of Babylon and reading the end of this proclamation, what we read in verse 37. Yes he glorifies God but I think one thing people would have been even more surprised about is the very end where it reads “All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud”.

This was the king who wanted people killed for not bowing to his statue. In a pagan kingdom they would have believed the King to be like a god himself. This was not someone you’d ever expect to hear say that they were proud and they were humbled. Admitting they were in the wrong. King Nebuchadnezzar had a change in heart.

God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar.

This is a great example once again of God’s sovereignty over all. I mean that was the whole point that God was trying to get across to King Nebuchadnezzar. God is running the show, not him or any other king.

This may be a passage that seems unrelated to us, but it’s very applicable to us. Nebuchadnezzar may have been a king over the dominating power of the world thousands of years ago, but his struggle was something that we all deal with. It doesn’t matter how much responsibility or how much wealth you have. We all struggle with this question, Who is in control of your life. This is something all humans face and have faced throughout our existence. This is what got us into the sin business when Adam and Eve believed the lie of satan and decided they wanted to be in control. Even after putting your faith in God, it’s still so easy to look at where you’re at, and be proud and think I did this. We have to acknowledge God in everything. And also in terms of the judgment that the King faced, we don’t need to think that if something is going wrong in our lives we’re facing judgement from pride. That’s a lesson from Job about not equating struggles with judgement. But in the passage we do need to recognize God wants the glory that he deserves and we often try to take it away because of our pride. In the good times, give all the glory to God. And In the trials, trust in God’s goodness, mercy, and sovereignty and continue to be on the watch for how he is moving, because he’s still active in the trials. Glorify and praise Him in all situations.