Daniel 4, Part 2

Interpretation

Daniel 4:19–27 ESV

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! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 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. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 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. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Nebuchadnezzar was upset and called the wise men to interpret the dream, but they could not. Some time after that, Daniel arrives and the king re-tells the story that is causing him such turmoil. After hearing the dream, now Daniel is upset also. Probably not for himself, but for what he must tell Nebuchadnezzar was about to happen. I think there was a mutual respect between the king and Daniel, and he truly was concerned for the kings well being. However, Nebuchadnezzar could tell he was troubled and asked him to not let the dream bother him, but to tell him the dreams meaning.

Notice how Daniel started his dream interpretation - I hope this is for those who hate you and your enemies instead of you. However, Daniel recognized the need to tell the king the truth.

He does not stutter or stammer but gives it to the king directly. Like Moses before Pharaoh, Elijah before Ahab and the prophets of Baal, John the Baptist before Herod, and Jesus before Pilate, Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar not what he wants to hear but what he needs to hear. We can summarize Daniel’s interpretation in straightforward and simple propositions:

• You, O King, are the great tree, and it symbolizes your greatness (vv. 20–22).

You are the tree chopped down with only a stump remaining (v. 23).

• You will live like an animal outdoors in the fields until “seven periods of time” pass (vv. 23–25).

• All of this will happen to teach you a valuable lesson: “that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants” (v. 25).

• When you come to your spiritual senses, you will get your kingdom back (v. 26).

• God is a gracious and loving God who is quick to forgive and show mercy. So (a) listen to my counsel, (b) stop your sinning and start doing the right thing, and (c) stop your wicked injustices and show mercy to the oppressed (v. 27). If you do, God may be kind and “perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

Danny Aiken quotes David Helm’s insights into Daniel’s interpretation:

“We must be willing to share the bad news with people that they are out of sorts with God, even as our heart breaks for them while saying it. We must be willing to tell others that God is not pleased with this pride—the human tendency to push him aside, and think that we are the measure of all things. We must be willing to say why God works against us—so that we might one day know that he rules, and not us. Finally, we must be ready to call for repentance and offer hope.”

Daniel did all of that. And then the text stops. We are not told what the king said on that day. In fact, the verses that follow take the reader into the future, to at least one year later, and then seven periods of time beyond. Clearly, God didn’t feel any need for us to know how this private witness was received. He wanted us simply to see that it was given.… Daniel didn’t shirk from speaking God’s word into the life of the most powerful man in the world. In doing so, he has provided us with an example of the backbone needed to be faithful when our opportunity comes. And come it will, for God is in the business of revealing himself to prominent, powerful people.

Interpretation

Daniel 4:28–33 ESV

28 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?” 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, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 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.

Nebuchadnezzar pays the price for his “I” and “my” perspective in verse 30. “At the end of twelve months” (v. 29), after Daniel interpreted his dream and called the king to repentance and mercy (v. 27), “all this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar” (v. 28). The hammer of God’s judgment came down, and it came down with a vengeance. Bob Fyall notes, “Nebuchadnezzar is like Adam and Eve who when confronted with another tree, instead of becoming gods, were banished from Eden” (Daniel, 70).

Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten who is the Most High and who had given him his great kingdom. He forgot or chose to ignore Daniel’s warning and call to repentance. “As he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon” (v. 29; this was not the only palace he had!), he began to brag and boast about who he was and what he had done: “Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?” (v. 30; emphasis added). He essentially said, “I did all this, and I deserve all the praise. I am the smartest. I am the strongest. I am the wisest. I am the man!”

Those who have accomplished great things need to remind themselves daily that they have nothing that God in grace has not given them. We are born where he decides. We are the people he made us to be. The things we have, he gave us. “He gives [them] to anyone he wants” (vv. 17, 25). Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten this basic, fundamental truth of life; and now he will be reminded the hard way.

While the king was still crowing about his own greatness, “while the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven” (v. 31). A divine thunderclap came down from heaven with a message of severe judgment and sentencing. The Most High who rules the kingdoms of men declares:

The kingdom is taken from you (v. 31).

You will be driven away from humanity (v. 32).

You will live with animals, act like an animal, and eat like an animal (v. 32).

This will last as long as it takes (“seven periods of time,” i.e., seven years or symbolic of the perfect time needed to do the trick), “until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants” (v. 32).

Immediately “the message [of the Most High God] against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled” (v. 33). He was struck by what was probably a behavioral disorder called boanthropy, where “one imagines oneself a cow or bull and acts accordingly” (Davis, Message of Daniel, 59). It is also referred to as lycanthropy, where a person believes he or she is an animal and behaves like an animal. The one who saw himself as superman became subman. The one who thought he was superhuman became subhuman. He lived with animals instead of with men. He ate grass like an ox, not food like a man. He lived and slept in the field, not in the home and bed of a man. He had fingernails and toenails like the claws of a bird and not those of a human. Sinclair Ferguson is spot on when he says,

The one who refused to honor God’s glory loses his own glory. Refusing to share what he has with the poor, he becomes poorer than the poor. He becomes outwardly what his heart has been spiritually and inwardly—bestial. (Daniel, 93)

Nebuchadnezzar Restored

Daniel 4:34–37 ESV

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, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” 36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Psalm 121:1-2 says, “I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” I do not know if Nebuchadnezzar knew these verses. What I do know is he not only looked up to the hills, but he also lifted his eyes up to heaven (4:34). After looking down to the ground like an animal, he turned and looked up to God in heaven and was restored to being a man made in the image of the God he had come to know as Savior. Yes, I believe Nebuchadnezzar was genuinely converted and saved and that he entered into a life-changing relationship with the one true and living God, the One he now acknowledged personally as “the Most High.” The king’s reason returned to him, and he immediately did what any right-thinking person does: he worshiped the only living and true God. He “praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever,” whose dominion is everlasting and whose kingdom goes on forever (vv. 34–35).

In the midst of this song of praise, Nebuchadnezzar gets theological in verse 35. In comparison to the sovereign God whose dominion is everlasting and whose kingdom endures forever, humans are not much: “All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing.” The Most High God does what he wills in heaven above, and he does the same on earth below. You cannot stop this God, and you should not question this God. (I hear Job saying, “Amen!”)

Nebuchadnezzar got back his mind, and he also got back his kingdom (v. 36). In fact, God not only set him back on the throne, but “even more greatness came.” But this time Nebuchadnezzar did not claim credit for the increase of his kingdom: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and glorify the King of the heavens.” This is the only time the phrase “King of the heavens” appears in the Old Testament. And why does this king on earth praise and extol and honor the King who is in heaven? Three reasons are given: (1) “all his works are true”; (2) “his ways are just”; and (3) “He is able to humble those who walk in pride” (v. 37). These are Nebuchadnezzar’s last words in Scripture. He is now dead. He is long gone. However, the King of the heavens, the Most High God, is still on his throne, and he is still sovereign over the universe.

Akin, Daniel L. 2017. Exalting Jesus in Daniel. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

What was the meaning of the tree in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream?

What happened to the king twelve months after the dream?

What happened at the end of the king’s illness?

WORDsearch. n.d. Adult Questions for LESSONmaker. WORDsearch.