Daniel 4 The Testimony of a King

Introduction

Do you believe in the Sovereignty of God? Now before you answer that let me define what I mean by Sovereignty. By this I mean that God does all that He wills, He reigns supreme over all creation. Nothing happens outside of His will, He rules over all things, major or minor. A sparrow cannot, does not fall to the ground without His knowledge. He rules over our existence from before creation. Nothing can happen in your life or mine that is outside of His control. The flat tire you had, the blessings of your marriage and your children, how many children you have or will have.

Here is the definition that King Nebuchadnezzar gives you: “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.” So here we see God’s power and His rule

So do you believe in His sovereignty as I have generally defined it?

Here is a second question: Are you submitting to His sovereignty in your life? Or are you bucking against it?

Here in our text we see what happens to a person who thinks life revolves around them. This king believes he is the king of his life and his empire. He thinks he calls the shots in life. You may think the same thing. You may think that you are free to do as you please, that your life is yours that your body is yours to do with what you want. But all you have to do is look at what is happening in our country to see how that works out for people. Just look at your own life-how is living life according to you working out for you now?

out text today helps us to get eyes on the right way to view your life.

I don’t know how far we will get in this chapter, but there are 5 pieces to this narrative section. And the main thrust or theme is

THE MOST HIGH GOD RULES IN HEAVEN AND EARTH. HE RULES THE KINGDOM OF MEN. V.3,17, 24, 25, 26, 32, 34-35, 37

Those verses make this truth clear enough even a blind man can see it.

Thus we have a five piece article that teaches this:

1. the introduction of the truth the Most high Rules 1-3

2. the terrifying dream that declares the means in which the truth will be revealed, 4-18

3. the dream applied to the life of the king so that he will realize this truth, 19-27

4, the dream fulfilled demonstrating this truth in the kings life, v.28-33

5. the King restored bringing full circle that reality of this truth and His Worship of the Most High God who rules over men, .34-37

points 1 and 5 go together as the king declares the Most High God rules THese bookend the truth.

points 2-4 show how he comes to that conclusion, by revelation of God through the dream, by application of this truth to the kings, by the experience of this truth in the life of the king.

the king is restored and once again declares the truth he has come to know and understand.

I. The Declaration of God’s rule, v.1-3

This is a fascinating statement from this king. It is the fronting or introduction to this chapter which declares this truth that God rules in the kingdom of men. In this intro. the king addresses his entire kingdom.

A. His audience,

He wants every one in his kingdom, those under his rule to know that God rules. Now this is amazing, a pagan king, whose life has been marked by years of autonomous rule, complete sovereignty over his kingdom. He had absolute authority over everyone under his rule. Here is this absolute king who wants everyone under him to know that it is God who rules. Not himself. But not just those under his rule, but all other nations as well. He is making a very absolute, clear statement about the Most High God. He is not speaking of any of his gods, not Bel/Baal, or Marduk or any other of the gods of the babylonian pantheon. He is speaking explicitly, and exclusively of the God of Daniel, of YHWH, whom he calls the MOST HIGH GOD.

B. his greeting,

Peace be multiplied to you. His message or the result of his message to them of this truth is that it results in peace toward those who heed it. Lit. ‘let peace grow great’ This is a rest, an inner peace that calms all the turmoil in the soul. Understanding this truth and submitting yourself to that truth leads to a peace that passes all understanding. It transcends the temporal peace when things all go according to your plan. But it permeates the soul even when life shocks you, or jolts you awake. The peace he speaks of comes from understanding and believing this truth.

C. the message

The Holy Bible: King James Version Chapter 4

Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 2 I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. 3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof. 8 But at the last 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: and before him I told the dream, saying, 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. 10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: 12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew 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 fowls from his branches: 15 Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even 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: 16 Let his heart be changed from man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. 17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. 18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My YHWHlord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21 Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22 It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even 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 of the field, till seven times pass over him; 24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my YHWHlord the king: 25 That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. 27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31 While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.

34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my YHWHlords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

This blows me away. This doesn’t happen in our world. If it did the media would have a field day mocking, screaming, running to their safe rooms and crying foul. They would be calling for censorship. Here is a king, a complete sovereign ruler declaring for all in his kingdom and the nations abroad that The Most High rules in the kingdom of men.

Could you imagine what would happen if President Trump made this declaration? You already know what has happened to VP Pence and his own statement of faith as a Christian.

But this is King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony. This is what he declares. This is what he avows is the truth and he calls on his people to believe it and accept it and acknowledge it.

His premise: It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me

He has

It seemed good to him-that is he concluded that it was the right thing to do to declare this truth to his people once he realized it. That is true of any true believer. There should be a desire to share the truth with others.

Many people use that phrase made famous by Paul, “speak the truth in love” as a mantra to justify their lack of tact and compassion in speaking the truth. “I always speak the truth and I don’t care who hears it.” But that is not what Paul means there. Right before that he is speaking of those who are teaching false doctrines and he points out that those who are true believers and teachers speak the truth. In teaching the truth they are acting in love towards their hearers.

Well, here the king, having been taught that God rules in the kingdom of men has the natural desire to share with those under his care.

Basically, what he is doing is giving us his testimony on how he came to believe this truth.

The signs and wonders have to do with those things he has been witness too in the course of his experience with Daniel over the course of thirty years or so. First he had these teen exiles who wouldn’t eat his food and they fared better than those that did eat his food. Then when his own wise men could not tell him his dream and interpretation he witnessed Daniel being able to do so. Then some 20 years earlier those three Jewish men who refused to bow to his image and survived unscathed the furnace of fire, and not this dream and its outcome. He has come to conclude that the truth is The Most High God does rule in the kingdom of men. So that is his premise.

We also see that in his mind God has done this for him. “God has done for me.” He sees this as an act of free grace on God’s part toward him. God has done good toward him. He didn’t deserve it. He wasn’t a good guy. He was very cruel as a king. He was basically ruthless. If what happened recently with Iran shooting down a 100 million dollar drone had happened on his watch he wouldn’t have done what President Trump did and not retaliate because he didn’t want to kill 150 people as his generals estimated. He would have thought nothing of that and more.

Remember this is the king who was willing to execute his entire advisory staff because they couldn’t reveal his dream. He heated a furnace 7x hotter to kill three Jews who wouldn’t bow to his image. Jeremiah did say that he roasted two Jews, Zedekiah and Ahab in furnace of fire, . And don’t forget that when he captured King Zedekiah he had his sons executed before his eyes, just before he put out his eyes so that the last thing he saw in this life was the execution of his sons.

This is the king who states that God has shown him signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for him. What a marvelous picture of the grace of God.

signs- used 3x always wrought by God and is always used with the word wonders, v.3, 6:28

wonders- same as above, miracles

This refers to what has already been recorded in Daniel, the dream regarding the image, the fiery furnace experience, and then the dream included in this chapter with its subsequent experience.

Most of us don’t get to see even one great event like this in our lifetime, but he experienced three

Notice also that these signs and wonders were directed at him, ie. these were directed toward him, for him or for his benefit, that he might know who really reigns in life.

The Most High God is the subject of the verb. He is the one who did these signs and wonders in order to teach king Nebuchadnezzar. THese were for his benefit is the way I think he thought of it.

He is declaring for his entire kingdom the grace and mercy of God toward him who rarely showed mercy to those who wronged him.

So this is his premise for the entire chapter: God has done signs and wonders for him and he wants to make them known to his people.

Now don’t you have signs and wonders God has done for you and aren’t you eager to make them known to others. Oh, that God would restore that zeal, that fervor to us, that eagerness to declare God’s work in our lives to those around us.

Now we turn to his doxology and theology.

Wiersbe points out that doxology and theology always go together. Good theology results in doxology.

2. Doxology

How great are his signs

how mighty are his wonders

wonders- same as above, miracles

This refers to what has already been recorded in Daniel, the dream regarding the image, the fiery furnace experience, and then the dream included in this chapter with its subsequent experience.

Most of us don’t get to see even one great event like this in our lifetime, but he experienced three

Notice also that these signs and wonders were directed at him, ie. these were directed toward him, for him or for his benefit, that he might know who really reigns in life.

The Most High God is the subject of the verb. He is the one who did these signs and wonders in order to teach king Nebuchadnezzar. THese were for his benefit is the way I think he thought of it.

v.3

these describe the Most High God as the king understands him.

lit. His signs

how great! (they are chief, there are none better or higher in importance, rank)

His wonders

how mighty! (strong, none as powerful, or effective, or demonstrative of His power)

His kingdom

kingdom forever

His dominion

from generation to generation

This is a statement of praise to God as He acknowledges that God rules. And he exalts God because he has come to a settled conclusion about God.

3. Theology

God is the one who reigns eternal and is all powerful, not the king. God is the true king.

Unlike his kingdom God’s kingdom is eternal. His will end. He has already been told that in the first dream.

He is not the one who has dominion, God does. God is the one who is all powerful.

He now owns that there is a God that governs the world and has a universal, incontestable, absolute dominion in and over all the affairs of the children of men. And it is the glory of this kingdom that it is everlasting. Other reigns are confined to one generation, and other dynasties to a few generations, but God’s dominion is from generation to generation1

1 Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1437). Peabody: Hendrickson.

King Nebuchadnezzar is in a settled state of mind over this matter. He has no other inclination or thinking about God. It is his rock bottom opinion due to his personal experience that there is no other God than this one. He is the one who rules.

So his right theology results in doxology. What he knows about God now results in his praise of God to those in his kingdom.

He wants all to know this God.

That is his introduction to this chapter, the rest of which describes how he arrived at this conclusion.

Conclusion:

That is the same thought that we all have to come to. It is the truth that Satan questioned with Eve, and challenges with each one of us. Is God God or is there another?

We see such signs and wonders in the life of Jesus proving who He is.

Not only that but you have the Scriptures themselves such as this one to believe and to conclude as he did:

I conclude today with the statement in v.37

God always does what is right. And He rules.

Are you willing to submit to that rule: when your parents make decisions you might not like, when your boss, or others in authority over you do things that you don’t agree with; when your daily affairs (from the weather, to your driving, to your plans, etc. don’t work out as you hoped)?