Exiled: Daniel 4

Scripture Reading:

Last Time

Nebuchadnezzar Built a Giant Golden Statue to Honor Himself and the Nation of Babylon

He Gathered All of His High-Ranking Officials Across His Empire and Commanded Them to Worship the Image

In Doing this, He was Seeking to Force Unification Across the Empire

Once Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego Were Discovered Not Worshiping Babylon’s Image, They Were Given a 2nd Chance by Nebuchadnezzar

They Refused Again, Claiming to Only Worship Their God

They Were Thrown into the Furnace of Fire but God Entered the Fire with Them and Protected Them

Then Nebuchadnezzar Marveled at Their God and Promised to Provide for Them Forever

Introduction

So Far We Have Become Pretty Well-Acquainted with King Nebuchadnezzar and His Extremely Large Ego

We are Once Again Going to See His Pride on Full Display in this Chapter

But this Time, God is Going to Humble Nebuchadnezzar Worse than He Ever had Before

C.S. Lewis Believed Pride to the Worst of All Sins and He had Several Great Things to Say about Pride

“There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. […] There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves.[…]The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.”

“As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.”

We will See this Truth Played Out in this Chapter

Daniel 4

To Set the Scene, Chapter 4 is a Letter Written by Nebuchadnezzar to All People Across His Entire Empire

He is Telling His Story of How the Most High God Humbled Him

Daniel 4:1–3 (NASB)

Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound!

“It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.

“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.”

King Nebuchadnezzar Writes a Letter Praising the One True God

He is About to Tell the Entire Empire about What God Did to Humble Him

He was Living it Up in His Palace When He Started Having a Scary Dream

He Brought in All the Wise Men to Interpret it for Him, but No One was Able

Daniel 4:8–9 (NASB)

“But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying,

‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.’”

Here’s the Dream:

There was a Tree on Earth that was Giant and Strong

It was Visible from Anywhere on Earth

It was Beautiful, Fruitful, Full of Birds, and Provided Food for All Living Creatures

Then an Angel Descended from Heaven

Daniel 4:14–17 (NASB)

‘He shouted out and spoke as follows: “Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.

Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, But with a band of iron and bronze around it In the new grass of the field; And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

Let his mind be changed from that of a man And let a beast’s mind be given to him, And let seven periods of time pass over him.

This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men.”

So this Angel Wants the Tree Cut Down, but Not Completely Destroyed

But then the Angel Starts Calling the Tree a “Him”

This Man Represented by the Tree Would be Given the Mind of an Animal for 7 Periods of Time

And this was All for a Purpose:

“In order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

God is in Control of the Nations

So that was the Dream

Daniel 4:19 (NASB)

“Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!’”

Daniel was Disturbed at the Dream, Wishing it was about His Enemies

But it was about the King

Nebuchadnezzar is the Tree that was Huge, Strong, and Could be Seen All Over the World

And All that the Angels Causes to Happen to the Tree Represents What will Happen to the King

Daniel Interprets the Dream for the King in Daniel 4:25-27

Daniel 4:25–27 (NASB)

that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.

‘And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.

‘Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

God is Gong to Cause Nebuchadnezzar to Go Crazy Until He Recognizes that God/Heaven Rules, Not Him

Once He Recognized this Fact, He Would be Returned to His Throne

Daniel then Tells the King to Repent of His Sins and to Show Mercy to the Poor

Daniel Knew if the King Would Do this, He Could be Spared from this Fate

But 1 Year Later He was on His Roof and…

Daniel 4:30 (NASB)

“The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’

As He was Speaking, God Spoke from Heaven, Telling Him that All that He’s Dreamed was Going to Happen to Him

He Went Out to Live in the Wilderness like an Animal Until His Hair Looked like Eagles’ Feathers and His Nails like Birds’ Claws

At the End of the 7 Periods of Time (7 is a Number Representing Completeness), He Looked Toward Heaven and His Right Mind Returned to Him

He Began Praising and Honoring the God Who Lives Forever

He was Retuned to His Throne and was Given Surpassing Greatness

Daniel 4:37 NASB95

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

This is One of the Greatest Verses in the OT in My Opinion

You See the Repentance of a Man that You’d Never Expect to Change His Ways

You See a Man, Whose Only Ever Praised Himself, Praise the One True God

You See One of the Most Egotistical Men to Ever Live Confess His Pride and Become a Humble Man

All of Those Things are so Beautiful

So this is the Letter that Nebuchadnezzar Sent All Over the Known World, Glorifying God Almighty

Application

The Only Way to Get Rid of Pride is by Killing Yourself

In His Book The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Wrote, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

Jesus Said it this Way

Luke 9:23 (NASB)

And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Paul Put it this Way

Galatians 2:20 (NASB)

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me…”

Our Egos’ Cause All of Us to Struggle with Pride in Form

God Doesn’t Like it When People Think, Speak, and Act in Prideful Ways

Like with Nebuchadnezzar, God Humiliates Those Who Choose to Have a Pride Problem

It is Better to Humble Ourselves Instead of Waiting for God to Humiliate Us

How Do You Humble Yourself?

You Must Die

Die to a Self-Serving, Self-Glorifying Life and Live a Life Focused on Serving and Glorifying God and Others Over Yourself

That isn’t Easy, but it is Rewarding

And it’s Exactly Who Jesus was and What He Wants from Us

God Is In Charge

To Not Have this as an Application Would be to Miss the Entire Point of the King’s Dream

Nebuchadnezzar Needed to Know that God is Above Him

And Everything He had was Given to Him by God

Today We can be Just as Guilty as Nebuchadnezzar

Sometimes We can Be as Guilty as Him by Not Realizing Where Our Blessings Come from

But We Also Can be Guilty of Thinking that God Has Nothing to Do with Leaders Being in Power Today

Daniel Directly Refutes that

When More Righteous Leaders are in Power, We Give God the Glory for Causing that to Happen

We Believe that God has Providentially Put Them in Power for His Glory

But When Wicked Leaders are in Power, We Act Like God Must Have Made a Mistake…

As if God Hasn’t Placed Wicked Leaders in Power for the Specific Purpose of Glorifying His Name on Multiple Occasions Before

Nebuchadnezzar was a Prideful and Wicked King, but We Know God Specifically Placed Him in Power for His Purposes

There’s No Reason to Believe that God Isn’t Acting in the Same Ways Today

Regardless of the National Leaders in the World, God is in Control

And He Will Place Leaders Where They are in His Own Perfect Timing for His Glory and for the Betterment of His People

God Is Patient

If You’re Like Me, You’ve Been Wondering Why God has Allowed this Arrogant Wicked Man to Remain King in Babylon for so Long

He Would Reign in Babylon for 43 Years

You’d Think that God Would Eventually Have Enough of this Blasphemous Heathen and Give Him a Nice Painful and Humiliating Death

God had Done this with Other Wicked Leaders Before Him and After Him

Why Not Him?

Because God is Patient

He Knows Those Who Have a Heart to Repent and Turn to Him

He Knew that the King Would Eventually Repent Under the Right Circumstances

And So He Waited Patiently for the Perfect Time to Humble Him

Peter Tells Us this is How God Works in 2 Peter 3:9

2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

God is Not Slow, Lazy, or Forgetful When He Doesn’t Punish the Wicked

He is Patient, Giving Us Time and Opportunity to Repent and be Rescued by His Saving Grace