Daniel 4.2-Nebuchadnezzar Is Pleased To Tell Those In His Kingdom About The Signs And Wonders The Most High Had Done For Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday August 16, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:2-Nebuchadnezzar Is Pleased To Tell Those In His Kingdom About The Signs And Wonders The Most High Had Done For Him
Lesson # 108
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:1.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:2, which records Nebuchadnezzar telling the people in his kingdom that it pleased him to tell them about the miraculous, wondrous signs which the Most High God had performed for him.
Daniel 4:1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! 2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.” (NASB95)
“It has seem good to me” emphasizes the joyful attitude of the king and expresses his emotion with regards to what God done for him through these signs and wonders with the implication that what God had done for him was pleasing and good.
This attitude was produced in the king by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and was an emotion that was a result of experiencing coming into contact with the most high God through these signs and wonders.
“Signs” is the masculine plural noun ʾāṯ (אָת) (awth), which means “miraculous signs” and refers to the miraculous events recorded in Daniel chapter four.
These miracles were intended to get the attention of Nebuchadnezzar and to confirm and demonstrate to him the God of Israel’s authority over the king and that the king was under the God of Israel’s authority.
These miracles were “confirmation” of this authority and served as “proof” that the God of Israel was sovereign over the earth and Nebuchadnezzar himself.
“Wonders” is the masculine plural noun temǎh (תְּמַהּ) (tem-ah´), which refers to the miraculous events contrary to the usual course of nature but from the perspective that it describes the supernatural character and nature of these miracles.
It speaks of a miracle from the perspective that it is designed by God to fill the witnesses and beneficiaries of the miracles with “wonder” in the sense of being filled with admiration for God and amazement and awe of Him.
Here the word speaks of the fact that the miracles that God performed on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in chapter four filled him with admiration for God and amazement and awe of Him.
The miracle is designed to reach into the heart of the witnesses to the miracle and beneficiary of the miracle and shake them up so that it overwhelms them with an emotion that is a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear and love for Him.
Here the miracles performed by God on behalf of the king overwhelmed him with an emotion that was a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence, fear and love for Him.
The conjunction wa is used to join the nouns ʾāṯ and temǎh in order to communicate one idea, which is called “hendiadys” which emphasizes the supernatural nature of the events Nebuchadnezzar experienced which are recorded in Daniel chapter four.
“The Most High God” is composed of the masculine singular form of the noun ʾělāh (אֱלָהּ) (el-aw´), “the God” which is followed by the masculine singular adjective ʿil∙lāy (עִלָּי) (il-lah´ee), “Most High.”
The noun ʾělāh appears in the singular form and means “God” in a generic sense without reference to the deity’s identity.
However, Nebuchadnezzar is in fact referring to the God of Israel and therefore the God who was worshipped by Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
This noun is modified by the adjective ʿil∙lāy, which means “Most High” which denotes the one true God with the very highest status and power.
It means that as a result of the miraculously events that God performed for the benefit of Nebuchadnezzar, the king is acknowledging that the God of Israel is superior to the gods he and other pagans worship.
With this word, the king is saying there is only one true God in the earth, the God of Israel.
“Has done for me” is composed of the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ʿǎḇǎḏ (עֲבַד) (ab-ad´), “has done” and then we have the preposition ʿim (עִם) (eem), “for” and its object is the first person singular pronominal suffix –î (־י) (ee), “me.”
The verb ʾǎḇǎḏ means “to perform, to do” and denotes that God “performed” miraculous, wondrous signs for Nebuchadnezzar.
The first person singular pronominal suffix –î means “me” referring of course to Nebuchadnezzar and it is the object of the preposition ʿim, which is a marker of advantage meaning that the miraculous, wondrous signs the Most High God performed for Nebuchadnezzar were “for the benefit of” the king.
Daniel 4:2 “It is pleasing to me to make known the miraculous signs, yes, and wondrous signs at that, which the Most High God performed on my behalf.” (My translation)
In Daniel 4:2, we have Nebuchadnezzar making known to the recipients of this decree his reason for issuing it, namely to tell them about the miraculous, wondrous signs that the Most High God performed on his behalf.
He is overjoyed at personally encountering the Most High God and seeks to share his experiences with the Most High God and his joy with those in his kingdom.
The king has been humbled by the Most High God through discipline, which was administered to the king because the Most High God loves him (Hebrews 12:4-11; Revelation 3:19).
The miraculous, wondrous signs that the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego performed on behalf of Nebuchadnezzar refer to the events recorded in Daniel chapter four and not chapter three.
This is indicated by the fact that the king is saying here in verse 2 that he wants to make the people of his kingdom aware of these miraculous wondrous signs by issuing this decree to them and the decree does not recount the events recorded in chapter 3.
Nebuchadnezzar had witnessed a manifestation of the power of the God when He delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power.
The laws of nature demanded that all three be burned to death.
However, God had overruled these laws, which He established in order to reveal Himself to Nebuchadnezzar and his counselors.
Now, in chapter 4, we see Nebuchadnezzar having a personal encounter with the God of Israel in the sense that the God of Israel disciplines him for his arrogance.
He encounters miraculous, wondrous signs in the form of a vision of tree, which was given to him by God.
Then, Daniel interprets the vision for him, which told the king he would be punished for his arrogance.
Nebuchadnezzar experiences the miraculous when Daniel’s interpretation is fulfilled.
Then, lastly, the king encounters the miraculous power of the God of Israel when he is restored to power after seven years of living as a wild animal.
Miracles demonstrate God’s greatness and power (Psalm 77:14; cf. Exodus 14:30-31; 34:10; Deuteronomy 3:24; 1 Kings 18:37-39; Job 5:9; Psalm 78:4; Luke 9:42-43).
Miracles can bring God’s judgment (Leviticus 10:1-2; cf. Genesis 19:24-26; Numbers 12:10; 16:31-35; 1 Kings 13:4-5; 2 Kings 1:9-12; 2 Chronicles 26:19-20; Acts 5:5,10; 13:11).
Nebuchadnezzar has acknowledged that the God of Israel is sovereign over the kings of the earth including him and that there is no king outside of the God of Israel’s jurisdiction.
He has learned through experience with God that even though Babylon defeated Israel and took many of her citizens’ captive, the God of Israel was by no means defeated by him but rather he was an instrument in the hand of the God of Israel.
As a result of Nebuchadnezzar witnessing the power of God in his life as recorded in Daniel chapter four, the king’s attitude toward the God of Israel is one of deep respect and awe for Him.
As a result of personally encountering the power of the God of Israel, the king is esteeming the excellence of the person of the God of Israel as manifested through His attribute of omnipotence.
Nebuchadnezzar possesses an overwhelming feeling of reverence and admiration for the God of Israel as a result of the events recorded in Daniel chapter four.
As a result of personally encountering the power of the God of Israel as recorded in Daniel chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar is filled with admiration, amazement and awe for the God of Israel.
The miracles reached right into his heart and shook him up.
They enriched his life and overwhelmed him with an emotion which was a mixture of gratitude, adoration, reverence and fear and love for the God of Israel.
Notice in Nebuchadnezzar’s statement in Daniel 4:2 that he says that the Most High God performed these miraculous, wondrous signs on his behalf, which expresses the fact that the king has a personal experiential knowledge of the God of Israel like Daniel and his three friends.
Like Daniel, and his three friends, Nebuchadnezzar has personally encountered through the miraculous events recorded in chapters two, three and four, the Most High God as He revealed Himself to the king through the miracles.
He was affected by this encounter with the Most High God resulting in the gaining of humility and practical spiritual wisdom.