Daniel 4.26-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That The Taproot Left In The Ground Symbolizes His Kingdom Will Be Restored To Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 4, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:26-Daniel Tells Nebuchadnezzar That The Taproot Left In The Ground Symbolizes His Kingdom Will Be Restored To Him
Lesson # 129
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:23.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:26, which records Daniel telling Nebuchadnezzar that the taproot left in the ground symbolizes his kingdom will be restored to him.
Daniel 4:26 ‘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.’ (NASB95)
“And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree” is an adversative clause meaning that it stands in contrast to previous statement recorded in Daniel 4:25.
Therefore, the contrast is between Nebuchadnezzar being deposed from power for seven years and being restored to power after repenting.
“In that” is the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which means “in view of the fact that” since the word is a marker of cause meaning that it is introducing a statement which presents the third reason why the tree which appeared in a vision to Nebuchadnezzar symbolized or represented him and his kingdom.
The word introduces a statement which records Daniel repeating back to Nebuchadnezzar the second part of the vision, which was communicated by the king to Daniel in Daniel 4:15 which records the Holy Watcher ordering the taproot of the enormous tree to be left in the ground.
Daniel is telling the king that “in view of the fact that” he received this part of the vision recorded in Daniel 4:16, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom will be restored to him when he acknowledges that God is sovereign over him.
Therefore, the vision represented the king for this reason as well.
“It was commanded” is the third person plural peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active perfect form of the verb ʾǎmǎr (אֲמַר) (am-ar´), which means “to decree” since Daniel is repeating back to Nebuchadnezzar the Holy Watchman’s decree to leave the taproot of the enormous tree in his vision in the ground, which is recorded in Daniel 4:15.
In Daniel 4:17 this Holy Watchman who is the preincarnate Christ says that this order is by the decree of the Holy Watchmen, which is a reference to the Trinity.
In Daniel 4:26, we have the third person masculine plural form of the verb ʾǎmǎr and not the third person masculine singular form, which indicates that the verb is a reference to the decree of the Trinity who are described in Daniel 4:17 as “Watchmen” and “Holy Ones.”
Therefore, this verb denotes the Trinity “decreed” that this taproot of the tree be left.
This decree was then announced by the preincarnate Christ who is called the “Watchman” and the “Holy One” in Daniel 4:13.
“The stump” is the masculine singular construct form of the noun ʿiq∙qǎr (עִקַּר) (ik-kar´), which means “taproot” or “stump” of the enormous tree referring to the primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small lateral roots.
“Your kingdom will be assured to you” is composed of the feminine singular construct form of the noun mǎl∙ḵûṯ (מַלְכוּת) (mal-kooth), “kingdom” which is modified by the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “your” which is followed by the preposition lĕ (לְ) (leh), “to” and its object is the second person masculine singular pronominal suffix -ḵ (־ךְ), “you” and then we have the feminine singular adjective qǎy∙yām (קַיָּם) (kah-yawm´), “will be assured”
The noun mǎl∙ḵûṯ means “kingdom” and denotes the sphere of Nebuchadnezzar’s authority or control over various nations, ethnicities and language groups.
It denotes the sphere of Nebuchadnezzar’s authority or control.
The word is used to designate the territorial sphere of Nebuchadnezzar, i.e. his kingdom and refers to the political boundaries of authority and control, which were determined by the extent to which he exercised his authority.
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom consisted of the nations, cities, villages and farmland he controlled and was given to him by God according to Daniel 2:37-38 and Jeremiah 27.
The Holy Spirit through the prophet Jeremiah warned the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon that the Father had given Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty over the entire earth (Jeremiah 27:6-7, 14).
The vision in Daniel chapter two and the one here in chapter four emphasize that there is no inhabitant on the face of the earth whether a human being or animal that God has not given into the power of Nebuchadnezzar.
This does not imply that he actually ruled every inch of the globe but rather that God had granted him dominion in whatever direction his ambition led him, which history tells us included Egypt, Nineveh, Arabia, Syria, Tyre, and its Phoenician colonies (Jeremiah 27:5–8).
The adjective qǎy∙yām means “restored” and refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom “restored” to him after he acknowledges that God is sovereign over him.
“After you recognize that it is Heaven that rules” is composed of the preposition min (מִן) (min) and its object is the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), which is followed by the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb yeḏǎʿ (יְדַע) (yed-ah´), “you recognize” and then we have the particle dî (דִּי) (dee), “that” and then we have the masculine plural form of the noun šǎl∙lîṭ (שַׁלִּיט) (shal-leet´), “rules” which is followed by the masculine plural dual noun šemǎ∙yin (שְׁמַיִן) (shaw-mah´-yin), “Heaven.”
The preposition min is employed with the particle dî and together they mean “when” since they are employed together as a temporal marker and are also answering the question as to when Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom will be restored to him.
The verb yeḏǎʿ means “to acknowledge” and is used with Nebuchadnezzar as its subject and its object is the sovereign authority of the Most High.
This indicates that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would be restored to him when he “acknowledged” that the Most High is sovereign over him and implies the reluctance of Nebuchadnezzar to concede this.
The noun šemǎ∙yin is in the plural and means “the heavens” referring to the Most High, i.e. God since the word is a figure of speech here called metonymy where the place from which God rules is put for Him ruling.
The noun šǎl∙lîṭ means “rule” and refers to God’s sovereign governmental authority over the kingdoms of men including Nebuchadnezzar’s Neo-Babylonian kingdom in the sixth century B.C.
Daniel 4:26 ‘However, in view of the fact that they decreed to leave intact the tree’s taproot, which produces its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge the Heavens rule.’ (My translation)
Daniel is making clear to Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom will be restored to him only when he acknowledges that God is sovereign over him, which would constitute “repentance” which involves not only a change of attitude but of conduct.
Daniel is telling Nebuchadnezzar here in Daniel 4:26 that his attitude and conduct towards God’s sovereign authority over him must do a 180 degree turn before his kingdom will be restored to him.
The Greek word in the New Testament for repentance is the noun metanoia, which means “a change of mind” and its cognate verb is metanoeo, which “to change your mind, to change your attitude toward something.”
Metanoeo is a compound verb, which means that it is composed of two words.
The first is meta meaning “change,” and the second is noeo, “mind,” therefore, the correct meaning of repentance is “to change one’s mind,” or “to change your attitude toward something.”
Both words have absolutely nothing to do with feeling sorry for your sins and both have nothing to do with your emotions.
There is another word in the Greek New Testament which has an emotional connotation and that is the verb metamelomai which means “to feel sorry, to regret, to feel sorrow.”
The distinction between the two verbs metanoeo and metamelomai is obvious in the Greek New Testament.
Metamelomai expresses a merely emotional change while metanoeo expresses a change of choice.
Metamelomai signifies nothing but regret resulting in feeling sorry while metanoeo deals with a change of mental attitude.
Metanoeo concerns your volition and not your emotions.
Repentance in relation to the non-Christian with respect to receiving eternal salvation has nothing to do with a person’s sins but rather his attitude toward Jesus Christ.
The issue in repentance is simply, “Will you change your mind about Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and Savior?”
Salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone and nothing more and nothing less (John 3:16-17, 36; Acts 16:31).
In relation to the Christian, repentance involves confession of sin (1 John 1:9) followed by obedience to the Word of God (1 John 2:3-6).
Daniel 4:29 reveals that the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was not executed until a year after Daniel gave the king this interpretation of the vision.
So for an entire year, God in His grace gave Nebuchadnezzar the opportunity to repent or change his attitude and conduct towards His sovereign authority over the king.
Therefore, we can see that this prophecy that was given to Nebuchadnezzar was “conditional” meaning that if at any time during the one year prior to the execution of the punishment, the king had repented, God would have never punished him.