Daniel 4.27-Daniel Gives Nebuchadnezzar Advice In Light Of God's Decree To Depose Him From Power For Seven Years
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday October 9, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:27-Daniel Gives Nebuchadnezzar Advice In Light Of God’s Decree To Depose Him From Power For Seven Years
Lesson # 130
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:27.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:27, which records Daniel giving Nebuchadnezzar advice in light of God’s decree to depose him from power for seven years.
Daniel 4:27 ‘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.’ (NASB95)
“Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you” is the direct result of Daniel 4:23-26, which records Daniel telling the king that he will be deposed from power for seven years and suffer the mental disorder boanthropy until he acknowledges that God is sovereign over him.
“Advice” is of the masculine singular construct form of the noun melǎḵ (מְלַךְ) (mel-ak´), which means “advice, counsel, guidance” indicating that Daniel is asking Nebuchadnezzar if he could give him advice in light of the interpretation of the vision.
“May be pleasing” is of the third person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperfect form of the verb šep̄ǎr (שְׁפַר) (shef-ar´), which means “to be acceptable” in the sense Nebuchadnezzar would receive and endure Daniel’s advice without protest and angry reaction and agree to undertake the course of action he proposes for the king.
“Break away now from your sins by doing righteousness” is an epexegetical clause meaning that it defines specifically the content of Daniel’s advice.
“Break away” is of the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperative form of the verb perǎq (פְּרַק) (per-ak´), which means “to substitute” and its object is Nebuchadnezzar’s sins with regards to his conduct towards his subjects.
Daniel is suggesting that the king “substitute” his sins with righteousness or in other words, this verb denotes that in place of sinning against your subjects by not giving them justice, practice righteousness by giving his subjects justice.
This verb does not mean “to break away” from one’s sins or “renounce” one’s sins but rather to “substitute” one’s sins with righteousness, which is indicated by the fact that the prepositional phrase which follows, means “with righteousness,” signifying Daniel wants the king to practice righteousness in place of practicing sin.
This verb thus signifies that Daniel is calling the king to a change of lifestyle in the sense that he wants the king to forsake his pre-conversion, pagan lifestyle with a godly lifestyle, which Daniel and his three friends have modeled for him.
The imperative mood of the verb is an imperative of request indicating that Daniel is requesting that Nebuchadnezzar follow his advice by substituting his sins against his people in his kingdom by practicing righteous instead.
“Sins” is the masculine plural construct form of the noun ḥǎṭāy (חֲטָי) (khat-ee´), which means “sins” in the sense of missing the mark or not living up to God’s perfect moral and ethical standards.
“By doing righteousness” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “by” and its object is the feminine singular noun ṣiḏ∙qā(h) (צִדְקָה) (tsid-kaw´), “righteousness” which is followed by the second person masculine singular peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active imperative form of the verb perǎq (פְּרַק) (per-ak´), “break away from.”
The noun ṣiḏ∙qā(h) means “righteousness” referring to conduct which conforms to God’s perfect moral and ethical standards and is used with regards to Nebuchadnezzar’s subjects and denotes that Daniel is requesting that the king practice behavior which conforms to God’s perfect moral and ethical standards.
The noun ṣiḏ∙qā(h) refers to practicing righteousness so as to exemplify God’s righteousness, which involves Nebuchadnezzar fulfilling his obligation to his fellow human to love them as himself.
This noun is the object of the preposition bĕ, which means “with” since it functions as a marker of means indicating that practicing righteousness to those who are under his authority was to be the means or instrument by which Nebuchadnezzar was to substitute his sins.
“And from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” is also an epexegetical clause meaning that it is introducing another statement which describes in a different manner the previous statement to Nebuchadnezzar that he substitute his sins with righteousness.
“Iniquities” is of the feminine plural construct form of the noun ʿǎwā∙yā(h) (עֲוָיָה) (iv-yaw´), which means “iniquities” in the sense of practicing gross injustice.
“By showing mercy to the poor” is composed of the preposition bĕ (בְּ) (beh), “by” and its object is the peʿal (Hebrew: qal) active infinitive construct form of the verb ḥǎnǎn (חֲנַן) (khan-an´), “showing mercy to” and its direct object is the masculine plural adjective ʿǎnē(h) (עֲנֵה) (an-aw´), “poor.”
The verb ḥǎnǎn means “to demonstrate mercy, to show mercy” to another in the sense of being kind and compassionate towards others.
Thus, Daniel is requesting that Nebuchadnezzar substitute practicing iniquity, i.e. practicing injustice with those under his authority by showing kindness and compassion instead.
The infinitive construct of this verb is the object of the preposition bĕ, which is a marker of means meaning that it is expressing the means by which Nebuchadnezzar must substitute iniquities.
He is to do so “by” showing mercy to the poor.
The adjective ʿǎnē(h) is in the plural and means “poor” referring to a class of people with little or no resources or material possessions and are of low status in society.
Thus, Daniel is requesting that Nebuchadnezzar demonstrate his repentance to God by substituting practicing injustice towards the poor by demonstrating mercy towards them.
“In case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity” denotes the certainty of Nebuchadnezzar’s prosperity being prolonged as the result of heeding Daniel’s advice.
“In case” is the conjunction hēn (הֵן) (hane), which is a marker to show a mode of certainty in the sense that “if” (such and such happens), then (such and such will happen).
“Prosperity” is the feminine singular construct form of the noun šelē∙wā(h) (שְׁלֵוָה) (shel-ay-vaw´), which pertains to thriving with emphasis on contentment and adequacy of life, which implies a life of luxury, riches and good health and other such ideas.
The word speaks of a life marked by success and economic well-being and enjoying vigorous and healthy growth.
Thus, Nebuchadnezzar will continue to possess luxury, riches, good health, a world-wide kingdom and victory over his enemies in war if he heeds Daniel’s advice to repent.
“Prolonging” is the feminine singular noun ʾǎr∙ḵā(h) (אַרְכָה) (ar-kaw´), which means “continue” in the sense of a prolongation of a period of time in which something takes place and denotes Nebuchadnezzar’s prosperity “continuing” as a result of the king obeying Daniel’s advice to repent.
Daniel 4:27 ‘Therefore, O king let my advice be acceptable to you: Please substitute your sins with righteousness, specifically your iniquities by demonstrating mercy to the poor. Then, your prosperity will be prolonged.’ (My translation)
Daniel’s advice makes clear that Nebuchadnezzar was a believer not an unbeliever since he would first tell the king to have faith in the Lord before he would talk to him about his conduct since faith in the Lord results in receiving the capacity to please God.
The unbeliever can only please God by exercising faith in the Lord as the Lord taught the unbelieving Jews in His day as recorded in John 6:29-30.
Daniel would thus never tell Nebuchadnezzar if he was an unbeliever to substitute practicing sin and instead practice righteousness since the unbeliever has no capacity to do so.
The unbeliever is spiritually dead in his sins and transgressions (Ephesians 2:1-3), thus they have no capacity to please God.
The Scriptures teach that when speaking to an unbeliever, one must evangelize them so as to lead them to faith in the Lord (Acts 16:31; John 3:16-18), which results in the imputation of God’s righteousness which results in justification.
Before the unbeliever can live a righteous life pleasing to God, he must first receive God’s righteousness through faith in the Lord.
Therefore, the unbeliever has no capacity to live according to God’s righteousness since he must receive God’s righteousness first (Romans 3-4).
So the first thing Daniel would have said to the king would be to have faith in the Lord and then he would tell the king how the Lord wants him to live.
However, we have Daniel talking to the king about his conduct, which indicates that the king has already expressed faith in the Lord.
This took place after the Lord delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from his power as recorded in Daniel 3:28, which records the king praises the God of these three.
Nowhere in Scripture is there an unbeliever who praises the God of Israel since only believers are recorded as doing so.
Thus, the fact that the king was deposed from power for seven years was divine discipline of a believer rather than the judgment of an unbeliever.
Daniel’s advice also indicates that his interpretation of the vision the king received from God was “conditional” meaning that if at any time during the one year prior to the execution of the punishment, Nebuchadnezzar obeyed Daniel’s advice God would have never punished him.