Daniel 4.32-The Sentence Against Nebuchadnezzar Is Communicated To Him
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 18, 2012
Daniel: Daniel 4:32-The Sentence Against Nebuchadnezzar Is Communicated To Him
Lesson # 135
Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel 4:31.
This evening we will study Daniel 4:32, which records the Lord communicating to Nebuchadnezzar the sentence against him.
Daniel 4:31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you 32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, 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.’” (NASB95)
“And you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field” is epexegetical meaning that it explains in detail to Nebuchadnezzar what the voice from heaven meant when He said that sovereignty had been taken away from him.
“And your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field” presents the result of Nebuchadnezzar being driven away from human society.
We have the figure of “asyndeton” meaning that there is no connective word between the statement to follow that the king will be given grass to eat like cattle and the previous statement that his dwelling place will be among the beasts of the field.
This emphasizes with the reader how profound and terrible the punishment Nebuchadnezzar is receiving from God for his disobedience in that he will even eat grass like cattle and expresses the shock that Nebuchadnezzar would eat grass like cattle.
“You will be given grass to eat like cattle” denotes that God will cause Nebuchadnezzar to enter into the state of being fed the grass of the field like cows or oxen.
“And seven periods of time will pass over you” is emphatic meaning that it is advancing upon and intensifying the previous statement the voice from heaven made to Nebuchadnezzar that he would be fed grass like cattle.
So this statement denotes that the preincarnate Christ who is the Holy Watchman in Daniel 4:13 goes from telling the king that he will be fed grass like cattle to telling him that he would experience this punishment for seven years.
Therefore, the advancement upon the previous statement and intensification is that the king would be fed grass like cattle to telling him that he will suffer this punishment for seven years.
“Until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind” denotes that Nebuchadnezzar would be deposed from power for seven years until he acknowledged that the Most High is sovereign over him and implies the reluctance of Nebuchadnezzar to concede this.
“And bestows it on whomever He wishes” presents the result of the Most High being sovereign over the realm of mankind and is used with reference to the function of the sovereign will of the Most High.
Daniel 4:32 ‘Specifically, you will be driven away from mankind so that your dwelling place will be among the beasts of the field. You will even be fed grass like cattle. Indeed, for your benefit, seven years will pass by until you acknowledge that the Most High is the sovereign authority over mankind’s realm so that He can give it to whomever He desires.’
In Daniel 4:32, we have the voice from heaven specifying to Nebuchadnezzar what He meant when He told the king that sovereignty had been taken away from him.
As we noted in Daniel 4:31, the voice is the Holy Watchman, who we also noted is the preincarnate Christ.
The statement in Daniel 4:32 is nearly identical to Daniel’s statement to the king in Daniel 4:25.
The only difference between the two is that in the latter, Daniel tells the king he will be drenched with the dew from heaven whereas the latter does not mention this to the king.
The statement that the king would be drenched with the dew from heaven is one of the consequences of being driven from human society because of suffering boanthropy.
The important statement that the king needs to hear is that he will suffer from this mental disorder as punishment for not acknowledging God’s sovereignty over him.
Thus, there is no need for the preincarnate Christ to mention this detail.
He only states that which is essential for the king to understand.
Daniel 4:32 contains three statements which constitute the punishment the Trinity is inflicting upon the king and reveals that God will depose Nebuchadnezzar from power for seven years until the king acknowledges God’s sovereign authority over him.
The three statements reveal that God will discipline him by giving him the mental disorder of boanthropy, which is a psychological disorder in which a human being believes himself to be a Bovine or in other words, a cow.
From His attribute of love, God gave Nebuchadnezzar this mental disorder in order to break him from his pagan lifestyle.
There are two categories of divine discipline that are an expression of God’s love: (1) Negative: God expresses His love for His children by disciplining them in the sense that He “punishes” them when they are disobedient to His will. (2) Positive: God expresses His love for His children by disciplining them in the sense of “training” them when they are obedient to His will and in fellowship.
Both categories of divine discipline are designed to keep the believer on track in executing the Father’s will for them to become like Christ.
The Word of God is employed in both positive and negative categories of discipline (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).
The Holy Spirit disciplines the disobedient child of God by rebuking them with the Word of God as it is communicated by the pastor-teacher in the local assembly and the purpose of such rebuke is to conform the believer to the will of his heavenly Father, which results in blessing and true happiness (cf. Jeremiah 32:33).
The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the pastor-teacher who is the delegated authority in the local assembly, to reprove and rebuke the children of God from the pulpit with the Word of God as an expression of His love (2 Timothy 4:1-4).
God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting adversity, trials, and irritations to come into their lives that are beyond their capacity to handle in order to get their attention and to focus upon their number one priority in life as children of God, which is to conformity to the Father’s will.
God disciplines His disobedient children by permitting them to reap the fruits of their bad decisions so that they might learn that conformity to His will is the only way to true joy and happiness and blessing in life (Ezek. 16:43; Gal. 6:7-8).
There are three categories of divine discipline (punishment) for the disobedient child of God: (1) Warning (1 Corinthians 11:30; Rev. 3:20; James 5:9) (2) Intense (1 Corinthians 11:30; Ps. 38:1; 2 Th. 2:11). (3) Dying (1 Corinthians 11:30; Jer. 9:16; 44:12; Phlp. 3:18-19; Re. 3:16; Ps. 118:17-18; 1 Jo. 5:16).
The Lord Jesus Christ disciplines the believer in the sense that He rebukes, punishes and trains the believer because He personally and affectionately loves the believer (Revelation 3:14-19).
Revelation 3:19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. (NASB95)
“Reprove” is the verb elencho, “to reprove, chasten” and “convict” of sin in order to “instruct” the believer and restore him to fellowship.
“Discipline” is the verb paideuo and was commonly used in Greek literature to mean the “upbringing” and “teaching” and “disciplining” of children.
Such “upbringing” consisted of teaching general knowledge and various kinds of training aimed at developing discipline and character.
The Lord reproves us because He is trying to develop His character in us.
Revelation 3:20-22 teaches that the Lord disciplines us not only because He loves us and but also because He wants to reward us.
Just as any good father disciplines his children because he loves them, so God the Father disciplines His children because He loves them.
If God did not train us when we are obedient and punishes us when we are disobedient, then we would be illegitimate children, thus divine discipline in the sense of punishment and training is the mark of a child of God (Hebrews 12:1-13).
Hebrews 12:10 teaches us that ultimately, God disciplines us because He wants us to share in His character and integrity, which is meant by the phrase “share His holiness.”
We are not to get angry or bitter when God disciplines us through the Word, or adversity and underserved suffering but rather we are to listen to what God is trying to say to us and to learn the lesson that He is teaching us so that we might acquire the character of our heavenly Father.
In order to receive discipline without getting bitter and complaining, the believer must recognize and submit to the authority of the Word of God, the delegated authority of the pastor-teacher and the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ who controls history and therefore our circumstances.
Proverbs 3:11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, 12 for whom the LORD loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. (NASB95)
Job 5:17 Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. 18 For He inflicts pain, and gives relief; He wounds, and His hands also heal. (NASB95)
Proverbs 15:32 He who neglects discipline despises himself, but he who listens to reproof acquires understanding. 33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, and before honor comes humility. (NASB95)
This punishment that the Lord is meting out to the king as recorded here in Daniel 4:32 is not only designed to humble the king but to teach him that the Lord is sovereign over him.