Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

King Nebuchadnezzar has been dreaming again.

In reality God is giving him visions in his head at night.

As we began chapter 4 of the book of Daniel last week we see the King recounting an event that happened to him by writing a letter to his kingdom.

He wanted to “show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.”

Daniel 4:3 “How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation.”

As I mentioned last week, this sound like a completely different person from the one we have been reading about in chapter 2 and chapter 3.

The King has had a dream and like the dream in chapter 2, it freaks him out.

He calls in all the wise men of Babylon to tell him the meaning of the dream, but they cannot.

Then Daniel comes in.

He is the chief of all the magicians.

Last week I ended just as the King was about to tell the dream.

Let us continue onto the story already in progress.

The Tree

Unlike with the first dream, as I mentioned last week, Nebuchadnezzar is freely giving the dream out.

He has told it to the wise men of Babylon and they are stumped (pun intended) and then Daniel came in.

He tells the dream to Daniel.

Tree in the midst of the earth.

Height is great

It continued to grow and became mighty/strong

Top of it reached into the heavens

It could be seen from ends of the earth

Leaves are loving

Fruit Abundant

Gave food to all

Animals / Beasts find shade and the birds are able to rest it

All flesh is fed by it (all the world fed by it)

Who has seen a really tall tree?

Maybe a redwood or something else.

It just towers above you.

Maybe you have seen a concrete and steel tree (skyscraper) different kind of feeling, but still the same kind of awe.

Trees have an important role in Scripture.

The Watchers

A Watcher, a Holy One.

We often don’t talk much about the unseen realm, but the spiritual realm is just as real if not more real than the seats we are in today.

We often picture that Heaven just has God, angels, and the souls of humans, but Heaven has many more creations that might not be classified as “angels” we looked at some of the different kinds of Angels in December, but there are other creatures as we look in Daniel and also in Revelation.

The Unseen Realm

The throne room of God

The King

The Answer is Troubling

Conclusion

Today, we looked at the King, the Tree, and the Watchers.

I talked about how trees have an important role in Scripture and we looked at Genesis and Revelation, but another tree had an important role.

We are approaching the Passion week.

Next Sunday is Palm Sunday and the Following Sunday Resurrection Sunday, but on Good Friday we remember when Jesus was put on a tree and He was lifted up on that tree so that He could give life to all.

Not just physical nourishment and physical life, but eternal life!