Daniel 4:19-37 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Daniel 4:19-37. Let’s go!
Daniel 4:19-27 (NIV)
19 Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!
20 The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,
21 with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air–
22 you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
23 “You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
24 “This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king:
25 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
26 The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
27 Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
On verses 19-27: In Daniel 1 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to understand visions and dreams of all kinds (Daniel 1:17). In Daniel 2 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to know what King Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming, which might be called a prophetic gift or a word of knowledge. Here in Daniel 4, we see Daniel not only being able to understand and interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; even more we see evangelist Daniel calling Nebuchadnezzar to repentance. After interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and identifying Nebuchadnezzar as the once glorious but later cut down tree, Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar to repentance in verse 27: “Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”
What can we learn from this?
1. It goes to show that you can be kind, respectful and gentle and also lead people to repentance and faith in the Lord. Sharing Jesus with others doesn’t require that you be arrogant or pushy. You just need a heart for people and an understanding that people need the Lord to save them.
2. God is sovereign and is writing a greater story. God had allowed Daniel to go from a comfortable life in Judah to being an exile in Babylon for this very purpose: to speak into King Nebuchadnezzar’s life. God had a greater plan for Daniel’s life than Daniel could fathom.
3. Like Daniel, when we are open and humble before God, He can use us to make a positive difference in so many different ways.
Daniel 4:28-33 (NIV)
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
29 Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,
30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
31 The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.
32 You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33 Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
On verses 28-33: If you’re wondering if there is any evidence outside of the Bible for the events of verse 33 really happening, the New American Commentary makes an interesting point: it is unlikely that historians would have allowed such a humiliating experience for King Nebuchadnezzar to remain in official records, especially in the case of ancient monarchs where the royal annals were mainly propaganda to show how great the nation and the king were. Still, here we have the eyewitness account of Daniel himself, including what appears to be Nebuchadnezzar’s own personal testimony of what happened.
Daniel 4:34 (NIV)
34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored.
On verse 34a: When Nebuchadnezzar raised his eyes to heaven, his sanity was restored. Likewise, when you raise your gaze to heaven, your sanity is restored in that your perspective is renewed and your hope is resurrected. Don’t sulk or complain. Raise your gaze. By looking to God, you find yourself again.
Daniel 4:34b-37 (NIV)
34 …Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”
36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
On verses 34b-37: Like the glorious tree that was cut down in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar was cut down in his pride. But what the dream did not reveal but what Nebuchadnezzar experienced was that, after he humbled himself before the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar would be given even greater honour and glory. Nebuchadnezzar’s experience here is arguably the Bible’s most vivid and stark illustration of Proverbs 18:12 (NIV): “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”
Father, thank You that in this lifetime even when I have been cut down because of my own pride and self-centeredness, You give me an opportunity to humble myself and be lifted up by You again. Thank You that You are writing a greater story with my life than anything I could write myself. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
