Nebuchadnezzar’s Greeting
(4:1-3)
1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! 2 It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. 3 How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.”
vs. 1-3
- Nebuchadnezzar's __PRIDE________ is evident even now.
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o He had not conquered all people.
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Vs.1 - A typical salutation indicative of that day.
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We should note that the LXX start this chapter out with “ And in the 18th year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar said: I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house;” and then the text is identical. There is no reference to this being an edict or letter to the nations.
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The first three verses in the LXX or Maseretic text are included in Chapter three rather than brought forward to chapter four.
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May you prosper greatly!" (lit., "May your peace [or `welfare'] abound!"), a formula that shows awareness of his responsibility as God's instrument on their behalf to further their prosperity and security
- The word here for peace can also be translated ___welfare/prosperity________, however, most scholars translate it as peace in this passage.
o Some scholars feel Neb. was describing the peace that only comes from
God. "My peace I give you, not as the world gives".
- The king gives glory to the __most___ _high__ __God___. This is the God of __Daniel________.
o The term "Most High God" is used only of the one true god.
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In Neb.'s dream the angel calls God the "Most High God" VS.17
At this point, a summary of Nebuchadnezzar's experience of God may be in order.
From Daniel's interpretation of the dream about the great image that portrayed the world empires, he learned that the God of the Hebrews was all powerful and all wise and could reveal mysteries no other god could make known.
From the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he learned that Yahweh was Lord of nature and history and could by his miracle-working power override the will of the mightiest earthly potentates and deliver his servants from death.
But it was not till his humiliation to the state of a beast of the field that Nebuchadnezzar really understood his weakness and folly before the almighty Lord of the Hebrews. At last he realized his utter dependence on Yahweh for his reason, his power, and his very life.
He saw that he was but an instrument in the hands of the omnipotent God, the true Sovereign of the universe who ordered all history by his own decree.
Thus the king of what was then the world's greatest empire had to come to terms with the main teaching of the Book of Daniel--the absolute sovereignty of God and his faithfulness to his covenant people.
Hence Nebuchadnezzar published a decree (vv. 1-3) to show his gratitude to the Lord for delivering him from insanity and restoring him to his throne. He wanted every person in his empire to share this knowledge and join him in giving glory to the God of heaven.
He now realized the transience and uncertainty of even the greatest human potentate compared with the eternal sovereignty of the Lord God Almighty.
This is a personal testimony, directed to all peoples, of every language, not just one nation or race. The focus is not on man, but on the one true God, the God of Israel. Who would have expected such a testimony in light of these words from the king in the previous chapter:
14 “… Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you will not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?” (Daniel 3:14b-15).
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream—Part I
(4:4-12)
Presumably the events in chapter 4 took place some eight or nine years before the end of the siege of Tyre in 573. (H.W.F. Saggs, The Greatness That Was Babylon [New York. Mentor, 1968], p. 148, estimates that the siege ended in 571 B.C.; See Ezek 26:7, which foretold this major effort against the Phoenician capital.) This would allow for a seven-year interval of mental illness, during which no major military operations were undertaken--say from 582 to 575. Perhaps it was in 583 that Nebuchadnezzar had his dream, with its sinister warning.
Timeline, It could be that Neb had his dream in 584 and went mad in the end of 583, early 582, which would end his seven years in 576 to 575, and allow Neb. to siege Tyre in 573.
vs. 4-9
- The king gets a __REALITY___ check! This is a wake up call for us also, as citizens of affluent Orange County.
o The king took pride in his accomplishments.
o Read Arch. Book page 478, Archeology and the Bible
o Nice House, car, work going well - you feel secure - "Flourishing in your Palace"??Dont let pride fill your heart!! All these things come from God!!!
- This is the second time __God_ __SPOKE___ to the king.
o Has God ever spoken to you? - Driving Story.
o Ways God speaks................
1. Illuminating his word - "The holy Spirit will instruct you in all truth
2. A still small voice
3. Dreams & Visions - Boat
4. Direct Revelation
5. Through others (During a sermon)
6. Through Angels
7. Through circumstances - "only God could have made this happen
vs.8
- Daniel was the __LAST_ person to go before the king to interpret his dream because he was ___PRAYING_ for it's interpretation.
o The 1 st dream
o Dan 2:16-19
- We should follow his example and _PRAY____ about everything significant in our lives.
o One lady took this to extreme - - - -
o Just praying when we are in trouble is not good enough. We need to be
men of prayer in all things! CONTINUE ON TO THE NEXT PAGE XO o We should seek Gods direction and guidance in every decision! "May my heart break ..." May my thoughts & words"
o If you desire to be used of God every time you speak - you will!
Some would say that no mention is made of Daniel’s God, but only of the “spirit of the holy gods” (verse 8).
Lets analyze this for a minute:
First, what does the word mean - it can be either plural ‘gods’ in the Aramaic, depending on its usage in a sentence. ( Per Montgomery and Young ), & Walvord in Daniel, Key to understanding Prophecy.
Also, TWOT agrees and Strongs:
0426 hla 'elahh (Aramaic) el-aw'
corresponding to 0433, Greek 1682 elwi; TWOT-2576; n m ( God, when elahh, gods when it is elahhin) here it should be rendered God - as in the YHWH God of Daniel!
AV-God 79, god 16; 95
1) god, God
1a) god, heathen deity
1b) God (of Israel)
In the sentence, Nebuchadnezzar himself clarifies the meaning - Daniels name is according to ‘his god’, but the Spirit of the Holy God (who is the Most High God) dwells within Daniel!
The king begins by telling Daniel the first part of his dream in verses 10-12, the “good news” portion, which did not trouble him. But this was the way the dream began; a great and mighty tree reached high into the sky, prominent for all the world to behold. Its boughs and fruit provided both food and shelter for the birds and the beasts of the earth.
THE DREAM
vs.10-18
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The symbol of the __TREE____ is central to the dream. Throughout scripture the tree is used to symbolize __STABILITY/health__. This is an example of the expositional continuity of __Scripture_________.
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The portrayal of man in his pride as a lofty tree is a familiar OT symbol: "The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty ... (and they will be humbled), for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty, and all the oaks of Bashan" (Isa 2:12-13; cf. Isa 10:34). In 587 B.C., just a few years before Nebuchadnezzar had this dream, Ezekiel had used a similar figure in describing the pride and fall of Assyria (Ezek 31:3-17).
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To Neb. the tree was much more than just a symbo. he loved trees. especially the cedars of lebanon - He was infatuated by their beauty & Grandur -
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Babylonian documents speak of him personally supervisiing the cutting down & transporting of these trees - He would visit the forest often.
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One document Nebuchadnezzar compares Babylon to a flourishing tree.3
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Nebuchadnezzar describes himself as ‘flourishing in his palace’ the words there are Aramaic word for a healthy, green plant or lit. ‘to be green’. Remember the hanging gardens.
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Read Archeology and the Bible page 478
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Note: God spoke to him where he was at - God might speak to you through your passions & works.
Only the stump of the tree was spared (v. 15). It was to be encircled with bands of iron and bronze and to remain in the grassy meadow.
What was the band of iron and bronze for? Some say to restrain Nebuchadnezzar, some same to preserve his kingdom.
Where was Daniel when Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind? I would suggest that Daniel was the band that preserved the stump (Nebuchadnezzar) and the roots (the kingdom). I would not be surprised if Daniel ‘kept this event secret’ by telling those in the kingdom that the king had gone away (as he would often to Lebanon) and Daniel appointed watchmen to look after Nebuchadnezzar while Daniel ran the affairs of the state.
This could be one reason we have not found an account of this in extra biblical texts too.
(v. 16) the symbolism emerges as the angelic watchman declared that the mind of the stump was to be changed from that of a man to that of a brute beast.
The word for "mind" is lebab (lit., "heart," a term that in Scripture refers to the inner self as the seat of moral reflection, choice of the will, and pattern of behavior). It includes not only the mental processes but also the feelings, affections, and emotions, along with all the motivational factors leading to decisions and responses to life situations.
The person this tree stump represented was to be transformed into an animal.
Could this have been a preview of Evolution? Man , once great has become simply an animal, which makes man weak and which helps bring about the clay iron world of the last days?
Verse 16 states that the duration of this bestial condition was seven iddanin ("appointed times," "seasons"), which in this instance undoubtedly refers to years (NIV mg.; cf. 7:25).
vs.17
- This verse indicates that _Angels______ have power to _intervene_ in our lives for God's glory and His purposes.
o The NIV says the Angels simply announced the command. This is a very bad translation!!
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The NAS renders the Aramaic & the Masoretic Texts accuratly (Jewish Bible) both sya the Angels made the decision - This truely is one of the more curious versus on Angels in the bible.
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4:17 “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, and the decision is a command of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind. “ NASB
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You can imagine the Angels observing the signs God has given Nebuchadnezzar and his refusal to pay heed - he remained proud and arragant, and they cried out against him.
o "We are not Alone"
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