Daniel 3 - 4

Daniel — Steve Gregg

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Daniel 3 - 4

DanielSteve Gregg

In Daniel 3, King Nebuchadnezzar orders the construction of a 60-cubit gold statue and demands that everyone in Babylon bow down to it as a sign of loyalty. Three Jewish men - Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego - refuse to bow to the statue and are thrown into a fiery furnace. However, God miraculously delivers them from the flames, and they emerge unharmed. In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar declares that his kingdom will endure forever, but he is soon struck with madness. After a period of time, he humbles himself before God and his sanity is restored.

Transcript

Daniel 3. Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits. We're talking about nine stories tall, 90-foot image, and it's width six cubits, which would be nine feet wide. He set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon, and King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar set up.

Now, this image, we're not told what inspired him to do this, but it's very tempting to suspect that this image was modeled after the image in his dream. It may not have been. This may have been an entirely separate thing, making images and worshipping images, a very common thing among pagans.

So the connection may not be necessary, but on the other hand, the close proximity in the book of Daniel to it would certainly encourage us to think maybe that he's trying to make an image like that in the dream. But the difference is he was the head of gold in the dream, but the whole image wasn't of gold. But this image is all of gold, and if he is responding to the dream that Daniel has interpreted, he might be saying, I'm rejecting that prophecy of being replaced someday.

I'm the whole image. There's not going to be any after my kingdom. My kingdom is the last of them.

It's all gold. It's not just the head of gold and followed by silver and bronze and iron. It's speculative somewhat to suggest this, but it could well be.

It's also speculative to suggest that this image was an image of himself. But again, that is not unthinkable. It is loyalty to him that is going to be marked by people bowing to this image, and therefore it's very possible that it was a statue of himself.

Now, he was the head of gold in the image in the dream, and of course a head is that which identifies the person. You could see photographs of many people's bodies without having a very good idea of who it is you're looking at. But when you see the head, suddenly you recognize them if they're somebody recognizable.

The head is what gives away the identity. So the image in the dream probably had his face because he was the head of gold. And it may be that he's modeled this image after that one only with this difference.

No silver, bronze, or iron here. It's all gold. And if so, then he might be making the subtle statement that A, he's to be worshipped.

B, he's all there is. His kingdom is not going to be replaced by others after him. And that people would come and bow to this image would be their way of showing their loyalty to him, and that's why everybody who seemed to hold a government post was summoned.

To this ceremony. Now we will find that this becomes a crisis for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Strangely, Daniel is not mentioned in this.

And we either have to assume that he went along and bowed down to the image, which is not likely to be the case. As if, you know, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had more backbone than he had. Or else, Nebuchadnezzar, who really thought the world of Daniel, maybe, could have respected him enough to know that this would not work out for him.

Or maybe he'd be embarrassed for Daniel to see this. Since Daniel had interpreted the dream, he might see it as, you know, Daniel would see him as a megalomaniac, which he was. But I think it's the most often explanation that's given that Daniel is not in this chapter, and not therefore subjected to the pressure that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced here, was that Daniel may have been on government business elsewhere.

When it says he called all of his officials, it needn't be thought that all of them throughout the entire empire made the trip, but probably the ones at Babylon. And, you know, there are other centers of government throughout the empire, and Daniel, being as important as he was, might very well have been elsewhere at the time, and just dodged that bullet by providentially being elsewhere. It may even be that Nebuchadnezzar deliberately did this at a time when Daniel was not available, as I said.

Nebuchadnezzar was a pretty egotistical guy, but he bowed before Daniel. He knew that Daniel was hearing from God. He feared Daniel in some respects, no doubt, and therefore he might not have wanted to do this in front of Daniel.

He might have waited for a time when Daniel wasn't around. It's hard to say. One thing is clear.

Daniel was not there. And, you know, he's not among the many who compromised, in contrast to the three friends. So he called all these people to come.

And so the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

And whoever does not fall down in worship shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace. So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshipped the gold image which the King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Having recently read Revelation 13 together, it's rather reminiscent of that, that there's this image that is set up that all people are required to worship on pain of death.

And this is, in Revelation, I believe, more generic. It's like many nations, many governments, many rulers have required the worship of themselves by their citizenry. The making of an image to represent that loyalty was Nebuchadnezzar's idea, apparently.

At least biblically, he's the first to do that for himself. And it may, in fact, give some background to the imagery of the book of Revelation, where an image of the beast is made and all people are required to worship him. And those who don't face dire consequences, so also here.

Now the fiery furnace is one of the ways that it is known Babylonians did punish people. One form of capital punishment in ancient Babylon was to burn people in a furnace of fire. Therefore, at that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and accused the Jews.

They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, O King, live forever. You, O King, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, and symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O King, have not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar, in rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? Now if you are ready at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, and symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, good.

But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands? Well, that's a pregnant question. And Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know the answer.

Now it's interesting that he doesn't just throw them into the furnace without giving them another chance. They've been accused of already being in violation. And therefore they would normally just be put into the furnace at this point.

Nebuchadnezzar, though, wants to give them one chance to recant. Perhaps he knows they are Daniel's friends. Perhaps they are valuable to him because they are ten times wiser than his other wise men.

Or whatever reason, he hopes that they can be persuaded to change, and he doesn't have to dispense with them in the furnace. And he's angry at them, and he says, listen, what god do you have that can deliver you from me? And they answer. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

If that is the case, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up. Now, the verse 17, the actual meaning of it has been disputed.

The words, is the case, in our translation, if that is the case, are in italics. Without those words, it simply says, if that, if what? If, indeed, you're going to throw us into the fiery furnace, our god whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace. But if not, verse 18, that is, if you don't throw us in the furnace, we're still not going to serve you.

We're not going to serve you whether you carry out your punishment or not, and our god is able to do this. Some feel that they're not necessarily affirming that God will deliver them. The if not means if he doesn't deliver us, then we will still not bow.

So they're saying, you wonder what god there is who can deliver us from you. We know of a god like that. The one we serve can do that.

He can deliver us from you. But if he doesn't, well, that's his prerogative. We're still going to have to do the right thing.

This is such a rebuke to the attitude of many Christians who say, well, if there's no hell, I don't know if I'd want to serve God. Really. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn't know about heaven or hell or any afterlife.

There was no revelation given in the Old Testament about those things. For all they knew, they'd be burned up horribly. There was no deliverance that they could see.

They said God could deliver them, but they wouldn't know if he would or not until it would happen. And if it didn't, they're still going to be uncovered. They're going to be loyal to God with or without the fires of the furnace.

In other words, consequences of their actions being delivered from fire were not a condition for them to be faithful to God. They would be faithful to God, expecting that he could deliver them from fire. But even if he didn't deliver them, if there's no deliverance for them, if there's no salvation for them, they would still serve God.

They weren't serving God for a reward. They weren't serving God to avoid fire. They were serving God because they were his loyal servants.

And they would die for him if necessary. But they knew that he could deliver them, and that was the answer to Nebuchadnezzar's question. Verse 19, then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury because they weren't cowering before him.

He'd made the threat to their face now, not just the general announcement that had been made to everyone. He had now made the personal threat to them, and they defy him. They say, we don't even need to answer you.

A little cheeky. And Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was apparently more or less, you know, showing a measure of compassion, wanting to give them another chance.

But not now. His face changed to anger. Therefore he spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

Now, I doubt if they had thermometers in those days that could actually measure exactly seven times more. And I'm not even sure that fires, you know, ordinary fires can be made seven times hotter than their default heat. You know, I'm not really sure how hot you can make it.

But seven means as hot as it can get. Complete, perfectly hot. And if they would stoke it more than they would normally stoke it, fan it more than they would fan it, get it as hot as it could be.

And I'm sure that before they did that, it was hot enough to be miserable, to be thrown in. But now it is made as hot as fire can be heated. And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and cast them into the burning, fiery furnace.

Then these men were bound in their coats and their trousers and their turbans, things that you'd think would burn up easily, and therefore catch them on fire faster. And their other garments, and they were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Therefore, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Just getting close enough to it to throw them in was more than a human being could endure. And you'd know how that would be if you've ever been near a raging fire. You know, it's nice to have a nice fire in the fireplace, but if it's a really big one and you're sitting too close, you have to get away because your skin starts to feel like it's going to blister just from the emanating heat from the fireplace.

And there are times when the fire is so great that you can't get within many yards of it without feeling that. Maybe a much further distance than that, and you still feel it's intolerably hot. And these guys had to get close enough to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire, and they couldn't tolerate it.

These strong soldiers died in carrying out these orders. Verse 23, And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning, fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said to the king, True, O Lord, true, O king, look.

He answered, I see four men loose. They're not bound. They're loose.

They're lying in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt. And the former, the fourth, is like the Son of God. Now, this translation, the fourth is like the Son of God, comes to us from the King James and carries over into the new King James, and no doubt there are other modern translations that may translate it this way.

This has encouraged Christians to see this fourth man in the furnace as a theophany, an appearance of Christ. And there are theophanies in the Bible. There are times when Christ appears in a human form prior to his incarnation, usually to deliver a message, sometimes to, like, wrestle with Jacob all night and do things like that.

There are theophanies, and this could be one. However, we can't necessarily jump to that conclusion based on this translation, the Son of God, because in the Hebrew it could be a son of the gods. Elohim can be translated gods or God, either one.

And given Nebuchadnezzar's religious ideas, first of all, he probably didn't believe in a singular God and is more likely to talk about the gods. Secondly, even if he knew there was one God, which isn't likely, he wouldn't necessarily have any knowledge about the Trinity. Even the prophets didn't know about that, much less the pagan kings.

The Jews didn't have any revelation from God in the Old Testament about the Trinity or about the Son of God. I mean, that concept of Jesus being the Son of God is found only in the New Testament. To suggest that Nebuchadnezzar, an uninspired pagan, would announce some deep Christian truth like that, that Jesus is the Son of God and he's come to be with his friends in the furnace, does not seem as likely as what the later translations, the more modern translations often render it a son of the gods.

And that would make sense. A son of the gods would be something other than a son of humans. Somebody superhuman.

Perhaps an angel. It's entirely possible that it was an angel. When Daniel was in the lion's den and Darius came and said, are you okay, Daniel? He said, yes, the God who I serve sent his angel and he shut the mouths of the lions.

So if it was an angel that shut the mouths of the lions, it may have been an angel that protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace too. It's not important for us to decide. It's just that when we see the term, the Son of God, immediately think of, oh wow, that's Jesus in there.

He's the Son of God. And indeed he is, but that may not have been what Nebuchadnezzar said. The translation could be rendered, the fourth one looks like a son of the gods.

Actually, even in our margins of the New King James it says, or a son of the gods. So New King James acknowledges this as an alternative translation. I think it's probable.

And it may be that it's a theophany or it may be that it's simply an angel. Remember the angel of the Lord encamps around about them that fear him and delivers them according to Psalms 34. And this may be a case of that, just as the angel came and stopped the mouths of the lions when Daniel was in the lion's den.

It's not an important point. It's just important that we don't read more into it than it's intended to say. So, three men bound hand and foot were thrown and fell into the fiery furnace.

What was seen was very different in three respects. There were four instead of three. They were not bound and they were not down as when they fell.

They were walking around. They were unhurt and as we shall see when they come out, they don't even smell like smoke. The fires and the smokes had absolutely no impact on them, even their clothes.

I mean, this is an amazing thing. And some might think it's not true. I mean, people who have trouble with miracles and such.

There are, however, other cases known from somewhat more modern times, not very modern, but five, six hundred years later than this. Polycarp, the Bishop of Smyrna, was arrested and taken to be burned at the stake. It was witnessed by the whole city in the Colosseum that watched him.

He was stood by the stake. They built fires around him. The fires leaped up.

They wouldn't touch his body. He was an old man and he had been faithful to Christ for over 70 years, as I recall. And God just chose not to let him burn.

And it was witnessed by the whole community. It frustrated the persecutors. Finally, they thrust a spear into him and he bled to death.

He did die, but he would not burn. So, I mean, this is not the only case of God preserving someone supernaturally from the fire, although it's obviously a rare thing. It's a rare statement that God's making to Nebuchadnezzar, and it caused Nebuchadnezzar momentarily to convert and to honor the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

It says in verse 26, Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning, fiery furnace and spoke, saying, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came from the midst of the fire, and the satraps, administrators, governors, and king's counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power. Their hair and their head was not singed, nor were their garments affected by the smell of fire, and the smell of fire was not on them.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver his servants. Now, the fact that he said his angel is no more authoritative than saying a son of the gods, this is just his way of talking. But it would seem to mean that he wasn't thinking of it as the second person of the Trinity.

You know, when he said, if he said the son of God, he wasn't thinking of Trinitarian theology. Here he says an angel. And delivered his servants who trusted in him, and they have frustrated the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own god.

Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language, which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap, because there is no other god who can deliver like this. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon. We see then, Belshazzar seems to be converted.

Of course, by the end of each of these chapters, chapter 2, 3, and 4, Nebuchadnezzar is very impressed with the God of the Jews. When Daniel was able to interpret his dream, Nebuchadnezzar confessed that there is no god like that who can do that. Here he says there is no god who can deliver from the flames like this.

In chapter 4, we see Nebuchadnezzar humbled, and when he comes back, he glorifies the God of Israel. Now his humbling here is not really such as would be impossible for a believer to need. He is proud, he has accomplished a great deal, he has conquered the world, he has given himself credit in chapter 4 for it, and God humbles him.

But when he comes back, he is praising Yahweh. Certainly the book of Daniel would suggest that Nebuchadnezzar became a believer in Yahweh, and confessed him multiple times. It may be we will see Nebuchadnezzar in heaven.

Hard to say. But the last chapter that deals with Nebuchadnezzar is chapter 4. And it is written in poetry. It is unlike the chapters before and after it.

It is written in poetry, and it is written by Nebuchadnezzar. Now whether Nebuchadnezzar actually wrote in poetry or not is not important. It is possible that somebody took the actual journal entries that Nebuchadnezzar wrote, or the official records written by Nebuchadnezzar, and reframed them into poetic verse.

Hard to say. In any case, this story is told in the first person by Nebuchadnezzar. And chapter 4 says, Nebuchadnezzar, the king to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth.

Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. How great are his signs! How mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

He could have gotten that theology from the dream that was interpreted by Daniel in chapter 2. His wonders would be, an example of his wonders that had been shown was the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The fact that his kingdom would be enduring forever was found in the dream of chapter 2. However, he is impressed at this point by what had happened more recently, which was his madness followed by a recovery. And that's what he's about to tell.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions in my head troubled me. Therefore I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Then the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in and I told them the dream, but they could not make known its interpretation. Up to this point, everything but one feature would give the impression he's recounting what happened in chapter 2. But this is actually a different instance, a different dream, and somewhat different circumstances because in this time he actually told them the meaning of the dream, or not the meaning, but the dream itself, and asked them for its interpretation. But at last Daniel came before me.

His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God, and him is the spirit of the holy God. And I told the dream before him, saying, Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy God is in you and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen and its interpretation. Now, to tell you the truth, the dream as we hear it would not be that hard for a clever magician or a clever Chaldean to give an interpretation of.

They may have been not wishing to, however, because the dream actually is very insulting to the king himself. It may be that when they heard the dream they thought, oh, I know what that means, I'm not saying, I don't know, I have no idea, king, what that means. You know? Well, now this one's got me stumped, you know, where in fact they knew exactly what it was about but wouldn't dare say it.

Daniel, on the other hand, speaks boldly and without fear. He describes the dream in verse 10. These were the visions of my head while on my bed I was looking and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached the heavens and it could be seen to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head while on my bed and there was a watcher, which is a term that Nebuchadnezzar uses for probably what we would call an angel, a holy one coming down from heaven.

And he cried aloud and said thus, Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it and the birds from its branches. Nevertheless, leave the stump and the roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze.

In the tender grass of the field let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let it graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Now this shifts the imagery somewhat. It's now a tree stump but it grazes like a cow.

Obviously it is talking about Nebuchadnezzar himself but the metaphor shifts from being a tree to being an animal-like. Let his heart be changed from that of a man. So it's obviously talking about a man.

Let him be given a heart of an animal and let seven times pass over him. This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones in order that the living may know that the most high rules in the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomever he will and sets over it the lowest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen.

Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its interpretation since all the wise men in my kingdom are not able or perhaps not willing to make known to me the interpretation. But you are able for the spirit of the holy God is in you. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time and his thoughts troubled him.

So the king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you. And Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, may the dream concern those who hate you and its interpretation concern your enemies. He's not saying it does.

He's saying he wishes it did because it's obviously bad news for Nebuchadnezzar because I wish this would be of your enemies rather than of you. The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached to the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the earth, the field dwelt, and on whose branches the birds of the heaven had their habitation. It is you, O king, just like in the first dream he was asked to interpret in chapter 2, he said, that head of gold, that's you.

You're in your own dreams. You were prominent in the first dream and here too, you're like a great tree. And that's you, O king.

You have grown and become strong for your greatness has grown and reaches to the heavens and your dominion to the end of the earth. And inasmuch as the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, I will not destroy it, but leave it stump and roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven and let him graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over him.

This is the interpretation, O king. And this is the decree of the most high, which has come upon my Lord, the king. They shall drive you from men.

Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven and seven times shall pass over you till you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men and he gives it to whomever he chooses. And inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and the roots in the tree, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you've come to know the heaven rules.

Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a link between your sin and the strengthening of your prosperity.

So Daniel sees this as a prophecy of judgment against the king himself and says you could perhaps postpone this. You might make it not happen very soon if you would just repent and stop doing whatever oppressive and sinful things you're doing. Now this kind of Oracle, when Jeremiah would give an Oracle like this to King Jehoiakim or to Zedekiah, it was a dangerous thing.

And I mean, Jeremiah got himself thrown in prison for this kind of stuff and even people tried to kill him. Daniel giving this to Nebuchadnezzar is very bold and perhaps much bolder than the other counselors who probably could figure out what this was about too. I mean, they might not be sure that it was about Nebuchadnezzar himself, but it's clearly about a man.

It says the heart of a man was taken from him, a man of a beast, a heart of a beast was given to him. It's like a tree. The likeness of men to trees in prophetic imagery is not that unusual.

I'm sure that it just was not that hard a dream to interpret. But the Chaldeans and soothsayers and astrologers, no doubt, getting an inkling of its true meaning would just decline to answer. Daniel himself was not quick to answer.

He was troubled. He was quiet. He wouldn't answer.

He was showing his disturbance, and the king had to tell him, no, go ahead and tell me what it is. And so Daniel speaks up at great risk to himself, saying that you were going to be driven out of your kingdom. Now, the fact that the stump was left in the ground, he said, means that your kingdom will come back to you.

It's secured to you when you come to know that the heavens rule. So Nebuchadnezzar had to learn that his power had come from God, and not from his own strength. And he had to be humble before God, and that's what this time of eating grass like an ox would be like.

What it would accomplish is to humble him and let him see that he's not so hot as he thinks he is. Now, it's easy for a person who is the ruler of the world who actually has become that, not by inheriting it, but by winning it through his military exploits. I mean, Nebuchadnezzar was the general who led the armies in most of the campaigns that brought him to power.

He's the hero. He's the military hero and the king of all the lands around him. He's beat out Pharaoh Necho, who was probably the next most powerful kingdom.

He beat the Assyrians, who had been powerful for years. It's easy for a man like that to believe what people say about him, and he's amazing. I'm sure all his staff would always flatter him about that, and the people adulated him.

He's the great hero of the Babylonians. It's easy for a man to take credit for that, especially if he's a heathen, but it wasn't okay. Even though he's a heathen, it was not okay for him to take credit in his own mind for what God had done.

Both Jeremiah and Isaiah, and now also Daniel, are making it very clear that the power that Babylon experienced was God's doing, and it was important that Nebuchadnezzar realized that. So all this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of 12 months, he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon, perhaps long enough to forget the dream and its lesson.

The king spoke, saying, now who he's speaking to, we don't know, maybe he's speaking this in his heart or out loud, maybe he was walking with some other people and he made this comment to them. He said, is this not great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? And while the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you, and they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be like beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he chooses. That very hour, the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar, he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen, his body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like an eagle's feathers and seven times passed over him.

The reason for thinking this means years is because the expression time, times, and half a time seems to mean three and a half years, which would suggest that time a year and times two years makes three, and half a year would total three and a half years. And if that is the same paradigm that is used for accounting for time in this case, then it would be a better time. Now God would have to secure his throne to him, there would have to be lesser governors, maybe men like Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were keeping things in order until he recovered his sanity.

The prophecy said he would recover his sanity, so it's not as if they had to write him off as a loss and find someone permanently to replace him, it's interesting no one assassinated him, there was no military coups against him, he was very vulnerable at this time, but God was going to teach him a lesson and apparently preserve his life through it too. And at the end of the time, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes to heaven and my understanding returned to me and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion and his kingdom from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, no one can restrain his hand or say to him, what have you done? At the same time, my reason returned to me. See, when you acknowledge God in this way, you come to your senses.

He said my reason returned to me when I praised God instead of myself. Praising yourself makes you go nuts. Self-esteem is not necessarily a desirable quality.

Some people think that mental health demands a good healthy self-esteem. Well, if it does, the Bible is totally silent on the subject. The Bible indicates that too much self-esteem is man's problem.

In this case, it's the emblem of insanity itself. His self-esteem drove him mad and his humility before God caused his common sense to come back to him. He became sane again.

The same time, my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me. I was restored to my kingdom and excellent majesty was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all of whose works are truth and his way is justice and those who walk with pride, he is able to abase, as he knows from experience. Now, I need to correct myself because I said this chapter is written in poetry. Portions of it are written in poetry.

For example, chapter 4, verse 3 is written in poetry and also verses, it looks like 14 through 17 are written in poetry. The last part of verse 34 and 35 are written in poetry and so much of it is written in poetry but not all of it. One reason I said the whole chapter is written in poetry is because at a glance, it's set up differently.

You can see it has a ragged right edge in your Bible instead of a justified right edge which the rest of the chapters have and so usually when your Bible prints it like that, it means it's poetic and it's not prose. However, most of this is just prose but it still has the ragged right edge and I think that the reason for that is that it is treated as a court document. You find this also in Ezra and Nehemiah when it quotes a decree of Cyrus or something like that.

They set it different in the type because it is a quotation of some official government document and so the whole chapter is being treated apparently by the reason that the publishers have set it up like this. I mean it wouldn't be probably like this in the Hebrew or the Aramaic but the publishers are setting it up like this to set it off from the rest of the chapters in that it is directly the account given by Nebuchadnezzar and therefore be an official government document and so they set it off like that. So Nebuchadnezzar is humbled and he ends up praising God.

Now there is one side issue that comes up in this chapter that I want to bring up because it helps us to understand correctly something very central to the New Testament's concern and that is the kingdom of God. There is in Matthew chapter 13 where there are a number of parables that Jesus gives of the kingdom. There is a parable that is greatly misunderstood in popular teaching today it seems to me and actually gets the wrong message entirely out of the parable.

It is Matthew 13, 31 and 32 and actually what we just read in Daniel 4 provides a part of the remedy to the wrong way that people see this. Jesus said in Matthew 13, 31 it says another parable he put forth to them saying the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field which indeed is the least of all seeds but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Now the problem that I'm addressing is what is meant by the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

The common view of the dispensationalist and you'll hear virtually every popular preacher who preaches on this make this point. They say the birds of the air represent evil. Why? Well, earlier in chapter 13 there was the parable of the sower and some of the seed fell on hard ground where it didn't penetrate and the birds came and ate the seed so it didn't produce anything and when Jesus explained that parable at the beginning of chapter 13 the birds were said to be like Satan.

Satan would come and steal the word from the hearts of people who don't understand it. It doesn't penetrate them. In the beginning of chapter 13 of Matthew the birds are representative of Satan eating the seed taking away the word.

Therefore when we read of the birds again later in the same chapter they're in the trees this time the tree is infiltrated by evil. The birds are evil and the tree is they'd say the church and so they believe what Jesus is teaching is that the church in its final days will be shot through with evil. They believe the church will grow for the 2,000 years or so that it does so but that when Jesus comes back he will find the church has been corrupted and this is indicated by these birds nesting in its branches.

So this is how they think. Now if you say well why would the birds in this parable have to be in the same thing as the birds in an earlier parable? My former pastor used to say there is a law of exegetical constancy which is a law that doesn't really exist. I mean it's the preacher or someone he read made it up.

There is no such law of biblical interpretation. He said if a symbol is used one way in one parable it must be used the same way in other parables. Really? How many of the parables in Matthew 13 contain seeds? In the first one the seed is the word of God.

In the second one it says the seeds are the children of the kingdom. That's not the same as the word of God. That's a different meaning of the seed.

In this case the mustard seed is the kingdom itself. And seeds are used in many of the parables but not always with exactly the same meaning. Likewise when you consider birds in connection with a farmer's seeds the birds are a problem.

The birds eat the seeds that you wish to see growing instead. The birds are the enemy. That's why you have scarecrows.

Birds are a problem to farmers and to seeds for crops. They are not a problem to trees. When birds nest in the branches they are doing exactly what trees are there for.

Providing shelter for birds and woodland creatures. It's not a corruption of the tree to have birds nests in it. It's actually the trees just doing what trees are for.

Among other things they provide shade. They provide shelter. Where are the birds supposed to nest if not there? This is not a bad picture.

But we know it's not a bad picture particularly because the Old Testament uses this image three different times. One of which is in Daniel 4 which we were just reading. Because when Nebuchadnezzar is represented as a tree before judgment falls when things are not really bad it says in verse 12 this tree in its glory when it's good its leaves were lovely its fruit abundant in it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches and all flesh was fed from it.

That's not a negative. That's a good thing. What's wrong with beasts finding shade under a tree or birds finding shelter in its branches or people or the tree providing food for all the animals.

There's nothing negative in that picture. And what it is saying is that Nebuchadnezzar when he was fulfilling his divine purpose was like a tree providing shelter as a good government does. A good government provides protection shelter from invading armies and from injustice and so forth.

The people who are helpless to defend themselves against criminals and against invaders they depend on the government for that. The government that rightly operates does just that. It provides shelter.

It provides a safe lodging place for those who are helpless just like a tree does. The same imagery is used in Ezekiel chapter 31 talking about in Ezekiel 31 verse 3 says Indeed Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon with fine branches that shaded the forest and high of stature and its top was among the thick boughs. The waters made it grow.

Underground waters gave it height with their rivers running around the place where it was planted and sent out rivulets to all the trees of the field. Therefore its height was exalted to all the trees of the field. Its boughs were multiplied.

Its branches became long because of the abundance of the water as it sent them out. All the birds of the heavens made their nests in the boughs. Under its branches all the beasts of the field brought forth their young and in its shadow all the great nations made their home.

Thus it was beautiful in greatness however verse 10 says Therefore thus says the Lord God because you have increased in height and it sets its it sets its top among the thick boughs and its heart was lifted up in its height meaning it got proud therefore I will deliver it into the hand of the mighty one of the nations and he shall surely deal with it and what do we find it happens it gets chopped down. But when it's at its best it's providing shelter for animals and birds and so forth specifically it says the birds nest in its boughs its branches that's not negative that's what trees are supposed to do. Likewise in Ezekiel 17 this is actually a prophecy about the kingdom of God again likened to a tree but Ezekiel 17 11 it says thus says the Lord God I will take also the branches of the high cedar and set it out I will crop off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one and I will plant it on a high and prominent mountain.

This is a reference to the kingdom of God being planted on Mount Zion no doubt on the mountain height of Israel I will plant it and it will bring forth boughs and bear fruit and be a majestic cedar and in the branches they will dwell and all the trees of the field shall know that I the Lord have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish I the Lord have spoken and have done it. This is a messianic prophecy and the imagery of a tree you know the kingdom being like a tree providing shelter for the birds when things were good so when Jesus says the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that becomes a tree and the birds nest in its branches he is simply using a very common image of a positive sort it's good for birds but there are branches for them to hide in there's predators that want to get them they have a safe place up in the trees that's where God has provided for them for the kingdom of God to become a great tree and to have birds nest in its branches that's God's development and I make this point because the dispensational view that sees it the other way has the exact opposite image of what the church's destiny is they believe the church is destined to be a failure because it will be corrupted they believe that the church that is like Philadelphia church a good church will become like the Laodicea church in the last days the rapture must occur to get rid of the church which is a problem and let God deal with his real first love Israel during the tribulation period but that is not the vision of the church that Jesus is giving or that the Bible gives it all Jesus is actually giving a picture of the church that more resembles the positive side of Babylonian or Assyrian empire when it was a great tree before it fell because of pride it was serving the purpose of shelter for birds and so there's no reason to believe that Jesus is presenting a negative image here and you can see that simply by becoming acquainted with the same imagery in the Old Testament which Jesus of course had read and his readers were expected to know and Nebuchadnezzar before he was cut down was like a good tree producing fruit producing shade providing shade that's what a good kingdom does and that's what the kingdom of God does it provides shelter and Isaiah says in that day a king shall reign in righteousness and a man shall be like a large stone in the desert providing shade and shelter from the storm that the king provides a good king provides security for his subjects so Jesus says the kingdom of God is like that it's like that mustard seed that becomes a great tree and the birds nest in its branches so we have in the example of this dream that Nebuchadnezzar had one of several Old Testament cases that help us to understand what Jesus did and did not mean when he talked about the kingdom of God in this way and we come to the end of our session so we'll come up to chapter 5 next time all right I made a mistake it was not verse 11 Ezekiel 17 22 is the verse we're talking about and so not Ezekiel 17 11 Ezekiel 17 22 all right and so we finish our session