The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” Daniel 4:17-18 (NIV)
Nebuchadnezzar II ruled the Neo-Babylonian empire from 605 BC to 562 BC, the longest reign of the Babylonian Dynasty. In 587 BC, he destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem, leading its people away into captivity.
The prophet Daniel was one of those people. Belteshazzar was the Babylonian name by which Nebuchadnezzar called him.
By this part of the story, Daniel has already interpreted two of the king’s dreams, so he has an established track record. However, the king’s command that Daniel interpret his latest dream puts him in an awkward position:
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! The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— Your Majesty, you 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.
“Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, 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 with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
“This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox 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 all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. 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. Daniel 4:19-26 (NIV)
Good thing Daniel had that track record with the king, or that might not have ended well.
The two main points of this dream and its interpretation are:
- God is sovereign over all.
- God shows favor on those who acknowledge #1.
Sovereign Over Every Kingdom
All nations on earth have some type of leader, be it a king, a president, or a dictator. Some leaders are elected by the people, some rule by succession, and some take power by force.
What we need to understand, however, is that God is in control of ALL of these leadership successions, even when the leadership in question does not acknowledge God.
We may wonder sometimes, if God is sovereign over all leadership, why do we get such garbage leaders?
Nebuchadnezzar himself was referred to by the prophet Jeremiah as a destroyer of nations. Nevertheless, he is also referred to as a servant of God by the same prophet:
With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it. Jeremiah 27:5-8 (NLT)
Part of being humble before the Lord is accepting our place in His plan, even when it makes no sense. Because God institutes all authority, we are called to submit to whatever leaders He places over us, and to accept that He has His reasons for putting them there.
Acknowledging that God Rules All
Back to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Here’s how that turned out:
Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 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?”
Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. 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. Daniel 4:29-33 (NIV)
This is a fairly obvious example of pride and consequences. Daniel nailed the interpretation of the dream, but the king didn’t take the lesson about humility. We can ruin our lives in the same manner. Even when we get fair warning of consequences, we still go our own way. Fortunately, God in His mercy still gives us a way out. Here’s how that went for Nebuchadnezzar:
At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. 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.
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?”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. 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. Daniel 4:34-37 (NIV)
Just as Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream and in Daniel’s interpretation of it, when he humbled himself at the end of seven years, he was restored even greater than he was before.
Of note in this passage is that twice, Nebuchadnezzar says that his sanity was restored as he humbled himself. Other translations say he began to ‟think normally.”
The implication here is that sanity and normal thinking are associated with humility. It would then follow that pride is associated with insanity and abnormal thinking.
Sanity leads to a good result. Abnormal thinking does not. When you look at pride this way, it gives you a whole new perspective on how crazy it is that our nation devotes an entire month to abnormal thinking.
If you think that’s crazy, try to imagine what the response would be like if any of our leaders had the sense to devote even as much as a three-day weekend to something as constructive and redemptive as humility.
(I will go deeper on that concept in Part 4. Make sure to click on the Free Newsletter link so you don’t miss it!)
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