Daniel 4:1-37
C.S. Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity, which is a must read for everyone at some point in their life, says this:
“There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people, except Christians, ever imagine that they are guilty themselves. I have heard people admit that they are bad-tempered, or that they cannot keep their heads about girls or drink, or even that they are cowards…There is no fault that makes man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.
The vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit; and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility…Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”
Over the last few chapters, we’ve seen Nebuchadnezzar come face to face with the living God. He’s seen miraculous things. Perhaps none like last week, when 3 men were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace, only to walk out of that furnace absolutely untouched by the fire. He’s been confronted with the reality of the Lord like not many have been confronted, yet he still hasn’t fully embraced Him as the only and true God. This morning that’s all about to change. And the way that the Lord finally gets his attention, as if everything else wasn’t enough, is by humbling him literally into the wilderness.
Big Idea: God humbles the proud to reveal His sovereignty.
What we have in Daniel chapter 4 is a personal testimony straight from the lips of Nebuchadnezzar himself. Now, for the sake of narrative flow, we are going to skip verses 1-3 and come back to them at the end. I don’t want to spoil the ending :)
Nebuchadnezzar begins his testimony with a dream. Read Daniel 4:4-18.
1. God Warns Nebuchadnezzar in a Dream (4-18)
We aren’t exactly sure but we are somewhere between 15-20 years after the fiery furnace incident. Long enough apparently for the shock effect to wear off King Neb. Just like the first dream, this one frightens him and it’s so interesting, I mean think about this; he already threatened to kill all his wise men after his first dream, because he outed them as frauds, but then he calls them back in to interpret a different dream. It reminds me of Proverbs 26:11: “Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.” Surprise surprise, they are unable to interpret the dream, so he calls in Daniel.
In the dream there is a large tree, so big that its branches stretch across the whole earth. It’s beautiful, with vibrant colors and plentiful fruit. So much so that every creature could find shade and food, in other words could be provided for. But then, a watcher comes down. We don’t know exactly what this means, but it’s a heavenly being that has been keeping an eye on things. And this is where things take a turn. “Chop down the tree. Get rid of the branches, the leaves, the fruit. In fact, just scatter the fruit across the earth. Animals will not be taken care of anymore. Everyone will become desperate. BUT, vs. 15. What a great verse, so let’s not miss this. Verse 15 says, “But leave the stump of it’s roots in the earth.” When roots remain in the ground, there is still hope for new life!
And why does the watcher say that this will happen?
Verse 17 starting about halfway through, “that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.” The reason all of this is about to happen, is so that people would recognize that God is sovereign. It is God who gives positions of authority to those who hold them. It is God who decides who will govern. And as quickly as God gives it, he can take it all away. And that’s exactly what happens to Nebuchadnezzar. Not only does God send a warning directly, but he sends one through Daniel as well.
2. God Warns Nebuchadnezzar Through Daniel (19-26)
(Read vs. 19)
“Dismayed for a while” - speechless for about an hour
Nebuchadnezzar encouraged him! Don’t worry about it, just tell me the truth!
Daniel obviously had grown to care for Nebuchadnezzar! “I don’t want this to happen to you! I’d rather this come true for your enemies than you!”
Read vs. 20-26
Nebuchadnezzar is the tree. His kingdom had grown into a massive empire. The Babylonians were safe under his rule. They were taken care of. Not only that, but his empire reached beyond the land of Babylon. He was the most powerful man in the world. He had built an empire over about 40 years, such that the world had never seen before.
But, like the tree in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar is going to be cut down. He will be driven away from man. He will lose his kingdom. Everything will be taken away from him. He will live in the wild with the beasts of the field. He will literally eat grass. He’ll sleep outside so that the dew covers his body. And the interpretation of 7 periods is equivalent to seven years. And let’s pause here to reiterate the purpose of it all. Look again at the end of verse 25: “till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.”
I want to slow down for just a moment on verse 27. We’ve talked about the boldness of Daniel and his friends, and we see it again here. And the application for us is clear. With this great warning in mind, through the dream placed in the mind of Nebuchadnezzar by the Lord, Daniel cares for his friend enough that he pleads with him to repent.
Read vs. 27
“Therefore,” because of everything I’ve just told you, repent! Break off your sins. Plead with the Lord for forgiveness. Turn from your natural inclination towards evil and treat those in your kingdom with mercy and compassion. If you do this, you can avoid the judgment that is coming!
I love it. Again, the boldness of Daniel. He’s standing before the most powerful man on earth and telling him to repent of his sins! But, unfortunately for King Neb, he’s still not quite there…
3. Pride Before the Fall! (28-33)
Read vs. 28-29. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t listen to Daniel! And his pride just continued to fester. God said he was going to do this, but he hasn’t, so I guys I’m good.
Read vs. 30. He’s walking on his palace, observing the kingdom that he had built. “I built,” “my mighty power,” “my majesty.” And I love verse 31.
Read vs. 31-32. I mean how terrifying is this! A voice comes thundering from heaven and tells him, “I think it’s time for your slice of humble pie.”
Read vs. 33. Here’s a really interesting thing to think about. I’ve read a lot of commentators this week who agree that what Nebuchadnezzar experienced is called “boanthropy,” where “one imagines oneself a cow or bull and acts accordingly.” “It is also referred to as lycanthropy, where a person believes he or she is an animal and behaves like an animal.”
Talk about a humbling experience! From the most powerful man in the world to believing he is an animal, living in the wild, eating only vegetation, hair and nails growing for 7 years. And finally, after nearly 50 years of being exposed to the wonder and power and might of the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar, for the first time, turns his eyes heavenward. And in that moment, well, look at verse 34. Read vs. 34-35.
4. Nebuchadnezzar Believes! (34-37)
The scales fall off, and Nebuchadnezzar finally believes! And on top of that (Read vs. 36). God restores his kingdom, his position of influence, but exceedingly more than he had before. And the last thing we hear from Nebuchadnezzar for the whole book of Daniel, look at verse 37. Read vs. 37.
The man who demanded idol worship, who threatened death if opposed, who viewed himself as more powerful than the gods, had been humbled to the point of complete and utter weakness and hopelessness. And in his desperate state he turned his eyes to the heavens and cried out to the Lord, and he believed.
5. Nebuchadnezzar Praises (1-3)
Read Daniel 4:1-3
I love these verses, especially when you think back on what we’ve seen from Nebuchadnezzar so far. Whatever has finally happened to him, he wants the whole world to know about it! “Everyone who dwells on the earth, I want you to experience the peace that I now know. I want you to know about the incredible things that God has done for me.” And think about this. Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king ruling the most powerful empire, now recognizes that his kingdom is temporary, but the kingdom of God lasts forever. This is what many believe to be the result of a real, genuine, life changing encounter with God that completely transformed Nebuchadnezzar’s life. It’s his testimony of faith, and he wants the world to know what God can do.
Application
The relentless pursuit of God is unbelievable. I mean how many times did God try to get Nebuchadnezzar’s attention? And He never gave up on him! From the first time that the King was introduced to the power of God in chapter 1, to nearly 50 years later, the Lord continued to reveal Himself. He continued to show Him who He was. He continued to give Nebuchadnezzar opportunities to believe. Why? Because God is in the business of restoration!
It’s crazy though, if you think about the power of pride in our lives. How powerful it can be. It’s so bad in fact that Scripture tells us the Lord hates it: “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” In James it says that “God opposes the proud.” Proverbs 16:5 says, “everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”
And this is exactly what we see with Nebuchadnezzar! His pride finally got to the point where the Lord humbled him. He broke him down, took away everything that had contributed to his arrogance, and caused him to live that way for 7 years. But, God is a God of restoration, and this is good news for us. So what can we take with us from this passage? A few thoughts.
1.. God will use any means necessary to get our attention.
2.. Pride is destructive, and God hates it.
3.. God is a God of restoration…
Nebuchadnezzar resisted the Lord over and over again. It took the Lord humbling him in a drastic way to finally get his attention
