seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Daniel 4:1 King Nebuchadnezzar,
To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:
May you prosper greatly!
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8 Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. 10 These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. 11 The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
13 “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. 14 He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.
“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.
17 “‘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.’
18 “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.”
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom: Nebuchadnezzar was a great king, but in this chapter he recognized that God’s kingdom was far greater and His dominion was completely unique because it is an everlasting kingdom.
I told them the dream; but they did not make known to me its interpretation: This is not the same dream as in Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar readily told his counselors this dream, but they did not tell him what it meant. The dream was fairly easy to interpret; the wise men probably lacked courage more than insight. Nebuchadnezzar said they did not make it known, not that they could not make it known.
His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god: Before Daniel interpreted the dream described in this chapter for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon considered the Babylonian deity Bel his god.
This means that what he saw previously with Daniel and the three Hebrew young men was enough to impress him, but not enough to convert him. Being impressed with God isn’t the same as being converted.
He cried aloud and said thus: The watcher (presumably an angel) explained the fate of the tree. He noted that the tree was to be chopped down, and it would lose its size, strength, prominence, beauty, fruit, and shelter. He also said that the tree represented a man who would be changed and given the heart of a beast.
Bound with a band of iron and bronze: These were either for the tree stump’s confinement or protection. The tree would no longer be free and great.
In order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men: Nebuchadnezzar heard these words in his dream. In light of this, the dream wasn’t hard to interpret — it clearly dealt with the humbling of a great king. No wonder none of Nebuchadnezzar’s counselors wanted to interpret the dream for him.
Like most kings — ancient and modern — Nebuchadnezzar wanted to believe that he ruled instead of God or anyone else. “Both the Assyrian and the Babylonian kings thought of themselves as rulers over all the earth, so describing themselves in their inscriptions.” (Wood)
Declare its interpretation: Nebuchadnezzar knew he could get an honest answer from Daniel, even when the truth was hard to bear.
You are able, for the Spirit of the Holy God is in you: Though Nebuchadnezzar recognized Daniel as a man filled with the Spirit of the Holy God, Nebuchadnezzar had not yet yielded himself to the Holy God.
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Nebuchadnezzar is witnessing. He's probably sitting on his throne with a scribe on the steps below him, telling it like it happened.
This time Nebuchadnezzar told the "magicians" all about his nightmare. He didn't say "I had a dream. You tell me the dream and the interpretation.". This time Nebuchadnezzar told the "magicians" all about the nightmare because he wanted them to interpret it. Maybe he figured the chopping down of the tree as a sign some nation was about to come knock him off his glorious throne.
Now look at verse 9. Nebuchadnezzar called Daniel his "chief magician". WRONG....
Nebuchadnezzar knew that Daniel was "a man of God". Nebuchadnezzar already confessed that Daniel's God was the most awesome.... besides himself it appears.
See, Nebuchadnezzar thought of himself as a god. He was positive his poop didn't stink. He could wear the poopiest diaper ever worn by the poopiest person on earth, and no one would complain, because his poop didn't stink.
God knew that. After all, God made a donkey talk. Since God can make a donkey talk, He can certainly play in the mind of a poopy human with a huge head.
The "magicians" Nebuchadnezzar called together could have interpreted the dream in these verses. They were afraid to tell Nebuchadnezzar what it meant.
Check out verses 17&18. Nebuchadnezzar says no one "can" interpret the dream, so he called his "chief magician", Daniel, to interpret it. He called Daniel, known as Belteshazzar, because Nebuchadnezzar knew Belteshazzar "would" interpret it for him.
Nebuchadnezzar knew Daniel, known as Belteshazzar, would be honest with him, no matter how horrible the interpretation would be.
Humans with a godly ego don't want to hear their diaper is poopy. Humans with a godly ego don't want to hear things are not going to go their way. They consider themselves as gods with no equal. Their ego tells them there is no god more powerful than they are. They don't want anyone questioning their "godliness".
The "magicians" were afraid to tell Nebuchadnezzar the horrible news. Things were going to go horribly wrong for Nebuchadnezzar and they were afraid he would have them murdered for even thinking such a catastrophe could happen to him. After all, he's a god, in his own mind.
Belteshazzar, Daniel, is honest. He'll tell it like it is.
Nebuchadnezzar had another nightmare!
