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fourth chapter of Daniel is very unusual in the pages of scripture.
It is the personal testimony of a king - from king Nebuchadnezzar
to the Babylonian nation. God had visited the king earlier in
a dream and revealed the future of the empires that would follow
his kingdom. But the king did not understand that Daniel’s
God was the God of gods. His gods were nothing and meaningless
because they were made by man from the forest. Jeremiah the
prophet said, “Because it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. They
decorate it with silver and with gold; They fasten it with nails
and with hammers So that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow
in a cucumber field are they, And they cannot speak; They must
be carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For
they can do no harm, Nor can they do any good.” (NASB,
Jer. 10:3-5). In Daniel 3 God had to rescue Shadrach, Meshach
and Abed-nego from the fire because they would not worship a
man made image. Nebuchadnezzar was angry but God controls fire
and everything else. The king did not completely understand.
So in Daniel 4, God visits the king again with a dream and then
a very personal punishment to get his attention.
The Introduction.
Here is Nebuchadnezzar’s introduction of his testimony
to the Babylonian Empire.
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Nebuchadnezzar
the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every
language that live in all the earth: “May your
peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the
signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for
me. 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.”
(NASB) Dan. 4:1-3 |
The words from this man are exciting. “The Most
High God has done for Me!” “Mighty are His wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.” These are not the
words of a king who was worshipping the chief Babylonian god
Marduk. Nebuchadnezzar has a change of heart. He has finally
recognized the Most High God.
His Testimony.
What did the population think when they read the king’s
words?
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I,
Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing
in my palace. I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and
these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in
my mind kept alarming me. So I gave orders to bring into
my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might
make known to me the interpretation of the dream. (NASB)
Dan. 4:4-6 |
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