Interpreted – And It’s Not Good!



Daniel 4:19-27
19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed [appalled!] for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!
20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth,
21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived—
22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth.
23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’
24 this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king,
25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.
26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.
27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

By this point in the story, Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar probably had a sort of “friendship” if you can call the relationship between master and slave a friendship. But, they have known each other for a while now and Daniel is in the precarious position of being about to speak almost freely with this extremely powerful and sometimes violent man. Unfortunately for Daniel, he now has to tell Nebuchadnezzar some bad news. The dream tells Nebuchadnezzar that there will be a punishment for his pride and unwillingness to acknowledge God as sovereign. He will succumb to madness that will drive him to live outdoors like a wild animal. There is actually a mental illness called boanthropy where a person does exactly that. They live off of grass and shun human contact. (Supposedly, this was the illness that beset King George III.) But, Daniel also offers Nebuchadnezzar the suggestion that if he should choose to repent of his sin and acknowledge God, the vision may not come true.

In verse 19, the NIV uses the word “perplexed”. The ESV uses the word “dismayed.” The most accurate translation is most accurately “appalled.” He didn’t want to share this terrible truth with the king. This was a dangerous and powerful man. Telling the truth was going to be difficult! But Daniel does it anyway, albeit carefully. Telling the truth is often very difficult because sometimes the truth is painful. Here, Daniel lives as an example that the truth is always the best course of action. If God were not truthful with us about our sin, He would never have sent Jesus to pay the price for that sin. We would be lost. Jesus calls Himself the truth (“I am the way, the truth and the life . . . .”) and so we are to live lives that exemplify truth. Sometimes it’s tough. But it’s always right.

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