More Dreams
Daniel
4:1-18
1 King
Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the
earth: Peace be multiplied to you!
2 It
has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has
done for me.
3 How
great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.
4 I,
Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.
5 I saw
a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my
head alarmed me.
6 So I
made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me that
they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
7 Then
the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and
I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.
8 At
last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of
my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream,
saying,
9 “O
Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the
holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the
visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.
10 The
visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the
midst of the earth, and its height was great.
11 The
tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible
to the end of the whole earth.
12 Its
leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The
beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in
its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
13 “I
saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy
one, came down from heaven.
14 He
proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches,
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it
and the birds from its branches.
15 But
leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and
bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of
heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.
16 Let
his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and
let seven periods of time pass over him.
17 The
sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy
ones, to the end 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.’
18 This
dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the
interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make
known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy
gods is in you.”
Again, Nebuchadnezzar is plagued by dreams that are
troubling and in need of explanation. Again, he summons his wise men (who
appear without Daniel) and they are unable to help him with an interpretation.
This time, he is desperate and doesn’t even demand that they tell him the
dream. He explains it to them instead. But, the wise men are useless and
Nebuchadnezzar is unsatisfied. Daniel appears before Nebuchadnezzar by himself
and is then told the dream as well.
Interestingly, Daniel is described by Nebuchadnezzar as a
man in whom “a spirit of holy gods dwells” (4:5). There is one other person
described this same way in the Old Testament and that is Joseph as he serves in
the hose of the Pharaoh. (Genesis 41:38). Joseph’s circumstance is very similar
to that of Daniel. He too was the captive of a pagan ruler and also rose to a
place of great power because of his faithful walk with God. Joseph was also a
man who could interpret dreams and that gift was used to gain influence over
the world leader of the day.
“Why would Daniel draw this comparison? He wants to
emphasize that the God of Israel—who protected Joseph, enabled him to prosper
in Pharaoh’s court, and eventually led his own people out from bondage in
Egypt—was still with his people exiled in Babylon, and eventually would deliver
them from bondage there. God’s protection of Daniel and Daniel’s prosperity
demonstrates that, despite the captivity, God is still powerful and effective
on behalf of those whom he has chosen to be his own. Ultimately, this points to
the “new exodus” theme throughout the OT, which is fulfilled in the “exodus”
redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection (Luke
9:31).”
[1]Steinmann, A. E. (2008). Daniel. Concordia Commentary (233).
Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House.
The dream of Nebuchadnezzar will be explained in the next
few verses, so we will take that up in detail tomorrow. For today, we will say
that Nebuchadnezzar has dreamed of his own future where God deals with both his
pride and his belief in multiple gods. Suffice it to say, when God deals with
our sin it is usually a fairly painful process.
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