Commentary - Daniel 4:4-18

Bird's-eye view

This entire chapter is a public decree, a royal proclamation issued by Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful pagan monarch on the face of the earth. It is his testimony, his confession of the absolute sovereignty of the God of the Hebrews. This is not a story told about him by Daniel; this is the king himself speaking in the first person, recounting his pride, his divinely-sent dream, his humiliation, and his eventual restoration. The central lesson is hammered home with divine force: God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. The whole affair is cosmic political theater, designed by God to demonstrate to all the living that He, the Most High, rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will.

The chapter breaks down neatly. First, we have the king's introduction and the troubling dream that God sends him (vv. 4-9). Second, the king recounts the vivid imagery of the dream itself: a great and flourishing tree that is suddenly cut down by a heavenly decree (vv. 10-17). Third, the king challenges Daniel to provide the interpretation, acknowledging the failure of his own wise men and the unique spirit that rests on Daniel (v. 18). The purpose of this entire spectacle is educational, so that all the living might know who is actually in charge of the world.

Outline

Context In Daniel

Chapter 4 is unique in the book of Daniel, and indeed in the whole Bible, as it is a formal testimony written by a pagan king. It follows the events of chapter 3, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were delivered from the fiery furnace, an event that caused Nebuchadnezzar to praise their God but did not yet bring him to full submission. This chapter is the story of his personal humbling. It is a practical, historical demonstration of the principle that God is sovereign over all earthly rulers, a central theme of the entire book. The events here set the stage for the subsequent downfalls of Belshazzar and the Babylonian empire, showing that God builds up and tears down kingdoms according to His good pleasure.

Key Issues

Commentary

4:4. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace.

The testimony begins with the king in a state of self-satisfied contentment. He is "at ease" and "flourishing." In the world's terms, he has it all. He is the undisputed ruler of the known world, his kingdom is at peace, and his building projects are magnificent. But this kind of ease is spiritually treacherous. When a man, particularly a powerful man, believes his prosperity is the result of his own doing, he is perched on the edge of a great fall. This is the calm before the storm, the fatness before the slaughter. God is about to disrupt this man's comfortable paganism.

4:5. I saw a dream, and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my head kept alarming me.

Into this peaceful palace, God sovereignly injects terror. Notice that the most powerful man on earth, protected by guards and fortifications, is utterly defenseless against a dream. God does not need an army to invade Babylon; He can bypass all the king's defenses and go straight into his head. The dream makes him fearful, and the visions are alarming. God is rattling his cage, showing him that his sense of security is an illusion. The true King is about to make His presence known.

4:6-7. So I gave a decree to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I said the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me.

Nebuchadnezzar does what powerful men always do, he summons his experts. He calls in the whole faculty of Babylon University, the magicians, conjurers, and diviners. This is the established intellectual and spiritual authority of his kingdom. And as is always the case with worldly wisdom, when confronted with a true revelation from God, they are struck dumb. They are impotent. This is a crucial part of the lesson God is teaching. Before God reveals the truth through His servant, He first exposes the bankruptcy of all rival systems of thought. The world's wisdom is foolishness with God.

4:8. But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I said the dream to him:

After the parade of failures, Daniel is brought in. Nebuchadnezzar identifies him in two ways. First, by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, which links him to the king's false god. The king is still thinking in his pagan categories. But second, he acknowledges what he has seen to be true of Daniel, that in him is "a spirit of the holy gods." The unregenerate king can recognize the spiritual power and wisdom in Daniel, even if he mislabels it. He sees the light, but doesn't yet understand the source. He knows Daniel is different from all his other "wise men."

4:9. ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is difficult for you, say to me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

The king bestows on Daniel the title "chief of the magicians," again trying to fit him into his pagan worldview. He correctly assesses that Daniel can handle mysteries that baffle others, but he still attributes this to some indwelling "spirit of the holy gods" in the plural. He is like a man in a dark room who sees a sliver of light under the door. He knows something is there, but he cannot yet see the sun. He lays out his request, asking for both the visions and their meaning. He is ready to hear the truth, which is the first step toward repentance.

4:10-12. Now these were the visions in my head as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew large and became strong, And its height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its foliage was 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 sky inhabited its branches, And all flesh fed itself from it.

Here the king describes the central image of the dream. The tree is a common biblical metaphor for a great kingdom or ruler. This tree is a picture of Nebuchadnezzar's own empire, and his view of himself. It is central, tall, strong, and visible to all. It provides shade, shelter, and food for everyone. From a certain perspective, this is a picture of an ideal kingdom, a benevolent empire that brings order and prosperity to the world. This is the glory of man. This is Babylon in its prime. It is impressive, but its height reaching to the sky is a dead giveaway. This is the sin of Babel all over again, man reaching for heaven, attempting to usurp the place of God.

4:13. I was looking in the visions in my head as I lay on my bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

The scene changes abruptly. Earthly glory is interrupted by a heavenly messenger. A "watcher, a holy one" descends. These are angels, God's agents who observe the affairs of men and carry out His decrees. The king's world is not a closed system. Heaven is watching. This descent signifies that judgment is coming from outside and above his own realm of authority. The king of Babylon is about to be reminded that there is a higher throne.

4:14. He called out loudly and said thus: “Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches.

The decree is severe and absolute. The magnificent tree is to be leveled. All its glory, the branches, the leaves, the fruit, all of it is to be stripped and scattered. The very things that made the tree a blessing to others are to be removed. Consequently, those who depended on the tree, the beasts and the birds, will flee. When God judges a proud leader, his influence is shattered and his dependents scatter to the four winds. The glory of man is a fleeting thing.

4:15. Yet leave the stump with its roots in the earth, But with a band of iron and bronze around it In the new grass of the field; And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

In the midst of this harsh judgment, there is a word of grace. The tree is not to be uprooted entirely. The stump and its roots are to be left. This means the judgment is not final. There is hope of restoration. But the stump is bound with a band of iron and bronze, signifying that this humbled state is secure and inescapable until God's appointed time. The decree then shifts from the metaphor of the tree to the reality of the man. "Let him be drenched...let him share with the beasts." The king himself will be brought low, driven from human society to live like an animal.

4:16. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, And let the heart of a beast be given to him, And let seven periods of time pass over him.

The humiliation is total. It is not just external, but internal. His very mind, his reason, what the Bible calls the "heart," will be changed from that of a man to that of a beast. This is a terrifying judgment. The man who exalted himself like a god will be made lower than a man. He who was made in the image of God will have that image marred and hidden under a beastly nature. This condition will last for "seven periods of time," a divinely determined season of chastisement.

4:17. This edict is by the resolution of the watchers, And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind And gives it to whom He wishes And sets up over it the lowliest of men.

Here we are given the reason for the whole drama. This is not a random tragedy. It is a calculated lesson plan from the throne room of heaven. The purpose is pedagogical: "that the living may know." What are they to know? The central truth of all reality: that the Most High God is the true sovereign over all human politics. He is the one who dispenses kingdoms. He doesn't give them to the most qualified, or the most noble, or the most powerful. He gives them "to whom He wishes." And to rub it in, He sometimes "sets up over it the lowliest of men." This is a direct assault on all human pride and political maneuvering. God is in control, and He can use anyone, from a shepherd boy like David to a humbled pagan like Nebuchadnezzar, to accomplish His purposes.

4:18. This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, say to me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.

The king concludes his recitation of the dream and formally charges Daniel with the interpretation. He restates the premise: his own wise men are useless, but Daniel is able. He is still operating with his pagan vocabulary, but he is looking in the right direction. The stage is now fully set for Daniel to speak the word of the Lord to the most powerful man on earth, a word of terrifying judgment wrapped in a promise of future grace.

Application

The lesson of this passage is perennial. Pride is the root of all sin, and God is utterly committed to humbling the proud. Whether we are a king of a great empire or simply the king of our own little household, the temptation to believe that our success, our ease, and our flourishing are our own accomplishment is a deadly one. God is a jealous God, and He will not give His glory to another.

We must also see the utter futility of worldly wisdom when it comes to the things of God. The experts of our day, just like the magicians of Babylon, have no answers for the ultimate questions and no solutions for the true problems of the human heart. The wisdom that comes from God, found in His Word, is the only thing that can make sense of this world and our lives.

Finally, we must rest in the glorious truth that the Most High rules. Our political anxieties, our fears about the direction of our culture, all of it must be submitted to this bedrock reality. God sets up kings and he brings them down. He gives the kingdom to whomever He wishes, and His purposes will not be thwarted. Our job is not to fret, but to be faithful like Daniel, speaking the truth in our generation and trusting the sovereign God to manage the affairs of nations.