The King and the Cattle Text: Daniel 4:28-37
Introduction: The High Cost of Pride
We come now to one of the most extraordinary and humbling accounts in all of Scripture. It is a state-issued press release from the most powerful man on earth, the emperor of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar. And the subject of this royal decree is his own descent into madness, his seven-year sojourn as a beast of the field, and his subsequent restoration. This is not the kind of story a king typically wants broadcast throughout his empire. Kings write histories of their victories, their magnificent buildings, and their glorious reigns. They do not publish accounts of being driven from their palaces to eat grass with cattle, with hair like eagles’ feathers and nails like birds’ claws. Unless, of course, they have met the King of Heaven.
This chapter is a direct assault on the central idol of the human heart, which is the idol of self. The besetting sin of man is pride. It is the aboriginal sin, the sin of the devil himself, who said in his heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God." It is the sin that Adam and Eve committed when they believed the serpent's lie that they could be "like God." And it is the native language of every fallen heart. We want to be the author of our own story, the captain of our own fate, the god of our own little universe. We want to be able to stand on the roof of our own little Babylon, whatever that might be, and say, "Is this not the great Babylon, which I myself have built?"
The world we live in is a monument to this kind of pride. Our entire secular project is an attempt to build a global Babylon without God, a tower of Babel reaching to a heaven we pretend is empty. We are told that we are the products of blind chance, accountable to no one, and that the meaning of our lives is something we invent for ourselves. This is the official creed of modernity. But the story of Nebuchadnezzar is a divine thunderclap that shatters this illusion. It teaches us a lesson that every man, every king, and every nation must learn, either the easy way or the hard way. And that lesson is this: the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. God is God, and you are not.
This is not just a story about an ancient pagan king. This is a story about the fundamental structure of reality. It is a stark illustration of the principle that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. As we walk through this text, we will see the anatomy of pride, the severity of God's judgment, and the glorious beauty of a repentance that leads to restoration and praise.
The Text
All this reached Nebuchadnezzar the king. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king answered and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal house by the strength of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is said: the kingdom has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your place of habitation will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you know that the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever He wishes.’ Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was accomplished; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes toward heaven, and my knowledge returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can strike against His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ At that time my knowledge returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my high officials and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my kingdom, and extraordinary greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
(Daniel 4:28-37 LSB)
The Anatomy of Pride (vv. 28-30)
We see here the long fuse of God's patience and the sudden detonation of His judgment.
"All this reached Nebuchadnezzar the king. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king answered and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal house by the strength of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’" (Daniel 4:28-30 LSB)
Notice first that God gave Nebuchadnezzar a full year. Daniel had interpreted the dream and had urged the king to repent, to "break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed" (v. 27). God gave him twelve months to consider the warning. This is a picture of God's longsuffering. He does not delight in judgment but would rather that men repent and live. He gives space for repentance. But God's patience has a limit, and it must not be mistaken for indifference.
After a year, we find the king walking on the roof of his palace. From this vantage point, he could survey the magnificence of Babylon, one of the wonders of the ancient world. The hanging gardens, the massive walls, the Ishtar Gate. It was a city designed to project power and glory. And as he looked, his heart swelled with pride. His soliloquy is a master class in self-worship. Count the first-person pronouns: "I myself have built," "my power," "my majesty." In this one sentence, he claims for himself the roles of creator ("I...have built"), sustainer ("by the strength of my power"), and the ultimate purpose of it all ("for the glory of my majesty"). He has made himself the center of his universe. He is the alpha and the omega of Babylon.
This is the essence of pride. It is cosmic theft. It is taking the glory that belongs to God alone and claiming it for oneself. Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten that his power, his kingdom, and his majesty were all gifts from the Most High God. As Daniel had told him earlier, "the God of heaven has given you the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory" (Daniel 2:37). But he had come to believe his own press. He was breathing God's air, standing on God's earth, using a mind and a body that God had given him, and using it all to glorify himself. This is the height of creaturely arrogance, and it is a direct challenge to the throne of Heaven.
The Divine Judgment (vv. 31-33)
The response from Heaven is immediate and devastating. God does not debate with proud men; He deposes them.
"While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven... ‘the kingdom has been removed from you... you will be driven away from mankind... until you know that the Most High is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind...’ Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was accomplished..." (Daniel 4:31-33 LSB)
The timing is precise: "While the word was in the king's mouth." God allows the sin to reach its full flower before He cuts it down. The judgment comes in the very act of boasting. A voice from heaven, the seat of true authority, pronounces the sentence. The kingdom is removed. His identity as king, as a man, is stripped away. He is driven out to live with beasts. The punishment is tailored to the crime with a terrifying, poetic justice. He who exalted himself above men is now made lower than them. He who acted like a god is made to live like an animal. He who boasted in his own reason loses it entirely. He who feasted in palaces now eats grass like an ox.
This is a medical condition known today as boanthropy, a rare psychological disorder in which a person believes they are a bovine. But we must not reduce this to a mere psychological episode. This was a direct, supernatural judgment from God. The purpose of this judgment is explicitly stated: "until you know that the Most High is the powerful ruler." This is not merely punitive; it is pedagogical. God is teaching Nebuchadnezzar, and through him, all the world, a lesson in ultimate reality. God is sovereign. He doesn't just rule over the church or over religious matters. He rules over everything. He rules over Babylon. He sets up kings and He takes them down. All earthly power is delegated and temporary.
The description of his condition is graphic and humbling. Hair like eagles' feathers, nails like birds' claws. He is utterly dehumanized. This is what happens when a man rejects his status as a creature under God. He does not become a god; he becomes less than a man. When you reject the image of God, you are left with the image of the beast. This is the trajectory of all godless humanism. It begins with man as the measure of all things and ends with man as nothing more than a sophisticated animal.
The Great Confession (vv. 34-35)
After seven years, the lesson is learned, and the king's sanity returns. And the first thing he does with his restored mind is worship.
"But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes toward heaven, and my knowledge returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever..." (Daniel 4:34 LSB)
The first sign of returning sanity is looking up. Pride looks down on others, looks inward at self, or looks around at its accomplishments. Humility looks up to God. The moment Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the God of Heaven, his reason returns. This is a profound theological point. True sanity, true knowledge, begins with the fear of the Lord. You cannot understand the world correctly until you see it in relation to its Creator. To live as though God does not exist is the very definition of insanity.
And what follows is one of the most magnificent confessions of God's sovereignty in all of Scripture. It is a doxology that could have been written by David or Paul. He praises God's eternal dominion, contrasting it with his own fleeting power. He confesses the utter dependence of all creation: "all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing." This is not to say that men are worthless, but that in comparison to the self-existent God, we are contingent, dependent, and utterly powerless. God "does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth." His sovereignty is absolute and universal. And it is irresistible: "no one can strike against His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"
This is the bedrock of Christian comfort and the terror of the unrepentant. God is in complete control. Nothing happens apart from His decree. He is not a frustrated deity, wringing His hands in heaven over a world that has spun out of His control. He is the King, and He is working all things according to the counsel of His will. To the proud, this is an intolerable doctrine. But to the humble, it is the sweetest news imaginable. Our lives are not in the hands of chance, or fate, or wicked men. They are in the hands of our sovereign, wise, and good Heavenly Father.
Restoration and Testimony (vv. 36-37)
The chapter concludes with Nebuchadnezzar's full restoration and his final, public testimony.
"At that time my knowledge returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were returned to me... so I was reestablished in my kingdom, and extraordinary greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven... He is able to humble those who walk in pride." (Daniel 4:36-37 LSB)
When God restores, He does so abundantly. Not only is Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom returned to him, but "extraordinary greatness was added." His nobles and officials seek him out. This in itself is a miracle. In the cutthroat world of ancient politics, a king who goes mad for seven years is not typically welcomed back to the throne. He is replaced. The fact that his throne was waiting for him is a testament to the sovereign hand of God, who held it for him. God's grace is a restoring grace. He does not just forgive; He heals and elevates.
And the bookend to this whole account is praise. The chapter began with Nebuchadnezzar praising himself, and it ends with him praising the King of Heaven. He has learned his lesson. He has traded his pride for praise. He has discovered that true glory is not found in exalting oneself, but in exalting God. The final line is the moral of the story, the thesis of the whole chapter: God is "able to humble those who walk in pride." This is both a warning and a promise. It is a warning to all who would set themselves up against God. But it is a promise to all who feel the weight of their own pride, that God has the power to break its grip and bring them into the freedom of humility.
The Gospel According to Nebuchadnezzar
This story is a vivid, Old Testament illustration of the gospel. Every one of us, by nature, is a proud Nebuchadnezzar. We stand on the rooftop of our lives, boasting in what we have built by our power and for our glory. We are spiritually insane, cut off from the source of true reason and life. We are, in a spiritual sense, eating grass with the beasts, driven by our appetites and alienated from God.
But God, in His mercy, does not leave us in this state. He sends a judgment that is also a grace. He allows our self-built Babylons to crumble. He brings us to the end of ourselves. He humbles us, sometimes through sickness, sometimes through failure, sometimes through the simple, persistent preaching of His law that exposes our pride. He brings us to a place where we have nowhere else to look but up.
And when, by His grace, we lift our eyes to heaven, our reason returns. We see for the first time that He is God and we are not. We see that His dominion is everlasting and our lives are a vapor. And in that moment of humble recognition, we bless and praise Him. We confess His sovereignty. This is repentance. This is faith.
And then comes the glorious restoration. God does not just forgive us; He clothes us in the majesty and splendor of His own Son. He reestablishes us, not in an earthly kingdom, but in the everlasting kingdom of Christ. He adds to us an "extraordinary greatness," making us co-heirs with the King of kings. He takes proud, beastly rebels and makes them sons and daughters of the Most High.
The ultimate humbling was not Nebuchadnezzar's, but Christ's. The true King of Heaven did not wait to be humbled; He humbled Himself. He willingly left the palace of heaven, was driven out from among men, and was numbered with the transgressors. He became like a beast of the field for us, bearing our sin and our shame. He did this so that proud men like Nebuchadnezzar, and proud men like us, could be lifted up, restored to our right minds, and brought into the everlasting joy of praising the King who is able to humble those who walk in pride, and who delights to give grace to the humble.