The fall and rise of Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel 4, verses 19-37

Daniel 4:19–37

Daniel interprets the dream.

Then Daniel, also called Belteshazzar, was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him.

So the king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.

Belteshazzar answered, My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries.

The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,

with its beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals,

and having nesting places in its branches for the birds.

Your majesty, you are that tree. You have become great and strong.

Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

Your majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying,

Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze,

in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground.

Let him be drenched until the dew of the heaven.

Let him live with the wild animals until seven times pass by for him.

This is the interpretation, your majesty, and this is the decree of the Most High,

as issued by against my lord, the king.

You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals.

You will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven.

Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth

and gives them to anyone he wishes.

The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you

when you acknowledge that heaven rules.

Therefore, your majesty, be pleased to accept my advice.

Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your weakness by being kind to the oppressed.

It may be that then your prosperity will continue.

The dream is fulfilled.

All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said,

Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence,

by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?

Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven,

This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar.

Your royal authority has been taken away from you.

You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals.

You will eat grass like the ox.

Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth

and gives them to anyone he wishes.

Immediately, what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.

He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox.

His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle

and his nails like the claw of a bird.

At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes towards heaven and my sanity was restored.

Then I praised the Most High.

I honoured and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion.

His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.

He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.

No one can hold back his hand or say to him,

What have you done?

At the same time that my sanity was restored,

my honour and splendour were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom.

My advisors and nobles sought me out,

out and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exult and glorify the King of heaven

because everything he does is right and all his ways are just.

And those who walk in pride, he is able to humble.

Daniel, chapter 4.

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

We'll see pride before a fall and we'll see God's power that shows mercy.

Daniel, chapter 4 is really interesting because it really stands as a personal testimony

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

to God's glory and mercy that comes from King Nebuchadnezzar.

Now, imagine waking up tomorrow and you got your morning newspaper

and you found there was an open letter in there.

In fact, every national newspaper was carrying the same open letter

and a news conference had been called and an exclusive interview was about to be given

and it was from our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson,

who wanted our nation and the nations of the world to know that he was praising God

for being humbled, praising God because now he could see that heaven rules.

He was speaking to us about in this crisis,

understanding the need to trust in God as the one who is truly in control,

calling himself and others to seek for God's power and mercy.

Imagine if that happened in our nation.

It would cause shockwaves, wouldn't it?

But this happened in Babylon.

In Daniel, chapter 4 and verses 1 and 2,

Daniel 4 · chapter mention

we discover that this whole chapter is an open letter

that is being taken by heralds all around the kingdom of Babylon

to the nations and peoples of every language who live in all the earth.

This is what Nebuchadnezzar says,

It's my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders

that the Most High God has performed for me.

He's proclaiming with gladness God's eternal rule and kingdom.

We hear Nebuchadnezzar's confession

that the true king, as it were, chopped him down to size.

He can say, That was for my good.

That was so I could discover the mercy of God.

So it's a remarkable chapter in the Bible.

And we're going to think about some lessons that we can draw from it.

But first, let's think about Nebuchadnezzar's testimony

of his rise, his fall and his rise again.

So his story begins in verse 4 with his contentment.

He is, after all, the most powerful man in the world in his day,

head of the most powerful empire of his day,

one who was used to luxury and wealth and fame and glory.

But just as we have previously seen him have a dream that troubles him,

so in verse 5 he tells us,

I had a dream that made me afraid.

This dream becomes in his mind a nightmare.

And his response is the same as before.

He goes to his experts, those dream readers,

to see what they can do.

And they offer no help at all.

And again, he then realises it's the time to call Daniel,

to call Belteshazzar.

And Daniel is better because Daniel worships the true God

with the level of understanding Nebuchadnezzar has.

He says, finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him,

my dream, the spirit of the holy gods is in him.

And Nebuchadnezzar then tells Daniel the dream.

And before Daniel begins to explain and interpret the dream,

we discover something really significant about Daniel.

It's Daniel's turn to be afraid.

Then Daniel was greatly perplexed for a time and his thoughts terrified him.

My Lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries.

What do we discover about Daniel?

We discover someone who respects and who cares for King Nebuchadnezzar.

And that's remarkable.

Just last week in Daniel chapter 3,

Daniel 3 · chapter mention

we discovered this same Nebuchadnezzar tries to roast Daniel's three friends in a fire

for refusing to bow down to his gold image.

Daniel is one of the exiles taken from Judah.

And a letter came via Jeremiah to the exiles.

And in Jeremiah 29, the exiles are told to seek the welfare,

seek the peace and prosperity of the city in which you are now living in exile.

And Daniel is an incredible model of that integrity and care in his workplace and for his master.

But then he delivers the meaning of the dream,

which contains in it a warning message from God.

So Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed of a tree that was massive,

that filled the earth,

a tree that was providing shelter for birds and animals,

a tree that was providing food for all.

Daniel says to him,

verse 22,

your majesty,

you are that tree.

Here is Nebuchadnezzar,

a king at the height of his powers,

a king with great influence through his vast empire.

That picture of a tree with almost cosmic dimensions,

again is a great reminder of Genesis 11 and the Tower of Babel.

That towering construction,

which was on the one hand a great testimony to human achievement,

but it was also a testament to overreaching pride,

to self-glory.

And we will see that at the height of Nebuchadnezzar's power,

he falls into that trap as well.

And so there is this warning that just as Nebuchadnezzar is that great tree,

so God is going to function as divine lumberjack.

That he will be cut down.

The picture there is that the tree will be cut,

the stump will be left,

and an iron band will be placed around it to protect it,

so it won't be removed.

And Daniel says to him,

that tree represents the king.

The king who will be cut down

and won't be restored

until he recognises that heaven rules.

Daniel tells him

that not only will he be cut down,

he'll also, his mind will be changed,

so he'll become like an animal.

And he would be driven away,

verse 25,

until you acknowledge that the Most High

is sovereign over all kingdoms of the earth.

And his kingdom would only be restored in verse 26

when he acknowledged that heaven rules.

And Daniel is encouraging Nebuchadnezzar

to change his perspective,

to beware of pride,

and also to repent of the injustice

that he has been guilty of.

So in verse 27,

therefore your master,

be pleased to accept my advice,

renounce your sins by doing what is right,

and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed.

It may be that then your prosperity will continue

when God gives a warning of future judgment,

there is mercy in that,

a chance to repent.

And so Daniel calls the king to repentance.

But Nebuchadnezzar continues with his testimony,

and in verses 28 to 33,

we see what happens 12 months later,

his dream becomes reality.

The way this open letter is presented,

it switches from Nebuchadnezzar speaking,

saying,

I now move to the third person.

It's as if King Nebuchadnezzar,

because of his illness,

he needs someone else to testify

to what had been happening.

Now, what was the trigger to this illness?

12 months later,

as the king was walking on the roof

of the royal palace of Babylon,

he said,

is this not the great Babylon I have built

as the royal residence by my mighty power

and for the glory of my majesty?

It's very symbolic.

Here is Nebuchadnezzar on the roof

of his great palace,

and he's looking down in his pride.

Look at what I built for my power

and for my glory.

He has completely lost perspective.

He has forgotten human dependence

on God as creator and sustainer and king.

He has no sense that the right to rule

comes from God,

that there is an obligation

to give honour and glory to God.

So we see there is an instant fall.

The judgment comes just as was promised,

and verse 33,

immediately what had been said

about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.

He was driven away from people

and ate grass like an ox

from majesty the descent into madness.

He was brought low by God.

Maybe you have heard those personal testimony stories

of someone brought low by God,

of God finding people, as it were,

in the gutter or finding them

in their lowest point.

Two for me really stand out.

Once there was a church camp down in London,

and on the Sunday evening,

we went to a local church,

and they happened to have a guest

giving their testimony

and having an interview,

and it was Jonathan Aitken,

a former Conservative MP

who was convicted and sent to prison for perjury.

And during the process of that,

he became a Christian,

a follower of Jesus.

He wrote, I say,

a really helpful little book on the Psalms,

but he spoke about God meeting him

in that lowest point of his life.

But then I also think of the story

of a Chinese student in Glasgow

who was found by an elderly Christian couple

on the street in tears one day,

distress and fear.

Everything seemed to be going wrong.

And they welcomed her in,

and they established friendship

and shared the gospel.

And she came to faith

from that lowest point.

God showed mercy

and God showed salvation.

So imagine what's going on here.

Imagine we're the first people

to hear this letter

being proclaimed by a herald.

Here is the emperor,

most powerful man in the world,

openly sharing of his fall into insanity

and acknowledging God and his mercy.

Restoration will come for him.

And we find out why.

Verse 34,

at the end of that time,

I, Nebuchadnezzar,

raised my eyes towards heaven

and my sanity was restored.

His perspective changed.

Joyce Baldwin says,

insanity begins with a realistic self-appraisal.

Nebuchadnezzar has been humbled

by almighty God.

No longer is he standing over and above everyone.

Now he's humbled

because he recognises his place before God.

He has a new understanding

of God.

God's dominion is an eternal dominion.

His kingdom endures

from generation to generation.

God is the true king.

His kingdom is extensive.

It is eternal.

There is no rise or fall

with God the king.

He understands the folly

of claiming godlike status

in his pride.

In verse 35,

he says,

all the peoples of the earth

are regarded as nothing.

He does as he pleases

with the powers of heaven.

No one can hold back his hand

or say to him,

what have you done?

God's will cannot be stopped.

God is ultimate authority.

And for Nebuchadnezzar,

he can see that this dream

of his being cut down to size,

of his shift into insanity,

it became reality.

But Nebuchadnezzar also came

to understand something else.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar,

praise and exalt and glorify

the king of heaven.

Why?

Because everything he does is right

and all his ways are just.

And those who walk in pride,

he's able to humble.

God uses his almighty power

in order to show mercy

in this case,

to humble proud Nebuchadnezzar

so he'd be in a place

to recognise and acknowledge

and praise God.

So that's his testimony.

Begins by praising God,

tells his story,

finishes by praising God

for humbling him

and showing him mercy.

It's a remarkable chapter

of the Bible.

And as we think about learning

from Nebuchadnezzar's testimony,

we realise there's so much

going on in this chapter,

there's so much we could talk about.

One thing we certainly need

to talk about

is that Nebuchadnezzar

and his story

gives us a clear warning

against pride.

It's the first sin,

the sin that we see

in the Garden of Eden.

That desire of Adam and Eve

to be God-like,

to overreach,

to overstep the boundaries

and reaching out

for the forbidden fruit.

Pride was the great sin

of the Tower of Babel.

Let's get together

and let's construct

this great tower

that will be for our glory,

glory without God.

Now, among the hanging gardens

of Babylon,

we see that same pride

coming out.

I've done this.

This is all my work

and this is for my glory.

It's a sin

that we all battle with

and that we all need

to deal with.

The Nebuchadnezzar story

helps us to see

that pride involves

having a wrong perspective.

There he is on the roof

and he's looking down.

And pride involves

looking down on others.

I am better than,

I know more than,

or pride also looks sideways

in comparing.

Doing better than that person,

at least I'm not as bad

as that one over there,

forgetting to look up.

Pride dismisses God

to place the God of self

on the throne of our lives.

It is the first sin.

It is a great sin

because it fails to give God

his place

because we want that place.

What we need

is that perspective change.

The one that looks up

to heaven.

To recognise

that we were made

to worship,

to enjoy God,

to live in relationship

with him,

to live under him,

to live with humble

dependence upon him.

So for each one of us,

we need to be checking

our point of view.

What's the perspective

with which we live life,

with which we go into

our days?

Are we looking to assert

self as number one?

Or can we gladly say

heaven rules?

Another thing we see

from Nebuchadnezzar's testimony

is that suffering

can be redemptive.

That God in his mighty power

and wisdom

can use suffering

for good.

Discomfort.

Extreme trials

can be

means of spiritual growth

and lasting change.

And that's one of the

great hopes

and prayers

of the church

for this phase of life.

We had another

five days of prayer

and we spent

a lot of time

asking that God

would use this time

as a means of

drawing the people

of God closer

to himself

in independent

trust and worship

but also drawing others

in a sense of need

and despair

and hopelessness

to come to God

and to find answers

and to find life

and to find joy

and salvation.

But suffering

can only be redemptive

if

we lift our eyes

to heaven.

Only if

we look to God

for mercy.

Only when we see

the limits

of ourselves

and those

idols

those things

that we typically

look to

for identity

and security

and purpose

and hope

only if we see

the end of them

if we come

to an end

of ourselves

and we look

up to God

for mercy

only then

can suffering

have that

redemptive purpose.

We see in the story

of Nebuchadnezzar

that God

is both powerful

and God

is merciful

and that God

is able

from this

personal crisis

to do

spiritual

good.

Leading

Nebuchadnezzar

to move away

from a place

where he

basically insists

that he

is a God

to his people

where he's now

telling the peoples

here's the God

you need to praise

and worship

because he is the true king

and his kingdom

is the one that lasts.

The God

who cuts

down

is the same

God

who graciously

restores.

So there is

an invitation

to each one

of us

as

we are

maybe at

different stages

of trying

to pick up

the pieces

and trying

to get

back to

some kind

of normality.

Will God

be the centre

of that

new

normal?

Will he

be the one

we place

our hope

in?

Will we

allow him

to use

this

suffering

in our

life

to achieve

something

of spiritual

and lasting

good

as we

look away

from ourselves

and as we

look up

to heaven

as we

cry out

from the

depths

to God

for mercy

as we

read in

Psalm 130

and we

also see

and we've

already mentioned

it in the

story of

Nebuchadnezzar

that God's

mercy

is powerful.

I wonder

if you ever

find yourself

discouraged

thinking about

people that

you care

about

family members

friends

colleagues

wondering

will that

person ever

change?

Can they

change?

Can God

work in

that person's

heart?

Maybe tempted

to give

up praying?

Well let

Nebuchadnezzar

be a reminder

of just how

powerful God's

mercy is.

Somebody who

set himself

up as a

God, somebody

who's willing

to kill

those who

were worshipping

God, is

now praising

God.

God, our

God, loves

sinners and

he loves to

save sinners

and he

surprises with

grace for

his glory.

This is also

a reminder to

us to pray

for our

leaders.

Those leaders

are appointed

by God, they

deserve our

respect and as

the Bible says

they also

deserve our

prayers.

pray believing

that God

can change

them, that

God can

save them,

that God

can use

them for

his good

purposes.

In this

current crisis

can God

save people

from the

depths of

despair and

fear?

He did it

for Nebuchadnezzar

and he can

certainly still

do it today.

maybe he

will restore

you today.

Maybe you

are powerfully

aware of

your need

and you

know also

that you

have not

been setting

your eyes

towards heaven.

Well, maybe

this is the

day that

you would

understand your

sin and your

need, you'd

see the

goodness and

glory and

the love of

God in

sending Jesus,

that you would

raise your eyes

to heaven to

see Jesus,

your Saviour,

the one who

longs to

save you,

that you'd

recognise his

rule, that

you would

trust in

him and

that you

would know

that restoring.

So we

see this

wonderful and

surprising

testimony from

King

Nebuchadnezzar.

But as

always, I

want us to

close thinking

about the

story of

God's true

and ultimate

king who

is Jesus.

Picture

Jesus, the

one who

doesn't just

survey one

kingdom.

He looks

over the

whole world

as its

creator and

sustainer.

But there

is no pride

in Jesus,

no hanging

on to his

position of

glory in

heaven.

In

humility,

Jesus

becomes one

of us.

He enters

in.

The Son

of God

becomes a

man.

And this

wasn't a

forced

humility.

He chose

a path of

humble

obedience

that led

him into

suffering,

that led

him to

death on

a cross.

Why that

path?

Why that

journey?

Because Jesus

is taking the

place of

proud,

rebel

sinners

like us.

He is

dying in

our place

for our

sins,

for us as

we build

our own

little empire,

pursuing our

glory,

where we

leave no

room for

God.

Jesus

comes to

die for

that sin

and so

many more

so that we

might be

forgiven,

so that by

looking to

Jesus,

now the

King in

heaven,

to come

to him

is to

be

restored.

Here is

the cure

for pride

to look

to Jesus,

our humble,

self-giving

Saviour,

and we

are called

to walk

in his

steps.

Nebuchadnezzar

was a

king,

pictured as

a tree

who was

cut down

and restored.

Jesus,

in his

stories and

in his

teaching,

used that

picture of

a tree

to speak

about his

kingdom,

the true

kingdom of

God,

the kingdom

that begins

as small

as a

mustard seed

with just

a few,

but then

grows to

become the

biggest of

all the

trees and

the birds

nest in

its branches.

Jesus uses

this picture

of the

kingdom of

God to

say that

it's a

growing

kingdom.

It would

become a

global

kingdom and

we praise

God that

that's true

and that

through this

pandemic the

church still

continues to

grow,

that we can

come to

King Jesus

and find

shelter in

our sorrow,

in our sadness,

in our fear.

We can come to

him and find

life and life

in all its

fullness.

So let's

come to

him.

Let's heed

the testimony

of Nebuchadnezzar

and come

to our

powerful

God to

find

mercy.

Let's see.