The Call of the Wild

Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs, and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” (4:1–3)

Daniel did not write this chapter. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, wrote it. In it, we see the final step in the path God had laid out for this pagan king.

• First, he had to admit that Yahweh was OK (chapter 1).
• Next, he had to admit that Yahweh was a real god with real powers (chapter 2).
• Then, he had to admit that Yahweh was the Most High God powerful enough to resist his Babylonian gods (chapter 3).
• Finally, he had to recognize that Yahweh is truly the Most High God that the Babylonian gods could not resist (chapter 4). In other words, Yahweh was supreme over all.

Now, let’s not over-read the text. It’s still a long way from “Yahweh is the highest of many true gods” to “Hear O Israel! The Lord is God, the Lord is one” (Deut 6:4). If he had declared that publicly, the revolt of chapter 3 would have looked like a frat house food fight. At the same time, let’s not miss the importance of how far Nebuchadnezzar came.

Nebuchadnezzar grew up completely pagan. He paid tribute to the gods of Babylon so they’d grant him favors. By small steps, he came to the point of publicly declaring that the Hebrew God was the greatest of all. This meant that every person in his empire was now duty bound to honor Yahweh. He even used the Aramaic equivalent of the Hebrew Shalom. It seems reasonable to suggest that when we rise to meet Jesus (1 Thess 4:16–17), Nebuchadnezzar will be there with us.

This may be a shock to some of you. After all, we’re used to thinking about Nebuchadnezzar as the wicked king who destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC, taking all the sacred Temple furnishings with him to celebrate the victory of his pagan gods over Yahweh. But Yahweh has a way of turning people around. No one is so far gone that he can’t come to salvation, if he’ll allow himself to listen. And God is patient (2 Pet 3:9), working at just the right speed to bring us where we need to be, when we need to be there. Let’s see how God managed to save his “servant” Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 25:9).

God’s Final Warning

The story starts when Babylon was at peace. We don’t know the date except that it’s definitely after the palace revolt in 594 and probably after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC.(1) While the king was at ease in his palace (4:4) he had a dream that made him afraid (4:5).

He saw a huge tree that grew so large it could be seen everywhere on earth. Its foliage and fruit were abundant, feeding everything that lived. Then an angel came down from heaven with a command to cut down the tree so all the animals would flee. But the stump was to be left with a band of iron and bronze around it. (4:10–15, partial)

If that was as far as the dream went, Nebuchadnezzar might have chalked it up to a bad meal and had the chef executed. But the angel didn’t stop. He went on, but shifted from talking about a tree to talking about him. That got the king’s attention.

He will be drenched with the dew of heaven and live in the grass with the beasts of the earth. His mind will be changed into an animal’s mind for a period of seven times. The watchers, the holy ones, decree this sentence so that the living will know that the Most High is ruler over mankind. He gives authority to anyone He chooses. (4:15–17)

By now, Nebuchadnezzar’s pretty sure that the vision’s about him. He’s so shook up he forgets a lesson he learned in chapter 1. Instead of calling Daniel with his mainline to Yahweh, the interpreter of dreams (4:9), he calls the Chaldeans (4:6–7). It isn’t till they’ve all blown it that Daniel gets called (4:8).
God had His hand in this. If the king had called Daniel first, the Chaldeans could have claimed that his training at Babylon U let him interpret the dream. Yahweh wouldn’t get any recognition. But once they failed, there was no way they could take any credit. All the glory would go to God. And the Chaldeans fell flat on their faces.
Nebuchadnezzar repeated the dream to Daniel, and he became stiff with fright.(2) He wished he hadn’t gotten up that day. His friend was in big trouble.

If only the dream applied to those who hate you and its application to your adversaries! 

Nebuchadnezzar was the tree that grew large and visible to all the earth. His majesty became great and reached to the sky and his dominion to the end of the earth. (4:19–22, partial)

Let’s step back for a moment. Daniel knew about Egypt, and the fact that Babylon didn’t rule there.(3) He knew about Greece, since there were mercenary Greek bodyguards in the royal court. And he probably knew about other places that Nebuchadnezzar didn’t control. So in our critical Western way of thinking, what Daniel says isn’t true. But that way of thinking is anachronism. It takes Daniel’s statement out of its time and applies our standards to it. We can’t do that and be responsible with scripture. Daniel’s statement was perfectly true in the context of his world.

Nebuchadnezzar was the absolute ruler of the world of interest to the Jews. The expression to the end of the earth is a synecdoche.(4) In this case, the term for a whole entity — “the end of the earth” (or wherever men dwell in 2:38) refers to a part of that whole — “the Babylonian Empire.”(5) It was commonly used by rulers in that era.

About thirty years after Nebuchadnezzar died, Cyrus the Great declared himself “king of the world . . . All the kings dwelling . . .  in all the quarters of the earth . . . brought me their heavy tribute and in Babylon kissed my feet.”(6) Cyrus knew he didn’t rule every bit of the world. But the parts he didn’t rule weren’t particularly important to him.

Reached to the sky is the same sort of language. It’s not meant to be taken literally. It figuratively describes the greatness of Babylon. It also describes the height of Nebuchadnezzar’s personal pride. He regarded himself almost as one of the gods, and that is an affront to the One True God.(7) Nebuchadnezzar must either submit himself to Yahweh, or Yahweh will bring him down. Yahweh’s reputation is at stake (cf. 9:19). He can’t let this pagan king go on treating Him as merely an equal in the presence of His captive people.

A watcher declares the verdict of the divine council (cf. 7:10, Pss 89:5–7).(8) If Nebuchadnezzar will break away from his sins by doing righteousness, and from his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, his prosperity may be prolonged (4:27).(9) If he doesn’t, he will be driven away from mankind to dwell with the beasts of the field. He will eat grass like cows and be drenched with dew. Seven times will pass over him so that he will recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind (4:25).

That’s the bad news. Daniel also has a bit of good news. The stump and roots will be preserved. God will make sure that Nebuchadnezzar will get his kingdom back after he recognizes that Yahweh rules in heaven (4:26).

Understandably, Daniel doesn’t want the king to go through all this. The simple answer is for Nebuchadnezzar to worship Yahweh now. Then God won’t have to bring this calamity on him (cf. Deut 32:21–29, Isa 45:5–8). Unfortunately, the king doesn’t listen.

Twelve months later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of the palace, looking at the beautiful city (4:29). Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? (4:30).

By any human standard, Nebuchadnezzar was fully justified. Babylon was a place of wonders that the Greek historian Herodotus said “surpasses in splendor any city in the known world.”(10) In the forty-three years of his rule, Nebuchadnezzar went on a building spree of monumental proportions. He enlarged the city greatly, building miles of walls. Archeologists have found impressive palaces, temples, and statues. The streets were paved with asphalt, and the walls were covered with beautiful carvings. He built hanging gardens that were one of the Seven Wonders of the World.(11) He had earned his boast.

But Yahweh was really the one who had given the king his power and glory (2:37). And He wasn’t about to take kindly to being dissed.

While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place 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 recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind. (4:31–32)

This was Nebuchadnezzar’s final act of rebellion against Yahweh. By claiming full credit himself, he had excluded the God of heaven. This brought down the proverbial lightning bolt. Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled (4:33). He spent seven years living like an animal.(12)

We might wonder why nobody took over the kingdom. After all, the king was out of the picture. When Nebuchadnezzar’s father died, he made a forced march across the desert from Palestine in twenty days to “sit down on the throne” before anyone else could claim it. Seven years is a lot longer than twenty days, so there had to have been lots of opportunities for an ambitious general to take over.

This brings us to a key point we often overlook. God promised that the kingdom would be there when Nebuchadnezzar returned to his senses. We don’t have any details of how He did it, but God faithfully kept his promise.

At the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason 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 ward off His hand or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?' At that time my reason returned to me.

And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing 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. (4:34–37)

How many of us are able to praise God the way Nebuchadnezzar did? Even though surpassing greatness was added to him, he praised Yahweh as the ultimate, most high God, who rules absolutely and is able to humble those who walk in pride.

It’s easy to gloss over the historical parts of Daniel. But God put them there for a reason. The first four chapters tell about Daniel and his friends. But they also tell how the most powerful king on earth journeyed from pride to service of the Almighty.

Nebuchadnezzar had everything a man could want. He was powerful beyond our imagination. He was wealthy beyond belief. But, being a man, he was nothing compared to God. Yet God saw fit to work with him, slowly teach him, punish him, and finally raise him to great honor. Are we willing to let God do the same with us?