DANIEL 4:18
The Bible says in Daniel 4:18-27, This dream I
king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the
interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not
able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the
spirit of the holy gods is in thee.[19] Then Daniel, whose name was
Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The
king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation
thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to
them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.[20]
The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached
unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;[21] Whose
leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under
which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the
heaven had their habitation:[22] It is thou, O king, that art grown and
become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy
dominion to the end of the earth.[23] And whereas the king saw a watcher
and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and
destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a
band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet
with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field,
till seven times pass over him;[24] This is the interpretation, O king,
and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:[25]
That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts
of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet
thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou
know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever he will.[26] And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of
the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have
known that the heavens do rule.[27] Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be
acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine
iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy
tranquillity. Evidently King
Nebuchadnezzar would be made temporarily insane and would be taken off the
throne for a while. How long would Nebuchadnezzar live like an animal? It says
in verse 26, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. God decides what will happen in every detail of every
persons life. He is everywhere-present. He is all-powerful. He is involved.
Some people forget these truths, especially the rich and powerful. But God
wants them to learn too. They have a soul. They will live somewhere forever. If
they do not live in the kingdom of God, then they will join the rich man that
Jesus spoke of in Luke 16:19-23, There was a certain rich man, which
was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:[20]
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full
of sores,[21] And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the
rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.[22] And
it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into
Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;[23] And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom.
One of
the reasons that God allows bad things to happen to some people is so that they
will see their need of God and turn to Christ. The things of this world are not
important anyway compared to eternity, so what difference does it make should
you lose one or more of them? It is much more important to have your soul
saved, and to end up in heaven forever than to have anything else.
Nebuchadnezzar had to learn this lesson. He had to lose a lot in order to learn
it. God brought Nebuchadnezzar down so that Nebuchadnezzar would learn that God
is the one who had set him up in the first place. Job said in Job 1:21, Naked came I
out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and
the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. Job learned the same important lesson, albeit in a
different context.
The
Bible says in Daniel 4:28-37, All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.[29]
At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.[30]
The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the
house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my
majesty?[31] While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice
from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom
is departed from thee.[32] And they shall drive thee from men, and thy
dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat
grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the
most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.[33]
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven
from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of
heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like
birds' claws.[34] And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up
mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed
the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to
generation:[35] And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as
nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What
doest thou?[36] At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the
glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my
counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom,
and excellent majesty was added unto me.[37] Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise
and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his
ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. I think that this passage of scripture shows that
Nebuchadnezzar had a genuine conversion experience. But before he would turn to
the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar had to get past his greatest obstacle: pride. That is
the same obstacle that many people have that keeps them from turning to the
Lord Jesus. Nebuchadnezzar had much too high of an opinion of himself,
Nebuchadnezzar took credit for things that God had done for him, and
Nebuchadnezzar needed to understand more of what God was really like: the
all-powerful ruler of this earth. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar said in verse 30,
Is
not this great
Once
Nebuchadnezzar learned his lesson, not only did his soul get saved, but also
the Lord returned him to power in
The
Bible says in Daniel 5:1-4, Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a
thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.[2]
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver
vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was
in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines,
might drink therein.[3] Then they brought the golden vessels that were
taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the
king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.[4]
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of
iron, of wood, and of stone. It took a lot of time and effort
on Gods part to bring Nebuchadnezzar around to seeing his need of the one true
God. As we focus on a new king we see that he also had spiritual problems due
to his involvement in false religion. The whole world lies in wickedness, and
people can be reached for Christ one at a time. That is exactly how God does
it: one person at a time. That is why it says about Jesus in John 1:9, That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world. Each person has the same basic
need: the need to be saved from their sins through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Belshazzar
definitely needed to be saved. He is introduced to us as a drinker of wine. The
drinking of wine is mentioned five times in the first four verses of Daniel
chapter 5. Belshazzar also was involved in false religion. Evidently,
Belshazzar rejected the spiritual lessons learned from his father,
Nebuchadnezzar. It says about Belshazzar and the others around him in verse 4,
They
drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of
iron, of wood, and of stone. Not only did Belshazzar worship
false gods, but also he mocked and dishonored the one true God. That was
emphasized by the fact that he took vessels that had come from the
Even
though his judgment was soon to come, Belshazzar still had a warning. The
warning that most people get is the Spirit of God working on their conscience
and reminding them that they had better get right with Christ, because the end
for their life may come on any day. There is no promise of tomorrow for any of
us. It says in Daniel 5:5-9, In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's
hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of
the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.[6]
Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that
the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.[7]
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever
shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be
clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the
third ruler in the kingdom.[8] Then came in all the king's wise men: but
they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation
thereof.[9] Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his
countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied. This is the incident from which we get the popular saying
concerning seeing the handwriting on the wall. Belshazzar and all the people
gathered with him in that drunken and godless celebration saw the handwriting
on the wall. Of course, it was Gods hand; and the message written was a
pronouncement of Gods judgment. Too bad that more people are not aware of
Gods impending judgment on a wicked world. It says in Hebrews 9:27, And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after
this the judgment.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2013 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved