Fulfillment of the dream.
1. (28-33) Nebuchadnezzar is stricken with madness, and humbled.
All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.
a. At the end of the twelve months: God gave Nebuchadnezzar twelve months to repent, and he probably forgot about the dream during that time – but God didn’t forget.
b. Is not this great Babylon: Babylon was truly one of the spectacular cities of the ancient world, which included the famous hanging gardens built by Nebuchadnezzar.
i. Daniel knew that the new Babylon was the creation of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:30), something previously thought untrue and only verified by recent archaeology. Nobody in the Maccabean period (second century B.C.) thought Nebuchadnezzar had built the new Babylon.
ii. In the British Museum, there are six columns of writing recovered from Babylon which describe the huge building projects of Nebuchadnezzar and his zeal to enlarge and beautify the city.
iii. Most of the bricks found in the excavations of Babylon carry this stamp: “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, supporter of Esagila and Ezida, exalted first-born son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.”
iv. Late-daters of Daniel (who say that it was written in the times of the Macabees, around 167 B.C.) can’t explain how a late writer would know to accurately attribute the spectacular buildings of Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar. One liberal Bible commentator, R. H. Pfeiffer, said of this problem: “We shall presumably never know.”
c. They shall drive you from men… eat grass like oxen: The announcement came to Nebuchadnezzar in the same words he heard in his dream. This showed him that the dream was about to be fulfilled, and he would be reduced to the existence of an animal – specifically, an ox.
i. The form of insanity in which men think of themselves as animals and imitate the behavior of an animal has been observed. Some call it generally insania zoanthropica and more specifically in Nebuchadnezzar’s case, boanthropy, the delusion that one is an ox.
ii. Walvoord quotes a Dr. Raymond Harrison of Britain, who in 1946 had a patient suffering from boanthropy, just as Nebuchadnezzar suffered.
d. He was driven from men and ate grass like oxen: There is no corresponding record of this seven-year (seven times) period of insanity in the secular historical records of Babylon – exactly as we would expect, considering the customs of that time. Nevertheless, Abydenus, a Greek historian, wrote in 268 B.C. that Nebuchadnezzar was “possessed by some god” and that he had “immediately disappeared.” (Wood)
i. Some dismiss this account of Nebuchadnezzar’s madness as unhistorical, but there is no historical record of his governmental activity between 582 B.C. and 575 B.C. This silence is deafening, especially when we keep in mind how Near Eastern leaders liked to egotistically trumpet their achievements – and hide their embarrassments.
ii. “Although critics have imagined a series of incredible objections to accepting this chapter as authentic and reasonably accurate, the narrative actually reads very sensibly and the objections seem trivial and unsupported.” (Walvoord)
iii. Nebuchadnezzar was given the opportunity to humble himself, and he did not. Now God humbled him, and the experience was much more severe than it would have been had Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself.
2. (34-37) A repentant Nebuchadnezzar is restored, and praises God.
And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding 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 is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
a. At the end of the time: Nebuchadnezzar could not break free from his madness until God appointed the end of the time. Then he had the opportunity to humble himself and lift his eyes to heaven.
i. Nebuchadnezzar knew the principle Spurgeon later explained: “The God whom we serve not only exists, but reigns. No other position would become him but that of unlimited sovereignty over all his creatures.”
b. I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him: Nebuchadnezzar could only see the truth about himself when he first saw the truth about God. The Babylonian King did see who God was, and he eloquently praised His sovereignty. After this his reason returned.
i. This return of reason results in worship. “We do not worship enough, my brethren. Even in our public gatherings we do not have enough worship. O worship the King! Bow your heads now – bow your spirits rather, and adore him that liveth for ever and ever. Your thoughts, your emotions, these are better than bullocks and he-goats to be offered on the altar: God will accept them. Worship him with lowliest reverence, for you are nothing, and he is all in all.” (Spurgeon)
ii. This return of reason results in prayer. If we believe what Nebuchadnezzar believed about God, it will certainly show in our prayer life. We will know that God can change the heart and mind of man, the course of rivers, the flow of the oceans, the distribution of resources, and the assignment of angels.
iii. Spurgeon suggested the proper response of the believer to the greatness and sovereignty of God:
· Have a heart of humble adoration.
· Show a heart of unquestioning acceptance.
· Exercise the spirit of reverent love.
· Let your spirit have profound delight.
c. I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me: God wanted to restore Nebuchadnezzar. The goal wasn’t to bring him low, but to bring him to his proper place before God and among men. Truly, Nebuchadnezzar learned that those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
i. The abiding lesson is plain: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). There have been many who rise from humble origins to great glory, and then fall. Perhaps it is better to have never been raised up than to rise and then fall. Most, if not all, fall through pride; and a proud look is number one on the list of God’s most hated sins (Proverbs 6:16-19).
ii. We also see that God will glorify himself among the nations. When Nebuchadnezzar took some of the treasures of the Jerusalem temple and put them in the temples of his gods, he had reason to believe that his gods were stronger than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By the end of Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar knew which God was the true God. And when Nebuchadnezzar knew it, he wasn’t shy about telling people what he had learned – he was a true witness, giving testimony to God’s great works.
iii. Some find prophetic significance in this account. Since Babylon is used in the Scriptures as a figure of the world system in general, we can say:
· Nebuchadnezzar’s madness foreshadows the madness of Gentile nations in their rejection of God.
· Nebuchadnezzar’s fall typifies Jesus’ judgment of the nations.
· Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration foreshadows the restoring of some of these nations in the millennial kingdom.