Unprecedented stuff - God cuts an emperor down to size.
Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream
Daniel 4:4-18
Daniel’s explanation
Daniel 4:19-27
Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years of madness
Daniel 4:28-33
Death of Jeremiah 570BC
Nebuchadnezzar is restored and praises God
Daniel 4:34-37
Release of Jehoiachin
2 Kings 25:27-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34
Daniel’s vision of the four beasts
Daniel 7:1-8
His vision of the eternal God
Daniel 7:9-14
Daniel 4 is an extraordinary chapter for all sorts of reasons. The first surprise is to hear it being told in the first person - Nebuchadnezzar is speaking, not Daniel. It’s as if he is giving testimony to what happened to him, and acknowledging after the event that God the all-powerful punished him for giving way to pride.
There he was, walking in his wonderful hanging gardens thinking, “I’m the man,” when the dream that Daniel had interpreted for him came true. God cut him down, but after seven years gave him his power and authority back again. The humbled emperor gives glory to God.
This is an extraordinary thing for another reason - God is dealing with a non-Jewish person, taking pains over him, rewarding him with blessings and power and wealth, and, according to Jeremiah’s prophecy, using him to punish his own people and to bring judgement on a variety of other nations. In the time of Noah, God used a flood. Now he’s using a man.
After a brief bit of history, which tells us that the next king after Nebuchadnezzar was even kinder to Israel, we return to Daniel who has a vision of the sweep of history for centuries ahead. God is watching over the rise and fall of dynasties, and his purposes never fail. It’s Daniel’s turn to have a dream, and he needs a heavenly interpreter. Commentaries tell me that people usually associate the weird beasts Daniel sees with different empires, culminating in the Roman empire that ruled Israel when Jesus was born. So Daniel sees a long way ahead.
Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream
Daniel 4:4-18
Daniel’s explanation
Daniel 4:19-27
Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years of madness
Daniel 4:28-33
Death of Jeremiah 570BC
Nebuchadnezzar is restored and praises God
Daniel 4:34-37
Release of Jehoiachin
2 Kings 25:27-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34
Daniel’s vision of the four beasts
Daniel 7:1-8
His vision of the eternal God
Daniel 7:9-14
Daniel 4 is an extraordinary chapter for all sorts of reasons. The first surprise is to hear it being told in the first person - Nebuchadnezzar is speaking, not Daniel. It’s as if he is giving testimony to what happened to him, and acknowledging after the event that God the all-powerful punished him for giving way to pride.
There he was, walking in his wonderful hanging gardens thinking, “I’m the man,” when the dream that Daniel had interpreted for him came true. God cut him down, but after seven years gave him his power and authority back again. The humbled emperor gives glory to God.
This is an extraordinary thing for another reason - God is dealing with a non-Jewish person, taking pains over him, rewarding him with blessings and power and wealth, and, according to Jeremiah’s prophecy, using him to punish his own people and to bring judgement on a variety of other nations. In the time of Noah, God used a flood. Now he’s using a man.
After a brief bit of history, which tells us that the next king after Nebuchadnezzar was even kinder to Israel, we return to Daniel who has a vision of the sweep of history for centuries ahead. God is watching over the rise and fall of dynasties, and his purposes never fail. It’s Daniel’s turn to have a dream, and he needs a heavenly interpreter. Commentaries tell me that people usually associate the weird beasts Daniel sees with different empires, culminating in the Roman empire that ruled Israel when Jesus was born. So Daniel sees a long way ahead.
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