It is you, O
king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such
that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth. –
Daniel 4:22 (NET)
In the prophetic and
apocalyptic work of Daniel, it is said that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had
been “frightened badly” (4:5) by a dream. He would come to recount the
dream to Daniel, and Daniel proceeded to inform him as to the meaning and
interpretation of that dream. It is said that Nebuchadnezzar had been
frightened by his dream, whereas Daniel was upset and alarmed at what it was
that he was going to have to tell the king, going so far as to say “if only the
dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries”
(4:19). One should take a moment to
imagine what it would be like to hear such words from somebody that has proven
to be reliable in their interpretation of dreams.
The king had dreamed
about a tree “whose top reached to the sky, and which could be seen in all the
land, whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which
there was food available for all” (4:20b-21a). This, Daniel said,
represented Nebuchadnezzar. However, the command came to “Chop down the
tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron
and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become
damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven
periods of time go by for him” (4:23b).
Before going any
further, it should be pointed out that just before Nebuchadnezzar tells his
dream to Daniel, he had made the proclamation to the whole of his empire, in
regards to Daniel and Israel’s God: “How great are His signs! How mighty
are His wonders! His kingdom will last forever, and his authority
continues from one generation to the next” (4:3). Interestingly, within
seconds it seems (at least as far as the Biblical narrative stands, though it
could have been a much longer period of time between the two events),
Nebuchadnezzar is being given a dream which, as he will hear, has him being cut
down and temporarily removed from his place of power.
Having informed the
king that it is he that is the tree of his dream, Daniel tells him that “It is
the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king.
You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild
animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with
the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before
you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them
to whomever he wishes” (4:24b-25). This must have certainly been a bit
befuddling to the king, especially when viewed in the light of his grand
proclamation concerning this very same God. Also, this is the same
Nebuchadnezzar that the Creator God has raised up, and who seems to realize
that he has been raised up, to bring that God’s judgment upon and against His
covenant people that had failed to live up to their covenant obligation to be a
light to all nations and reflect His glory into the world.
However, Daniel does
not leave Nebuchadnezzar without hope. He continues his explanation of
the dream, saying “They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom
will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven rules”
(4:26). Daniel’s prescription to Nebuchadnezzar, in light of his pending
problem, was to “Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” (4:27b). The narrative informs
the reader that just twelve months later “all of this happened to King
Nebuchadnezzar” (4:28).
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