Nebuchadnezzar is
said to have engaged in sin, and implored by Daniel to “do right.” He is further encouraged to break away from
his iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.
Here, not only does Daniel provide a rather overt definition of sin and
wrong in the eyes of the Creator God, but he is essentially informing the king that
he has engaged in the exact same types of activities (calling it sin) that
landed the covenant people of which Daniel is part (Judah/Israel) in the
position of subservience to Babylon as part of their God’s judgment upon them.
Nebuchadnezzar, and
presumably Israel, were guilty of sin, and the nature of this sin is announced
in Nebuchadnezzar being instructed to show mercy to the poor. Essentially, he was going to experience judgment
in much the same way as had Israel, and for much the same reason---failing to
live up to covenant obligations, having acknowledged the Creator God of Israel,
and presumably having come to an understanding of being raised up by that God
for a specific purpose.
So what were the
circumstances under which these things that Daniel had told the king were going
to take place were brought about? Well, “he happened to be walking around
the battlements of the royal palace of Babylon” and “uttered these words: ‘Is
not this the great Babylon that I have built from a royal residence by my own
mighty strength and for my majestic honor?’” (4:29-30) By the way the narrative
is constructed, it appears that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten the dream and
Daniel’s warning (or perhaps come to disregard it), as well as His proclamation
concerning the signs, might, wonders, kingdom, and authority of Daniel’s God.
Consequently, the
Creator God’s response to this statement is swift, as the author reports that
“While these words were still on the king’s lips, a voice came down from
heaven: ‘It is hereby announced to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom
has been removed from you! You will be driven from human society, and you
will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and 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’.”
(4:31-32) As the God of Israel apparently did not see fit to waste any
time in executing this judgment (He was less lenient and patient towards this
king than He had been toward His people), we learn that “in that very moment
this pronouncement upon Nebuchadnezzar came true” (4:33), being fulfilled
completely.
What’s the point of
going through this story? What is to be learned from it? Does it
merely show forth the power of the Creator God and the effects of human
pride? Of course it does, but it goes beyond that. This story fits
within the scope of the larger and all-encompassing narrative of the Scriptures
that serves to reveal the nature and character of the One about whom these
Scriptures speak. For example, there is a tremendous symmetry between
this story of the king of Babylon and the that of the tower of Babel.
Could one not look at
the tower of Babel, from the book of Genesis, and see humanity---in the wake of
the Creator God’s great proclamation of His own power that had presumably been
demonstrated by means of the flood, building their tower and saying “is this
not the great tower that we are building by our own strength and for our
majestic honor,” doing so in defiance of the Creator God, as they dared Him to
send another flood upon the earth? Naturally, the correlations between
this story of Nebuchadnezzar and the story of the Scriptures goes far beyond
that. In fact, it reaches back to the beginning---to the creation.
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