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Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends,
Have you ever awakened from a very troubling dream or even a nightmare, and found yourself in a cold sweat, maybe even trembling because you were so overwhelmed by what you had dreamed?
Come with me again back to the great city of Babylon, and the palatial throne room of King Nebuchadnezzar. He, the most powerful man in the world, had such a dream and it terrified him! His wisemen and advisors were unable to give him any comfort, they were baffled by the dream.
So, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the only man he felt confident could help him, Daniel. Yesterday we watched as King Nebuchadnezzar explained the dream to Daniel and then challenged him with these words: “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar had. Now Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you!“ (Daniel 4:18) You’ll recall Daniel’s Babylonian name, given to him by King Nebuchadnezzar about 30 years before, was ‘Belteshazzar’.
Daniel stood trembling before the king. Why? Because the Holy Spirit of God had begun to reveal the meaning of the dream to Daniel, and it was truly terrifying! In fact, Daniel said: “If only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!” (Daniel 4:19b)
Daniel found himself in that dreadful place that maybe you and I have been in… needing to speak truth to someone but knowing it will be a very unwelcome truth, and they may respond in a rage. Daniel had seen Nebuchadnezzar’s temper before and certainly never wanted to see it again!
But Daniel had been called by God more than 30 years before, to be God’s spokesman to Nebuchadnezzar and all the highest officials of the Babylonian empire. He could not waver, he could not be silent, he could not distort what the Holy Spirit was telling him about the dream. Daniel had only one option… speak the full, unvarnished truth!
(May I suggest you listen to Daniel 4 on the audio, dramatized Bible link at the conclusion of our reflections today? The link is at the bottom of this page.)
Daniel took a deep breath and began unveiling the dream to King Nebuchadnezzar: “The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth… your Majesty, YOU are that tree! You have become great and strong, your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to the distant parts of the earth….” (Daniel 4:20-22)
Daniel paused and I’m sure Nebuchadnezzar smiled and perhaps nodded in agreement. You’ve heard me several times use the phrase, ‘the most powerful man in the world’ when I describe King Nebuchadnezzar, and this statement from God through Daniel is the reason I have said that. In those more than 40 years of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign no human being alive had nearly the global influence or authority or power as this remarkable man, King Nebuchadnezzar!
Daniel continued: “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down this tree…but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze…’. This is the interpretation, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king. You will be driven away from people, and you will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone HE wishes.” (Daniel 4:23-25)
I wonder if Daniel paused there to allow this dreadful message from God to soak into King Nebuchadnezzar’s heart. It seemed beyond imagination, totally unreasonable, absolutely unthinkable! Nothing like this had ever happened to a leader before, much less one who dominated the whole world! Could it be possible something like this could happen to his Majesty, King Nebuchadnezzar, sovereign over the entire Babylonian empire?
After an appropriate pause, Daniel continued: “The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots in the ground means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed…” (Daniel 4:26,27) Shocking! Amazing! Unimaginable!
Daniel gives us no details about how Nebuchadnezzar responded or if anything more was said in that throne room, that day. Why not? I suppose that because as the Holy Spirit led Daniel to write this record, we have received only what God wanted us to have about this remarkable incident in the palace of Babylon. Daniel had done his job. Nebuchadnezzar had received God’s very clear warning and Daniel’s very clear recommendation.
Daniel left that throne room that day and waited. What would King Nebuchadnezzar do with this very strong message from Almighty God? While it had probably been at least 15 years since the 90 ft statue and the miracle of God rescuing Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar had experienced several encounters with the God of Israel.
Now he must decide. Would he accept Daniel’s advice? Would he humble himself before God? How much time would God give him to change?
Let’s pause here with King Nebuchadnezzar. If God were to send you and me clear messages from heaven regarding God’s assessment of how you and I have lived our lives, what do you suppose those messages might be?
Knowing Almighty, Holy God as you and I do; knowing the Word of God as you and I do; knowing the Gospel of Jesus Christ as you and I do…what messages might God have for you, and me, today and how should we respond?
That’s worth a few moments of reflection, do you agree? And here’s a worship song to help us reflect on that and tomorrow we’ll see what Nebuchadnezzar did in response to Daniel’s message!
Today’s Scripture: Daniel 4:18-27.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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