Daniel 4:1-37 • Nebuchadnezzar Dreams, Goes Insane, and Comes to His Senses

Steve Schott
Mar 17
11 min read

Updated: Mar 20

► For the 3rd time now, we are going to see King Nebuchadnezzar, puffed up with pride, be humbled by God.

► In chapter 2 he had a dream which he could not understand.

→ But wanting to be sure that he was given a correct interpretation, he mandated that, under the penalty of death for not fulfilling his request, that his wise guys tell him not only the interpretation, but also the dream itself.

→ They pleaded with him that he had given them an impossible task, requesting that he make known the dream to them, so that they might correctly explain the dream to him.

→ Nebuchadnezzar orders all the wise guys to be killed, but Daniel prays to the LORD to provide the dream and it's meaning, which He does.

→ Daniel tells the guy in charge of killing everyone to stop, as he has what the king has requested.

→ Once the king hears what God has revealed to Daniel, he repents of his wrath and gives glory to God.

→ You can read all about that here... The golden headed statue!

► In chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar, possibly in response to the dream he had in chapter 2, builds a 90' tall statue, this one all gold (not just the head).

→ I've made the assumption that this gold "image" was basically the same statue that he saw in chapter 2, of which Daniel informed him that the golden head represented Nebuchadnezzar.

→ The implication being that Neb wanted to make a statement about him being the ruler over all of the future of Babylon, so he made this new statue all gold.

→ Orders are given that anyone not worshipping the golden image should be thrown into a fiery furnace.

→ Daniel's friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego refused to bow, as it would be a disobedience to the One True God.

→ The 3 of them get tossed into the fiery furnace, but when Nebuchadnezzar sees them in it, there is a 4th person with them, who looks divine.

→ Again, the assumption being that this is the pre-incarnate Christ, in with them and protecting them from the fire.

→ When they exit, not only completely unharmed, but also with no apparent impact from the fire at all (they didn't even smell like smoke), Nebuchadnezzar once again gives glory to God.

► Now we are going to see another episode where Nebuchadnezzar is corrected by God, and he humbles himself once again.

► This is also the last chapter that deals with Nebuchadnezzar.

→ We don't know for certain when during his 43 year reign this event occurs, but because of the amount of time this passage covers, it would have had to be at the latest about 10 years before the end of his reign.

► Daniel 4:1-37 →

The King Acknowledges God

¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! ² It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.

³ “How great are His signs

And how mighty are His wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom

And His dominion is from generation to generation.

→ Unlike the first two events we spoke of above, in this one, it appears that Nebuchadnezzar is telling the entire story from start to finish in his own words.

→ This opening statement, giving praise to God, seems to be written by a man who now fully understands his insignificance in comparison to the majesty of God.

→ And he's written this to "all the people, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth:...".

The Vision of a Great Tree

⁴ “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.

→ This episode starts out with another dream sequence.

⁶ So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. ⁸ But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying, ⁹ ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation.

→ The wise guys of the land couldn't give Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation in this episode, even with the info about the dream.

→ He turns to Daniel, whom he calls Belteshazzar, to once again provide him with an understanding as to what the dream means.

¹⁰ ‘Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great.

¹¹ ‘The tree grew large and became strong

And its height reached to the sky,

And it was visible to the end of the whole earth.

¹² ‘Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant,

And in it was food for all.

The beasts of the field found shade under it,

And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches,

And all living creatures fed themselves from it.

¹³ ‘I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven.

¹⁴ ‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:

“Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,

Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;

Let the beasts flee from under it

And the birds from its branches.

¹⁵ “Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground,

But with a band of iron and bronze around it

In the new grass of the field;

And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,

And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶ “Let his mind be changed from that of a man

And let a beast’s mind be given to him,

And let seven periods of time pass over him.

¹⁷ “This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers

And the decision is a command of the holy ones,

In order that the living may know

That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,

And bestows it on whom He wishes

And sets over it the lowliest of men.”

¹⁸ ‘This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

→ The dream in a nutshell...

• Massively tall tree, visible everywhere, beautiful and fruitful, providing shade for the land animals, and branches for the birds to nest in.

• A source of food for "all living creatures".

• Angel comes down from heaven, yelling to cut down and cut up the tree.

• No more fruit; the beasts flee; the birds fly off.

• An iron and bronze band wrapped around the stump.

• The angel starts talking about the "tree" as if it's a man.

• The "tree-man" will now reside in a grassy field, covered in dew, and will eat the grass,

• His mind will change to that of a beast for "seven periods of time".

• The purpose of this is so that "the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind,...".

→ Once Nebuchadnezzar tells Daniel the dream, he asks him to explain it to him.

Daniel Interprets the Vision

¹⁹ “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!

→ When Daniel hears the dream he becomes frightened.

→ Nebuchadnezzar sees Daniel's fear, and tries to assuage his fear.

→ Daniel replies, saying that he wished the dream was about Nebuchadnezzar's enemies.

²⁰ The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth ²¹ and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— ²² it is you, “O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth.

→ Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that the dream is about him.

→ He first starts off telling him that his "majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth."

²³ In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,” ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. ²⁶ And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

→ Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that he is to be "driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field."

• He will east grass like "cattle".

• He will be covered in "dew".

• He will be like this for "seven periods of time", which most commentators say are years.

• He will be like this "until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind...".

• In regards to the stump, that signifies that when he comes to his senses, that he will still be the king, but in a humbled state.

→ Daniel pleads with Nebuchadnezzar to "break away now from your sins... and your iniquities", in order to stave off this punishment.

The Vision Fulfilled

²⁸ “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁹ Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰ The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’

→ One year later, Nebuchadnezzar is patting himself on the back for how great Babylon is, "which I myself have built".

³¹ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, ³² and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ ³³ Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

→ So he's warned one last time from heaven, not a request for repentance to avoid punishment, but an announcement that the punishment is now here.

→ Seven years living like an ass. Which is pretty much how he was behaving previously.

→ Eating grass, his overly hairy body covered in dew.

→ I'd be curious to know who is running the kingdom while he was in this state.

• There is a multi-year period between Nebuchadnezzar's rule, and the time of Belshazzar, which secular historians will show that 3 other kings served short term stints, so I wonder if some of that overlapped with this event.

• We're not told, but it's interesting to speculate on.

³⁴ “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason 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 endures from generation to generation.

³⁵ “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

But He does according to His will in the host of heaven

And among the inhabitants of earth;

And no one can ward off His hand

Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’

³⁶ “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”

→ At the end of all this time, Nebuchadnezzar is not only restored to his previous mental state, but he's also humbled, and gives praise to God.

→ While his kingdom is restored to him, he acknowledges that this is only by the hand of God.

→ And he finishes this chapter by recognizing publicly the power of "the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."

So What?

► It's obvious that God is all about making sure that we don't think too highly of ourselves.

► I believe we all, at times, become proud of something we've done, or have accomplished, or of how people respond to us, but we need to remember, that compared to the magnificence of the Creator God, we are insignificant.

► Our greatest significance, I believe, would be in how we humble ourselves to the LORD, and how we help others to align themselves with Him.

Posts in this series

► An introduction to the book of Daniel

► Daniel 1:1-21 • Daniel & Friends Tested and Enter the King's Service

► Daniel 2:1-49 • Nebuchadnezzar's First Dream and Promotion of Daniel

► Daniel 3:1-30 • The Image of Gold and the Fiery Furnace

► Daniel 4:1-37 • Nebuchadnezzar Dreams, Goes Insane, and Comes to His Senses

► Daniel 5:1-30 • The Handwriting on the Wall

► Daniel 6:1-28 • Daniel in the Lion's Den

► Daniel 7:1-28 • Daniel's Dream and Visions of Four Beasts

► Daniel 8:1-27 • Daniel's Vision of a Ram and a Goat

► Daniel 9:1-27 • Daniel's Prayer and Seventy Sevens