Preaching the Word
The "First Principle" podcasts which are numbered # are a great tool for believers to go over the essentials of the Christian Faith.
The "Mysteries of God's Word" podcasts are an indepth study of Scripture.
The other podcasts are sermons that have been given, some verse by verse and others topical.
It is my passion to be true to God and His Word. To preach in such a way that people can easily see the LORD as our Creator and as our Redeemer. To understand that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever even as we live in a world that is continually changing. Salvation is and has always been through faith alone in the Messiah alone. His name is Jesus the Christ; there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Preaching the Word
Daniel 4 - Nebuchadnezzar's Humbling: From Pride to Praise - The Mysteries of God's Word
Ever wondered what could bring the most powerful man in the ancient world to his knees? Daniel chapter 4 presents one of Scripture's most extraordinary accounts—the personal testimony of King Nebuchadnezzar's dramatic conversion.
At the height of his power, having conquered nations and rebuilt Babylon into a marvel of the ancient world, Nebuchadnezzar receives a disturbing dream. A magnificent tree reaching to heaven is suddenly cut down by divine decree. When Daniel reluctantly interprets this vision, he reveals a shocking truth: the king himself will lose his mind and live like a wild animal for seven years until he acknowledges God's sovereignty over all earthly kingdoms.
Despite this warning, Nebuchadnezzar's pride remains unchecked. Twelve months later, while admiring his architectural achievements from his palace rooftop and declaring "Is not this great Babylon which I have built," judgment falls. Immediately, he loses his sanity. The mighty conqueror is driven from human society, eats grass like an ox, and grows hair "as long as eagle's feathers" with nails "like birds' claws."
This episode unpacks this remarkable biblical account of divine humbling and restoration. We explore how after seven years of living as a beast, Nebuchadnezzar "lifted his eyes to heaven" and his reason returned. Most astonishingly, he was not only restored to sanity but reinstated to his throne with even greater honor than before.
The final words of this pagan king's testimony—"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven"—reveal the ultimate purpose behind his humbling: that all might recognize who truly rules the kingdoms of men. This powerful message reminds us that even today, no human authority stands beyond God's sovereign rule, and that "those who walk in pride He is able to humble."
Join us for this profound exploration of pride, divine intervention, and the life-changing power of acknowledging the King of Heaven.
Email: nathan@nathandietsche.com
Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. Thank you for joining me today for the Mysteries of God's Word. Today we are in Daniel, chapter 4, where we will read about Nebuchadnezzar's testimony of conversion and how the Lord humbled him so that he might declare the greatness of the one true God. We begin in verse 1. King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are his signs, how mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion endures from generation to generation. Here, in our first three verses of chapter four, we find that it opens with an edict from King Nebuchadnezzar, and it gives us a glimpse into the very end of this chapter. Daniel records this royal decree in verses one through three, as well as much of chapter 4, as the personal testimony of Nebuchadnezzar. It's read as if Nebuchadnezzar himself were speaking in the first person, so that we, the readers, understand that these are the very words of King Nebuchadnezzar, words of King Nebuchadnezzar as he describes his conversion and how he came to declare the greatness of the Most High God. To set the stage a little bit for this chapter, we need to know that many years have passed since Nebuchadnezzar had commanded all the people of all the nations and languages in his empire to bow down to his golden idol. And if you remember when he did that, the god of Shadrach, meshach and Abednego saved them from the fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to his golden idol. Bow down to his golden idol. However, even after that incredible miracle, king Nebuchadnezzar simply viewed the Lord God as just one more of the many deities in the pantheon of deities he had in Babylon. To King Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord God was just the God of Daniel, shadrach, meshach. Nebuchadnezzar, the Lord God was just the God of Daniel, shadrach, meshach and Abednego. He wasn't the God of Nebuchadnezzar. However, as we will find in chapter 4 and this personal testimony of Nebuchadnezzar, he's going to do a 180 degree turn and be converted.
Speaker 1:In verse 2, nebuchadnezzar says that it seemed good to him to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God had done for him. In other words, king Nebuchadnezzar sees these supernatural miracles that God has been revealing to him and now that we will see here in chapter 4, as miracles done for him that he might know the one true God. The works of God have become made evident to Nebuchadnezzar so that he knows that the Lord and the Lord, god alone, is the only one that rules the kingdoms of men, and he also rules over Nebuchadnezzar. Finally, in verse 3, nebuchadnezzar says the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom, acknowledging that the kingdom of God is eternal and it can't be defeated. The Lord has power over all kingdoms on the earth, even right in the middle of this rebellious pagan and evil empire of Babylon. God's power was revealed through his servants Daniel, shadrach, meshach and Abednego. And the king realizes now, after the events we're about to look at here in chapter 4, that because of the Lord's mighty power, his dominion will endure throughout every generation of mankind Until one day the God of heaven will destroy all of these earthly kingdoms, creating an eternal kingdom, one in which he and he alone will reign as king.
Speaker 1:Picking up in verse 4, I, nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed, the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. As we look into the history of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and deeper into these verses verses 4 and 5, we come to realize that the years of war were over for Nebuchadnezzar. He had conquered every major civilization in the known world at this time within his reach, and Nebuchadnezzar was now living at ease in his palace and he had great prosperity in the kingdom of Babylon. By all accounts, the following verses that we're about to read will describe seven years toward the very end of Nebuchadnezzar's life.
Speaker 1:James Usher's Annals of the World says Nebuchadnezzar's second dream occurred in 570 BC and Nebuchadnezzar being restored to his rightful mind and converted to give glory to God was one year before his death in 562 BC. And in verse 6, we see that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that made him afraid, and this dream terrified Nebuchadnezzar and he awoke in bed thinking about this very disturbing dream. Now this is the second time recorded in Daniel that Nebuchadnezzar has been so deeply disturbed that he has considered a dream a national emergency. The first dream occurred in the second year of his reign, which would have been 34 years prior to this Verse 6. So I made a decree that all of the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the astrologers came in and I told them the dream. And I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.
Speaker 1:In verses 6 and 7, the fact that when Nebuchadnezzar summons all of these wise men, it would seem everyone except for Daniel comes in to interpret the dream, is interesting. 34 years ago, daniel was placed by Nebuchadnezzar over all of the wise men when he had interpreted his first dream about the statue of many metals. Yet Daniel is nowhere to be found when these wise men are initially called before the king. It seems, from what we see here, that after Daniel was exalted over the other wise men those many years ago that the king fell back into an old routine. You might say he started listening again to many of these dark art dealers the magicians, the enchanters, the astrologers to advise him. The enchanters, the astrologers to advise him. These men are professional liars. They're manipulators, charmers, and they are trained to make a living by using trickery, drugs and fear, all to bring about their own selfish political agendas. And once again their shallow dark arts are shown for what they are when Nebuchadnezzar requires something more than just tickling his ears. They cannot interpret this dream when the king is very afraid.
Speaker 1:Verse 8. At last, daniel came in before me. At last, daniel came in before me, he whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told him the dream, saying O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. In verses 8 and 9, after those other so-called wise men were given an opportunity to interpret the king's dream and shown they were completely unable to do so, daniel comes in before the king Again. Daniel has been appointed chief or head over all of the wise men, but yet Daniel is the last to speak, clearly waiting for the Lord to create the right opportunity.
Speaker 1:In this pagan environment. Nebuchadnezzar, in his testimony here, confesses how he had given Daniel a name that was after his pagan god of Babylon, belteshazzar. And then Nebuchadnezzar continues in a confession describing how he had poorly treated Daniel, even calling him chief of the magicians and one who has the spirit of the most high gods in him. This title that Nebuchadnezzar used was just as much of a jab at Daniel as an acknowledgement of Daniel's special gift. The king doesn't believe in the God of heaven as the one true God, and he refuses to acknowledge the God of heaven. So instead, here, nebuchadnezzar calls Daniel the chief of the magicians, lumping Daniel in with all of the charlatan dark art dealers that do imitation miracles. Additionally, the king calls Daniel's ability to interpret dreams the spirit of the most holy gods rather than the spirit of the most high God.
Speaker 1:Picking up again in verse 10,. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these I saw, and behold, a tree in the middle of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong. Behold, a tree in the middle of the earth and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong and its top reached to heaven and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were 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 heaven lived in its branches and all flesh fed on it.
Speaker 1:In verses 10 through 12, before Daniel can even reply to the king's request, because the king had asked Daniel to both reveal the dream and give its interpretation. The king simply continues describing his dream. The king describes an enormous tree that grew so large it was seen by the whole earth and its top reached up into the heavens. This description is actually quite interesting and reminiscent of Genesis 11.4, which talked about when men desired to build a tower that reached to the heavens. Nebuchadnezzar says that this tree was not only beautiful in its appearance and its leaves, but it had fruit, so much fruit that it was able to feed all of the earth. And the tree not only provided for all of mankind, but there was an overflow so that the beasts of the field and the birds of the air had all they wanted.
Speaker 1:Verse 13. Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amidst the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts and the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts and the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man's and let a beast's mind be given to him and let seven periods of time pass over him.
Speaker 1:The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end, that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men, the lowliest of men, as we examine verses 13 through 17, nebuchadnezzar describes a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The word watcher here is another word used in ancient texts for angels, and we see here, as well as other places in scripture, that God gives specific roles for angels to administer authority and judgment. Other scriptural examples are Daniel 10.13 and Psalm 103.20 and 21. In the case of this particular angel, he has authority over the rise and fall of Babylon, and the angel from heaven proclaims that this great and mighty tree that feeds the whole earth is to be chopped down, it's to be stripped of its leaves and its fruit is to be scattered, and its fruit is to be scattered. But the angel says when the tree is cut down, leave the stump and bind that stump with an iron and a bronze band, leaving it in the midst of the tender grass. And then suddenly we see a transition here from the stump to that of a man, and we see that the man is going to be wet with dew. So this man doesn't come inside at night, the man remains outdoors and he becomes wet with the dew. Additionally, this man dwells with the beasts that live in the grass of the earth. And not only does he dwell with the beasts, but his mind is changed. We see a change from having the mind of a man to that of having the mind of a beast. Such a description, from that of a rational human being to that of an instinctual beast, clearly shows us that this will be some form of mental illness or condition. And finally, we're told by the angel that this verdict, this condition, is going to last for seven periods of time where this man is afflicted with the mind of a beast. And the angel says this sentence is by the decree of the watchers. What an incredible statement, and it gives us insight about what the scripture teaches about a spiritual battle that takes place in the heavenlies, a battle that takes place for the hearts and the minds of man. In this dream, the angels are given authority by God to make the mind of this man whom we will later learn is the king like that of a beast. Perhaps the most revealing statement that this angel makes is when he says that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. The angel here reveals to us the very purpose of why this is all happening. God reveals to Nebuchadnezzar in this dream that the very reason this is happening is so that all people that live on the earth will know that the Most High God, the Lord, god of Heaven, rules over the kingdoms of man. What is about to happen will demonstrate for all of the world that human government exercises its authority only at the permission of God. It's not because they've pulled up their bootstraps and it's not because they're captains of their own fate.
Speaker 1:Nebuchadnezzar, who is now toward the end of his reign, having defeated all of his enemies and creating a new city a new Babylon, is very prideful and arrogant. City. A new Babylon is very prideful and arrogant. His new Babylon will have 350 foot walls. This wall will be 87 feet thick. There will be 25 bronze gates on every side In this incredible city, surrounded by this massive wall which runs 15 square miles, nebuchadnezzar believes is beyond any attack. Yet, after acquiring all of this power, all of this wealth and all of the greatest earthly security possible, nebuchadnezzar is about to be conquered and humiliated by the very hand of God. The paradoxes and lessons that are about to be taught to all of the earth are profound. The prideful king with all of the earth's securities will be removed from power and humbled. The humiliation of this king will also show the world that the Lord can even set a great fool like Nebuchadnezzar, who now acts like an animal as a king over the earth. But the greatest lesson here is that God is sovereign over the affairs of men. There's no one that's above his lordship. He is the king of kings, he is the lord of lords.
Speaker 1:Verse 18. This dream I, nebuchadnezzar, saw, and you, o Belteshazzar, tell me the last verse spoken in the first person by Nebuchadnezzar, until verse 34. Verse spoken in the first person by Nebuchadnezzar until verse 34. And in verse 18, the king again makes it clear that no one in his kingdom, no other wise men, was able to make known to him the interpretation of this dream. And once again Nebuchadnezzar confesses how he treated Daniel, saying Daniel was able to make the interpretation known because he had the spirit of the holy gods A further acknowledgement of how the king had rejected the God of heaven as the one true God. As he jests to Daniel that he has the spirit of the holy gods Plural, picking up in verse 19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you. Belteshazzar answered and said my lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies.
Speaker 1:In verse 19, the narrative picks up, not in the first person of Nebuchadnezzar, but now as if it is being written by Daniel himself. And Daniel describes that, after hearing the king's dream, he was troubled. His thoughts alarmed him. As Daniel meditated on this dream and prayed in his thoughts for understanding from the Lord, daniel realized the meaning of the dream and he became afraid of what it was going to mean. When he revealed it to the king, and in his fear he paused for a moment. And Nebuchadnezzar, seeing that Daniel was visibly shaken, encourages him not to be afraid to speak it. And Daniel begins by letting the king know that this dream speaks of things he's not going to like, things that he would wish only on his enemies. Picking up, in verse 20, the tree you saw which grew and became strong so that its top reached to heaven and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant and in which was food for all. Verse 20-22, daniel describes the tree as being Nebuchadnezzar King.
Speaker 1:Nebuchadnezzar, at this point, has accomplished what every mighty king dreams of. He has conquered every major civilization in the known world, bringing them all together under his banner of Babylon. He had finished off the Assyrian empire. He had captured all of Syria, all of Palestine, all of Judah and even Egypt. The kingdom of Babylon was known throughout all of the earth, even in areas beyond his reach. In Europe and in China, they knew of the empire of Babylon.
Speaker 1:The kingdom of Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar's tyrannical hand, was actually very prosperous. It had enough food and shelter to care for everyone in the kingdom, while it also displayed magnificent wonders of construction, engineering and art throughout all of the kingdom. Babylon had become what many men might consider an earthly utopia, embracing every major religion on earth, while it used the greatest of men from every culture to provide prosperity for its citizens. However, what may seem like a utopia from fallen man's perspective is actually the oasis of the Antichrist from God's perspective. By rejecting the one true God and accepting all forms of gods, nebuchadnezzar's Babylon began what we might today call the first pluralistic culture, and through this pluralistic culture, nebuchadnezzar was able to focus on his primary goal, which was to exalt himself above all men through global dominance and global power.
Speaker 1:This is the spirit of the Antichrist, and it continues to persist even to today. One day, this spirit of the Antichrist will be empowered and embodied by the devil himself into one man, and he will be known as the man of lawlessness, or what we commonly call the Antichrist. This final embodiment of the spirit of the Antichrist will bring about the final world domination, or what we might also refer to as a final Babylon, or what Revelation refers to as Babylon the Great, picking up in verse 23,. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying Picking up in verse 23,. And let him be wet with the dew of heaven and let his portion be with the beasts of the field till seven periods of time pass over him. This is the interpretation, o king. It is a decree from the Most High which has come upon my lord, the king, that you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. Verse 2.
Speaker 1:In verses 23 through 25, daniel recognized that the decree of a watcher was the decree of the most high God and that this judgment from the Lord God had come down upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. And Daniel begins the interpretation by telling Nebuchadnezzar he's going to be driven from men and dwell with the beasts of the field. Daniel is warning the king that not only will he lose his throne, but he will lose his mind. He'll be chopped down from his authority over Babylon and he'll be driven out into the fields by the very men who serve him now and there he will come to live like a beast. Some form of mental disease, like clinical lycanthropy, is going to come upon the king. This mental illness that comes upon the king will be such that he will live with the beasts, eating right alongside them, as if he were an ox grazing in the field. His whole life will be consumed by this 24-7, and he'll find himself covered with the dew from the heavens as he lives in the grassy fields, and this curse upon the king will persist. It'll persist until the king knows that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men.
Speaker 1:The most common understanding of seven periods here is that this is seven years, as this same word for periods or times in some translations is also used in Daniel, chapter 7, verse 25, where in fact it does refer to years. And once again the purpose of this long period of time is so that there's no question in Nebuchadnezzar's mind that the Most High indeed rules the kingdoms of men, and he gives it to whom he pleases Verse 26. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules. Therefore, o king, let my counsel be acceptable to you Break off your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. Here, in verses 26 and 27, daniel clarifies for King Nebuchadnezzar that the stump is not in fact the king after he loses his mind, but rather the stump represents the kingdom of Babylon that he built. The bands of iron and bronze that are clasped onto this stump symbolize how God will secure this kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar's until Nebuchadnezzar repents and declares that God is the God of heaven and rules over the kingdoms of men. And finally, in verse 27, daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar to repent of his sin and to trust in the Most High God, to stop being so cruel in reaching his objectives, but rather to show mercy to the oppressed, so that God might show mercy on him and thereby lengthen his reign of prosperity.
Speaker 1:Verse 28. All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar At the end of twelve months Verse 28. Verses 28 and 29, we leap forward in time one year, twelve months. It tells us from the time that Daniel had interpreted the dream to the events that are now taking place. And King Nebuchadnezzar is walking on the roof of his royal palace. And as the king is overlooking all of his kingdom from the roof of his palace, in his new Babylon that he had just built by what he believed was his great power and his abilities, and as he was basking in the sight of his kingdom, while rejecting the warning of Daniel, he said Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my might and power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty, and we can truly see from the king's question here that his ultimate motivation and his quest for world dominance has always been to glorify himself.
Speaker 1:Verse 31,. While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven. Oh, king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you and you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men and gives it to whom he will. Immediately, the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as an eagle's feather and his nails were like birds' claws.
Speaker 1:In verses 31 and 32, while Nebuchadnezzar was finishing his words of self-adoration and self-exaltation, a voice comes from the sky. And this voice from heaven is yet another testimony of the Lord, god's, power and authority over Nebuchadnezzar. This voice declared once again the curse of the dream that the king was already warned about. And the very moment that this word of the Lord had finished speaking, nebuchadnezzar lost his mind and he became like a wild beast, and when this happened, he was driven out of the palace. He was driven out of the great walled city that he had just built and he was driven into the fields, far away from any other man, and there he dwelt and lived like an ox, eating the grass and sleeping in the grass, so that he became wet with the dew of heaven. Nebuchadnezzar had lost all of his faculties, to the point where he was unable to even cut his hair or trim his nails. His hair became as long as an eagle's feather, which is over two feet long, and his nails grew to be like the claws of a bird Picking up.
Speaker 1:In verse 34, at the end of the days, I, nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to 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. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. In verses 34 and 35, we see that at the end of those seven years that were ordained by God, the Most High, nebuchadnezzar lifted up his eyes to heaven. This tells us that the nature of Nebuchadnezzar's mental illness or disease was such that he could still understand to some degree what was happening could still understand to some degree what was happening. Therefore, when the time was up, he raised his eyes in repentance towards heaven, seeking the mercy of the Most High God, and his mind was restored. Through this, the Lord demonstrates that he is able to humble the most proud man and he is able to exalt the most humbled man. Proverbs 3.34 reads.
Speaker 1:Matthew 23.12 reads Nebuchadnezzar, now, thankful for what God has done, begins to worship God by blessing him, praising him and honoring the Lord's name. And now this restored king recognizes that God is the everlasting God, that his domain endures forever through every generation of man. Nebuchadnezzar now recognizes that all of the people of earth have no power without the God of heaven. They are nothing without the Most High, and that the Lord God sits sovereign over all of creation. The Lord God has power to do as he wills, both in heaven and on earth. And now the king recognizes there's no one in all of heaven, there's no one on all of the earth that has power to sway the character or the will of the Most High. There's no one that can bring a charge against his integrity. The Lord does according to his will and according to his perfect character.
Speaker 1:Daniel 4, 36 continues. At the same time, my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me and I was established in my kingdom. And still more greatness was added to me. In verse 36, we see that at the same time, nebuchadnezzar had regained his right mind, god had placed it on the hearts of his royal counselors and his lords to come search for him. And when they were reunited, the king was returned to the glory of his throne and he was re-established as the ruler over Babylon. Furthermore, nebuchadnezzar was given even greater honors in his own kingdom of Babylon than he had before. Clearly, his people were grateful to have their king back, and now a king that honored the Lord Most High. And in our final verse for the day, nebuchadnezzar says Now I, nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven.
Speaker 1:Nebuchadnezzar only has one more year of his life left to live, but for this last year of his life he will worship the King of Heaven. He will recognize that there's an eternal King that rules over the affairs and the kings of the earth. He will praise the King of Heaven for the righteousness of his works and the justice of his ways. He will praise the king of heaven because it was the Lord that humbled him when he was proud. Why would Nebuchadnezzar praise God for humbling him? Because the king of Babylon now knows that through his humility he came into a personal relationship with the king of kings, the one true God, who is Lord over all. Thank you for joining me for Daniel, chapter 4. And God bless you this week.