Daniel 4
McGeeCHAPTER 4THEME: Testimony of Nebuchadnezzar; tree dream of Nebuchadnezzar; tree dream interpreted by Daniel; the mental malady of Nebuchadnezzar; dream fulfilled and Nebuchadnezzar’s reason restoredThis chapter is going to give us a great deal more information about this man Nebuchadnezzar than we have had before. Actually, there was a skeleton in the family closetsomething I am sure they didn’t boast of: Nebuchadnezzar suffered from a form of insanity. This chapter is a leaf of history taken from the archives of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar’s form of insanity is pretty well identified and known today, and it is something which a number of world rulers have suffered from. We are living in a day when a great deal of attention is given to mental illness and various forms of abnormal behavior. I wonder sometimes just who is normal in this mad world in which we live! A psychologist will tell you that the bulk of mankind is normal, a few are abnormal, and a few are above normal or geniuses. Who is to say who is sane and who is not sane? The standard, of course, is the way most of us actthe behavior of the majority is called normal. When just a few react, that is abnormal, which, of course, is an arbitrary distinction.
Who in the world is going to say that what the majority is doing today is normal? That could be quite a subject of debate, and I think it would be very difficult to sustain a thesis that the majority of us are normal. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Hamlet was sent from Denmark over to England (they thought he was a little touched in the head) because, they said, in England everyone was abnormal! There is the story of the man who had trouble sleeping at night because he had the feeling that there was someone under his bed. He was losing sleep because he had to get up many times during the night to look under the bed and satisfy himself that no one was there. He finally went to the psychiatrist with his problem. The psychiatrist told him, “Well, you really do have a problem, and it is going to be difficult to bring you back to normal, but I think we can do it. It will take ten sessions, and it will cost you twenty-five dollars for each session.” The man left, saying he would think it over and let him know. However, he never returned.
Several weeks later the psychiatrist met the man on the street and asked him why he had never come back. The man replied that he had been cured with the help of a carpenter friend of his. He had told his friend his problem, and the carpenter said he could fix it for him. He came over to the man’s house with his saw and simply sawed off the legs of the bed. “Now that fellow can’t get under my bed!” the man told the psychiatrist. I guess a lot of us suffer some kind of abnormality, but this man Nebuchadnezzar had a real problem.
Daniel 4:1
TESTIMONY OF NEBUCHADNEZZARThis is Nebuchadnezzar’s marvelous testimony, and it shows development in the faith of this man. Back in Dan_3:29 he issued a decree and expressed a conviction. Here he gives a personal testimony. There it was a decree; here it is a decision. There it was a conviction, and here it is conversion. Chronologically, this testimony should come at the end of this chapter because it grew out of his experience recorded here. Nebuchadnezzar sends a message of peace to “all peoples, nations, and languages” of his kingdom. He is not speaking of peace among nationshe already has such peace, attained by his military might and enforced by his superior power. Rather, he speaks here of the peace of heart which comes to a sinner when he knows he has been accepted of God and is at peace with God. This man’s own tranquility was restored to him, as we shall see in this chapter. He speaks also of what “the high God hath wrought toward me.” His testimony is very personal. God is no longer the God of only the three Hebrew children. He also testifies to God’s signs, His wonders, and His dominion. He recognizes and acknowledges that God’s rule, God’s kingdom, is above his. The peace of which Nebuchadnezzar speaks can only come to the human heart when it knows God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom_5:1)that is the peace which He made by the blood of the Cross. It is the peace which can come to a sinner’s heart that is all right now because of the penalty which Christ paidGod is for him now and God is on his side. Back of all the trouble and travail that is in the world today, back of all the troubled hearts, is the question of sin. Things are not right. One young fellow expressed it this way to me: “I’m not at peace with myself. I’m not at peace with my parents.
I’m not at peace with my teachers. I’m not at peace with anybody.” Fundamentally, man must make peace with God. When there is peace in the human heart, then there can be peace made with those round about us; but, until then, man does not know peace. I am sure that much of what is called abnormality and insanity today could be cured by bringing the gospel and the knowledge of God to the people who are so afflicted. I thought it was absurd that hospitals were set up to receive the Vietnam War POW’s as they arrived in the Philippine Islands. They were to be examined and given psychological tests there. However, the men came bounding off the planes, ready to make phone calls to a wife, a mother, or some other loved one. Many of them testified that God had been with them. They had learned to pray, and Christ had been with them. They didn’t need a lot of psychological treatment. Everything in the world is being taught in our schools and colleges except the Word of God. It is the Word of God which can bring peace to the human heart. This is the problem Nebuchadnezzar had, but he made his peace with God, and God made peace with him. Today, God has already made peace with youHe is waiting for you to make peace with Him. When you have settled that, you won’t need to spend much time on the psychiatrist’s couch. Instead, you will be a radiant Christian.
Daniel 4:4
TREE DREAM OF NEBUCHADNEZZARWe find the first symptom of Nebuchadnezzar’s form of insanity in verse Dan_4:4 The personal pronounsmy, I, and mineare already used three times in just this one verse. You will find them about three times in every verse from verse Dan_4:4 through verse Dan_4:10. Nebuchadnezzar had a bad case of what I call “perpendicular I-itis.” Job had that problem also.
Daniel 4:5
It is all about me and mine.
Daniel 4:6
Again the wise men were called in and were unable to give an interpretation of the dream. It was God who gave both of his dreams, and only God could give the interpretation. Finally, Daniel was called in. Nebuchadnezzar had learned that Daniel was a Spirit-filled man and that interpretations were given him by God. Nebuchadnezzar is introducing the vision that he has had, and he gives us a surplus of the personal pronoun I. I think that the family had kept this man’s insanity quiet. They didn’t talk much about it, but those closest to him did recognize it. I believe the psychiatrists today would label it hysteria. Hysteria is a highly emotional mental disease. It is psychotic, rather than a structural form of insanity (in other words, Nebuchadnezzar was not insane because he had been dropped on his head as a baby). It manifests itself in somnambulism (sleepwalking) and amnesia (loss of memory), and it is thought to be hereditary.
A historian tells us that a number of other world rulers have suffered from some form of mental instability: Antiochus Epiphanes, Charles VI of France, Christian VII of Denmark, George III of England, Otho of Bavaria, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Napoleon. It has also been in the Spanish royal line, the Russian line (among the czars), and also in the English line. Henry VI of England was a real madhatter, and suffered from something similar to hysteria. Hitler also had that problem. And here, the head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar, was a lunatic. He had bats in his belfry.
He was not ruling with a full deck in his hands. He was just a little off, if you please. All of this was revealed in his extreme emotionalismhe would move in any direction and to an extreme. The whole key to this chapter is found in verse Dan_4:17, and it is important to note it at this point: “This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.” God says that He puts on the thrones of this world the basest of men. In other words, God gives us the kind of rulers we deserve and the kind we want. There have been many rulers who had bats in their belfries and who were off their rockers. God says He sets over the kingdoms the basest of men: twenty-five hundred years of history since Nebuchadnezzar have demonstrated the truth of this statement.
Daniel 4:10
These verses contain the substance of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream which centers around a tree that grew tall to heaven, wide enough to fill the earth. The tree was evidently an evergreen, for its leaves were fair. It was a fruit tree, and its fruit was eaten by all. Beasts stood in its shadow, and birds rested in its branches. In Scripture, a tree can represent a number of things. A tree can represent a man: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psa_1:3; see also Jer_17:8; Isa_56:3). Also a tree can represent a nation (see Eze_31:3-14; Mat_24:32-33). The mustard tree in Mat_13:31 and Mat_13:32 represents Christendom today. The olive tree represents both Israel and the Gentiles (see Rom_11:16-24). The tree here represents Nebuchadnezzar primarily and also his kingdom of Babylonthe king and kingdom are inseparable. The “watcher” and “holy one” are of an order of God’s created intelligences. The watchers are the holy ones who administer the affairs of this world. The Book of Daniel makes it very clear that God has created intelligences who administer His universe and this world in which you and I live. God has His administrators under which are many created intelligences. Over against that, Satan also has his minions who have charge over certain areas of certain nations. We will see more of this in the Book of Daniel. These watchers see all, hear all, and tell all. Many believers today think they can live in secret, that they are not under the eye of God. We talk about wanting to enjoy our privacy, but if you want to know the truth, you and I haven’t any privacy. Psa_139:7-12 tells us that we cannot get away from God, no matter where we go. Secret sin on earth is open scandal up yonder in heaven. His created intelligences know all about you, and if you are a Christian, you had better go to God with that “secret” sin in your life and get it straightened out. Now the tree was hewn down, and a band of iron and brass was put around its stump to indicate that it would grow and flourish again in seven years. And the heart of the ruler (that is, of the “tree”) was to be changed into that of a beastthe vegetable was to become an animal.
Daniel 4:17
There are three things that we learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:
- “The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.” If you think that God has abdicated today and has withdrawn from this universe, you are wrong. The universe has not gotten loose from Him. Emerson was wrong when he said, “Things are in the saddle, and they ride mankind.” There happens to be Somebody else in the saddle, and He is in control on this earth. “He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Psa_2:4-6). God says He is going on with His purpose in the world.
He is permitting Satan to carry out a nefarious plot for a very definite reason: God is demonstrating something to His created intelligences today. There are a lot of silly things being said about Satan which are entirely unscriptural. Nations rise and fall to teach men that God rules and overrules the kingdoms of this world. If you think our nation happens to be His special little pet, you are entirely wrong. I believe we have already been put on the auction block: we are already judged. The downward course which this nation is traveling is going to take us right to the judgment of God. He rules in the kingdom of men. 2. He “giveth it to whomsoever he will.” You probably thought that the Democrats and the Republicans put men in power. They think they do, but God disposes of these kingdoms according to His will. That thought may cause someone’s chest to puff up, and he will say, “Well, I am occupying this office by the will of God.” A lot of kings in the past had the foolish notion that they were ruling in God’s place. Don’t believe a word of itGod puts them in power. Notice that Paul says in Rom_13:1, “…the powers that be are ordained of God.” Why in the world does God permit certain powers to rule on this earth? 3. He “setteth up over it the basest of men.” This third statement should be humbling to both the Democrats and the Republicansand to all of mankind. If you think we pick the best men, we don’tall you need to do is to read human history to see this. My study of English history shows that our ancestors in the British Isles were some pretty bloody ancestors. They were terrible, and they had some rulers who were unspeakable! May I say to you, God “setteth up over it the basest of men,” and we get the kind of ruler that we deserve.
People complain about our government, our Congress, and all that sort of thing. My friend, we put them in their offices; we voted for them. God lets the basest of men come to power. That ought to be humbling to all of usfrom Washington, D.C., on down. You will never hear of someone who is trying to curry the favor of our leaders speaking on this verse at a Presidential breakfast or upon any occasion in Washington! This verse is quite upsetting, is it not? History will substantiate the truth of this statement. The head of gold, Nebuchadnezzar, was insane; yet he was a brilliant ruler who formed the first world kingdom. He had times when he was as mad as a mad-hatter and didn’t even know who he was. As we have mentioned before, many of the great world rulers have suffered problems similar to his. And the reason our forefathers did not establish the United States of America as a kingdom is because they believed that no man could be trusted to rule. God has been demonstrating this now over quite a length of time: He “setteth up over it the basest of men.”
Daniel 4:18
Now Daniel will interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Daniel 4:19
TREE DREAM INTERPRETED BY DANIELThe dream is a great shock and a blow to Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar has become his friend, and Daniel is his prime minister. The first dream Nebuchadnezzar had dignified him, but this dream debases him. It is so bad that Daniel is reluctant to reveal it to the king. Daniel resists whatever temptation there may have been to withhold from Nebuchadnezzar the full story. He is going to give the entire interpretation to the king. The question is often raised as to whether a doctor should tell his patient that he is suffering from a fatal disease. I personally feel that if a man is getting ready to take the biggest step of his life, he ought to know itthat is, if there is someone else who knows it. I have always appreciated the fact that my doctor, who is a Christian and a cancer specialist, said to me when he discovered that I had cancer: “Dr. McGee, I’m going to tell you exactly what the situation is, because if I didn’t, you would never trust me.” I appreciated that. Many people would simply want their doctor to butter them up and assure them they are well. Daniel is going to lay it on the line to Nebuchadnezzar, and he uses a great deal of tact in approaching the problem. First, he tells Nebuchadnezzar that the good in the dream is for the enemies of the king.
Daniel 4:20
The tree represents Nebuchadnezzar. He has grown strong and become great. He is a world ruler and has filled the then-civilized world. The picture here is of Nebuchadnezzar personally and of his dominion.
Daniel 4:23
The tree (Nebuchadnezzar) is to be cut off but not totally rejected. For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar is to live with and like the beasts of the field. He won’t even recognize who he is.
Daniel 4:25
Daniel makes it clear why this dream was given to Nebuchadnezzar and why he is going to have this experience. Nebuchadnezzar is lifted up with pride, which was evidenced when he made that tremendous image and forced all mankind to fall down and worship him. This man is certainly filled with pride, and now God is going to humble him. He is to be driven out of his palace, out to the pasture where he will take his abode with the oxen and forget what manner of man he was. However, God is also going to bring Nebuchadnezzar out of his insanity. Evidently Nebuchadnezzar suffered from hysteria; some of the symptoms which are evident in his life are characteristic of this form of abnormality. One of the symptoms is excessive emotionalism, actually a sort of manic-depressive psychosis. One moment the patient is joyful and friendly, and the next he is morose and antagonistic. Someone has expressed it as “Easy gloom, easy glow"it is an up and down state. Many people suffer from it to some extent. We all know people who are moody at times and then very joyful at others. But this was a very real problem for Nebuchadnezzar. It was a functional problem and not a structural one; it was not the result of some injury to his brain. Nebuchadnezzar’s hysteria also manifested itself in amnesia. Those afflicted with this malady don’t know who they are for a period of time. There are those in mental institutions, for example, who think they are Napoleon or some such person. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was an animal. Another thing that identifies hysteria is extreme egotism and pride. This became an obsession with Nebuchadnezzar (see Dan_4:30). We saw how in verses Dan_4:4 through Dan_4:10, he talked about I, I, Ihe had a bad case of perpendicular I-itis. Pride is one of the things God hates, and it is something that characterizes man. Old Caesar Augustus said of a city which he captured, “I found it brick, I left it straw.” He had utterly destroyed it. Another caesar made the statement “I found Rome wood, and I left it marble.” You see, pride is the besetting sin of the human family. But what does man have to be proud of? Jer_9:23-24 says, “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” God’s salvation rules out pridethat is one thing you cannot have when you come to Christ for salvation. Paul said, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1Co_2:2). We have nothing in which we can glory. Again, the apostle wrote, “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1Co_4:7). And finally, in 2Co_10:17, we read: “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” Pride is number one on God’s “hate parade"He hates pride (see Pro_6:16-19). Our Lord Jesus gave us the ultimate example of humility: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Php_2:8). Finally, it is characteristic of hysteria that it runs in cycles. In Nebuchadnezzar’s case, it was a cycle of seven years.
Daniel 4:27
This man Nebuchadnezzar is disturbed within his own hearthe has no peace. He has brought peace to the worldthere is no one to challenge his authority at this timebut he is living in sin. Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that he needs to repent of and turn from his sins. He needs to turn to God and to a life of righteousness. Daniel advises him to repent in order to reverse the coming judgment. There is still hope for deliveranceNebuchadnezzar could know the peace and tranquility of God. I think this is God’s final warning to Nebuchadnezzar. A great deal of the mental and emotional abnormalities that we see today are actually the result of spiritual problems. Now I do not say that they all are, as I know that there is sometimes a structural basis for such a problem. However, much of the disturbed condition we see in the lives of men is rooted in the the spiritual condition of men. There is peace for them, if they would only come to Christ.
Daniel 4:28
THE MENTAL MALADY OF NEBUCHADNEZZARNebuchadnezzar did not heed the warning of Daniel. One year of grace went by before judgment fell. How patient God is! But His graciousness and longsuffering are not understood by the wicked (see Ecc_8:11). The king was on the verge of a mental break. He looked about his great kingdom, the kingdom which God had already told him that He had given to him. Despite that, Nebuchadnezzar now says, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?” There have been a multitude of men and women throughout history who have tried to build little empires, and they have looked upon them with pride. I sometimes have opportunity to advise young preachers, and I tell them, “Look fellows, don’t try to build a little empire of your church. I started out with that viewpoint, and I’ll be honest with you, I have never been more disturbed or unhappy as I was then.” This passage of Scripture in Daniel really spoke to me one day, and I realized I was trying to be an empire builderand that wasn’t what God intended for me to be. My ministry is building the lives of people, not trying to build a great empire. So I tell young preachers, “Start building in the lives of people, and I think the Lord will let you have what He wants you to have.”
Daniel 4:31
Nebuchadnezzar moves out of the palace, out yonder to live with nature. God deals with this man personally. As he departs from the plane of normality and rationality, his kingdom slips from him. The insane of that day were driven out rather than being placed in an institution for treatment. Under ordinary circumstances Nebuchadnezzar would never have been able to return to the throne; yet God promised that he would do so after he had learned his lesson. History corroborates this event in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. Dr. Philip R. Newell has this note from Albert Barnes, “Josephus attributes to the Babylonian historian, Berosus, a definite reference concerning a strange malady suffered by Nebuchadnezzar before his death” (Daniel, the Man Greatly Beloved, and His Prophecies, p. 54).
Daniel 4:34
DREAM FULFILLED AND NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S REASON RESTOREDHis understanding comes back to him, and he adds these brief words to the testimony which he gave at the opening of this chapter.
Daniel 4:35
Nebuchadnezzar has learned now that God is running things, that He is in control of this universe. Nebuchadnezzar accepted this thing that had come to him as the will of God for him, yielding his proud mind to the will of God. That is what a great many believers need to do today.
Daniel 4:36
Nebuchadnezzar’s reason returned to him. His position as king of Babylon was restored to him, and his officials once again surrounded him. The kingdom was not jeopardized during his long period of absence, and added majesty came to him because he had now come to the knowledge of the living and true God.