Good Morning!
What's Coming – Part Two
But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was
Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the
spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, O
Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit
of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I
have seen, and the interpretation thereof (Dan 4:8-9).
Nebuchadnezzar was at the top of the ladder, having conquered all the nations and tribes there were to conquer. Here he was meandering around in his palace with nothing to do but look down on all the inferior nations he had conquered and to strut and crow about how great he was. He was at rest in his house and flourishing in his palace. He was a big shot and with pride and arrogance reflected on his bigness.
Let's remember that his past had afforded him several outstanding opportunities to turn to God. When he conquered Israel he brought in Jewish youth that included some godly young men such as Daniel and his fellows. He must have wondered why Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah risked their lives to refuse to eat the royal food appointed for them and still they were bright and physically fit. He saw God at work as Daniel interpreted the dream for him in chapter 2 in which Daniel's God laid out the whole course of Gentile history.
In Chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar had seen a demonstration of the mighty hand of God in preserving and delivering the three Hebrew young men in the fiery furnace. Didn't he get really religious for a while and decree that anyone who should speak a word amiss against their God would be cut in pieces and their house made into a dunghill? Big speech—no change of heart. Big speeches don't impress God. He was like a lot of people who attend our churches today but refuse to give up their proud, stubborn hearts. "Everybody talk about Heaven ain't goin' there, Heaven."
He said in verse one that he was at rest in his palace. But it wasn't much of a rest. It was a shallow rest. A false rest in his nest but God was going to stir up his nest. We're not much on seeking after God. Sometimes He has to shake us like a dog shaking a snake to get our attention, it seems. It had been at least twenty five years since the first dream in chapter two and the dismal failure of his squad of quack prophets on his staff. And now he calls in the same committee to bow and scrape and peep and mutter.
There is one other possibility. Twenty five years ago Daniel was elevated to Chief of the Magicians. It could be that in calling in the usual team of magicians that Nebuchadnezzar did it through his chief: Daniel who could have simply sent the others before the king to do their stuff, knowing they could do nothing. This would demonstrate the stark contrast between the false and the true. That is speculation but it is not so far-fetched. We know that Daniel was no dummy and he had been watching palace politics for twenty five years. Daniel knew the others were nothing but fakes and quacks and he was wise enough to set the stage to get things done. It's just a thought.
After twenty five years, Nebuchadnezzar was about to learn: It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man (Psa 118:8). And: Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,…
(Psa 1:1)
"History shows that God has chosen holy men guided by the Holy Spirit to reveal and record His message (2 Pet 1:21). But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding
(Job 32:8). Daniel was such a man and Nebuchadnezzar knew it….After [his] conversion, which resulted from a severe judgment from God, he would not do anything that might grieve God" (Strauss). Does that make you sort of wonder about a lot of church folks today?
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