Daniel 4:1–7

A basic message of this book is that Israel’s God is superior to the idols of heathen nations. Chapter 4 emphasizes this same truth. The God of Israel is the God of the whole universe, and even heathen nations and heathen kings are subject to his will. But what is different about this chapter is that here the testimony to the true God is placed into the mouth of a heathen king. Remember too that this chapter belongs to that portion of the book written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonian Empire. This chapter contains a message that heathen people needed to hear. God let them hear it in their own language. It is, indeed, a message for all people of all times.

King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly! 2It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. 3How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.

This superscription presents the message of the chapter as an edict, a royal proclamation issued by great King Nebuchadnezzar. The royal author addresses his edict “to the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world.” Even though Nebuchadnezzar knew that there were regions of the world over which he had no authority, yet as the preeminent ruler of his day, he claimed to be ruler of the world.

And now he had an important message for everyone in his vast realm. The most powerful king in the world had just had a shattering experience. He had exalted himself; he had proudly claimed for himself credit that belonged to God, and God had humbled him properly and publicly. The royal edict acquaints the citizens of Babylon with the details of what had happened in the preceding months and ends with a hymn of praise to the Most High God: How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Many Bible scholars refuse to take this superscription at face value. One commentator actually expresses this opinion: “As an edict the document is historically absurd” (James A. Montgomery, International Critical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, page 222). According to this critic, the language of the edict is not that of a Babylonian but betrays its Jewish author.

To be sure, the royal announcement shows familiarity with biblical thought. But could this not be due to the instructions and influence of Daniel, the child of God and foremost statesman of the empire, under whose guidance Nebuchadnezzar told his story? It has been suggested that Daniel may have been the royal scribe who later wrote down the king’s recollections after his unusual experience. At any rate, the Spirit of God saw to it that Daniel incorporated the king’s story into this book. And what a story the king has to tell!

4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me.

The writer takes us to the palace in ancient Babylon, where we see a picture of tranquility. King Nebuchadnezzar’s years of fighting were over, and now he was enjoying years of peace. He had wiped out his enemies and consolidated his power, and he describes himself as relaxed and free from care. What happened to him, therefore, was totally unexpected. Nebuchadnezzar could not possibly have anticipated the humbling experience that lay immediately ahead for him.

“I had a dream that made me afraid.” From Daniel’s explanation we learn that God sent Nebuchadnezzar the dream that frightened the great king and ruined his sleep. The man before whom kings trembled, the king whose command had destroyed Jerusalem’s walls and burned her temple and blinded her king, now shook with fear. Even though Nebuchadnezzar didn’t know the exact meaning of the dream, he sensed that it was bad news.

You will recall that earlier in Nebuchadnezzar’s life, God had given the king a dream of a huge statue. Through that dream God predicted the rise and fall of nations, including Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar himself had been symbolized in that dream by the statue’s head of gold. Daniel’s interpretation of the vision pointed out to King Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom would fall and be replaced by another kingdom. Unfortunately for King Nebuchadnezzar, over the years he had forgotten God’s warning. God here repeated it, in an attempt to turn the king from his proud and godless ways.

The king called in his royal advisers, to hear the details of his strange dream and to tell him what it meant. These wise men—“magicians, enchanters, astrologers, diviners”— were specialists trained in the secret arts, the men who were kept at the king’s court to advise the king in all matters pertaining to the nation’s welfare.

This was the second instance that Daniel records of King Nebuchadnezzar calling all his wise men into emergency session. Many of them undoubtedly recalled the first time, perhaps 20 years earlier, when the king’s wise men were threatened with death if they couldn’t give the king the information he desired. On that occasion the wise men had pleaded with the king, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it” (2:7).

This time, however, the king told them all the details, but they were still unable to tell him what the dream meant. For some reason Daniel was the last of the king’s advisers to be called. We don’t know why he was called last. Had he been busy assembling the king’s advisers from their stations throughout the empire? Or did King Nebuchadnezzar have a short memory? Didn’t he remember that at the time of his earlier dream his magicians and wise men had been unable to help him and only Daniel could tell him the details of his dream and interpret them? Or did Nebuchadnezzar deliberately turn first to his own Babylonian wise men, hoping to get along without the help of Israel’s God? Some have argued that Daniel may purposely have stayed out of the picture until Babylon’s finest had their opportunity to interpret the dream and were forced to admit their helplessness. In that event Daniel would have an additional opportunity to demonstrate publicly the superiority of the God of Israel.

There may have been quite another reason why Daniel was not called in at first. It seems unlikely that the king, trembling with fright at the dream he had had, would forget that he had placed Daniel in charge of all of Babylon’s wise men. Nebuchadnezzar may have remembered all too well how Daniel’s God had prophesied Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall and the collapse of his empire. Nebuchadnezzar may very well have understood from his present dream that he was going to suffer further humiliation and that this would most likely be caused by Daniel’s God, a God with whom Nebuchadnezzar as yet wanted no dealings. It was only when Nebuchadnezzar’s gods and his wise men had failed him that he was forced to call on Daniel for help.