Daniel Interprets Another Dream Series

We are in chapter 4 in Daniel. Last week we studied the dream that King Nebuchadnezzar had. You might remember that he called all of his occult advisors in to interpret the dream and once again they could not. Daniel comes in and the King relays the dream to him. We begin in verse 19 tonight.

Read Daniel 4: 19. Notice that Daniel reluctantly interpreted the dream for King Nebuchadnezzar. He stands there before the king and is visibly shaken and deeply troubled by the dream. He stands there for some time in stone silence, so long that Nebuchadnezzar had to encourage him to speak.

Daniel's mind was being flooded with disturbing thoughts that obviously terrified him. As the king's chief advisor, Daniel had undoubtedly grown somewhat close to the king and cared deeply for him. But even more than his empathy for King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel knew that the nation and the people could suffer greatly when the dream was fulfilled. So finally, he speaks up expressing his wish that the dream applied to the king's enemies and not to the king.

Read Daniel 4:20-22. Daniel begins to explain the features of the dream majoring upon three specific things.

1. The towering tree in the middle of the Earth represented the king and his empire. This included many things. The empire's economic prosperity, the protection and security that it provided, the greatness that it had achieved, the military strength, the vast expansion, and the impact of its influence around the world - - all these achievements had been primarily accomplished during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. So, this mighty tree represented the king and his empire.

Read Daniel 4:23-25.

2. The Messengers commands represented God's coming judgment on the king. The judgment was a decree issued by the most high God himself. So, the judgment was a sure thing and could not be escaped. Nebuchadnezzar would suffer at the hand of God because of his pride, self-sufficiency, and wicked behavior. But leaving the stump in the ground indicated that the king would not lose his life but that his life would be preserved.

And his life WAS preserved. You might remember last week when I mentioned that this chapter opened with King Nebuchadnezzar praising the Lord for restoring him to his throne. He was praising God for bringing him out of the 7-year punishment of sorts to teach him a lesson and to bring him to the reality that God alone is sovereign and in control.

As Daniel interprets the King’s dream, Daniel is shaken by what he knows is in store for the King. Daniel continues with the interpretation.

Being drenched with the dew of heaven and living like the animals was a symbol of the king's losing his mind. He would become insane, living outside like a beast exposed to the elements. His wild, irrational behavior would last for seven long years. His insanity was actually a discipline of God and would continue until he finally humbled himself and acknowledged that God is sovereign - - that God Alone controls all the kingdoms and affairs of the human race.

Read Daniel 4:26.

3. The stump with its roots represented the king's recovery. Although the towering tree was cut down, a stump with roots was left. So, the Lord gave the king a glimmer of hope for the future. Nebuchadnezzar would be physically healed and restored to the throne of Babylon. But remember that his healing and his restoration would not take place until he acknowledged the Lord, that the Lord alone rules and controls the affairs of this world. God alone works all things out for the good.

Read Daniel 4:27. Daniel concludes this prophecy by encouraging the king to repent. Nebuchadnezzar needed to renounce his sins, live righteously, and rule in mercy and compassion. He must no longer oppress people but, instead, execute true justice for the citizens of the empire, especially for the oppressed.

No longer would he be allowed to live selfishly, coveting more and more wealth and neglecting the poor of society. No longer could he oppress and exploit people nor allow injustice within the courts of the empire. He had to establish a society of mercy and justice. So, Nebuchadnezzar could escape the judgment only if he truly repented of his sins and lived righteously.

Does this passage teach us anything? Once again, the Bible is teaching us about repentance. Repentance is absolutely necessary for a person to escape the judgment of God. God's judgment will come upon the sinful and wicked of this earth. Everyone who commits evil of any kind will have to face God's condemnation. That is the teaching that I received from this passage.

But as always, God gives us a plan of escape. Once again, there is an escape in this situation, the same escape that was offered to King Nebuchadnezzar. That escape is repentance, true repentance. If we genuinely renounce our sins and live righteously, showing mercy and compassion to the needy of this earth, we will escape the condemnation of God. The Lord will accept us and give us the wonderful inheritance of eternal life.