THE BOOK OF DANIEL
Part
7
The Most
High Rules in the Kingdom of Men
The
Most High rules in the kingdom of men (Dan.4:17). Heaven rules (v 26)—this is
revealed in Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of a great tree.
The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top
touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and
abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the
field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air— you,
O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has
grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of
the earth.
"You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from
heaven and saying, 'Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump,
bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain
in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like
the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.'
"This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree
the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from
people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and
be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge
that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to
anyone he wishes. The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots
means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that
Heaven rules.
Dan 4:20-26 NIV
Nebuchadnezzar
himself saw this ‘dream of an enormous tree’ which foretold that he would be
abased (4:10-17).
God
sent a Word to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, that he will be driven away
from his people, away from civilization; and be cast into the dwelling of the
beasts of the forest.
You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild
animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven.
Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is
sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes. The
command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom
will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
Dan 4:25-26 NIV
For
seven years he ate grass like the ox, and was wet with the dew of heaven. In
verses 28 to 33, we see the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar:
All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later,
as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said,
"Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my
mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"
The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven,
"This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority
has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with
the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for
you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of
men and gives them to anyone he wishes."
Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was
fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body
was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an
eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
NIV
And
from verse 34 through 37, we read of his restoration:
At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward
heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and
glorified him who lives forever.
His dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: "What have you done?"
At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and
splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and
nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater
than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And
those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
NIV
The
Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He Wills.
He brings down the proud, but exalts the humble. He sets the humblest and
lowliest of men over the kingdoms of the earth (Dan 2:21; 5:21).
He changes times and seasons;
he sets up kings and deposes them.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
Dan 2:21 NIV
In
First Kings 21, Ahab was predicted to die, but found God’s Favor (verse 29);
because God Almighty noticed how he humbled himself before Him.
God’s
Dominion is an everlasting Dominion and His Kingdom endures from generation to
generation (Dan. 4:34).
He
does according to His Will and does as He pleases with “the powers of heaven”
[the principalities and powers] v.35. Nebuchadnezzar realized this, and praised
and honored “The King of Heaven.”
Prophet
Daniel had advised the King of Babylon:
“Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce
your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the
oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue."
Dan 4:27 NIV
Belshazzar,
son of Nebuchadnezzar succeeds his father to the throne and defiles the temple
vessels in chapter 5 verse 1 to 4 and sees the handwriting on the wall.
Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the
plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched
the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his
knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners
to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this
writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold
chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in
the kingdom."
Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read
the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more
terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
Dan 5:5-9 NIV
Daniel
interprets the Handwriting:
"O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar
sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position
he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and
feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he
wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those
he wanted to humble, he humbled. But when his heart became arrogant and
hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his
glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived
with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with
the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign
over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.
"But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,
though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of
heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your
nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the
gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or
hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your
life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
"This is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
"This is what these words mean:
Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to
an end.
Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and
Persians."
Dan 5:18-28 NIV
This
Belshazzar was the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, before the Medes and
the Persians took over the kingdom.
MENE
(a mina, which is 50 shekels).
TEKEL
(a shekel).
MENE
for ‘numbered.’
TEKEL
for ‘weighed.’
PERES
for ‘kingdom divided and given to the Medes and Persian.’
Belshazzar's
days of reign were brought to an end; he was weighed on the scales and found
wanting; and his kingdom divided and given to the Medes and Persians.
This
was foretold in Isaiah 21:2, 5, and 9.
Daniel
had an excellent spirit (5:12) and excellent wisdom (v.14).
Belshazzar
was slain the night of the very day that Daniel was proclaimed the third
highest ruler in the kingdom of Babylon. Darius the Mede received the kingdom.