Nebuchadnezzar Boasting Over Great BabylonBible World
4:29Daniel 4:29
At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.
At the end of twelve months of warning and trial after his dream was interpreted, Nebuchadnezzar was walking in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon in returned pride and boasted that he had built great Babylon by the might of his own power for the honor of his own majesty. While the boast was still in his mouth a voice from heaven declared the kingdom departed from him, and that same hour he was driven from men to live as a beast for seven times until he knew that the Most High rules and gives kingdoms to whomever He will. Dominion and glory come from God, who took away his wisdom and reason to humble him until he acknowledged a power above himself and praised God, for Babylon passed away because in prosperity her rulers forgot God and ascribed her honor to human achievement. The verse warns against the self-sufficiency that grows from success, against trusting in self and human wisdom and strength and pursuing ambitious plans by one's own will instead of giving glory to God, for human capabilities are only lent in trust and boasting over them brings loss and judgment unless hearts are humbled and sins confessed. His divinely decreed banishment, conversion, and restoration teach humility and obedience, a lesson Belshazzar knew yet disregarded to his own calamity, and those entrusted with leadership must not take God's work into human hands by personal devising and supremacy over others but must give all a chance to work by the wisdom God gives them individually.
Setting and Downfall
Daniel 4 records another dream God gave to Nebuchadnezzar after he lost the holy impression made by the deliverance of the three Hebrews from the fiery furnace, because he did not continue to walk in the light he had received about the living God. In that dream the lofty tree represented his greatness and prosperity, with nations living under his sovereignty and his kingdom firmly established among loyal subjects.
The verse places him walking in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon at the end of twelve months after Daniel had interpreted the dream and warned him of the coming sentence, closing a twelve-month period of warning and trial. About a year after his warning he was still in his palace, and his prosperity and pride had made him unjust and oppressive.
While walking there his earlier pride and self-directed ambition had returned, and in pride he exalted himself and thought highly of himself, boasting of his own capabilities. In pride in his power as ruler and success as a builder he claimed that he himself had built great Babylon by the might of his own power and for the honor of his own majesty and name, that his own name might receive the glory.
While the boast was still in his mouth a voice from heaven announced that the appointed time of judgment had come and the kingdom was departed from him. That same hour the declared judgment was fulfilled in his madness and degradation, when he was driven from men to dwell with beasts and eat grass for seven times until he knew that the Most High rules and gives kingdoms to whomever He will. In forgetting God and glorifying himself he at once lost his kingdom, wisdom, and reason, in banishment from the society of men and association with the beasts of the field, for God took away his wisdom and reason to humble him so that he would recognize God as able to create and destroy.
Lessons and Applications
Dominion and glory come from God, who judged Nebuchadnezzar's pride at the end of twelve months of warning by taking away his wisdom and reason to humble him. The humbling was to lead him to recognize God as able to create and to destroy, to acknowledge a power above himself, to use his tongue to praise God, and to confess God's power and mercy. Babylon passed away because in prosperity her rulers forgot God and ascribed her honor and glory to human achievement. The same humiliation comes today when people forget God and refuse to obey His law, for God tests them, and if they do not humble their hearts and confess their sins they receive the penalty of transgression.
His divinely decreed banishment, conversion, and miraculous restoration teach humility and obedience. That experience became a lesson to Belshazzar, who knew these facts and had great opportunities and light to know the works and power of the living God and to do His will. Yet he disregarded what ought to have been a lesson to him as if it had never occurred, and went on repeating the same sins and daring the crimes that brought judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar, bringing later calamity on Babylon. He was condemned not alone because he himself was doing wickedly, but because he did not avail himself of opportunities and capabilities which, if cultivated, would have made him right. God gives lessons to lead people to reform, and neglecting and failing to practice them brings judgment, a warning Daniel later recalled to him.
The walk in the palace warns against the self-sufficiency that grows from success, greatness and prosperity, when nations live under one's sovereignty and the kingdom seems firmly established. It warns against trusting in oneself and one's own wisdom, and against relying on human wisdom and human strength. It warns against continuing in pride and self-directed ambition instead of heeding warning, disregarding God's counsel and pursuing ambitious plans by one's own will, and against patterning after Nebuchadnezzar by exalting self and seeking personal glory for one's own name instead of giving glory to God. The kings who succeeded Nebuchadnezzar failed to profit by his experience.
Human capabilities belong to God and are only lent in trust, so boasting over them brings the same danger of losing reason. Self must be denied, and true excellence is demonstrated not by boasting but by Christlikeness in meekness and lowliness, usefulness and love.
For those entrusted with leadership, especially in sanitarium and medical missionary work, the verse forbids acting like Nebuchadnezzar by taking God's work into human hands and carrying it by the wisdom of human minds and personal devising instead of as God requires. It forbids exercising authority and power over God's heritage that God has not given, requiring everyone to understand and carry out one man's mind, and investigating and criticizing and condemning work that does not meet his ideas. It forbids bringing discouragement upon workers striving to accomplish something in their own borders, and revealing a spirit of supremacy in making laws and pledges for the future. To carry on the work in that self-directed way brings in principles God will not sustain or favor. It calls for a change of heart so that planning no longer centers in one man's devising but gives all others a chance to accomplish the work by the wisdom given them individually of God, on which eternal interests depend.
At the end of twelve months of warning and trial after his dream was interpreted, Nebuchadnezzar was walking in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon in returned pride and boasted that he had built great Babylon by the might of his own power for the honor of his own majesty. While the boast was still in his mouth a voice from heaven declared the kingdom departed from him, and that same hour he was driven from men to live as a beast for seven times until he knew that the Most High rules and gives kingdoms to whomever He will. Dominion and glory come from God, who took away his wisdom and reason to humble him until he acknowledged a power above himself and praised God, for Babylon passed away because in prosperity her rulers forgot God and ascribed her honor to human achievement. The verse warns against the self-sufficiency that grows from success, against trusting in self and human wisdom and strength and pursuing ambitious plans by one's own will instead of giving glory to God, for human capabilities are only lent in trust and boasting over them brings loss and judgment unless hearts are humbled and sins confessed. His divinely decreed banishment, conversion, and restoration teach humility and obedience, a lesson Belshazzar knew yet disregarded to his own calamity, and those entrusted with leadership must not take God's work into human hands by personal devising and supremacy over others but must give all a chance to work by the wisdom God gives them individually.
Setting and Downfall
Daniel 4 records another dream God gave to Nebuchadnezzar after he lost the holy impression made by the deliverance of the three Hebrews from the fiery furnace, because he did not continue to walk in the light he had received about the living God. In that dream the lofty tree represented his greatness and prosperity, with nations living under his sovereignty and his kingdom firmly established among loyal subjects.
The verse places him walking in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon at the end of twelve months after Daniel had interpreted the dream and warned him of the coming sentence, closing a twelve-month period of warning and trial. About a year after his warning he was still in his palace, and his prosperity and pride had made him unjust and oppressive.
While walking there his earlier pride and self-directed ambition had returned, and in pride he exalted himself and thought highly of himself, boasting of his own capabilities. In pride in his power as ruler and success as a builder he claimed that he himself had built great Babylon by the might of his own power and for the honor of his own majesty and name, that his own name might receive the glory.
While the boast was still in his mouth a voice from heaven announced that the appointed time of judgment had come and the kingdom was departed from him. That same hour the declared judgment was fulfilled in his madness and degradation, when he was driven from men to dwell with beasts and eat grass for seven times until he knew that the Most High rules and gives kingdoms to whomever He will. In forgetting God and glorifying himself he at once lost his kingdom, wisdom, and reason, in banishment from the society of men and association with the beasts of the field, for God took away his wisdom and reason to humble him so that he would recognize God as able to create and destroy.
Lessons and Applications
Dominion and glory come from God, who judged Nebuchadnezzar's pride at the end of twelve months of warning by taking away his wisdom and reason to humble him. The humbling was to lead him to recognize God as able to create and to destroy, to acknowledge a power above himself, to use his tongue to praise God, and to confess God's power and mercy. Babylon passed away because in prosperity her rulers forgot God and ascribed her honor and glory to human achievement. The same humiliation comes today when people forget God and refuse to obey His law, for God tests them, and if they do not humble their hearts and confess their sins they receive the penalty of transgression.
His divinely decreed banishment, conversion, and miraculous restoration teach humility and obedience. That experience became a lesson to Belshazzar, who knew these facts and had great opportunities and light to know the works and power of the living God and to do His will. Yet he disregarded what ought to have been a lesson to him as if it had never occurred, and went on repeating the same sins and daring the crimes that brought judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar, bringing later calamity on Babylon. He was condemned not alone because he himself was doing wickedly, but because he did not avail himself of opportunities and capabilities which, if cultivated, would have made him right. God gives lessons to lead people to reform, and neglecting and failing to practice them brings judgment, a warning Daniel later recalled to him.
The walk in the palace warns against the self-sufficiency that grows from success, greatness and prosperity, when nations live under one's sovereignty and the kingdom seems firmly established. It warns against trusting in oneself and one's own wisdom, and against relying on human wisdom and human strength. It warns against continuing in pride and self-directed ambition instead of heeding warning, disregarding God's counsel and pursuing ambitious plans by one's own will, and against patterning after Nebuchadnezzar by exalting self and seeking personal glory for one's own name instead of giving glory to God. The kings who succeeded Nebuchadnezzar failed to profit by his experience.
Human capabilities belong to God and are only lent in trust, so boasting over them brings the same danger of losing reason. Self must be denied, and true excellence is demonstrated not by boasting but by Christlikeness in meekness and lowliness, usefulness and love.
For those entrusted with leadership, especially in sanitarium and medical missionary work, the verse forbids acting like Nebuchadnezzar by taking God's work into human hands and carrying it by the wisdom of human minds and personal devising instead of as God requires. It forbids exercising authority and power over God's heritage that God has not given, requiring everyone to understand and carry out one man's mind, and investigating and criticizing and condemning work that does not meet his ideas. It forbids bringing discouragement upon workers striving to accomplish something in their own borders, and revealing a spirit of supremacy in making laws and pledges for the future. To carry on the work in that self-directed way brings in principles God will not sustain or favor. It calls for a change of heart so that planning no longer centers in one man's devising but gives all others a chance to accomplish the work by the wisdom given them individually of God, on which eternal interests depend.