Nebuchadnezzar Before the Bound Stump and the Dream TreeBible World
4:4Daniel 4:4
I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:
Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed at rest in his house and flourishing, secure and prospering in his palace at the height of his greatness, prosperity and worldly honor. He ruled a powerful empire with nations gathered under his sovereignty, and his kingdom was firmly established in the hearts of his loyal subjects.
Before this point he had received light from God and had sometimes credited Jehovah with the glory of his kingdom and reign. That was especially after the dream of the great image showed that Babylon would fall, other kingdoms would follow, and God's everlasting kingdom would ultimately replace all earthly powers. He had also seen the form of the Fourth with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace and acknowledged their God as the living God, with that preservation in the furnace following the earlier revelation of the image.
He did not continue to walk in that light but disregarded it and lost the holy impression made on his mind. His disobedience cost him benefits he could have received.
The verse begins the record of another dream God gave him after the furnace, and it places his ease and prosperity immediately before the judgment described in the chapter. In that judgment God humbled him through banishment followed by miraculous restoration.
The verse and its context warn against self-sufficiency and self-exaltation in prosperity. They warn against setting God aside and trusting in oneself and human wisdom, making human strength one's support, and cherishing proud, self-trusting thoughts and feelings. Cherishing such thoughts and feelings brings danger of passing through a trying experience and judgment for neglecting God's lessons.
As a warning example for those in authority, acting like Nebuchadnezzar in prosperity means claiming authority and power over God's heritage that God has not given. It means carrying on God's work by human wisdom rather than as God requires, magnifying and exalting self, and standing in supremacy to require everyone to understand and carry out one's own mind. It means investigating, criticizing, and condemning workers whose work does not meet one's ideas, discouraging those striving to accomplish something in simplicity, and making laws and pledges for the future to control others. So the lesson is not to act that way but to be careful with words, encourage and instruct workers, and let the work in different places advance according to the light God has given.
His banishment and restoration became lessons about God's will and the king's duty to obey. Those were lessons that Belshazzar knew but neglected.
Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed at rest in his house and flourishing, secure and prospering in his palace at the height of his greatness, prosperity and worldly honor. He ruled a powerful empire with nations gathered under his sovereignty, and his kingdom was firmly established in the hearts of his loyal subjects.
Before this point he had received light from God and had sometimes credited Jehovah with the glory of his kingdom and reign. That was especially after the dream of the great image showed that Babylon would fall, other kingdoms would follow, and God's everlasting kingdom would ultimately replace all earthly powers. He had also seen the form of the Fourth with the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace and acknowledged their God as the living God, with that preservation in the furnace following the earlier revelation of the image.
He did not continue to walk in that light but disregarded it and lost the holy impression made on his mind. His disobedience cost him benefits he could have received.
The verse begins the record of another dream God gave him after the furnace, and it places his ease and prosperity immediately before the judgment described in the chapter. In that judgment God humbled him through banishment followed by miraculous restoration.
The verse and its context warn against self-sufficiency and self-exaltation in prosperity. They warn against setting God aside and trusting in oneself and human wisdom, making human strength one's support, and cherishing proud, self-trusting thoughts and feelings. Cherishing such thoughts and feelings brings danger of passing through a trying experience and judgment for neglecting God's lessons.
As a warning example for those in authority, acting like Nebuchadnezzar in prosperity means claiming authority and power over God's heritage that God has not given. It means carrying on God's work by human wisdom rather than as God requires, magnifying and exalting self, and standing in supremacy to require everyone to understand and carry out one's own mind. It means investigating, criticizing, and condemning workers whose work does not meet one's ideas, discouraging those striving to accomplish something in simplicity, and making laws and pledges for the future to control others. So the lesson is not to act that way but to be careful with words, encourage and instruct workers, and let the work in different places advance according to the light God has given.
His banishment and restoration became lessons about God's will and the king's duty to obey. Those were lessons that Belshazzar knew but neglected.