11. Epilogue: The King praises God (4:34-37), sealing his testimony.
v.
34a: “But at the end of that period…”
o
That
is, the period of seven years of irreversibly allotted Divine Judgment; the
king is granted no reprieve by the Heavenly Court!
v.
34b: “…I, Nebuchadnezzar…
o
Note
the resumption of the first-person narrative voice.
v.
34c: “…lifted my eyes to heaven…”
o
A
gesture typically indicates a heart-attitude of prayer & supplication,
seeking the Face of the Lord. Note these Songs of Ascents:
Ps. 121:1-2: I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and
earth.
Ps. 123:1-3: To You I lift up my eyes, O
You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to
the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her
mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till He has mercy upon us. Have
mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of
contempt.
o
No
longer senseless to the things of Heaven and brutishly fixing his gaze downward
towards the earth like some four-footed animal, King Nebuchadnezzar now directs
his gaze upwards towards the realm of the mysterious Heavenly Voice that
had come down seven years earlier during the moment when madness had descended
upon him.
o
Clearly,
the direction of his gaze indicates a full recognition of the Source of
his judgment and calamity.
v.
34d: “…and my reason returned to me…”
o
Reiterated
in v. 36.
o
No
longer in the slouching posture of a beast, he stands erect, as a man,
with a spiritually renewed mind. Turning in mindful recognition of God is a
primary distinction between men, who are created in the image of God, and brute
animals. As Feinberg notes:
"The ability to recognize God is the
fundamental difference between beasts and men. In any age, the glory of man is
to recognize God and to take his place relative to the Sovereign of the
universe."—Charles Lee Feinberg, Daniel: The Man and his Visions.
Likewise, these precious and appropriate
remarks from Baldwin and Culver:
"Sanity begins with a realistic
self-appraisal."—Joyce G. Baldwin
"Nothing is more insane than human
pride. Nothing is more sober and sensible than to praise God."—Robert
Duncan Culver
o
It
is worth noting the metamorphosis of the Babylonian Beast into the shape of
reasonable man in the symbolic Beast Vision of Daniel 7. This passage may be
well be speaking of Nebuchadnezzar’s spiritual regeneration:
Dan. 7:4: "The first [beast] was like a lion and had the
wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was
lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human
mind also was given to it.”
o
Like
the Gerasene demoniac, the King’s right mind returned to him, and he
praises the One who mercifully healed him (Mark 5:15-20).
Mark 5:15, 20: 15And they came to Jesus
and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there,
clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid… 20And he went
away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him,
and everyone marveled.
o
This
also recalls the experience of the Prodigal Son, who, living like a beast,
hungers for the food of the swine with which he kept company, but then at last comes
to his senses and resolves to return to his father in a state of repentance
(Luke 15:16-19).
o
As
Culver observes, “Nothing is more reasonable than the Gospel, even though the
world in its wisdom does not know it.”
1 Cor. 1:18-19: For the message of the cross is
foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the
power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the
intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
And yet, men continue to reject the light of
the Gospel. The world of unregenerate men is truly a massive insane asylum!
v.
34e: “…and I blessed the Most High…
o
Adoration
is another fruit of true and genuine regeneration and repentance.
v.
34f: “…and praised and honored Him who lives forever…”
o
The
Most High is not like the temporal deities of the polytheistic pantheons.
v.
34g: “…for His dominion is an everlasting dominion…”
o
At
last, a genuine acceptance of the Plan of God as revealed in the Dream of the
Colossus in chapter two (cf., Dan. 2:44; Dan. 4:3, 17, 26).
v.
35: “…But He does according to His will…”
o
At
last, Divine Sovereignty is affirmed—the great theme of Daniel’s Prophecy!
v.
36a: “…And my majesty and splendor were restored to me…”
o God blesses the humble
and the contrite…
James 4:6: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” [cf., Prov. 3:34, 1 Pet. 5:5, Matt. 5:5].
o This experience of restoration
recalls that of Job:
Job 42:10: The LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for
his friends, and the LORD increased all that Job had twofold.
v.
36b: “…and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out…”
o
How
the government continued to operate in Nebuchadnezzar’s absence is left
mysterious and unexplained. It has been suggested (e.g., the Babylonian Talmud)
that Daniel administered the state during this period.
o
This
possibility recalls how First Lady Edith Galt Wilson functionally—but discreetly—ran
the Executive branch of government during President Wilson’s second term,
following his debilitating stroke.
o
The
role of Nebuchadnezzar’s son and eventual successor, Evil-Merodach (cf., 2 Kings
25:27-28) during this period is unclear.
o
Madness
was often characterized within pagan antiquity as an ecstatic sign of divine
indwelling. Despite his condition, there is no reason to suspect that the King
was ill-treated or abused by others during this period.
o Whether or not the
tradition cited by the ancient Greek Megasthenes (quoted by Eusebius) of an
ecstatic prophetic utterance being made by Nebuchadnezzar while on his roof
before his disappearance about a conquering “Persian mule” bears any relation
to the above is unclear.
o
It
is nonetheless a marvel that the King remained upon the throne during this
period—but this too was a fulfilment of prophecy (4:15, 23, 26).
v.
37: “Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His
works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in
pride.”
o
The
King’s final word of testimony and epitaph! With the conclusion of these words,
the world hears its last from this monumental and fascinating historical figure
who has figured so prominently in chs. 1-4—as well as within other Biblical
narratives (e.g., Jeremiah, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles).
o
It
is generally believed that the King lived approximately a year beyond the
events of this narrative.
o
The
King has learned his lessons in 1) Humility, 2) Divine sovereignty, and in 3)
the Nature of the Divine Character. God’s ways are just!
o
The
King’s new orientation and response to God’s hand of correction is clearly
indicative of a new life proceeding from the New Birth—a life characterized by praise,
worship, peace, reason, and a deliverance from the stench of pride.
o
Though
some eminent commentators remain skeptical of Nebuchadnezzar’s regeneration
(e.g., Calvin), it is clear that the King’s final word of testimony reaches far
beyond the shallow and temporal prior confessions of 2:47 and 3:28-29, in which
God is simply acknowledged as great revealer of mysteries and a powerful deliverer.
Walvoord’s summation is worth noting:
In chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar reaches a new
spiritual perspicacity. Prior to his experience of insanity, his confessions
were those of a pagan whose polytheism permitted the addition of new gods, as
illustrated in Dan. 2:47; Dan. 3:28-29. Now Nebuchadnezzar apparently worships
the King of heaven only. For this reason, his autobiography is truly remarkable
and reflects the fruitfulness of Daniel's influence upon him and probably of
Daniel's daily prayers for him. Certainly God is no respecter of persons and
can save the high and mighty in this world as well as the lowly.
o
We
note in closing that this magnificent and unique chapter has embraced an
awesome variety of literary genres (e.g., epistle, dream-report, symbolic
vision, court-contest-narrative, praise and doxology)!
Historical Appendix to
Chapter IV
I.
On Historical corroboration to the Facts of the Narrative.
There is no direct corroborating account of these
events found within other surviving official Babylonian court records—which is
hardly surprising, given its substance, involving the humiliation of the
Babylonian Royal Family and the elevation of the God of a conquered, captive
people! Actually, very little of the events of the King’s final
years remain preserved unto us, and there is much mystery associated with the entire
period. It is worth noting, however, that there are several circumstantial fragments
of evidence that may potentially interrelate to the Biblical record. For
example, the later Babylonian historian Berosus indicates that during this
general time frame King Nebuchadnezzar suffered from an unspecified illness
near the end of his life. Also, an unearthed cuneiform tablet in fragmentary
condition speaks of a period late in Nebuchadnezzar’s life when “his life appeared
of no value to him,” and possibly describes the neglect of his public
duties. Unfortunately, the inscription is in such a fragmentary state that
little more can be stated, other than a vague and intriguing reference to the
King’s son, Evil-Merodach (who perhaps ran the government at this time?). Regardless
of the worth of these potential parallels, however, let us be mindful that the
text of Daniel chapter 4 itself is a primary document and an official
royal proclamation that we have in hand, written by Nebuchadnezzar himself and
preserved by the Lord’s own hand (Isa. 40:8), surviving unto God’s glory and
for our benefit!
II.
On the relationship of Daniel 4 to the apocryphal Prayer of Nabonidus.
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