A special character attaches to Daniel 4 from the fact that it contains a communication or letter, written by Nebuchadnezzar himself, and addressed to “all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth.” He had been favored with many signs from God through Daniel’s interpretation of his dream in Daniel 2, and in connection with the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the power of the flames in chapter 3, and, under the momentary impressions produced, he had confessed Daniel’s God to be a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets, and that there was no god that could deliver as the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. His heart, however, was unchanged; but in the narrative before us, which again is both historical and prophetical, we are permitted to see the way in which this idolatrous king is brought at last to “praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven” (Dan. 4:3737Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (Daniel 4:37)). Read in its connection, there cannot be a doubt that Nebuchadnezzar really bowed in conscience and heart to the testimony which reached him through the prophet Daniel, and that he thus became a servant of the “Most High.”
The proof of this lies in the royal communication to all his subjects. He desires that every person in his dominions should be made acquainted with his “conversion.” The address of the letter has already been noticed; and this is followed by a salutation—“Peace be multiplied unto you”—which in its form is almost apostolic. (Compare 1 Peter 1:22Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)). In Daniel 4:2-32I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me. 3How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. (Daniel 4:2‑3) he concisely states the object he has in addressing his subjects: “I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me”; and then his heart overflows in admiration as he recalls what God had wrought, exclaiming, “How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” It is a good thing when the soul is constrained to confess what God has wrought by His grace; for, as the apostle teaches, if the heart believes unto righteousness, it is with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. It is due to God that confession should be made, and when made it turns to a testimony for His glory.
Following upon this, he gives his own personal circumstances at the time when this new message from God reached him. “I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace” (Dan. 4:44I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace: (Daniel 4:4)). He had attained the summit of all human ambition. Monarch of all the kingdoms of the earth, his authority undisputed, prosperous in all his undertakings, with nothing to disturb his tranquility, whether as touching his public or his private affairs; he was in peace in his house, and flourishing in his palace. Everything, in a word, went well with this mighty monarch, so that he might have been, if human prosperity could have given it, in the enjoyment of perfect happiness. And he was, it would seem, happy, but without God. It was from this clear sky, with no premonition of coming trouble, that God’s warnings suddenly came to arouse the king and to fill him with apprehensions. “I saw a dream,” he says, “which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me” (Dan. 4:55I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. (Daniel 4:5)).
The dream did not, as on a former occasion, pass away from his mind; nor did he understand what he had seen, although he was troubled—troubled as he felt that it contained something of momentous import for him and for his kingdom. He therefore at once issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to him the interpretation of the dream (Dan. 4:66Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. (Daniel 4:6)). Having proved their incompetency in Daniel 2, and having, at the same time, learned that Daniel alone could unravel his mystery, it may seem strange that Daniel was not immediately summoned into the king’s presence. There is no affinity between the natural and the spiritual man. Saul was glad to avail himself of David’s services both with his harp and with his sword, and yet he hated him. In like manner, Nebuchadnezzar had profited by Daniel’s interpretation; but he could not love the one who was the representative before him of the God of heaven. If, therefore, he could do without Daniel, he would; and consequently he first tried his own wise men. Again their impotence was manifested. The wisdom of man is confined to earth; but Nebuchadnezzar’s dream came from heaven. The subject was one outside of all the thoughts of men, even though it related to the earth. To understand God’s things a man must be instructed of God; and this the wise men of Babylon were not. Foiled in his purpose, the king tells us, “At the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god” and so forth (Dan. 4:88But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, (Daniel 4:8)). The next verse plainly shows that Nebuchadnezzar had not forgotten Daniel’s ability as an expounder of secrets, although he could not have known the source of his inspiration, nor that he was God’s vessel of the spirit of prophecy. He only sent for him, therefore, from necessity, inasmuch as in all his dominions there was no other who could interpret his dream.
Every particular of the dream was fast rooted in the king’s memory, and he proceeded to repeat it to Daniel. It falls into three parts; first, its subject-matter, the tree (Dan. 4:10-1210Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth: 12The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. (Daniel 4:10‑12)); secondly, the judgment upon the tree (Dan. 4:13-1613I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: 16Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. (Daniel 4:13‑16)); and lastly, the object of the judgment executed (Dan. 4:1717This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. (Daniel 4:17)). As all these particulars are taken up by Daniel, we may pass to his interpretation, after noticing, first, the effect on Daniel of the king’s recital.
When Nebuchadnezzar had explained to him what he had seen in the visions of his head in his bed (Dan. 4:1010Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. (Daniel 4:10)), “Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him.” The meaning of the dream was unfolded to his soul as he heard it, and as he comprehended its import in its application to the king, filled with amazement, and troubled, he was reluctant, it would appear, to communicate to him the significance of the dream. This was perceived by Nebuchadnezzar, and he said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies” (Dan. 4:1919Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. (Daniel 4:19)). It may be questioned whether Daniel, in speaking thus, having received from God the interpretation of the dream, maintained the level of his prophetic office as a messenger from God; and it will be observed that in the record of this sentence the name Daniel is dropped. It is for the first and only time Belteshazzar—“not Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,” but simply Belteshazzar—who answered the king. However this may be, Daniel commenced to give to the king the interpretation of his dream: “The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth” (Dan. 4:20-2220The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. (Daniel 4:20‑22)). The figure of a tree to denote men in their earthly greatness is often used in the prophets.
Ezekiel thus says: “Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs.... All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations,” and so forth (Ezek. 31:3-93Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. 4The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. 5Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. 6All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations. 7Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters. 8The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty. 9I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him. (Ezekiel 31:3‑9)). This striking correspondence helps much to understand the symbology of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams, and enables us to perceive how apt an illustration it is of exaltation in the government of the earth, in the far-reaching, wide-spreading, and sheltering protection it affords to all ranks and conditions of men. The beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven are introduced because both alike had been given into his hand (see Dan. 2:3838And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. (Daniel 2:38)); and hence they, as well as the children of men, are looked upon as subject to, sustained and protected by, his authority. Well therefore might Daniel say to the king, “Thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth.”
A difference between the head of gold in Daniel 2, and the tree here, in their respective applications, is to be remarked. Both concern Nebuchadnezzar, as plainly said; but the former includes his dynasty, inasmuch as it is not until his dynasty ends that the second of the four prophetic kingdoms appears. The latter is a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar himself, as is seen by the judgment executed; only, it has to be added, that his degradation is in reality, as may be afterward explained, typical of the character of the Gentile power in government on to its supersession at the appearing of Christ to establish His kingdom.
Having given the application of the symbol, Daniel continued his interpretation: “And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: that they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times. shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule” (Dan. 4:23-2623And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; 24This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. (Daniel 4:23‑26)).
Nothing could be more precise than this interpretation, and it is given at length that the reader may perceive how exact in every detail was the fulfillment. It could not be otherwise, inasmuch as it was, through Daniel, a divine exposition of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision. It may now be understood why Daniel was tempted, as the judgment impending over the king rose up before him, to say, “The dream be to them that hate thee.” It was only the courage which the sense of his mission from God imparted that enabled him thus fearlessly to unroll the scroll of the king’s future; and it needed courage for the Jewish captive—prophet to stand before the monarch of the world, and to depict such an overwhelming disaster. Daniel himself would appear to have been moved; for he appealed to the king in words of earnest entreaty, “Wherefore: O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility.” Like Paul with Felix, Daniel reasoned with Nebuchadnezzar of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; but we do not read that the king trembled. The message however had been delivered, and the appeal made; and the momentous interview between the prophet and the monarch was ended.
In the next place the history of the fulfillment of Daniel’s interpretation is given. “All this,” he says, “came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar” (Dan. 4:2828All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. (Daniel 4:28)); and then we have the circumstances under which the threatened judgment was executed. Twelve months had passed, and there is no record that the king had even been troubled by the warning he had received. The sky was still clear, with not a cloud on the distant horizon. This might be a matter of unspeakable surprise if we did not remember that the spectacle of sinners unmoved on the eve of eternal woe greets our eyes every day. Death must come, and judgment will follow, and yet men are careless and heedless. So with Nebuchadnezzar; and hence it is that we read that “at the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.” And what was the subject of his meditations? His own greatness, power, and majesty. “The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:3030The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? (Daniel 4:30)). All this was the glorification of himself, the full-blown pride of the human heart, begotten of his exaltation and prosperity—the pride that goeth before destruction. The source of his power had been communicated to him (Dan. 2); but this he had entirely forgotten in attributing all the glory of his kingdom to himself. Surveying the magnificence of his palace and metropolis, with a heart swelling with pride and exultation, he ascribed all to the might of his own power, and declared that it was all for the honor of his own majesty. God was not in all his thoughts, nor even his own false gods; his vision was bounded by himself—himself as the source of all his glory, and himself as the object of all his works. What an insight into the heart of man. We are thus allowed to behold the moral condition of this gigantic tree before it is hewn down according to the divine decree.
The similarity between this and the parable of the rich man, whose ground brought forth plentifully, will at once be recalled. As he congratulated himself upon his prosperity, purposed to enlarge his barns, and contemplated years of selfish enjoyment, the judgment went forth, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee” (Luke 12:16-2016And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (Luke 12:16‑20)). In like manner, as Nebuchadnezzar vented the pride of his heart in his foolish boasting, even “while the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, The kingdom is departed from thee”; and then the judgment pronounced by Daniel is repeated by the voice, and immediately executed. For “the same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws.” When God speaks it is done, and what He commands ever stands fast.
It is now necessary to inquire into the meaning of this judgment; and on examination it will be found that it has a threefold significance—personal, moral, and prophetical. First, then, the personal meaning has to be considered. This lies in the fact that what was inflicted upon Nebuchadnezzar was a direct judgment from God for his personal pride, for what might be termed his self-deification. The pride of man is one of the special objects of God’s hatred; and because of its expression in an extreme form in the king of Babylon, he fell under God’s judicial hand. There are those who endeavor to account for his condition in a natural way by terming it a special form of madness. Even so, the question returns, Whence came it? The Biblical narrative supplies the answer—an answer recorded by the king himself—that it came from the hand of God as a just judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar’s overweening pride and vain-glory. Threatened a year before it was inflicted, and space thus having been given for repentance, he has the very words of Daniel recalled to his mind by a voice from heaven, at the very moment when the punitive stroke was about to descend. Entrusted with the government of the earth, God held him accountable, and punished him accordingly, and yet in grace, as well as in righteousness, since the object was to teach him “that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will” (Dan. 4:3232And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. (Daniel 4:32)).
The moral significance of what befell Nebuchadnezzar is even, if possible, of more importance. He was driven from men, became as a beast of the earth, for he ate grass as oxen, and in his bodily condition was even worse than the beasts of the field. All this is but expressive of his moral state, and of the character of the power he wielded as dissociated from God. In the language of another: “Power is reduced to the condition of the beasts that know not God, and are devoid of man’s understanding. The only true privilege of man, that which ennobles him, is that he can look up to God and acknowledge Him. Without this he looks downward, he cannot suffice to himself, he is degraded.... Pride and independence separate man from God; he becomes a beast, devoid of real intelligence.” The physical state of this monarch is therefore a moral picture, and one that should often be pondered, inasmuch as it reveals man’s condition according to the estimate of God, when he vaunts his own power, seeks his own glory, and asserts his own independence. But it goes further than the king himself; it embraces also the character of his rule, and of his kingdom. If then the first kingdom in man’s hand becomes in Daniel 3 idolatrous, in Daniel 4 it becomes bestial, bestial in the sense of being devoid of all intelligence as dissevered from God, and as looking downward, and feeding only upon the motives and objects of earth. For when man in his exaltation shuts out God from his thoughts, and makes himself his center and object, he is morally no better than a beast. As the Psalmist says, “Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish” (Psa. 49:2020Man that is in honor, and understandeth not, is like the beasts that perish. (Psalm 49:20)).
There is lastly the prophetical aspect. “Seven times” were to pass over the king in his degradation before he should be restored. It does not say “years,” though possibly the “times” might be “years,” but “times.” The expression is vague, while the term “seven” gives it a very precise meaning; that is, a perfect period, a period—comprising the whole duration of the times of the Gentiles. We gather, therefore, that all the four kingdoms—and these, it will be remembered, embrace the whole period of Gentile rule—will have the same moral character before God; that the power exercised in them will be apart from God, and will be wielded for self, for man, and for earthly objects, without regard to God’s thoughts, or to responsibility to Him from whom the power has been derived. This is a very solemn consideration, and on many accounts. It shows that no improvement in the governments of the earth is to be expected, and therefore that it is worse than useless, to say nothing of inconsistency with his heavenly calling, for the Christian to embark upon the sea of political agitations, in the hope of securing some amelioration in the state of things around. It is not for one moment denied that man’s condition in this world may be improved by just and beneficent laws; but the question remains, Will any political changes or legislative enactments alter the moral character either of human governments or of their subjects? Our chapter, with a host of other scriptures, proclaims that the character of the first kingdom will be repeated in its successors; and it will, as we know from the book of Revelation, be seen without kings, said, “Blessed be Abram of the most High God, possessor of heaven and earth” (Gen. 14:18-1918And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. 19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (Genesis 14:18‑19)). This plainly teaches, as also may be gathered from other scriptures, that this is the title which God will assume in the age to come, when He will, in very deed, possess the earth as well as heaven. In addition, therefore, to the significance of the use of the title by Nebuchadnezzar, who owned thereby that God, though He had committed the sovereignty of the earth to him, yet did according to His will on earth as in heaven, there is also a prophetic meaning. We have already called attention to the fact that Nebuchadnezzar’s degradation shadowed forth the character of Gentile rule on to the end; and now we learn that it will be through judgment that the nations will be brought to acknowledge God. We thus read in the prophet Zephaniah, “My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve Him with one consent” (Dan. 3:8-98Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews. 9They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever. (Daniel 3:8‑9)).
Daniel had told the king that the kingdom should be sure unto him; after that he had learned that the heavens do rule. This prediction was also verified; for he further adds: “At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me” (Dan. 4:3636At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. (Daniel 4:36)). God thus fulfilled His own word by the mouth of His servant; not one jot or tittle was allowed to fall to the ground; and Nebuchadnezzar joyfully confesses and records the divine faithfulness. And it is no small encouragement in the presence of the pride of power everywhere displayed, and amid all the confusions of earth, to see that God is working through all for the accomplishment of His own purposes, and that in the issue all the Gentiles, as well as His ancient people, will be brought into willing subjection to Christ when He establishes His kingdom, and extends His sway throughout the whole earth.
The chapter closes with another note of praise: “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase” (Dan. 4:3737Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (Daniel 4:37)). Comparing the Nebuchadnezzar who renders this praise to God with the Nebuchadnezzar who said, as he surveyed the magnificence of his city, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?” and so forth, we can only exclaim, “What hath God wrought?” He had indeed shown His power to abase the one who was walking in pride;— and, more than this, in abasing him He so effectually changed the heart of the monarch that he turned submissively to the hand that had smitten him, and confessed that all God’s works are truth, and His ways judgment. He thus justified God, a sure and unmistakable sign of conversion, and as he justified Him his lips were filled with praise and adoration. It is a lovely picture of the ways of God both in judgment and in grace.
A word should be added upon the character in which he here confesses God. He now speaks of Him as the King of heaven; and this is also evidence of his having been divinely taught. When Jehovah had His throne in Jerusalem, He was God of the earth as well as of heaven; but when He had abandoned His throne there, and had committed the sovereignty of the world to the Gentile monarch, He would be known as the God of heaven, and it is to Him as such that Daniel bore testimony before the king (Dan. 2:37-4437Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. 39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. 41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. 43And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:37‑44)). But while God had now assumed this title, He in no way surrendered either His claims to the earth, or the present actings of His power in government; for His object in the judicial stroke that fell upon Nebuchadnezzar was, as we have seen, to teach him, “that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will.” Nebuchadnezzar had confessed this truth; but before he concludes the account of God’s dealings with himself he proceeds a step further, and owns Him as the King of heaven.
It is exceedingly interesting to trace the various stages in Nebuchadnezzar’s history which led up to this conclusion. In chapter 2 he confessed to Daniel, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret”; in Daniel 3 he decreed that no one, under the extreme penalties of the law, should speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, owning that there was no other god that could “deliver after this sort”; and, lastly, in our chapter he acknowledges God as the most High, and as the King of heaven. God thus in His mercy subdued the proud heart of this mighty potentate, and humbling him before Him, made him confess His name before all the inhabitants of his vast empire. If a record of judgment, it is yet a story of unbounded grace.