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Chapter 4:10-27 (ESV) - “The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
Question to consider: Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel to not be alarmed by the interpretation he was to give?
It must have been extremely difficult for Daniel to deliver the news of God’s judgment to Nebuchadnezzar. I would argue that if Nebuchadnezzar had not witnessed the power of the LORD to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace, Daniel could have experienced his own ordeal in the fiery furnace. It is not a surprise that the other counselors “could” not interpret the dream even though the dream seemed pretty straightforward even before Daniel gave the interpretation. Who would want to tell the king that he wasn’t really in control and that God would give him seven years of madness just to prove that Nebuchadnezzar was the lowliest of men while the Almighty was the true King of kings and Lord of lords?
This is a personal opinion, but I think that Nebuchadnezzar believed God's message to him in the first dream. The other kingdoms in the statue would come after his. Whatever was coming upon him was temporary and would not end in his death. I believe this was a sign of his growing faith in the LORD.
Outside of the knowledge that king Nebuchadnezzar could not harm a hair on his head if God did not allow it, Daniel understood the mercy of God. People want to judge God harshly for sending prophets in to proclaim His coming wrath, but implied in each warning was an opportunity for repentance. If there was no path to forgiveness, God would have just taken the life of king Nebuchadnezzar without warning.
Thus, Daniel emphasized to the king that he did not want these things to come upon him and therefore pleaded with him to accept his counsel to repent, practice righteousness, and show mercy to the oppressed. When we proclaim the righteousness of God in Christ and plead with people to come to Christ for forgiveness of their sins, it is with the same spirit shown by Daniel. The Law of God is meant to show us our need for redemption, and the only one who can redeem us is Jesus. This He proved by His resurrection from the dead and ascension to the right hand of the Father.
It seems amazing to me that the LORD would go to such great lengths to reach the man, Nebuchadnezzar, but then I think of all that the Holy Spirit used to bring me to Christ and keep me in the faith.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit into the world to convict us of sin and judgment so that we can see the righteousness of Christ. Let us rejoice and be filled with praise for the one who gave everything to save us. Amen.