Daniel 4
John MacArthur · Citado em PreceptAustin
Daniel 4
MacArthur writes that "The setting of Daniel 4 probably took place between the thirtieth and thirty-fifth years of his reign, approximately twenty-five to thirty years after the incident of the fiery furnace. Daniel was between forty-five to fifty years of age. (Daniel 4-1-37: How Are the Mighty Fallen! - Study Guide) Sam Storms on timing - Second, the time when the events of this chapter occurred cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. However, it was sufficiently late in Neb's reign that he could speak of his building projects as complete (Da 4:30). Also, if the 'seven periods of time (Da 4:16) refer to seven years...the dream cannot have occurred later than Neb's 35th year of rule (he ruled 43 years altogether). 'These factors together place the time of the dream likely between the thirtieth and thirty-fifth year of Neb's reign, when Daniel was between forty-five and fifty years old, and when twenty-five to thirty years had elapsed since the deliverance of the three friends from the fiery furnace (Wood, 99). (Daniel 4-1-37) King Nebuchadnezzar reigned for 43 years (605-562BC) but unfortunately we have only a few fragments of the Babylonian Chronicle, Babylon's official court record, and thus for most part have little official record of of Nebuchadnezzar's life and specific actions including those described in Daniel 4. W A Criswell - The objection [to the authenticity of Daniel 4] is made that the proud, self-centered king who erected an image of himself at Dura would never condescend to tell a story of his own humiliation. The power of God, however, can change even a king's proud heart. (Criswell, W A. Believer's Study Bible: New King James Version. 1991. Thomas Nelson) Chuck Swindoll entitles this chapter "Insomnia, Insanity and Insight". He adds that "there is evidence...that this polytheistic ruler became converted in mind and heart to Jewish monotheism and thereby experienced salvation. But if Nebuchadnezzar was not saved as a result of the events recorded in Daniel 4, he at least came to intellectually accept and politically submit to the one true God. In either case, this passage of Scripture relays an incredible story about the Lord's sovereignty and the extent to which He will go to demonstrate His authority." Ryrie says "This chapter is a public decree or state paper of Nebuchadnezzar." (Ryrie Study Bible) John MacArthur - Nebuchadnezzar’s praise of God in Da 4:1–3 and Da 4:34b-37 is the theme that brackets the experience the king reiterates in the first person (Da 4:4–34, Ed: The pronoun "I" is found 18x in 13v and "my" 25x in 14v). He began and ended the narrative with praise, and in between told why he converted to such worship of the true God (cf. Ro 11:33). (MacArthur Study Bible) Donald Campbell writes that Daniel 4 "records the culmination of Nebuchadnezzar's spiritual biography, with God using drastic means to bring this haughty king to the end of himself and to faith in the God of Israel." (Daniel God's Man in a Secular Society) The eloquent preacher Joseph Parker wrote that Nebuchadnezzar "had seen a new revelation, and he would talk about it; something new had shone upon him from the opening heavens, and he would tell all the empire about it—Armenia, Syria, and the dwellers by the Persian Gulf, and the Elamites, and all who trembled at his frown, should hear that he had seen a new aspect of the universe. Nebuchadnezzar had not yet become so ineffably pious as to say nothing about his piety. There are Christian men concerning whom it would be a revelation if one of their workpeople could be told that they even professed Christianity; an errand-boy might be frightened out of his propriety and sanity if he were told that his employer had family prayer. Nebuchadnezzar did not belong to the silent religious community: he would publish a proclamation, he would announce a fact, he would preach what little Gospel he had; he would say, There is more light in creation than I had imagined: come, let me tell you what the light is like, and what wizardry it works in colour and shadow and suggestion. (Daniel 4 The People's Bible by Joseph Parker) The Apologetics Study Bible notes that... Critical scholars consider this section to be literary fiction derived from the same source as the "Prayer of Nabonidus," an Aramaic fragment discovered at Qumran near the Dead Sea in 1952 (known in scholarship as 4QPrNab). Though affinities exist between chapter 4 and that document, they are far outweighed by the differences (e.g., the name of the king, the nature of the illness, and the location). The Nabonidus story is doubtless a distorted version or later application of the biblical narrative. Apocryphal imitations of canonical works were common during the intertestamental period, and several others grew up around the book of Daniel (e.g., Prayer of Azariah, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon). Although these works drew material from biblical sources, they are clearly fictional. (The Apologetics Study Bible- Understand Why You Believe) (Bolding added) Comment: Here is a snippet of the "Prayer of Nabonidus" - 'I, Nabonidus, was afflicted with an evil ulcer for seven years, and far from men I was driven, until I prayed to the Most High God. And an exorcist pardoned my sins. He was a Jew from among the children of the exile of Judah, and said: "Recount this in writing to glorify and exalt the name of the most high God." Then I wrote this: "When I was afflicted for seven years by the most high God with an evil ulcer during my stay at Temâ, I prayed to the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood, stone and lime, because I thought and considered them gods..."' [the end is missing] I like Warren Wiersbe's comments on Daniel 4 - Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream accomplished three things: it warned the king that his pride would lead to judgment (Da 4:37; Prov. 16:18); it exposed the incompetence of his magicians (Da 4:6, 7); and it gave Daniel another opportunity to glorify the God of heaven. (With the Word Bible Commentary- With the Complete Text) Matthew Henry on Da 4:1-18 - The beginning and end of this chapter lead us to hope, that Nebuchadnezzar was a monument of the power of Divine grace, and of the riches of Divine mercy. After he was recovered from his madness, he told to distant places, and wrote down for future ages, how God had justly humbled and graciously restored him. When a sinner comes to himself, he will promote the welfare of others, by making known the wondrous mercy of God. Nebuchadnezzar, before he related the Divine judgments upon him for his pride, told the warnings he had in a dream or vision. The meaning was explained to him. The person signified, was to be put down from honour, and to be deprived of the use of his reason seven years. This is surely the sorest of all temporal judgments. Whatever outward affliction God is pleased to lay upon us, we have cause to bear it patiently, and to be thankful that he continues the use of our reason, and the peace of our consciences. Yet if the Lord should see fit by such means to keep a sinner from multiplying crimes, or a believer from dishonouring his name, even the dreadful prevention would be far preferable to the evil conduct. God has determined it, as a righteous Judge, and the angels in heaven applaud. Not that the great God needs the counsel or concurrence of the angels, but it denotes the solemnity of this sentence. The demand is by the word of the holy ones, God's suffering people: when the oppressed cry to God, he will hear. Let us diligently seek blessings which can never be taken from us, and especially beware of pride and forgetfulness of God. Daniel 4:2 "It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. Jos 7:19 Ps 51:14 71:18 92:1,2) (that: Da 3:26 Ps 66:16 Ac 22:3-16 26:9-16 Daniel 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE KING'S DESIRE: THAT ALL MIGHT KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT THE MOST HIGH GOD It seemed good to me to declare - The king explains why he is making this "worldwide" announcement. Clearly he is giving God top billing over his pantheon of so called gods who are really no gods. The rest of this chapter deals with the reason the king has experienced such a radical change in his worldview. His changed (repentant) mind certainly seems to give evidence that he has experienced genuine conversion as a result of the divine humiliation described in Da 4:4-33. The principle declared by John the Baptist is apropos - "Bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance." (Mt 3:8) The fruit of Nebuchadnezzar's lips in offering a sacrifice of praise seem to be clear evidence of genuine spiritual fruit marking genuine spiritual repentance. (cp Heb 13:15). Nebuchadnezzar's words remind me of Psalm 107:1-2 that speak of the declaration of a redeemed man. I believe he was "redeemed" and simply had to let the world know. O, if we all had the courage and humility (after he was humbled) to give our testimony of redeeming grace! The psalmist exhorts us to make a declaration of God's word and work of grace in our lives... Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting (cp "everlasting" Da 4:3). Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary. (Psalms 107:1-2) I love Spurgeon's exhortative comment on these passages: Whatever others may think or say, the redeemed have overwhelming reasons for declaring the goodness of the Lord. Theirs is a peculiar redemption, and for it they ought to render peculiar praise. The Redeemer is so glorious, the ransom price so immense, and the redemption so complete, that they are under sevenfold obligations to give thanks unto the Lord, and to exhort others to do so. Let them not only feel so but say so; let them both sing and bid their fellows sing. Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Snatched by superior power away from fierce oppressions, they are bound above all men to adore the Lord, their Liberator. Theirs is a divine redemption, "he hath redeemed" them, and no one else has done it. His own unaided arm has wrought out their deliverance. Should not emancipated slaves be grateful to the hand which set them free? What gratitude can suffice for a deliverance from the power of sin, death, and hell? In heaven itself there is no sweeter hymn than that whose burden is, "Thou hast redeemed us unto God by thy blood." Although we don't know for certain, as discussed above, many conservative commentaries feel that this chapter takes place toward the middle of Nebuchadnezzar's reign of 43 years (this makes some sense because he speaks as a conqueror who has nothing left to conquer - "all the earth" Da 4:1, "at ease...flourishing" Da 4:4). In any event the psalmist echoes the king's thoughts writing... And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Thy strength to this generation, Thy power to all who are to come (NB: This is exactly what Nebuchadnezzar did - the book of Daniel is part of God's eternal word available to all who are to come!). 19 For Thy righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens, Thou who hast done great things; O God, who is like Thee? 20 Thou, who hast shown me many troubles and distresses, Wilt revive me again, And wilt bring me up again from the depths of the earth. (Ps 71:18, 19, 20) Signs and wonders - This is a familiar idiom in Scripture (18x in the OT = Ex 7:3, Dt 4:34, 6:22, 7:19, 13:1, 13:2, 26:8, 28:46, 29:3, 34:11 Neh 9:10 Ps 135:9 Isa 8:18 Jer 32:20 32:21 Da 4:2 4:3 6:27) (16x in NT = Mt 24:24; Mk 13:22; Jn 4:48; Acts 2:19, 22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 7:36; 14:3; 15:12; Ro 15:19; 2Cor 12:12; 2Th 2:9; Heb 2:4) Signs - Archer says the Aramaic word atohi means "`attesting miracles,' natural phenomena that because of their magnitude or timing decisively evidence God's intervention in judgment or redemption". (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing) Wonders - Archer says the Aramaic word timhohi means "supernatural manifestations of divine intervention in the course of nature, cognate with Heb tamah, `be astounded,' `dumbfounded." (Ibid) Jamieson says that signs are "tokens significant of God's omnipotent agency. The plural is used, as it comprises the marvelous dream, the marvelous interpretation of it, and its marvelous issue." One of the signs and wonders would surely include the fiery furnace deliverance in Daniel 3 as well as the king's dream and Daniel's interpretation in Daniel 2 which led him to declare God to be a "Revealer of mysteries" (Da 2:47). However the most stupendous personal signs and wonders occur in this very chapter detailing the king's strange divine humbling and subsequent restoration to the throne. Most High God (Key phrase in this chapter - 6x in 6v = Da 4:2, 17, 24, 25, 32, 34) (Other uses in Daniel = Da 3:26, 5:18, 21, 7:25). The first use of this great Name of God as the Most High is found in Genesis 14 as Abraham returns with Lot and spoil which result from his victory against 4 Gentile kings and overwhelming odds... And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High (see study). 19 And he blessed him and said, "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tenth of all. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give the people to me and take the goods for yourself." 22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, "I have sworn to the LORD God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth... (Ge 14:18, 19, 20, 21, 22) Comment: Note the truths associated with the Most High - (1) He is possessor of heaven and earth, (2) He is worthy of praise, (3) He is our Deliverer. In short, He is sovereign. He rules over all, visible or invisible, in heaven, on earth and under the earth and for all time and eternity. Walvoord states that "The expression the Most High God is another evidence that Nebuchadnezzar regards the God of Israel as exalted, but it is not in itself proof that he is a monotheist, trusting only in the true God.: I resonate with H A Ironside's comment - This verse touches my heart in a most striking way. I realize that I am reading the personal testimony of one who was in some respects the greatest monarch this world has ever known. I am privileged to have his own account of how he—a proud, self-willed man—was brought to repentance and to the saving knowledge of the God of all grace. For I gather from this proclamation that a divine work was accomplished in Nebuchadnezzar's soul by God who, in mercy, had revealed Himself to him. What a wonderful miracle this is! The fact is, every conversion is a miracle—every soul that is saved knows what it is to be dealt with in supernatural power. It is God alone who changes men like this...Oh that men might have their eyes opened to see, and their ears to hear, what God in His grace is doing on the basis of His blessed Son's offering for sin on the cross! (Amen!) Daniel 4:3 "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. great: Da 6:27 De 4:34 Ps 71:19,20 72:18 77:19 86:10 92:5 104:24 105:27 Isa 25:1 28:29 Ro 11:33 Heb 2:4 his kingdom: Da 4:17,34,35 2:44 6:26 7:14,27 Ps 66:7 145:13 Isa 9:7 Jer 10:10 Lk 1:32,33 1Ti 1:17 Heb 1:8 Rev 11:15 is from: Job 25:2 1Pe 4:11 Daniel 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries What follows is a testimony of God's mercy and grace and power to save from the "guttermost to the uttermost"! (Here is my personal testimony of God's grace) Dear reader, do you have a word of testimony regarding the signs and wonders that the High God has accomplished in your life? Have you ever been brought into direct contact with Him, so that you can speak confidently of what He has done for your soul? If not, then consider God's invitation while the door of His grace remains open and... Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isa 45:22KJV) Comment: The venerable preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Read Spurgeon's testimony) was smitten by the Spirit Who used the living and active words of Isaiah 45:22 to cause him to be born again (cp 1Pe 1:3-note) and Spurgeon spent the rest of his life declaring His signs and His wonders and in so doing became the most prodigious Christian writer the world has ever known! O, do not let the word depart, And close thine eyes against the light; Poor sinner, harden not thy heart; Thou would'st be saved—why not tonight? The world has nothing new to give, It has no true, no pure delight; Look now to Jesus Christ, and live; Thou would'st be saved—why not tonight? Our blessed Lord refuses none Who would to Him their souls unite; Believe, obey, the work is done; Thou would'st be saved—why not tonight? --Elizabeth Reed How great are His signs - The first of 4 things Nebuchadnezzar says about God. Great - (5x in 4v in Daniel 4-Da 4:3, 4:10, 4:22, 4:30) Mighty are His wonders - When one has experienced the great mercies of God as Nebuchadnezzar had, the only thing such a soul can do is sing praises to His Name and His attributes (Cp Paul's doxology in response to the overwhelming revelation of the boundless mercies of God - Ro 11:33, 34, 35, 36). An everlasting kingdom (Da 4:34, 7:27)- He seems to acknowledge (at least indirectly) that there is an end to the Gentile world kingdoms, even as interpreted by Daniel... And in the days of those kings ("ten toe" stage of "iron and clay") the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. (Da 2:44) The psalmist writes words very similar to those of Nebuchadnezzar (some think he was familiar with the Psalm)... Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endures throughout all generations. (Ps 145:13) His dominion is from generation to generation - While Nebuchadnezzar's rule was finite, God's rule will be without end. Nebuchadnezzar "got the picture" regarding Who was in charge! He now acknowledges God not as just a god (one of many "gods"), but as the one true and living God Whose kingdom rules over all and will continue forever. Donald Campbell observes "How completely different this proclamation from the ones Nebuchadnezzar had made previously. It can only be explained by God's work in the life of this heathen monarch, bringing him to repentance and faith in Himself. It was clearly a miracle of God's grace—as is every conversion. It was December 7, 1941, when Mitsuo Fuchida (read his story From Pearl Harbor to Calvary), a proud and militant Japanese commander, led the attack on Pearl Harbor. But his brilliant military career ended with the defeat of Japan and the close of the war. Returning to his home village near Osaka, he took up farming. One day Fuchida was summoned to Tokyo to testify in the war crimes trials and was handed a pamphlet as he got off the train. He was intrigued by the title, I Was A Prisoner of Japan (read it). It was the story of Jacob De Shazer, the Doolittle raider who was converted to Christ in a Japanese prison camp while reading the Bible. Fuchida's curiosity was aroused from reading of the incident, and he went to a bookstore and bought a Bible. When he went home he began reading it (See different account of how he got a Bible - Mitsuo Fuchida - another bio)."Every night I read the Bible," he said. "I read while plowing the rice fields. One night I read that Jesus died and that He prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' I realized I was one of 'them' for whom Jesus prayed." At the age of 47, on April 12, 1950, Fuchida received Christ as Savior and began a new life. Though later asked to consider heading Japan's air force as commander-in-chief, Fuchida turned down the invitation and spent the rest of his life traveling in Japan, the United States, and Canada, sharing what God had done in his life. Nebuchadnezzar's conversion was no less dramatic. (Daniel God's Man in a Secular Society) Joseph Alleine writes that... Conversion is a deep work—a heart-work. It goes throughout the man, throughout the mind, throughout the members, throughout the entire life. Conversion is no repairing of the old building; but it takes all down and erects a new structure. It should be noted that a few writers like Leupold, Calvin, and surprisingly even modern conservative writers like Thomas Constable, doubt whether the king’s testimony in Daniel 4 reflects his conversion, but I agree with respected expositor John MacArthur who writes... In Daniel 4 we will see what I believe is Nebuchadnezzar's conversion to faith in the true God. Some commentators have appropriately entitled the chapter, "The Conversion of Nebuchadnezzar." It relates how God broke his pride by humbling him and then turned his heart toward Him in faith. God did so, in part, through another dream. (Daniel 4-1-37: How Are the Mighty Fallen! - Study Guide) Daniel 4:4 "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. Ps 30:6,7 Isa 47:7,8 56:12 Jer 48:11 Eze 28:2-5,17 29:3 Zeph 1:12 Lk 12:19,20 1Th 5:2,3 Daniel 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Beginning in this passage Nebuchadnezzar is describing events in the past that preceded and led up to his conversion. At ease - This speaks of Babylon at peace with no internal or external conflicts. Things were "good" for the king, but not for all in his kingdom for later Daniel exhorts him to show "mercy to the poor" (Da 4:27). And as we soon see, his "ease" was deceptive as it is with all the rich and powerful who are not "good" with God! What's the danger to any man, believer or not, when they are "at ease" and "flourishing"? (See Dt 6:10, 11, 12 for the answer where we read of Jehovah's warning to Israel, who in her unfaithfulness to God is a picture of our fallen flesh?) The fact that the king was at ease would lend some support to the premise that these events occurred later in King Nebuchadnezzar's reign, after the active military conquest that characterized his early reign. Gingrich- Prosperity is a dangerous thing—It often produces pride, and pride destroys us, Prov. 16:18; 29:23. Let us remember what prosperity and pride did to Saul and Solomon!
Daniel 4
MacArthur comments that... The meaning here and in Da 4:18 (as well as Da 5:11,14) is rightly translated as “the Spirit of the holy God.” Wording for the true God in the Heb. of Josh. 24:19 is equivalent to the Aramaic here (which begins in Da 2:4). Some believe he meant “a spirit of the holy gods.” This is unlikely, since no pagan worshipers claimed purity or holiness for their deities. In fact, just the opposite was believed. And since Nebuchadnezzar was rehearsing his conversion, he could genuinely identify the true Spirit of God. (MacArthur, J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word or Logos) Ryrie comments... The king may only be acknowledging his own gods’ supposed work in Daniel’s life, or (since gods may be properly translated by the singular, God) it may indicate his recognition of the true God of Israel. (The Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Translation: 1995. Moody Publishers) Gingrich exhorts us to be imitators of the holy man Daniel writing that... Something supernatural should he seen in our lives (Da 4:9)—Men around us should readily see that God is with us and is living His life through us, Ge 39:3; 2Cor. 4:7 Tell me the visions...along with its interpretations - Young's Literal reads "the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation, tell". The NIV translates it "here is my dream; interpret it for me." I think from the context the NIV is correct in this instance, but it makes the point that one must be careful when reading any translation that has a significant interpretative component (as does the NIV, in contrast to the NAS and ESV which are more literal). The NAS translation reflects the Masoretic text (MT) but the NET Bible note comments... The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation. Daniel 4:10 'Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. tree: Da 4:20-26 Ps 37:35,36 Isa 10:33,34 Jer 12:2 Eze 31:3-18 Daniel 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries A tree...great - It takes 3 verses to describe the magnificence of this tree! In the midst of the earth - This "geographic" phrase denotes the tree's (aka "the king and his kingdom's") conspicuous position at the center of the world from whence the Babylonian authority radiated in all directions. In Ezekiel we read about the "other" great city which is in the midst of the earth... Thus says the Lord GOD, 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her. (Ezek 5:5) (Recall that the most referenced city in Scripture is Jerusalem and the second most referenced is Babylon! City of God versus the City of Man. The best of God versus the best of the Anti-God World system!) Henry