1 King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the people of every nation and language who dwell in all the earth:

May your prosperity be multiplied. 2 I am pleased to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are His signs,
how mighty His wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
His dominion endures from generation to generation.

4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. 5 I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me. 6 So I issued a decree that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.

8 But at last, into my presence came Daniel (whose name is Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods). And I told him the dream: 9 “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery baffles you. So explain to me the visions I saw in my dream, and their interpretation. 10 In these visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this come to pass:

There was a tree in the midst of the land,
and its height was great.
11 The tree grew large and strong;
its top reached the sky,
and it was visible
to the ends of the earth.
12 Its leaves were beautiful,
its fruit was abundant,
and upon it was food for all.
Under it the beasts of the field found shelter,
in its branches the birds of the air nested,
and from it every creature was fed.

13 As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. 14 He called out in a loud voice:
‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;
strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the beasts flee from under it,
and the birds from its branches.
15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground,
and a band of iron and bronze around it,
in the tender grass of the field.

Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven
and graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth.
16 Let his mind be changed from that of a man,
and let him be given the mind of a beast
till seven times pass him by.
17 This decision is the decree of the watchers,
the verdict declared by the holy ones,
so that the living will know
that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind
and gives it to whom He wishes,
setting over it the lowliest of men.’

18 This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

REFLECTIONS

Written by James Davidson

We will have to read on to discover the meaning of the dream, but we have already been told its purpose in v17: ‘so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’

God had appointed Nebuchadnezzar to rule but he was arrogant. God was about to humble him. For God’s desire is to set over mankind ‘the lowliest of men’. The ultimate expression of this desire is God placing his own Son over mankind. Jesus is ‘the lowliest of men.’ As Paul wrote to the Philippians, Jesus,
‘existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place …’ The lowliest of men now rules over the kingdom of mankind. If we aspire to any sort of leadership among God’s people we are also called to humble ourselves under God. We are his servants appointed by him to serve his people for Jesus’ sake.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James is one of our Assistant Ministers.