19 For a time, Daniel, who was also known as Belteshazzar, was perplexed, and his thoughts alarmed him.

So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.”

“My lord,” replied Belteshazzar, “may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

20 The tree you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached the sky and was visible to all the earth, 21 whose foliage was beautiful and whose fruit was abundant, providing food for all, under which the beasts of the field lived, and in whose branches the birds of the air nested— 22 you, O king, are that tree! For you have become great and strong; your greatness has grown to reach the sky, and your dominion extends to the ends of the earth.

23 And you, O king, saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying:
‘Cut down the tree and destroy it,
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 of the field
till seven times pass him by.’

24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree that the Most High has issued against my lord the king:

25 You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will feed on grass like an ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.

26 As for the command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots, your kingdom will be restored to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”

REFLECTIONS

Written by James Davidson

God warned Nebuchadnezzar that if he did not repent of his arrogance, he would humble him. He would spend a time not ruling but rather wandering the fields like an animal. He needed to humble himself and acknowledge God as the ultimate Ruler and to accept that he only ruled because God had appointed him. He needed to break away from his sins by doing what is right, and from his iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. We can become like Nebuchadnezzar. Arrogance can easily creep in, particularly if we are given any sort of leadership. We can begin to think that there is something special about us.  We start taking pride in our abilities as if they were self-generated, not God-given. We can even kid ourselves that our salvation was partly our doing and that our transformation was partly our work. This can lead to all sorts of sin, for example, looking down on others and not caring for those in need or those under us. In that case, we need to heed Daniel’s warning to Nebuchadnezzar. We need to humble ourselves before God, confess our sins and acknowledge that our salvation and our transformation are all from him. We need to recognize that any gifts or abilities we possess are gracious gifts from God. We need to commit ourselves again to humbly serving others for Jesus’ sake.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James is one of our Assistant Ministers.