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Daniel 4:10-37 : Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream of a Tree

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10 Thus 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.

11 The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

12 The 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.

13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven;

14 He 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:

15 Nevertheless 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:

16 Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

17 This 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.

18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

19 Then 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.

20 The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth;

21 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:

22 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.

23 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;

24 This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

25 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.

26 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.

27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar.

29 At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

30 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 honour of my majesty?

31 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.

32 And 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.

33 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.

34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation:

35 And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Commentary

 

Nebuchadnezzar's Pride and Humility

By Helen Kennedy
Nebuchadnezzar humbled, living as a wild beast, as painted by William Blake.

In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, greets all the people reading the story by saying, "Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me." (Daniel 4:1-2)

This is quite a statement from someone who, just in the previous chapter, was executing three men because they did not worship him instead of the real God. I was struck by the actuality of Nebuchadnezzar's words and the simple claim that God's work can be accomplished.

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, represents the love of self in some of its worst forms. In the chapter before, he listens as his counselors tell him, "These men, O King, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up." (Daniel 3:12) In other words, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego did not bring the image of self into every thing they did, nor cower before their propriums. Nebuchadnezzar, in his rage and fury, commanded his soldiers to bring the three men to him. Who has not experienced the rage and fury of the proprium (a term that Swedenborg uses meaning one's own, or self-hood) when it is not being served? The king then demands of the men, "You fall down and worship the image which I have made" or "you shall be cast…into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." (Daniel 3:15).

Just recently my brother, Tom, who does not believe in God, was in a discussion with another brother, Joe, a born-again Christian. Within five minutes the discussion got onto religion. This was no surprise. It got heated, and eventually the discussion got onto the good that we do. Joe kept claiming it was from God and Tom was adamantly denying it. When Joe asked Tom where he thought the good that he does comes from, Tom's fingers gripped the table between them, his eyes bulged, his face reddened, and his voice got hoarse. He leaned forward and rasped, "From me."

In Daniel, chapter 4, at the beginning, Nebuchadnezzar says, "I was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace." (Daniel 4:3) Here the king of Babylon is telling us about his contentment in life. From his words I get a sense of a man (more particularly myself), really believing that this world is everything, and he's made a good life for himself amidst worldly riches and activities.

But something happened to him to trouble his ideal existence. The king says, "I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me." (Daniel 4:5) His thoughts are so stirred up that he can't sleep, and the pictures he gets in his mind are so disturbing that his rest is gone. Odd that they didn't seem to disturb him earlier when he was ready to kill three men for not submitting to his control and worshiping the images he brought forth. But now his thoughts and visions are troubling him. Wrong thinking and reasons always brings trouble, first to other people and then to ourselves.

I really had to stop to realize that when I want control of other people, as Nebuchadnezzar did with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, I don't care how much I disturb their life - just so long as my ideal life is not tampered with. Could one aspect of it be why we want control, because we have an ideal in our minds that we don't want to have disturbed, and that we will do anything to accomplish that ideal?

Because of his troubled mind, Nebuchadnezzar made a decree, telling his counselors "to bring all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of (my) dream." (Daniel 4:6) But those he considered wise could not do it. They were wise in flattering self and explaining how the world works, and not about spiritual things. When the Lord decides this is the time for you to learn about Him, then the mind is chaotic, like Nebuchadnezzar's. "But at last Daniel came before me, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods." (Daniel 4:8)

I can almost feel the relief in the king's voice. Nebuchadnezzar tells Daniel his dream. This is a picture of the love of self in us so distraught, it is driven to try the true religion as a last resort. Daniel says in the story, "This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High," (Daniel 4:24) meaning, "This is the way life is, O king, there is a spiritual, and there is no other way to interpret it. You can no longer believe that you are the source of all good. There is a spiritual life after this one, and all your palaces and accomplishments and control of things and people in this world is not going to change it. You have to look beyond this natural life and reflect on yourself, because you are the problem." Daniel says, "It is you, O king, you are grown and become strong; for your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth." (Daniel 4:22) This inward zeal of dominating, you have to let go of, for the heavens and the earth really are under someone else's control.

Daniel then tells Nebuchadnezzar that he needs to be worried, for all the things he saw in his dream will come true: "They shall drive you from men…your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you to eat grass as oxen." (Daniel 4:25) In addition to the spiritual doom, the literal is describing a feral state - that is, of turning back from a tamed state to a wild, animal one. My daughter, Kelley, recently had a cat that was tame but turned to hunting as its primary way of getting food. It refused to eat cat food and in the house would only eat food that she cooked. Worse than that, it was very aggressive about getting the food she was cooking, meowing in a nasty way, demanding food. It climbed into the trash container, meowing and rummaging. Its coat was dirty and shaggy, and it didn't clean itself much anymore. In addition, it had a diseased look. She couldn't let her two year old near it, for the cat always looked on edge, like it was going to scratch the little one. The way it was acting left no alternative but to take it away from the "company" of people.

To help the king Daniel advises, "If it may be a lengthening of your tranquility," "let my counsel be acceptable unto you, and break off your sins… and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor." (Daniel 4:27) To Nebuchadnezzar, who represents the exalted love of self and the world, the poor here probably means people who are in less wonderful states than him. Conceit is so grand. It drives us to do big and wonderful things. In Genesis, it drove the ancients to build a tower so high they thought it could reach heaven. (Genesis 11)

I guess the king listened to Daniel for a while, but after a time forgot all about his teaching, for "At the end of twelve months, he (Nebuchadnezzar) walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spoke and said, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built… by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30) His (our) abilities appear so great that we drive out of our minds all thought of the Lord's hand in them. The story continues, "While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, "O king, Nebuchadnezzar…the kingdom is departed from you." (Daniel 4:31) Uh, oh.

"That 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, 'til his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds claws." (Daniel 4:33) One of the images here is of a wild bird, hair long and feathery, his nails overgrown and wrapped around. Birds correspond to the understanding, and one of the things talked about here is that Nebuchadnezzar's understanding had gone astray, and had not been giving him any true understanding about who God is, who he is, and the ratio or proportion between God's power and abilities and his. In other words, he is so far gone astray that he is not rational anymore. He is so addicted to power and the world's glory that he couldn't be with people anymore. In spiritual things, the feral state is called profanation. The king has gone so far astray that his false reasoning can't even serve him anymore and has driven others to not want to be around him.

The Word continues the story of the king of Babylon living alone in a wild state by saying, "At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me." (Daniel 4:34) What a time of joy this is - Nebuchadnezzar's reason returned to him. It is like the addict's relief - to be able to think and not do that addictive thing anymore - to not be impulsively addicted to power, or control, or alcohol, or sex, or co-dependency. His happiness is real. He can think when he is oppressed by the love of self.

I am struck by the simplicity of this story. Nebuchadnezzar does not describe the terrible things that happened to him, whether an army came and cast him out, or his people turned against him in rebellion, or influential, rich people wouldn't support his state, etc. The Word simply says he was driven from men. Nebuchadnezzar only says, "I… lifted my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned to me." He has gone through a tremendous change and doesn't even describe the details. He is not fixated on the bad things that happened. He has done something new. He has lifted his eyes up to heaven. The story continues, "and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion." (Daniel 4:34)

Nebuchadnezzar's story is one of gaining humility. And of letting go.

Nebuchadnezzar then tells us he can no longer look to people for an assessment of his worth; he has gotten a distorted view from them, or from the way they treated him as king. In this state of coming down from such aggrandizement and flattery, he says, "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing." (Daniel 4:35) People have failed him, and he has failed people. Neither side has been perfect. It is God's will that prevails. What Nebuchadnezzar has learned about God is that "He does according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth…" The difference is that God does this with love. "And none can say to Him, 'What doest thou?'" (Daniel 4:35)

What does God do to Nebuchadnezzar after all this? The king says, "The glory of my kingdom, my honor and brightness, returned to me." (Daniel 4:36) Slowly the Lord has returned Nebuchadnezzar's life to him, purified, losing what was from proprium, or self and the world, and having heavenly things in their place instead. Nor has the king lost with people, either. He says, "And my counselors and my lords sought unto me." (Daniel 4:36) Where before he may have forced his way on them, now others willingly were seeking out his thinking and counsel. "And I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me." (Daniel 4:36)

This story and the one before it of the burning fiery furnace are of Nebuchadnezzar learning who to worship. The king says, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgement: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase." (Daniel 4:37)

The Bible

 

Leviticus 13

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1 Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

2 "When a man shall have a rising in his body's skin, or a scab, or a bright spot, and it becomes in the skin of his body the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons, the priests:

3 and the priest shall examine the plague in the skin of the body: and if the hair in the plague has turned white, and the appearance of the plague is deeper than the body's skin, it is the plague of leprosy; and the priest shall examine him, and pronounce him unclean.

4 If the bright spot is white in the skin of his body, and its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, and its hair hasn't turned white, then the priest shall isolate the infected person for seven days.

5 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and, behold, if in his eyes the plague is arrested, and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall isolate him for seven more days.

6 The priest shall examine him again on the seventh day; and behold, if the plague has faded, and the plague hasn't spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. It is a scab. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

7 But if the scab spreads on the skin, after he has shown himself to the priest for his cleansing, he shall show himself to the priest again.

8 The priest shall examine him; and behold, if the scab has spread on the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is leprosy.

9 "When the plague of leprosy is in a man, then he shall be brought to the priest;

10 and the priest shall examine him. Behold, if there is a white rising in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the rising,

11 it is a chronic leprosy in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not isolate him, for he is unclean.

12 "If the leprosy breaks out all over the skin, and the leprosy covers all the skin of the infected person from his head even to his feet, as far as it appears to the priest;

13 then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the leprosy has covered all his flesh, he shall pronounce him clean of the plague. It has all turned white: he is clean.

14 But whenever raw flesh appears in him, he shall be unclean.

15 The priest shall examine the raw flesh, and pronounce him unclean: the raw flesh is unclean. It is leprosy.

16 Or if the raw flesh turns again, and is changed to white, then he shall come to the priest;

17 and the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the plague has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him clean of the plague. He is clean.

18 "When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed,

19 and in the place of the boil there is a white rising, or a bright spot, reddish-white, then it shall be shown to the priest;

20 and the priest shall examine it; and behold, if its appearance is lower than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil.

21 But if the priest examines it, and behold, there are no white hairs in it, and it isn't deeper than the skin, but is dim, then the priest shall isolate him seven days.

22 If it spreads in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is a plague.

23 But if the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread, it is the scar from the boil; and the priest shall pronounce him clean.

24 "Or when the body has a burn from fire on its skin, and the raw flesh of the burn becomes a bright spot, reddish-white, or white,

25 then the priest shall examine it; and behold, if the hair in the bright spot has turned white, and its appearance is deeper than the skin; it is leprosy. It has broken out in the burning, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.

26 But if the priest examines it, and behold, there is no white hair in the bright spot, and it isn't lower than the skin, but is faded; then the priest shall isolate him seven days.

27 The priest shall examine him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy.

28 If the bright spot stays in its place, and hasn't spread in the skin, but is faded, it is the swelling from the burn, and the priest shall pronounce him clean; for it is the scar from the burn.

29 "When a man or woman has a plague on the head or on the beard,

30 then the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and the hair in it is yellow and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean: it is an itch, it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.

31 If the priest examines the plague of itching, and behold, its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest shall isolate him the person infected with itching seven days.

32 On the seventh day the priest shall examine the plague; and behold, if the itch hasn't spread, and there is no yellow hair in it, and the appearance of the itch isn't deeper than the skin,

33 then he shall be shaved, but he shall not shave the itch; and the priest shall shut him up who has the itch seven more days.

34 On the seventh day, the priest shall examine the itch; and behold, if the itch hasn't spread in the skin, and its appearance isn't deeper than the skin, then the priest shall pronounce him clean. He shall wash his clothes, and be clean.

35 But if the itch spreads in the skin after his cleansing,

36 then the priest shall examine him; and behold, if the itch has spread in the skin, the priest shall not look for the yellow hair; he is unclean.

37 But if in his eyes the itch is arrested, and black hair has grown in it; the itch is healed, he is clean. The priest shall pronounce him clean.

38 "When a man or a woman has bright spots in the skin of the body, even white bright spots;

39 then the priest shall examine them; and behold, if the bright spots on the skin of their body are a dull white, it is a harmless rash, it has broken out in the skin; he is clean.

40 "If a man's hair has fallen from his head, he is bald. He is clean.

41 If his hair has fallen off from the front part of his head, he is forehead bald. He is clean.

42 But if there is in the bald head, or the bald forehead, a reddish-white plague; it is leprosy breaking out in his bald head, or his bald forehead.

43 Then the priest shall examine him; and, behold, if the rising of the plague is reddish-white in his bald head, or in his bald forehead, like the appearance of leprosy in the skin of the flesh,

44 he is a leprous man. He is unclean. The priest shall surely pronounce him unclean. His plague is on his head.

45 "The leper in whom the plague is shall wear torn clothes, and the hair of his head shall hang loose. He shall cover his upper lip, and shall cry, 'Unclean! Unclean!'

46 All the days in which the plague is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. He shall dwell alone. Outside of the camp shall be his dwelling.

47 "The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it is a woolen garment, or a linen garment;

48 whether it is in warp, or woof; of linen, or of wool; whether in a skin, or in anything made of skin;

49 if the plague is greenish or reddish in the garment, or in the skin, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything made of skin; it is the plague of leprosy, and shall be shown to the priest.

50 The priest shall examine the plague, and isolate the plague seven days.

51 He shall examine the plague on the seventh day. If the plague has spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, whatever use the skin is used for, the plague is a destructive mildew. It is unclean.

52 He shall burn the garment, whether the warp or the woof, in wool or in linen, or anything of skin, in which the plague is: for it is a destructive mildew. It shall be burned in the fire.

53 "If the priest examines it, and behold, the plague hasn't spread in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin;

54 then the priest shall command that they wash the thing in which the plague is, and he shall isolate it seven more days.

55 Then the priest shall examine it, after the plague is washed; and behold, if the plague hasn't changed its color, and the plague hasn't spread, it is unclean; you shall burn it in the fire. It is a mildewed spot, whether the bareness is inside or outside.

56 If the priest looks, and behold, the plague has faded after it is washed, then he shall tear it out of the garment, or out of the skin, or out of the warp, or out of the woof:

57 and if it appears again in the garment, either in the warp, or in the woof, or in anything of skin, it is spreading. You shall burn with fire that in which the plague is.

58 The garment, either the warp, or the woof, or whatever thing of skin it is, which you shall wash, if the plague has departed from them, then it shall be washed the second time, and it will be clean."

59 This is the law of the plague of mildew in a garment of wool or linen, either in the warp, or the woof, or in anything of skin, to pronounce it clean, or to pronounce it unclean.

   

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