Estudo Bíblico do Novo Cristianismo

A Bíblia

 

Danilo 4

Estude

   

1 Car Navuhodonosor svim narodima, plemenima i jezicima što su po svoj zemlji, mir da vam se umnoži.

2 Svide mi se da objavim znake i čudesa što mi učini Bog Višnji.

3 Znaci Njegovi kako su veliki! I čudesa Njegova kako su silna! Carstvo je Njegovo carstvo večno, i vlast Njegova od kolena do kolena.

4 Ja Navuhodonosor bejah miran u kući svojoj i cvetah u dvoru svom.

5 Usnih san, koji me uplaši, i misli na postelji mojoj i utvare glave moje uznemiriše me.

6 I zapovedih da se dovedu preda me svi mudraci vavilonski da mi kažu šta znači san.

7 Tada dođoše vračari, zvezdari, Haldeji i gatari, i pripovedih im san, ali mi ne mogoše kazati šta znači.

8 Najposle dođe preda me Danilo, koji se zove Valtasar po imenu boga mog, i u kome je duh svetih bogova, i pripovedih mu san.

9 Valtasare, poglavare vračima, znam da je duh svetih bogova u tebi i nikakva tajna nije ti teška; kaži san moj što sam snio i šta znači.

10 A utvara glave moje na postelji mojoj beše: Videh, gle, drvo usred zemlje, i visina mu velika.

11 Drvo beše veliko i jako, i visina mu dosezaše do neba, i viđaše se do kraja sve zemlje.

12 Lišće mu beše lepo i rod obilat, i na njemu beše hrane svemu, zverje poljsko odmaraše se u hladu njegovom, i na granama njegovim stanovahu ptice nebeske, i od njega se hranjaše svako telo.

13 Videh u utvarama glave svoje na postelji svojoj, i gle, Stražar i Svetac siđe s neba.

14 Povika jako i reče ovako: Posecite drvo, i okrešite mu grane, pokidajte mu lišće i razmetnite mu rod; neka pobegnu zveri ispod njega i ptice s grana njegovih.

15 Ali panj sa žilama ostavite mu u zemlji, u okovima gvozdenim i bronzanim u travi poljskoj, neka ga kvasi rosa nebeska i deo da mu je sa zverjem od trave zemaljske.

16 Srce čovečje neka mu se promeni, i srce životinjsko neka mu se da, i sedam vremena neka prođe preko njega.

17 To su odredili stražari i izrekli sveti da bi poznali živi da Višnji vlada carstvom ljudskim, i daje ga kome hoće, i postavlja nad njim najnižeg između ljudi.

18 Taj san snih ja, car Navuhodonosor; a ti, Valtasare, kaži šta znači, jer nijedan mudrac u carstvu mom ne može da mi kaže šta znači; a ti možeš, jer je u tebi duh svetih bogova.

19 Tada Danilo, koji se zvaše Valtasar, osta u čudu za jedan sat, i misli ga uznemiravahu. A car progovori i reče: Valtasare, san i značenje mu da te ne uznemiruje. A Valtasar odgovori i reče: Gospodaru moj, san da bude tvojim nenavidnicima, i značenje njegovo neprijateljima tvojim.

20 Drvo što si video, veliko i jako, kome visina dosezaše do neba i koje se viđaše po svoj zemlji,

21 Kome lišće beše lepo i rod obilan, i na kome beše hrane svemu, pod kojim stanovaše zverje poljsko i na granama mu seđahu ptice nebeske,

22 To si ti, care, koji si velik i silan, i veličina je tvoja visoka i doseže do neba i vlast tvoja do krajeva zemaljskih.

23 A što car vide Stražara i Sveca gde silažaše s neba i govoraše: Posecite drvo i potrite ga, ali mu panj sa žilama ostavite u zemlji u okovima gvozdenim i bronzanim u travi poljskoj, da ga kvasi rosa nebeska, i sa zverjem poljskim neka mu je deo dokle sedam vremena prođe preko njega,

24 Ovo znači, care, i ovo je naredba Višnjeg koja će se izvršiti na mom gospodaru caru:

25 Bićeš prognan između ljudi, i sa zverima ćeš poljskim živeti, i hraniće te travom kao goveda, i rosa će te nebeska kvasiti, i sedam će vremena proći preko tebe dokle poznaš da Višnji vlada carstvom ljudskim i daje ga kome hoće.

26 A što se reče da se ostavi panj sa žilama od drveta, carstvo će ti ostati, kad poznaš da nebesa vladaju.

27 Zato, care, da ti je ugodan moj savet, oprosti se greha svojih pravdom, i bezakonja svojih milošću prema nevoljnima, e da bi ti se produžio mir.

28 Sve ovo dođe na cara Navuhodonosora.

29 Posle dvanaest meseci hodaše po carskom dvoru u Vavilonu.

30 I progovori car i reče: Nije li to Vavilon veliki što ga ja sazidah jakom silom svojom da je stolica carska, i slava veličanstvu mom?

31 Te reči još behu u ustima caru, a glas dođe s neba: Tebi se govori, care Navuhodonosore: Carstvo se uze od tebe.

32 I bićeš prognan između ljudi, i živećeš sa zverjem poljskim, hraniće te travom kao goveda, i sedam će vremena proći preko tebe dokle poznaš da Višnji vlada carstvom ljudskim i daje ga kome hoće.

33 U taj čas ispuni se ta reč na Navuhodonosoru; i bi prognan između ljudi i jede travu kao goveda, i rosa nebeska kvasi mu telo da mu narastoše dlake kao pera u orla i nokti kao u ptica.

34 Ali posle tog vremena ja Navuhodonosor podigoh oči svoje k nebu, i um moj vrati mi se, i blagoslovih Višnjeg, i hvalih i slavih Onog koji živi doveka, čija je vlast vlast večna i čije je carstvo od kolena do kolena.

35 I svi stanovnici zemaljski ništa nisu prema Njemu, i radi šta hoće s vojskom nebeskom i sa stanovnicima zemaljskim, i nema nikoga da bi Mu ruku zaustavio i rekao Mu: Šta radiš?

36 U to vreme um moj vrati mi se, i na slavi carstva mog vrati mi se veličanstvo moje i svetlost moja; i dvorani moji i knezovi moji potražiše me, i utvrdih se u carstvu svom, i doda mi se više veličanstva.

37 Sada ja Navuhodonosor hvalim, uzvišujem i slavim cara nebeskog, čija su sva dela istina i čiji su putevi pravedni i koji može oboriti one koji hode ponosito.

   

Comentário

 

Nebuchadnezzar's Second Dream

Por Andy Dibb
Floor mosaic of a the Tree of Life (as a pomegranite) from the Big Basilica at Heraclea Lyncestis. Bitola, Macedonia.

In the Book of Daniel, Chapter Four is narrated, after the events of the chapter, by a much-changed Nebuchadnezzar. In the internal sense, the story shows both the Lord's mercy in leading us, and also the depths of despair to which we sink before we willingly open our minds to the Lord and pray for His leadership.

At the beginning of the story, Nebuchadnezzar's idleness imitates the sense of complacency when things seem to be going right, when no temptations darken our skies, and essential selfishness asserts itself once again. Our mind is its house, its palace. We come into this state after a temptation or battle against our sense of selfishness, when we put the struggle aside and rest on our laurels. We are oblivious to the fact that regeneration is an ongoing state, that one temptation succeeds another, and that once conscience has been established in our thought processes, it will not be too long before the lethargy of selfishness is challenged.

While Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in his house, he had a disturbing dream, one unknown to him. As before when he did not understand his dreams, he called the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers, who, once again, could not interpret the dream.

Often we feel that we face the same temptations over and over again. We might wonder if we will ever regenerate. This is because we fall into a state of selfishness, represented by the king at rest. But when we encounter resistance to that selfishness, we turn back to all our old thought patterns to help us.

Eventually, Nebuchadnezzar called Daniel to tell him his dream. As he recounts the story after the seven years of illness, he uses the words he had spoken before. He addresses Daniel as Belteshazzar, because that is how he saw him before the temptation. Even so, he recognized the presence of the Spirit of the Holy God within him, acknowledging Daniel's power to explain dreams and give interpretations.

The king's second dream took the image of a great tree, planted in the earth, so high it could be seen from the ends of the earth. This parallels the image of the great statue, whose head was gold. As we saw earlier, this image represents the initial state of perfection, followed by a decline as a person turns away from this ideal. The statue shows how self love takes dominance in our lives if unchecked, and brings us into a final state of spiritual destruction.

In this new dream, the tree in the midst of the earth is a reference to the Tree of Life in the midst of the Garden of Eden. Both trees symbolize wisdom. The Tree of Life represented the perception the Most Ancient people had from love (Arcana Coelestia 103), but Nebuchadnezzar's tree is from the love of self and the different perceptions people have when motivated by that love (Apocalypse Explained 1029:6).

But when Nebuchadnezzar saw the tree in his dream, it was lovely. Everything in the dream which normally has a good and beautiful significance, instead takes on a negative meaning. The leaves and flowers, which should have been a picture of guiding truths (Arcana Coelestia 9553), represent the opposite, as the falsities which mislead us. We saw how the king called his false guides: the magicians, soothsayers, astrologers, and Chaldeans.

The birds represent the false thoughts from selfishness (Arcana Coelestia 5149). These give credence to selfishness, to justify it and find new ways to express it. So the tree takes on an intellectual picture of the selfish mind. But the mind is made up of both intellect and emotion. There were also beasts sheltering under the tree representing the things we care about.

When selfishness rules in us, just as Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon, all the lesser loves take their cue from this leading love. Thus the beasts of the field, were drawn to the tree for food and shelter.

After this scene is set, Nebuchadnezzar sees "a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven." The introduction of the indescribable watcher is the turning point in the dream, marking the beginning of the end for this marvel reaching up to heaven.

In a state of selfishness, we are spiritually asleep, just as Nebuchadnezzar was asleep when he dreamed. But the Lord never sleeps. Truth in our minds is always vigilant, looking for ways of bringing itself to our consciousness to lead us out of our selfish state. Just as everything seemed right in Nebuchadnezzar's world, he became aware of a watcher—the truth.

In an instant, the king's serenity was changed: a force greater than himself commanded the destruction of the tree, and there was nothing he could do about it. These words make it clear just how vulnerable our selfish states are. At their height, they seem so powerful, but in the face of truth they are shown for the sordid little nothings they are. Truth has the power to expose evil, and we should not be afraid to allow it to do so in our own lives. To stand indicted of selfishness is not the end of life, as it may feel, but the beginning of a new life of liberation.

But we still need some sense of self. There is nothing wrong with being concerned with our own well-being; it is vital to our lives. Selfishness is a part of us, but it needs to be kept under control, subordinated to the higher loves of serving the Lord and our neighbor.

This is why the watcher did not order the complete destruction of the tree: the stump is all that is left of a rampant selfishness, the bands of iron and brass represent thoughts and feelings which originate in selfishness, which can be used to keep it under control (Apocalypse Explained 650:32).

Finally, with the tree destroyed, Nebuchadnezzar himself had to be changed. The watcher commanded that the king is given the heart of an animal for seven years. In substance abuse recovery programs, it is said that an addict cannot change until they hit rock-bottom—when they realize the full necessity of change. In spiritual life, this rock bottom is a point at which we almost lose our humanity, we are so dominated by selfishness, greed and the lust of dominion that we lose our ability to think rationally. We become animals. The difference between humans and animals is our ability to think and act in freedom. Self-love destroys that freedom, thus destroying all humanity within us.

In this prophesy, we see a descent: from man, to beast, to ox. People are human because they are created in the image and likeness of the Lord. Thus human beings have the ability to think and act according to reason. This is the essence of our humanity (Arcana Coelestia 477, 2305, 4051, 585, 1555). When these are in tune with truth and goodness from the Lord, then we are truly human, because the image of the Lord is in us.

So again, we see this slide from an ideal to a lesser state: from man, the king became a beast. From rationality and freedom, he entered slavery. This fall appears earlier in the Word: when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they were cast out.

Finally he was told that he would eat grass like oxen. In a positive sense, oxen represent our affections (Arcana Coelestia 5198, 5642, 6357), or our love of the things of this world. But the opposite meaning of 'ox' is the perversion of goodness (Arcana Coelestia 9083), and the affection for injuring others (Arcana Coelestia 9094).

This humbling of the king represents the proper use of the love of self, and shows that the Lord does not eradicate it, because it is the foundation of true relationships with other people and the Lord Himself. But before it can become useful, selfishness needs to be converted into a humbled love of self, and we must return from the ox state.

As Daniel explained the meaning of the dream, he offered the king counsel: 'break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.' This is the next step in spiritual awareness. Seeing our selfishness, coupled with an increased awareness of the Lord, we reach the point where thoughts must become actions. At first glance, the concept of 'sins and iniquities' may seem redundant. But in the Word, pairs of synonymous words reflect two internal senses: the celestial and the spiritual (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 80). The celestial relates broadly to goodness, and the spiritual to truth. Together they make one.

Daniel's advice to Nebuchadnezzar is to repent. Repentance is the only way out of the quicksand of selfishness. The Lord taught that we should love one another as He loves us (John 13:34, John 15:12). To love ourselves alone, and to wish to control others is not in keeping with the Lord's teachings. The only solution is to listen to the voice of our conscience and allow ourselves to be guided by the truth.

In spite of everything, Nebuchadnezzar's pride was not reduced. As he walked around his palace, his heart was filled with pride: 'is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?'

A selfish person believes that everything they own or have accomplished is by their own power. There is no place for God or anyone else. When people do not listen to the Lord's teachings and reject His counsel, there is nothing the Lord can do but allow the person to reap the consequences of their choice.

The king remained in this ox-state until seven times passed over him, which illustrates that the Lord leaves us in this state until it runs its course. Sometimes it takes us a lifetime to see how our selfishness hurts others, and ourselves. Yet the Lord never leaves us. The promise of the root of the tree, bound with bands of iron and bronze is always there. The Lord works unceasingly to bring our selfishness under control until it can serve the higher loves of our neighbor and the Lord Himself.

Forgiveness begins in the recognition that we are in sin. In his ox-like state, Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven. Eyes represent understanding (Arcana Coelestia 2975, 3863), and to lift them to heaven is to lift our understanding to the truths the Lord has given us. The king had been given some truths in his dreams and in the interpretation of them. He knew from Daniel's advice that he needed to repent and change his ways. As he did so, his understanding and appreciation of the Lord grew. He realized how small he was in the grand scheme of things. The inflated ego of selfishness was deflated by the recognition that all things had been given to him by the Lord.

His story is our story. We each build our empires in one way or another. We hold the power of life and death over others in a figurative sense—do we not decide who we like and dislike, who is admitted out our 'inner circle' and who is beyond the pale? The warnings the Lord gave to Nebuchadnezzar apply to us, and like the king, we can also ignore them. The consequences in our lives are the same, as we are reduced to a merely animal-being, wet with the dew of heaven.

Yet can we hear the Lord's voice calling, for unless we do, we will remain in that state. Can we lift our eyes to heaven and search for the truth leading to the greatest declaration one can make, provided it is done with the heart and not with the lips:

Now I … praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and his ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase.

A Bíblia

 

2 Kings 17

Estude

   

1 In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah began Hoshea the son of Elah to reign in Samaria over Israel, [and reigned] nine years.

2 He did that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.

3 Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and brought him tribute.

4 The king of Assyria found conspiracy in Hoshea; for he had sent messengers to So king of Egypt, and offered no tribute to the king of Assyria, as he had done year by year: therefore the king of Assyria shut him up, and bound him in prison.

5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.

6 In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away to Assyria, and placed them in Halah, and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

7 It was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Yahweh their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

8 and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Yahweh cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.

9 The children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Yahweh their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;

10 and they set them up pillars and Asherim on every high hill, and under every green tree;

11 and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Yahweh carried away before them; and they worked wicked things to provoke Yahweh to anger;

12 and they served idols, of which Yahweh had said to them, "You shall not do this thing."

13 Yet Yahweh testified to Israel, and to Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets."

14 Notwithstanding, they would not listen, but hardened their neck, like the neck of their fathers, who didn't believe in Yahweh their God.

15 They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified to them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and [went] after the nations that were around them, concerning whom Yahweh had commanded them that they should not do like them.

16 They forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the army of the sky, and served Baal.

17 They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.

18 Therefore Yahweh was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

19 Also Judah didn't keep the commandments of Yahweh their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.

20 Yahweh rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.

21 For he tore Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following Yahweh, and made them sin a great sin.

22 The children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they didn't depart from them;

23 until Yahweh removed Israel out of his sight, as he spoke by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria to this day.

24 The king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Avva, and from Hamath and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they possessed Samaria, and lived in the cities of it.

25 So it was, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they didn't fear Yahweh: therefore Yahweh sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

26 Therefore they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations which you have carried away, and placed in the cities of Samaria, don't know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they kill them, because they don't know the law of the god of the land."

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Carry there one of the priests whom you brought from there; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the law of the god of the land."

28 So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear Yahweh.

29 However every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities in which they lived.

30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,

31 and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burnt their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32 So they feared Yahweh, and made to them from among themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.

33 They feared Yahweh, and served their own gods, after the ways of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

34 To this day they do what they did before: they don't fear Yahweh, neither do they follow their statutes, or their ordinances, or the law or the commandment which Yahweh commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel;

35 with whom Yahweh had made a covenant, and commanded them, saying, "You shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them;

36 but you shall fear Yahweh, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm, and you shall bow yourselves to him, and you shall sacrifice to him.

37 The statutes and the ordinances, and the law and the commandment, which he wrote for you, you shall observe to do forevermore. You shall not fear other gods.

38 You shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you; neither shall you fear other gods.

39 But you shall fear Yahweh your God; and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies."

40 However they did not listen, but they did what they did before.

41 So these nations feared Yahweh, and served their engraved images. Their children likewise, and their children's children, as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

   

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