The Tree Dream
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Daniel
The Book of the
Prophet Daniel
“… some stopped the
mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire!” Hebrews 11:33, 34
Chapter 4:1-18 The Tree Dream
1. King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples,
nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to
you!
2. It has seemed good to me to show the
signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.
3. How great are his signs, how mighty
his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures
from generation to generation.
4. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my
house and prospering in my palace.
5. I saw a dream that made me afraid.
As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me.
6. So I made a decree that all the wise
men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me
the interpretation of the dream.
7. Then the magicians, the enchanters,
the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they
could not make known to me its interpretation.
This chapter tells one of the most amazing testimonies
in all of Scripture and there are few that surpass it, in all the centuries of church history. It is the first person account of a world
emperor, which he sent to his kingdom throughout the earth. In it, he praises
God and relates his experience of conversion in the common Aramaic language. The
writing is worthy of the quotes of a couple commentators:
Adam Clarke: “This is a regular decree, and one of the most ancient extant (voc. note: still in existence); and no doubt contains the exact words of Nebuchadnezzar, copied out
by Daniel from the state papers of Babylon, and preserved in the original
language.”
Matthew
Henry: The royal style which Nebuchadnezzar
makes use of has nothing in it of pomp or fancy, but is plain, short, and
unaffected. If at other times
he made use of great swelling words of vanity in his title, now he laid them
all aside; for he was old, he had lately recovered from a distraction which had
humbled and mortified him, and was now in the actual contemplation of God's
greatness and sovereignty. The declaration is directed not only to his own
subjects, but to all to whom this present writing shall come - to all people, nations, and languages, that
dwell in all the earth. He is not only willing that they should all hear
of it, though it carry the account of his own infamy (which perhaps none durst
have published if he had not done it himself, and therefore Daniel published
the original paper), but he strictly charges and commands all manner of persons
to take notice of it; for all are concerned, and it may be profitable to all.
It
is an open document, which any people may read and contemplate; in truth, it
has extended beyond the cradle of civilization in the Middle East to the lands
of Buddha, Mohammed, the Hindus and Confucius. It has reached the Native
American and his natural religion and has come to the attention of remote
tribes in South American and New Guinea. Nebuchadnezzar gives to all of us his
royal blessing and tells us his personal experience with the living and true
God. He says, “It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the
Most High God has done for me.”
He
has received a worshipful heart and praise is upon his lips. He extols the
greatness of God’s supernatural power, always evident, when a human being
encounters divinity. He shares the knowledge that he has learned of His eternal
kingdom and the enduring stability of His sovereign rule. It never skips a
generation, nor does it fade in its prominence, but remains steadfast and
within the reach of all nations at all times.
His
outstanding transformation began with a dream, the second, with which God had
favored him. Life and rule was continuing as normally as could be possible for
an emperor, with ease and a growing prosperity. This state of comfort was interrupted one night, as he lay on his bed. Consciousness
towards the external, material environment never gives a true picture of
reality and so, the mind must be alarmingly awakened to the underlying world of
the spirit. The Lord manifests Himself in this realm and deals with the
internal affairs of a man.
Again,
as in the first instance, his inner being has been so profoundly disturbed that
he makes a decision to take this personal matter before the full force of his
religious advisors… the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the
astrologers. These people were surely possessors of dark, demonic powers, but
God has dealt the emperor a dilemma that is beyond their capabilities and the
entire force of his religious machine breaks down and fails him.
I
have looked a little into these various mediums and methods in order to give us
an idea of what took place in Babylonian religion. I will group all of them
together, rather than trying to explain the practice of each particular group:
There were those, who practiced
magical arts or incantations (charming with songs), which used occult
whispering or muttering of strange sounds. Then they had those, who by mysterious and
supernatural witchcraft, accomplished that, which surpassed human power. There was a group, who were called “pen-men” or horoscope-writers, who drew magical
lines and circles. Closely related was the practice of astrology, explaining
situations or telling the future by studying the stars. The Chaldeans were a
priesthood, who took their place as descendants of a certain tribe or clan. I
think we can see that some of these practices are very much alive today.
Nebuchadnezzar
has been in this situation before, but he hasn’t learned the necessary lesson. It
is always characteristic of mankind that he will seek truth and go to the right
source, after all other resources have been employed and there is nowhere else
to turn. The evangelist must be well aware of this fact, if he expects to see
true conversions. His first duty is to bring the sinner to a place of desperate
need, by expounding to him the hopelessness of his own condition, the
degradation of his nature, and the infinite crimes that he has committed. Only
then, will he let go of his self-trust, surrender to His God and look for help at
the cross of Christ. The source of help that God has put near the king to lead
him to Himself is Daniel and Daniel is the last one to be brought in for
counsel.
8. At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in
whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying,
9. "O Belteshazzar, chief of the
magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that
no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw
and their interpretation.
10. The visions of my head as I lay in
bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its
height was great.
11. The tree grew and became strong, and
its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole
earth.
12. Its leaves were beautiful and its
fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade
under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was
fed from it.
13. "I saw in the visions of my
head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from
heaven.
14. He proclaimed aloud and said thus:
'Chop down the tree and lop 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 of its roots in
the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the
field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the
beasts in the grass of the earth.
16. Let his mind be changed from a man's, and
let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over
him.
17. The sentence is by the decree of the
watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living
may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he
will and sets over it the lowliest of men.'
18. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar,
saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise
men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you
are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you."
Reverting
to the spiritual state that he was in at the time, Nebuchadnezzar introduces
Daniel by the name he had given him, Belteshazzar, in honor of his god. He had
a plural concept of divinity at that time and saw Daniel as one “in whom is the spirit
of the holy gods”. Although he is the chief of the spiritual department, yet he
is called in last, proving the explanation I have given before. The fallen
nature of man, under the influence of the world of evil spirits, will not turn
in the direction of truth, until all other sources are exhausted.
He has forgotten Daniel’s
confession that supernatural knowledge has come from outside of his personal
abilities, “not because of any wisdom
that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may
be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind” (2:30). The king would first give the glory to a man, rather
than to the God, against whom he has lived in rebellion. “No mystery is too
difficult for you,” he said.
Then
he relates his dream. It comes in the form of an allegory and he sees an
exceptionally tall tree. In prophecy, a tree symbolizes a great nation of
people (Ezek.17:22-24; 31:3-18; Mt.13:32). The tree grew in the middle of the
earth and its fame reached to the ends of the earth. It was beautiful, productive
and provided shelter and shade.
A
heavenly being comes down and he is called “a watcher”. There are angels, which
are given special assignments over certain nations, as guardians, and that
seems to be the case here. He came as a messenger of doom to prophecy against
the tree. It is to be chopped down, stripped of its leaves and branches and its
fruit wasted. All that took shelter in it fled and only the stump was left.
Now,
the dream personalizes and we see a man bound with fetters in the open field. He
loses his mind and is living as an animal without a house for shelter for seven
years. Here we see a distinct example of the rule of spirits over the affairs
of men. The watchers confirm the decree given by the Most High ruler of heaven and are
assigned to see that it comes to pass.
The
decree comes as a lesson to Nebuchadnezzar and to all those, who will come in
contact with this book and chapter throughout the world. The lesson is that God
is sovereignly and directly in charge of the nations of the world. He sets up
rulers, according to His own will, and shows His particular manner of operation
by raising the lowliest of men to the highest offices. If this has not been the
case with Nebuchadnezzar, it certainly will be after seven years. He will
restore a mad man to sanity and return the great Babylonian Empire to him.
No
one has been able to interpret this dream for the emperor and, certainly, no
one given the interpretation, would find any pleasure in revealing it. The king
is convinced that Daniel has the ability to do this, while Daniel knows, from Whom
his wisdom comes. The Lord from heaven has in him a faithful servant, to whom
He can reveal mysteries. He knows that Daniel will be true to his mission and
will not hide the bad news from the great king.
Every
servant of God must be trustworthy in delivering the negative truth, as well as
the positive. We can be assured that the speaker, who holds back from telling
the whole truth, is not a true servant of God. A careful study of the Gospels
will prove that Jesus was a perfectly faithful bearer of truth.
Samuel
had to learn this principle from the time that he was a boy. “Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to
Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, ‘Samuel, my son.’ And he said, ‘Here
I am.’ And Eli said, ‘What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from
me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that
he told you.’ So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him” (1
Sm.3:15-18). Throughout Scripture, men and women, whom God used, needed to
convey His full counsel. It was the false prophets, who hid the hard truth from
their hearers, and gained popularity by doing so. In this way, they contributed
to the downfall of the people. These kind of preachers abound among us today. As Nebuchadnezzar’s men, who were not able to help him in his dilemma, there are many, as well, who by their lack of contact with heaven, are unable to solve spiritual problems.
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