Nebchadnezzar

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. ⁴⁷The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court. – Daniel 2:46-49 ESV

After revealing the meaning of the king’s dream, Daniel confidently asserted, “A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure” (Daniel 2:45 ESV). The young man took the opportunity to promote the superiority of his God and the certainty of the vision and its message. Despite any aspersions the magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans might cast his way, Daniel wanted Nebuchadnezzar to know that his words could be trusted because their source was divine. Unlike the gods of Babylon, Daniel’s God was all-knowing and all-powerful. He could “predict” the future because He was already aware of it. He knew it in advance. According to the Book of Isaiah, the God of Israel operates outside the limits of time and space. He is transcendent and eternal, having no beginning or end.

“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
    Remember this, you guilty ones.
Remember the things I have done in the past.
    For I alone am God!
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Only I can tell you the future
    before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
    for I do whatever I wish.” – Isaiah 46:8-10 NLT

As a well-educated Hebrew, Daniel would have been familiar with the Psalms of David. In them, David acknowledged his own awareness of God’s omniscience.

O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!. – Psalm 139:1-6 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had not been the result of a poorly prepared meal or indigestion; it was the handiwork of God. It was He who created its content and orchestrated its timing. Because God was involved, it was more than a dream; it was prophetic. God used Nebuchadnezzar’s own political aspirations and dreams of world domination as the stage on which to reveal His own message of dominion. The vision was simply how God communicated His plans for Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and the future of the world. The God of the universe was letting this power-obsessed king know that his authority was limited and his kingdom was temporary.

In a real sense, the interpretation of the dream was less for Nebuchadnezzar’s benefit than it was for Daniel, his friends, and the people of Israel. God wanted His people to know that He was in charge. It was His plans that would be carried out, not those of Nebuchadnezzar. God held the fates of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in His hands. They were not the helpless pawns of the Babylonian king. Their deportation had been God’s doing. Their recent graduations from the king’s training program had been God’s will. Daniel’s capacity to interpret dreams and visions was a gift from God.

No one in the room, including Daniel, understood the import of the interpretation. God provided little in the way of details. Even to this day, scholars debate the nature of the kingdoms represented by the statue. There is even disagreement about the dream’s climactic ending as biblical scholars continue to debate the nature of the everlasting kingdom to come.

The whole point of the dream and its interpretation was to accentuate the will and sovereignty of God. Daniel and his friends needed to know that their God was in complete control of all that was going on in their lives, the world, and the future. Kingdoms come and go, but God is eternal. The plans of men are powerless before the will of God. The gods of this world are no match for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Once again, the writings of King David must have brought comfort and encouragement to Daniel and his companions as they attempted to acclimate themselves to their new surroundings.

In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
    May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
    and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts
    and look favorably on your burnt offerings. Interlude

May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers.

Now I know that the Lord rescues his anointed king.
    He will answer him from his holy heaven
    and rescue him by his great power.
Some nations boast of their chariots and horses,
    but we boast in the name of the Lord our God.
Those nations will fall down and collapse,
    but we will rise up and stand firm.

Give victory to our king, O Lord!
Answer our cry for help. – Psalm 20:1-9 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar was powerful but he was far from invincible. He could threaten his wise men with death but he couldn’t preserve his own kingdom from collapse. He could make plans to conquer the world but was incapable of controlling his own subconscious mind. He could not prevent his dreams of world domination from turning into nightmares of future devastation.

Daniel’s Spirit-induced interpretation reflects the non-negotiable reality of God’s sovereignty over the affairs of men and the future of mankind. Again, the words of the Psalms would have provided Daniel with comfort and security as he faced the threat of execution. He would have been reminded that, ultimately, all kings and kingdoms stand opposed to God. But God will have the last laugh.

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne
    in Jerusalem, on my holy mountain.” – Psalm 2:1-6 NLT

Daniel and his friends had nothing to fear; their God was in complete control. But they weren’t the only ones who received an unforgettable lesson in Yahweh’s sovereignty. The king was blown away by the entire experience and displayed his awe by bowing down before Daniel and worshiping him. The significance of that scene should not be overlooked. The most powerful man in the world was kneeling before a young man who was a member of a conquered and subjugated nation. It is unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar treated his magicians, sorcerers, and Chaldeans with the same respect. But the king revealed the motivation behind his genuflection.

“Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” – Daniel 2:47 NLT

He knew that Daniel was nothing more than the spokesman for “the greatest of gods.” But he also knew that Daniel had access to a deity who was preeminent and all-powerful. Daniel’s God was worthy of reverence and, as his messenger, Daniel was deserving of honor.

Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. – Daniel 2:48 NLT

It’s telling to note that Daniel’s first official act in his new capacity was to request a promotion for each of his friends. He recognized that God had blessed him with the king’s favor and he used it, not to his own advantage, but to secure the future of his companions. By seeing that his friends were elevated alongside him, Daniel ensured that he would have not only their companionship but also their spiritual support. He was living out the truth found in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:

“Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
    proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
    for the sword shall devour around you.’
Why are your mighty ones face down?
    They do not stand
    because the Lord thrust them down.
He made many stumble, and they fell,
    and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
    and to the land of our birth,
    because of the sword of the oppressor.’
Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
    ‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’

“As I live, declares the King,
    whose name is the Lord of hosts,
like Tabor among the mountains
    and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
    O inhabitants of Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
    a ruin, without inhabitant.

“A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
    but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
Even her hired soldiers in her midst
    are like fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
    they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
    the time of their punishment.

“She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
    for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
    like those who fell trees.
They shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
    though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous than locusts;
    they are without number.
The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
    she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.” – Jeremiah 46:13-24 ESV

Egypt’s defeat at battle of Carchemish would just be the beginning of her misery. Not long after his victory, Prince Nebuchadnezzar would return to Babylon, where he would receive his coronation as king. replacing his father Nabopolassar. Then, the newly crowned king of Babylon would set his sights on the land of Palestine, subduing Canaan and then moving west to once again to battle with Pharaoh, but this time Nebuchadnezzar would bring the fight to the land of Egypt. And the outcome of this conflict would be worse than the first. All of this would take place in 568-567 B.C., in exactly the manner God had prophesied.

Earlier in the book of Jeremiah, God had warned, “But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it.” (Jeremiah 28:8 NLT). A few verses earlier, in that same chapter, God refers to “my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon” (Jeremiah 28:6 NLT). Nebuchadnezzar was an instrument in the hand of God to accomplish His divine will concerning the nations.

Just as God had previously warned the nations of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon; He would warn the cities of Egypt. He specifically mentions Migdol, Memphis and Tahpanhes. These happened to be major cities in Egypt and are the same cities to which the refugees from Judah had fled.

They went on to Egypt because they refused to obey the Lord, and came to Tahpanhes. – Jeremiah 43:7 NLT

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who were living in the land of Egypt, those in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and in the region of southern Egypt. – Jeremiah 44:1 NLT

Once again, these prophecies were intended as a warning to the people of Judah more than they. were for the Egyptians. Jeremiah would have shared these pronouncements from God with his own people as a reminder that their disobedience was going to have consequences. They had run away to Egypt against the will of God. They had placed their faith in a foreign land rather than listening to the words of Yahweh. And God had already warned them what was coming.

“Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here. I will see to it that all the Judean remnant that was determined to go and live in the land of Egypt will be destroyed. Here in the land of Egypt they will fall in battle or perish from starvation. People of every class will die in war or from starvation. They will become an object of horror and ridicule, an example of those who have been cursed and that people use in pronouncing a curse. I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt with war, starvation, and disease just as I punished Jerusalem.’” – Jeremiah 44:11-13 NLT

But the people had no intention of returning to the land of Judah. They were stubborn and refused to heed Jeremiah’s warning. So now, God was making it all official. He was predicting the actual events that would bring about their judgment and Egypt’s fall. And God indicates that the many gods of Egypt would be helpless and hopeless in the days ahead.

Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand
because the Lord thrust them down… – Jeremiah 46:15 ESV

They would be exposed for what they were: lifeless, powerless fabrications of men’s minds. They were not gods at all and therefore, they would be no help at all in the day of trouble. Egypt would experience the very same fate that Judah had. Their great cities would fall. Their people would die as a result of starvation or by the sword. Their troops would flee before the Babylonians. And eventually, thousands of the Egyptians would taken back to Babylon as slaves. Even the mercenary troops that Egypt had hired to assist them would turn and run like fattened calves. Their lives would be offered like sacrifices before the Lord of Hosts.

The description is one of utter defeat and devastation. The great cities of Egypt would be looted of all treasure and then burned to the ground. Its once formidable army would fall like a house of cards. The many gods of Egypt would prove useless, becoming little more than booty for the Babylonians to haul off when they returned home. Even the forests of Egypt would be cut down to make the siege engines used to destroy the walls or its cities. Everything would be laid waste. And the people of Judah would find that their chosen place of refuge was anything but that. They had run from Judah because they feared the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar. But God had told them that if they stayed in Judah, He would have protected them. It would have gone well for them. But they had chosen to ignore God’s promises. They had made the fateful decision to seek refuge somewhere else. And now, they would pay the price for the disobedience and lack of faith in God.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)

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Refusing to Take Refuge in God.