John Burnett:
19 “Then
Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as
his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ‘Belteshazzar, do
not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied,
‘My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and
its interpretation to your adversaries! 20 The tree that you saw, which
became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible
to all the earth 21 and
whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in
which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field
dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged— 22 it is you, O king; for you
have become great and grown strong, and your[a]majesty has become great and reached
to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth. 23 In that the king saw an angelic watcher,
a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Chop down the tree and destroy
it; yet leave the stump [b]with its roots in the ground, but with
a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the
field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let [c]him share with the beasts of the field
until seven [d]periods of time pass over him,” 24 this is the interpretation, O
king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord
the king: 25 that
you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts
of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with
the dew of heaven; and seven [e]periods of time will pass over you,
until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind
and bestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 And in that it was commanded to
leave the stump [f]with the roots of the tree, your
kingdom will be[g]assured to you after you recognize
that it is Heaven that rules.27 Theref
The Vision Fulfilled
28 “All this happened
to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 Twelve months later he
was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king[i]reflected and said, ‘Is this not
Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal [j]residence by the might of my power and
for the glory of my majesty?’ 31 While
the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice[k]came from heaven, saying,
‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: [l]sovereignty has been removed from
you, 32 and you
will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with
the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle,
and seven[m]periods of time will pass over you
until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind
and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 Immediately the word concerning
Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and
began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of
heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his
nails like birds’ claws.
34 “But
at the end of [n]that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised
my eyes toward heaven and my [o]reason returned to me, and I blessed
the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can [p]ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of earth;
And no one can [p]ward off His hand
Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’
36 At
that time my [q]reason returned to me. And my majesty
and splendor were [r]restored to me for the glory of my
kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was
reestablished in my [s]sovereignty, and
surpassing greatness was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise,
exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are [t]true and His ways [u]just, and He is able to humble those
who walk in pride.” Nebuchadnezzar is humbled and responds
accordingly. Praising God for restoring Him but fully realizing that it
was all of God’s doing and none of his own. The same applies for us when
it comes to our restoration with the Father. It was all of Jesus’s work
on the cross and His resurrection that saves us. It has nothing to do
with anything that we do. We should be raising our eyes to heaven and
thanking Him for his grace, just as Nebuchadnezzar does in this passage.
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Krista Cook: 28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 Twelve
months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of
Babylon, 30 he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have
built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my
majesty?”
31 Even
as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is
decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from
you. 32 You will be driven away from people and will live with
the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for
you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on
earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
33 Immediately
what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from
people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven
until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws
of a bird.
34 At the
end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my
sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him
who lives forever.
His
dominion is an eternal dominion;
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
35 All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to him: “What have you done?”
36 At the
same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to
me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was
restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now
I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because
everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in
pride he is able to humble
-
And still today everything He does is right and just, and if we will just
humble ourselves, He will lift us up.
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Tomorrow’s reading for Daniel 5:1-9
5 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles
and drank wine with them. 2 While
Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and
silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so
that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from
them. 3 So
they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in
Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from
them. 4 As
they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron,
wood and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a human
hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the
royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that
his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.7 The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers[b] and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
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