DANIEL SIMPLIFIED
CHAPTER 2.37
Gleanings
from the Book of Daniel:
A
Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series
DANIEL
Chapter
Two
The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar
(The Rise and Fall of Empires)
Review
In the last study, Daniel revealed the
contents of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him. It was a massive statue in the form
of a man having a head of gold…
1. The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar (2:1)
2. The Demands of Nebuchadnezzar (2:2-11)
3. The Decree of Nebuchadnezzar (2:12-13)
4. The Decision of Daniel (2:14-23)
5. The Disapproval of Daniel (2:24-30)
6.
The Disclosure of Daniel (2:31-35)
7. The Details of the Dream (2:36-45)
(Verse 36)
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof
before the king.
After
revealing to the king the content of his dream, now Daniel will detail the
interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
(Verse 37)
Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of Heaven hath given thee
a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
But
first, Daniel respectfully addresses the king with a respectful phrase commonly
borne upon by kings of Assyria, Persia, and princes of Armenia. He thus gives
Nebuchadnezzar the official greeting by saying, “You, O king, are the king of
kings.”
Thou, O king, art a king of kings
Daniel
uses the expression, king of kings, a
Hebraism devoting him as supreme monarch over all other kings. Its meaning is
generally associated with the emperor.
Later, Ezra alludes to this title for Artaxerxes:
Ezra 7:12 - Artaxerxes, king of
kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the Law of the God of Heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
Therefore,
by addressing Nebuchadnezzar as king of
kings, Daniel is attributing to him a title of greatest esteem, and, at the
same time, designating his absolute monarchy.
For the God of Heaven hath given thee a kingdom,
power, and strength, and glory
Once again, Daniel
does not fail to credit the one true God of Heaven. For it was not by royal
lines, ancestors, or fortunes Nebuchadnezzar ruled this kingdom, but it was
given to him by the sovereign authority of God.
Three examples in
Scripture confer:
Jeremiah 27:6 – And now have I (God speaking) given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon, My servant; and the
beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.
Ezekiel 26:7 – For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon
Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north,
with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much
people.
Habakkuk 1:6 - For, lo, I raise up the Chaldeans (or Babylonians), that bitter
and hasty nation, which shall march through the breadth of the land, to possess the dwellingplaces (specifically Judea) that are not theirs.
However, one day, the
true KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,
Jesus Christ, will come down riding
on a white horse at His Second Coming,
defeat the armies at the Battle of
Armageddon, and set up His earthly Kingdom. He will then live and reign
with His Bride, the Church, for one-thousand years. At the close of the Millennium is the Great White Throne Judgment where unbelievers are judged. The
final event on God’s calendar is the
Eternal State of the new Heaven and
new earth. At that time we will forever be with the Lord (cf. Revelation
19:11 – 22:5).
Continuing…
(Verse 38)
And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the
beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand,
and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
And wheresoever the children of men dwell
As predicted by the
prophet Jeremiah six years prior, the scope of Nebuchadnezzar’s authority
extended to Gentile nations, i.e., all mankind.
Jeremiah 27:6a - And now have I given all these lands into the hand of
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant.
The beasts of the field and the fowls of the
heaven
Additionally,
Nebuchadnezzar becomes ruler over the
beasts of the field (horses, cattle, and wild beasts) and the fowls of the air. Of course, the phrase is hyperbolic, thus
signifying he has unlimited authority and dominion over everything.
He given into thine hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all
Notice, it is the God
of Heaven who delegated Nebuchadnezzar’s authority. By comparison, at Creation
man was given the responsibility to rule and have dominion over mankind (cf.
Genesis 1:26). Now, by divine appointment, Nebuchadnezzar will fulfill what God
has appointed him – a chastising agent for the nation Israel. God also called him,
My servant (cf. Jeremiah 27:6), and
set him as head of his empire over the world.
Thou art this head of gold
Abruptly, and without
hesitation, the first of five parts of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is
interpreted. Daniel simply relays to Nebuchadnezzar that he represents the head
of gold. Remember, in verse 22, Daniel mentioned that the Head of the statue
was of fine or pure gold.
Gold is an appropriate
way to depict Babylon. It alludes to its riches by the spoils and tributes
obtained from all its conquered countries.
Recapitulation
The governing
authority of Nebuchadnezzar did not come from Babylonian gods. It was a gift
from the true God of Israel. Notice seven things granted to Nebuchadnezzar by
God:
1. God gave him a kingdom
(v. 21, 37)
2. God gave him power (v.
37)
3. God gave him strength
(v.37)
4. God gave him glory (v.
37)
5. God gave him rulership
over the beasts of the field (v. 38)
6. God gave him rulership
over the birds of the air (v. 38)
7. God gave him rulership
over all where children dwell (v.38)
Babylon
Nebuchadnezzar II (the
Great), son of Nabopolassar, ruled Babylon (605 – 562 B.C.) for 43 years. Lover
of architecture, he embarked on a building program that brought Babylon to the
zenith of its grandeur.
The prophets spoke of
its magnificence as such:
Isaiah 13:19a - And Babylon, the
glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency.
Jeremiah 51:13a - O thou that
dwellest upon many waters, abundant in
treasures.
Jeremiah 51:41b - How is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is
Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
The Hanging Gardens
One of the 7 Wonders of the ancient world is Babylon’s
Hanging Gardens. Built alongside a mountain slope, (four acres, three-hundred
feet high or 30 stories), was a garden terrace.
Nebuchadnezzar imported topsoil, cedar trees from Lebanon,
Cyprus trees, and all kinds of exotic plants from all over the world. The
Gardens had an irrigation system that raised water from the river by hydraulic
pumps – a feat that astonishes engineers today.
Gold
Babylon became
notorious as ‘The Golden City.’ On the
principal stone of Marduk’s statue, Nebuchadnezzar’s inscription boasted of its
gold:
Here the sitting figure of Marduk, all the gold on a glorious
throne supported on a base of gold, with a golden table standing beside it. I
was told by the Chaldeans that to make all this, more than 22 tons of gold were
used. Outside the Temple is a golden altar, and there is another, not of gold,
but of great size…on the larger altar, the Chaldeans offer some two and
one-half tons of frankincense every year at the Festival of Bel (Marduk).
The Greek historian Herodotus of Halicarnassus (480-492 B.C.)
visited Babylon 90 years after Nebuchadnezzar's death. Shocked over the amount
of gold in Babylon, he wrote in his Histories:
1. The walls and
buildings were of gold overlay
2. There were 2 golden
lions and an 18-foot-high human figure
3. The walls of the
temple were of gold overlay
4. The gates of the city
were of gold
5. There was gold in the
treasury of the Temple of Marduk
6. Vessels and artifacts
(from the Temple) were of gold
7. Golden jewelry was
worn by nobility and ladies of nobility
His obsession with
gold caused him to utilize pure gold (2:32) in most of his building projects.
Even with its entire splendor, Jeremiah speaks of Babylon being a golden vessel
used by God for His purpose:
Jeremiah 51:7a - Babylon hath
been a
golden cup in the LORD'S hand.
Hence, the city
glittered with gold.
Daniel also records Nebuchadnezzar’s bragging:
Daniel 4:30 - 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?
The Fate of Babylon
The city of Babylon
was destroyed by a Persian king, Cyrus the Great in October 539 B.C. According
to Scripture, Babylon will never be inhabited again:
Isaiah 13:19b-20 – And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms…shall be as when
God overthrew Sodom
and Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
Isaiah 14:4 - That thou shalt
take up this proverb against the king of Babylon, and say, How hath the oppressor ceased! the golden city ceased!
Jeremiah 50:13 - Because of the wrath of the LORD She shall not be inhabited, But she shall be wholly desolate. Everyone who goes
by Babylon shall be horrified And hiss at all her plagues.
Jeremiah 51:37 – And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment,
and an hissing, without
an inhabitant.
Ezekiel 26:14 - And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to
spread nets upon; thou
shalt be built no more: for I
the LORD have spoken it,
saith the Lord GOD.
As prophesied, Babylon
presently is a barren land. Nothing remains but ruin.
The next study will document subsequent empires that replace
the Neo-Babylonian.
QUESTIONS:
1. How did Nebuchadnezzar achieve his
success and power?
2. To what extent was Nebuchadnezzar’s
rule?
3. What was so unique about the city of
Babylon?
4. How notorious was Babylon’s Hanging Gardens?
5. What was the statue of the god Marduk
like?
6. What were the two contemporary prophets
of Daniel?
7. Why is Babylon’s fate significant?
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