A Testimony

Daniel 4:1-10

Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.

The end of the story has not been told fully, yet here comes King Nebuchadnezzar with a testimony. When God is through you, he will give you a testimony like no other. Consider what will happen in the next few verses and wonder how King Nebuchadnezzar is writing all of this from beyond his grave. Notice his audience: "all people, nations, and languages." There is only the Babylonian empire now with the Jewish captivity. When God is through there will be the Medes and the Persians in the house along with the Babylonians and the Jewish captivity. You may be saying, 'how can you be so sure of yourself?' Because there is that little phrase seen in the text, "in all the earth." Peace is preached unto this dispensation because what was about to happen would be very alarming. However, to those that know the Lord, it should not be. This is how the apostles can say Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as in Philippians 1:2. It is from a knowledge of the Lord that we should not be alarmed. Sometimes this is why God brings you through a difficult time so you can say the Lord has showed you kindness. Not only that, but the king also received signs and wonders wrought on his behalf. Oh, if only God had one person who feared his name. We will see, you do not need to be perfect. God would move Heaven and earth on behalf of his name and his reputation for those who believe; 2 Timothy 2:13 says that to them he is faithful. We have this for surety because he cannot deny himself. Let us put an end to this name it and claim it nonsense right now. God does not operate by our whims and desires for his ways are well above ours as Isaiah 55:8 points out. This good king knew what God had done for him. This is why you cannot be salty with God in whatever you go through because if you only knew what he was doing. Quiet down, readers. Our dearly departed King Nebuchadnezzar would like a word now. This is testimony time.

How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace:

Well, I thought he was going to testify but he is taking another praise break, first. I am sure if I had a testimony like this man, I would want to praise God like that too. You might be saying to yourself how nothing is going right for you and how the grave might be better. Honey, let me tell you even in the grave the dead hear God's voice as in John 5:28. Maybe you are like King Nebuchadnezzar, and everything is going wonderfully. You are serving God as you should and are in the church every time it is open. Maybe God has delivered you from some stuff and you are trying to walk the straight and narrow. You say that you just want to retire and see your grandchildren grown up to serve the Lord. Nothing is wrong with that. Maybe you are like my grandparents whose great grand baby died in infancy and never saw life. Things made no sense. But I am here to tell you what. Even from generation-to-generation God is faithful. His dominion is everlasting. These are not just empty words. They are Spirit and they are truth. There is life in these words. I can hear you saying now, 'I know you have fallen off the doctrinal bandwagon and bumped your head.' In my time in the ministry, I have encountered many people who should have been dead long ago but for the mercies of God. I am here today to tell you their families know it too. Whenever you are tempted to think that God has stepped out of the picture or has ceased working look from generation-to-generation, remember he has all eternity to finish his work he started. His dominion does not depend on who you are nor does his kingdom rest on what you have done. Both his dominion and his kingdom are all because of who he is.

I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.

King Nebuchadnezzar is dreaming again. Will this man ever stop; Daniel is just like him. There is a Spirit of revelation behind what is going on. A pouring out of God if you will in this time and in this dispensation as with Joel 2:28. If I called a wise man every time I had a dream, I would have no end of unease. After what happened last time, you would think the king has learned. Nope, he calls for them yet again. He does not ask; he demands them all to be brought. These men are doubtless fearing for their lives as before. Now they are somewhat afraid of this man who keeps having strange messages from an unseen being – or that is what they thought last time. Unlike before, this was a fearful dream. King Nebuchadnezzar had every right to be afraid for the sender was the Lord. How many of you know that God sometimes has some uncomfortable things to say. Often, he makes known the truth of what is about to happen and of what he will do beforehand. This time, the king calls for all his enemies to be brought before him. From the Lord on down they came to stand before him.

Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying,

The king makes known the dream to the wise men unlike the last time. Here they are not able to interpret even this. Whatever else they may have done while they were in the area is left unsaid. However, the interpretation could not be made known. Before they had advertised that to tell the interpretation all they needed to know was the dream. These were very wise men even at giving misleading and wicked council. How many of you remember the woman caught in adulatory brought to Jesus by the religious rulers of John 8:1-11. Jesus said that those without sun could throw the first stone upon which they all turned and left as one. I find group culpability in these wise men's inability to interpret anything. Herein has their guilt been determined. The judgment has already been prophesied before in Daniel 2. Now the Lord has given a prophetic dream telling the king of what is yet to come. He tells these wise men who then have nothing to say. How many of you know that when you stand before the Lord, you do not have to be afraid of what man can do unto you.

Notice here the king had to summon both Daniel and Belteshazzar for a purpose. Sometimes God must get all your personalities together so you can hear what he has to say to you. I have been trying to avoid this discussion for a while, but Daniel had a split personality problem. In times of stress like these, Belteshazzar wants to take over to protect the king's life who showed him such mercy and favor; in others Daniel is more evident as a Jewish child who simply wishes to serve the Lord. God knows our frame he remembers of what we are made. Psychology will tell us that trauma and times of great stress such as these can produce split personalities and other such disorders as coping mechanisms for everything we face. Oh, do not act all super-spiritual on me. You know how some of you do. We all know Bob, who is married to Betty Smith, and is a fine upstanding member of the community. But he leaves the house under the cover of darkness and puts on his wig and glasses to sneak down to her neighbor Betty Lou's house. Then at daylight these are removed along with the makeup for his daytime job. Once there, Bob happens to hear about Will in public and acts as if that is a total stranger. Some of you women are no better. Were it not for the Spirit of God, such shapeshifting might never be found out.

Traumatic circumstances can include anything that is life threatening, particularly shameful, or stressful. These stressors in this case would include the fall, sin, captivity, life or death matters, and being asked to serve two masters. It is little wonder we have a condition. Like Adam some of us go hide in the garden and do not have a clue why we are hiding. This is due to the division of the body, soul, and spirit. We see up to even the throne of God this image is repeated. Revelation 5:6-7 describes the moment Jesus, looking like the Lamb that had been slain, approaches him who sits on the throne. We will see later towards the end of the book where another such approach is made, and the Lamb will join him who sits on the throne as one. We know the Trinity is one. However, they appear to be different because the duality of God. King Nebuchadnezzar understood this for he continually references the Spirit of the gods within Daniel and the One whom Daniel served. God knows our frame of reference and he understands we are but dust as in Psalm 103:14. The king does not fault Daniel either. So, the king in his mercy and compassion summons Belteshazzar as well as Daniel to provide some rather mixed counsel. We see, the king here says of Belshazzar that he is named after his God.

O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.

The king acknowledges however imperfectly here the trinity of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We have seen such a knowledge addressed before during the fiery furnace episode in prior texts. The king might be troubled by a few secrets of his own or of the Lord's. Yet it is important to note that "no secret troubles" Daniel because of who is with him. The Hebrew children proudly declared to the king that 'my God whom I serve is able to deliver me from the fiery furnace.' To that I must add he can also deliver from the lions' mouths to come. Thus, the king demands an interpretation. The matter concerns a very tall tree in the middle of the earth. Prophecies of Ezekiel 31:3 compare the Assyrian empire, which was conquered by the Babylonians, to a very tall tree in the garden of God. King Nebuchadnezzar seems to have inherited a tall tree which was already grown. Ezekiel 31:10-12 makes it clear that because of the Assyrian's pride, God handed them over to the "ruler of the nations" and the most ruthless of kingdoms. So, if this kingdom was the greatest in the world and God overthrew them for their disorder, what makes you think you are so special? King Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian empire was also given a similar message. How many can say that even in all of this, God kept me.