God is In Control

Daniel chapter 4 is a salvation testimony from an unlikely vessel. 

Daniel 4:1–3 (ESV) 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.

The conversion of Nebuchadnezzar is not something you'd expect to happen at all in scripture. He may top the list of people you'd never expect to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But he does. He's brought low and sent into the wild by the hand of God. In the end, he found out who he wasn't (God) and who he was accountable to (also God). 

It started with pride. 

Daniel 4:4 (ESV) I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.

He has a dream again, this time he tells the magicians and enchanters the dream, but once again, the kingdom's best and brightest are stumped. So once again, Daniel is the only wise man of his kingdom able to interpret the dream for him. A large and beautiful tree symbolizing Nebuchadnezzar himself was seen by the whole Earth and reached to heaven. 

Then the dream turns to a sour note for the king. 

Daniel 4:13–16 (ESV) “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.

  

Without hesitation or fear, Daniel interprets the dream, informing that Nebuchadnezzar's great pride is about to be brought down. God will send him into madness and he will act like an animal for a season.

Daniel states:

Daniel 4:24–25 (ESV) this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, 25 that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

 

Daniel ends with an appeal to repentance for the king. 

Daniel 4:27 (ESV) Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

We have here a notable addendum for this Jewish man in high office as one of the main issues the Lord had with Israel was not leading the nations to Himself but instead following them into their sins while still taking for granted their chosen nation status. 

Nebuchadnezzar refuses to repent, and 12 months later, while he's boasting of his outstanding accomplishments, all that the dream entailed transpires. God speaks and sends the king into delirium.

Daniel 4:33 (ESV) Immediately, the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.

Amazingly, this chastening works for Nebuchadnezzar. He repents and worships the God of heaven. 

Daniel 4:34–35 (ESV) At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my 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, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

It's incredible to think Nebuchadnezzar may well be in heaven. At the same time, it is utterly hopeful. For it surely means no one is beyond the saving grace of God. 

We also see a clear praise of God's sovereignty. He does as He wills, and no one can change it. Many people have a problem with the idea of God's total control. Yet they are the same sort who want total control themselves. Like Nebuchadnezzar, only a loss of control may lead them to the only One who is truly in control. And in surrender to His control, we find our greatest freedom.