Daniel 4:7-12

Daniel 4:7

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.

 

Nebuchadnezzar continues his letter to the people and tells them that basically all of his wise men in the kingdom were totally unable to make the dream known to him and to give him the interpretation.  What Nebuchadnezzar failed to realize was that the dream was of divine origin so it would have been literally impossible for the pagan counselors to have the ability to understand the dream.  It is like a person who is unsaved actually trying to preach the Bible or even trying to understand it.  It would take a person who had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them to be able to receive the insight in to this dream.  This is not the same dream of the great image but it is a second dream which also frightened Nebuchadnezzar.

 

Daniel 4:8

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,

 

Daniel was the last person to come in to see the king concerning this dream.   He tells the people that Daniel’s name was changed according to the name of the god of king Nebuchadnezzar.  Probably the name of the god that Nebuchadnezzar was speaking of was the false god Bel, whom he named Daniel after.  He knew that there was something different about Daniel and that he seemed to have a different spirit than all the other counselors.  When the king first met him, he saw that Daniel had the spirit of the holy gods in him, at that point, the king did not know that God in Heaven was the true God but was soon to find out who really ruled his kingdom.  Then the king began a dialogue with Daniel concerning the dream.

 

Daniel 4:9

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.

 

Without Daniel giving him any specific details on the dream yet, the king sees him as the master of the magicians.  This was because of Daniel’s success in giving the details and interpretation of the first dream with the great image.  The word “master” carries with it the meaning of “captain, Lord, or chief.”  He seemed to know that Daniel would be able to give him the understanding without trying to stall for time as the pagan counselors did.  He then told Daniel to give him the details of the dream and the interpretation of it.

 

Daniel 4:10

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 first part of this dream that was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar was a tree which was in the midst of the earth.  If you look at the principles of a tree, you will see that it has roots and grows where it is planted.  The farther the roots go down and the farther they spread out, shows that this part of the dream was speaking of a ruler who was well settled in his land which would symbolize a ruler who had strong roots and well established.  The dream also showed that the tree was very high showing a ruler of rulers as it went higher than other trees.

 

Daniel 4:11

The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth:

 

The tree continued to grow which would symbolize Nebuchadnezzar conquering different lands and adding them on to the kingdom of Babylon.  The tree was so tall that it literally reached Heaven and because of its immense height the entire world was able to see it.  This would symbolize that fact that Nebuchadnezzar was such a great monarch that his fame was heard of to the ends of the empire of Babylon and beyond.

 

Daniel 4:12

The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.

 

This representation of king Nebuchadnezzar shows that his kingdom had become so large and prosperous there was plenty of food for all living creatures and people.  There were tremendous provisions throughout the entire kingdom.  Proceeds kept coming in from all parts of the kingdom making Babylon a very rich empire.  Yet as powerful as this kingdom was it was still conquered by the Medes and Persians.  When God decrees something, earthly wealth and power will never stop the plans of God.

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