10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
13 “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. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” – Daniel 4:10-18 ESV
On this occasion, Nebuchadnezzar shares the content of his dream with Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar experienced his first disturbing dream, Daniel was forced to reveal its content and meaning (Daniel 2). This dream, like the first, left the king disturbed, frightened, and anxious to know what the imagery symbolized. But in recounting the details of the dream to Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar appears to have already reached his own conclusion about its meaning.
It didn’t take a soothsayer or fortune-teller to inform Nebuchadnezzar that the dream was about him. He seems to have already surmised that the tree featured in his vision was somehow meant to represent him and his kingdom. It would have been difficult to miss the symbolism and its less-than-encouraging message. The dream starts out well, as a large, healthy tree suddenly appears in the middle of the earth. This fully grown tree then began to grow ever larger, “reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see” (Daniel 4:11 NLT). So far, so good.
At this point in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar must have viewed the lush, healthy tree as an apt symbol of his own ever-expanding kingdom. After all, the tree was fruitful and beneficial to all those around it.
“It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.” – Daniel 4:14 NLT
Nebuchadnezzar would have enjoyed this part of the dream, viewing the imagery as justification and validation for his quest for global domination. He was doing the world a favor. The expansion of his kingdom had been a good thing, delivering peace and prosperity to the nations of the world. At least, that’s the way he would have seen it. But his dream doesn’t reflect the real outcome of his campaign to become the world’s reigning superpower: death, devastation, and destruction.
Nebuchadnezzar had long ago convinced himself that his conquests had been the right thing to do. After all, he had benefited greatly from his invasion of foreign lands and the subjugation of innocent people. His kingdom flourished and its melting pot of citizens lived in relative peace and harmony. The early portion of the dream seems to have confirmed the king’s sanitized view of his quest for global ascendency.
Then the dream takes a dark turn with the appearance of a “watcher.” This Aramaic term refers to one who stays awake to keep watch. Every kingdom had men who served as watchmen on the walls and played an important role as an early warning defense system, protecting the nation from threats. But in his dream, Nebuchadnezzar recognized this watcher as “a holy one, coming down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13 NLT). This was some kind of divine being who delivered a very disturbing message, transforming the king’s dream into a nightmare.
“Cut down the tree and lop off its branches!
Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit!” – Daniel 4:14 NLT
This would have been when the king’s heart rate increased and his blood pressure spiked. The message was not what he wanted or expected to hear. This was some kind of divine decree, ordering the tree's immediate destruction. Nothing about this message could be viewed as encouraging or uplifting. No amount of spin could make it sound beneficial or positive. Nebuchadnezzar knew full well that this message did not bode well for him or his kingdom. What made his dream so frightening was its rather obvious meaning. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't looking for Daniel to provide an interpretation as much as clarification. He knew something was coming but he had no way of knowing what to expect. That is what frightened him most.
As Nebuchadnezzar continued to relay the specifics of the dream, he noted that the watcher gave further instructions to an invisible and unidentifiable audience. These unseen agents of destruction were ordered to chase away all the birds and animals and then cut down the tree, leaving only a stump. The entire scene was to be transformed from one of peace and tranquility to one of chaos and destruction. Then the limbless, fruitless stump was to be “bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass” (Daniel 4:15 NLT).
That’s when the watcher’s message takes a sudden and disturbing twist. He shifts from talking about a defoliated tree and begins referring to an unidentified man.
“Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field.
For seven periods of time,
let him have the mind of a wild animal
instead of the mind of a human.” – Daniel 4:15-16 NLT
This obviously caught the king’s attention. He no longer had to doubt whether the tree represented him or his kingdom; it was now perfectly and painfully clear. But what did it mean? What was the watcher describing and how would it turn out?
The dream ends without a clear resolution. The watcher simply states that the dream is of a heavenly origin and has a divine purpose: “that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Daniel 4:17 ESV). That part the king understood. But what did the rest of the dream mean? He must have assumed he was the man in the dream, but he had no idea what the watcher’s words meant. That’s where Daniel was to come in, so the king concluded his recounting of his dream with a desperate plea to his trusted counselor.
“‘Belteshazzar, that was the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, for none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so. But you can tell me because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’” – Daniel 4:18 NLT
The stage was set and the expectations were high. Once again, Daniel found himself in the unenviable position of having to deliver not-so-good news to the most powerful man in the world. But Daniel would step up to the challenge and provide the message God had for the prideful and fear-filled king.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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