A Mind of His Own

19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! 20 The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21 whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— 22 it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. 23 And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ 24 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. 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 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.”

28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” 31 While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, 32 and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” 33 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. – Daniel 4:10-33 ESV

In the earlier episode, when forced to reveal and interpret the king’s dream, Daniel took the matter to God. He gathered his three friends together and they prayed, asking God to tell them the content of the dream and its meaning, and God obliged. This time, however, there is no indication that Daniel utilized prayer to discern the interpretation of the king's second dream. It appears Daniel knew the meaning of the dream as soon as the king described it, but he hesitated and was  “dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him” (Daniel 4:19 ESV). No explanation is given for Daniel’s disturbed state of mind but when the king sensed his reluctance to speak and encouraged him to reveal what he knew, Daniel replied, “I wish the events foreshadowed in this dream would happen to your enemies, my lord, and not to you!” (Daniel 4:19 NLT).

Daniel may have been well into his 50s by the time this incident occurred. He would have spent decades in Nebuchadnezzar’s employment, serving as the chief of all the king’s wise men. It’s likely that, during that time, Daniel and the king would have developed a close relationship. Despite their ethnic and religious differences, the two men would have shared a mutual respect and affinity for one another. Daniel’s hesitancy to reveal the dream’s meaning was born out of his care and concern for Nebuchadnezzar, not a fear of repercussions.

Buoyed by the king’s kind words of encouragement, Daniel broke his silence and said, “That tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth” (Daniel 4:22 NLT). That part of the dream would have been easy to deliver because it was what Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear. But it was the second half of the interpretation that had disturbed Daniel and caused him to hesitate. The blissful, happy image of the king’s reign would not end well. The watcher in the dream was a bad omen that signaled an unpleasant and unavoidable end to the king’s fame and fortune.

“Your Majesty, and what the Most High has declared will happen to my lord the king. You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.” – Daniel 4:24-25 NLT

Daniel had to be the bearer of bad news but he didn’t deliver his message with any sense of joy or vindictiveness. He found no comfort in informing Nebuchadnezzar of his fate. Daniel seems completely aware that Nebuchadnezzar was going to get what he deserved. After all his years in the king’s employment, Daniel knew from personal experience that Nebuchadnezzar had a pride problem. He would have regularly witnessed the king’s growing arrogance and overconfidence in his own self-worth. Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man in the world and he had built an empire that was second to none. But Daniel knew that God was about to send a powerful and irrefutable message to his pride-filled boss.

What’s interesting to note is the focus of God’s judgment. He chooses to mess with Nebuchadnezzar’s mind, not his might. God could have dealt a death blow to the kingdom of Babylon but, instead, he threatens the king with temporary insanity. Babylon posed no problem for God. He was not intimidated by Babylonian supremacy and their reputation as an invincible superpower. As Daniel reveals in his interpretation of the dream, “…the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses” ( Daniel 4:25 NLT). God had chosen to use Babylon as His instrument of judgment against the nation of Judah. He had raised Nebuchadnezzar to power for the sole purpose of fulfilling His promise of divine discipline against His disobedient children.

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.” – Jeremiah 25:8-9 ESV

But Nebuchadnezzar had grown overconfident and self-assured. In his eyes, he was a self-made man who took full credit for his own success and saw no end to his dream of world dominance. But God had other plans. Little did Nebuchadnezzar know that his 15 minutes of fame would one day come to an end. God had given Jeremiah a second part to the divine plan for Babylon’s future.

“Moreover, I will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the grinding of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” – Jeremiah 25:10-14 NLT

But that prophecy was to be fulfilled at a later date. Nebuchadnezzar faced a much more imminent problem – the loss of his mind, not his kingdom. What God had in store for him was going to be personal and painful. His kingdom would remain intact but his sanity would be removed for “seven periods of time” ( Daniel 4:25 NLT). Most scholars believe this is a reference to years. If so, then the king was going to go through a protracted period of unprecedented insanity. He would live like an animal with no recollection of his former status as king and no interaction with other humans. The once great and greatly feared king of Babylon would become a madman, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it from happening.

There is no indication that Nebuchadnezzar could forestall the inevitable. He had no power to prevent God Most High from fulfilling His edict. Daniel will plead with the king to change his ways, but even he does not seem confident that it will do any good.

“King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” – Daniel 4:27 NLT

God knew Nebuchadnezzar’s heart better than Daniel did. He knew the king would never bow the knee or renounce his pride and arrogance. Even the threat of losing his most precious possession, his mind, would not be enough to cause Nebuchadnezzar to repent.

But there was good news. While God would destroy Nebuchadnezzar’s mind, it would only be for a season. In time, God would relent and restore the king’s sanity. But it would only happen when the king had learned his lesson. God had Daniel inform Nebuchadnezzar of the meaning behind the stump in his dream.

“…the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.” – Daniel 4:26 NLT

Nebuchadnezzar’s mind would be bound by God until he was willing to admit the reality of God’s sovereignty. There was only one King and He alone rules and reigns over all the kingdoms of Earth. And despite Daniel’s desperate pleas for Nebuchadnezzar to repent, the king will continue in his stubborn, pride-filled ways.

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.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

If a Tree Falls In the Forest…

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.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

There Is a God In Heaven

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
    to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
    he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
    I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
    and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
    for you have made known to us the king's matter.”

24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26 The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30 But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. – Daniel 2:17-30 ESV

Upon hearing that he and his companions were facing death because of the king’s recent edict, Daniel responded with deep concern but never panicked. Instead, he appealed for a brief reprieve to seek out the meaning of the king’s dream. Desperate to have his disturbing dream explained, Nebuchadnezzar granted Daniel’s request. No longer under the immediate threat of death, Daniel gathered his three Hebrew friends and encouraged them to take the matter before Yahweh.

Faced with death at the hands of a psychologically disturbed pagan king, Daniel took the matter to the God of heaven. He did what Nebuchadezzar’s magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans failed to do; he appealed to a higher power. Those men had assured the king that his demand that they interpret his dream was impossible because “no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Daniel 1:11 ESV).

These celebrated soothsayers and fortune-tellers could read the stars and predict the future but were powerless to decipher the king’s dream, let alone its meaning. But faced with an impossible task, they never sought the aid of Marduk, the chief Babylonian god. Even with a death sentence hanging over their heads, the magicians failed to take their dire situation to Enki, the Babylonian god of magic. Either they believed their gods were distant and disinterested in the affairs of mortal men or they had no faith in their existence at all.

But Daniel and his friends believed in Yahweh and took their predicament to the only one who could do anything about it. And though Yahweh’s “dwelling is not with flesh,” He answered their prayers. Sometime during the night, Daniel received a divinely inspired vision that disclosed the content of the king’s dreams. But Yahweh didn’t stop there; He also provided Daniel with the interpretation. This entire sequence of events reveals God’s sovereignty over the affairs of men. He is the one who ordained that Nebuchadnezzar would invade Judah and take its people captive.

“Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem:
    ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
    from the north.” – Jeremiah 4:6 ESV

His chariots are like whirlwinds.
His horses are swifter than eagles. – Jeremiah 4:13 ESV

He had sovereignly orchestrated the capture and deportation of Daniel and his three friends. He had planned their meteoric rise to prominence within Nebuchadnezzar’s administration. He is the one who exposed the king’s wise men as frauds but also gave Daniel and his friends wisdom and discernment. sleep with disturbing dreams. He is also the one who endowed Daniel with the ability to interpret dreams and visions. It had all been His doing from start to finish.

And Yahweh could reveal Nebuchadnezzar’s dream because He was its author. He could discern its meaning because He had determined its content. None of this had been a matter of chance or blind fate; it had been part of the sovereign plan of God Almighty. And Daniel recognized it as such and offered Yahweh the praise He justly deserved.

“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
    for he has all wisdom and power.
He controls the course of world events;
    he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the scholars.
He reveals deep and mysterious things
    and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
    though he is surrounded by light.” – Daniel 2:20-22 NLT

Daniel responds in praise and thanksgiving for the wisdom, power, and omniscience of God. While the gods of the Babylonians did "not live here among people," the God of Daniel did, and He heard Daniel's prayer and did the seemingly impossible. Daniel knew what Jesus Himself would later express, "What is impossible for people is possible with God" (Luke 18:27 NLT).

Daniel was living in the most powerful nation in the world and serving in the court of its king. Yet he recognized that Nebuchadnezzar ruled at the behest of God. Yahweh even referred to the Babylonian king as “my servant Nebuchadnezzar” (Jeremiah 43:10 NLT). Daniel was not impressed by Nebuchadnezzar’s power or threatened by his edict because Yahweh “controls the course of human events” (Daniel 2:21 NLT). Daniel’s God was superior and sovereign over all things.

Daniel and his friends had sought God’s help and He had graciously responded. Their prayers had not informed God about the day's events because He was already intimately knowledgeable and completely responsible for all that had happened. But in taking their need to God, they became aware of His plan and His intention to use them in it. There is no indication in the text that Daniel had ever utilized his gift of interpreting visions. It isn’t even clear that he was aware he had the gift. This was all new territory for Daniel, but not for God. Daniel was likely familiar with the story of how God gave Joseph the ability to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh. If Daniel had been aware of his God-given gift, he would have availed himself of it. But instead, he encouraged his friends to join him in praying for God’s intervention and interpretation. And they got what they asked for. In response to God’s gracious answer, Daniel offered praise and thanksgiving.

“I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors,
    for you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we asked of you
    and revealed to us what the king demanded.” – Daniel 2:23 NLT

Now, with the dream’s interpretation in hand, Daniel’s next assignment was to share it with the king. Arioch, the king’s captain, rushed Daniel to the palace and informed Nebuchadnezzar of the good news.

“I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!” – Daniel 2:25 NLT

Arioch’s announcement comes across as a blatant attempt to score brownie points with the king. He claimed credit for solving the king’s dilemma, but Nebuchadnezzar was reticent to believe the good news, asking Daniel, “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?” (Daniel 2:26 NLT). In a display of humility and reverence for Yahweh, Daniel announced, ““There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future” (Daniel 2:27-28 NLT).

This entire exchange likely took place in front of all the other astrologers, magicians, and Chaldeans who had failed to discern the king’s dream and its meaning. Daniel’s statement must have infuriated them, but it only validated the conclusion they had already reached.

“No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” – Daniel 2:10-11 NLT

In a real sense, their lives were in Daniel’s hands. If his God had revealed the dream and its interpretation, the king’s wrath might be assuaged and his death sentence lifted. But their professional reputations were also at risk. If Daniel succeeded, their value to the king would be greatly diminished. So, they listened with rapt attention as Daniel made his announcement to the king.

“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.” – Daniel 2:29-30 NLT

Daniel could have used this moment to his own advantage but, instead, he gave full credit to God. He humbly acknowledged that the message he was about to reveal was not the result of his own wisdom; he was just an instrument. The dream was a divinely ordained message from Yahweh and Daniel was simply the messenger. What he was about to share was a word from his God that would reveal the future of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. And with that announcement, he had his audience in the palm of his hand.

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.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New English Translation (NET)NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.

A False Sense of Security

1 Come down and sit in the dust,
    O virgin daughter of Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
    O daughter of the Chaldeans!
For you shall no more be called
    tender and delicate.
2 Take the millstones and grind flour,
    put off your veil,
strip off your robe, uncover your legs,
    pass through the rivers.
3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered,
    and your disgrace shall be seen.
I will take vengeance,
    and I will spare no one.
4 Our Redeemer—the Lord of hosts is his name—
    is the Holy One of Israel.

5 Sit in silence, and go into darkness,
    O daughter of the Chaldeans;
for you shall no more be called
    the mistress of kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people;
    I profaned my heritage;
I gave them into your hand;
    you showed them no mercy;
on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.
7 You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”
    so that you did not lay these things to heart
    or remember their end.

8 Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,
    who sit securely,
who say in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow
    or know the loss of children”:
9 These two things shall come to you
    in a moment, in one day;
the loss of children and widowhood
    shall come upon you in full measure,
in spite of your many sorceries
    and the great power of your enchantments.

10 You felt secure in your wickedness;
    you said, “No one sees me”;
your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,
and you said in your heart,
    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”
11 But evil shall come upon you,
    which you will not know how to charm away;
disaster shall fall upon you,
    for which you will not be able to atone;
and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,
    of which you know nothing.

12 Stand fast in your enchantments
    and your many sorceries,
    with which you have labored from your youth;
perhaps you may be able to succeed;
    perhaps you may inspire terror.
13 You are wearied with your many counsels;
    let them stand forth and save you,
those who divide the heavens,
    who gaze at the stars,
who at the new moons make known
    what shall come upon you.

14 Behold, they are like stubble;
    the fire consumes them;
they cannot deliver themselves
    from the power of the flame.
No coal for warming oneself is this,
    no fire to sit before!
15 Such to you are those with whom you have labored,
    who have done business with you from your youth;
they wander about, each in his own direction;
    there is no one to save you. – Isaiah 47:1-15 ESV

Now, God turns His attention to the Babylonians, referring to them repeatedly in this passage as the “daughter of the Chaldeans.” The Chaldeans were a nomadic people group who occupied the southern portion of Babylon, now known as southern Iraq. While the two names are sometimes used interchangeably, it seems interesting that God would choose to use the term, Chaldeans, in this passage. But chapter 47 lies in the middle of a section of Isaiah in which God is reassuring the people of Judah of not only His unique status as the one true God, but as their eventual redeemer. He has promised to judge them, by allowing Babylon to defeat and deport them. But He has also pledged to rescue and restore them one day. 

And their eventual return from the land of the Chaldeans bears important significance. If we go all the way back to the book of Genesis and God’s call of Abram, we discover that Abram was a Chaldean.

“Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram’s wife, and they went forth together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan.” – Genesis 11:31 ESV

Abram, whom God would later rename Abraham, was not a Jew. He was a Chaldean. And just a few chapters later in the book of Genesis, God confirms the fact that Abram was from the land of the Chaldeans.

“I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” – Genesis 15:7 ESV

God had promised to make of Abraham a great nation. And even though Abram and his wife Sarah were both advanced in years and she was barren, God had told him:

“Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” – Genesis 15:5 ESV

God had promised to give Abram and Sarah a child, and from that child would come many offspring, too numerous to count. And God also promised to provide Abram and his many descendants with a land of their own, the land of Canaan.

“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:4-8 ESV

And here in the book of Isaiah, God is once again reaffirming His commitment to redeem and restore His people. He will once again bring them out of the land of the Chaldeans and return them to the land He had given them. Only a remnant, a relatively small portion of the Jews would return from Babylon. But just as He had done with Abram, God would make of that remnant a great nation. He would bless them in spite of them.

And God would also avenge them. That is what this chapter is all about. God addresses the Babylonians and warns them of His coming judgment agains them. Yes, He will use them as His rod of discipline against the people of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar will act as God’s chosen instrument, performing the sovereign will of God. The prophet Jeremiah recorded this stinging indictment of God against His chosen people.

“Because you have not obeyed my words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the LORD, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.” – Jeremiah 25:8-9 ESV

But while Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians would end up doing the will of God, they would take advantage of the opportunity. Because He is all-knowing, God uses the past tense, addressing the Babylonians as if these events have already taken place.

“For I was angry with my chosen people
    and punished them by letting them fall into your hands.
But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy.
    You oppressed even the elderly.” – Isaiah 47:6 NLT

God knew, well in advance, what the Babylonians were going to do. He didn’t need to wait until the people of Judah got to Babylon to know that their captors would abuse and oppress them. And so, God already had His plans for retribution in place, even before King Nebuchadnezzar ever sent his first troops into the land of Judah.

And God reveals the root behind Babylon’s future actions: Their pride and arrogance. Their success would go to their head. They would end up seeing themselves as unequalled in power and indestructable. As if looking into the future and reading their minds, God reveals the heart behind their haughtiness.

“I will reign forever as queen of the world!” – Isaiah 47:7 NLT

“I am the only one, and there is no other.
    I will never be a widow or lose my children.” – Isaiah 47:9 ESV

“No one sees me.” – Isaiah 47:10 NLT

You can sense the aura of self-adulation and self-sufficiency that permeates these statements. And the second one carries particular significance. Listen to what they say: “I am the only one, and there is no other.” That should have an eerily familiar ring to it. Back in chapter 46, we heard God make a very similar statement.

“I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.” – Isaiah 46:9 ESV

The Babylonians, who would only be doing the will of God as the instruments of God, would wrongly assume that they were like God. They would end up seeing themselves as all-powerful, invincible, and the sovereign rulers over the world. But they were in for a rude awakening. Their false sense of security would come face to face with the one true God. He describes them as lovers of pleasure who were secure in their wickedness. They would end up living their lives as if God was oblivious to them. And because they would fail to reflect on the consequences of their actions, God would bring His judgment against them.

“So disaster will overtake you,
    and you won’t be able to charm it away.
Calamity will fall upon you,
    and you won’t be able to buy your way out.
A catastrophe will strike you suddenly,
    one for which you are not prepared.” – Isaiah 47:11 NLT

Remember, this is all speaking of future events. God is predicting the eventual fate of the people of Babylon, long before they invaded Judah and defeated the city of Jerusalem. And this prophetic pronouncement was intended to remind the people of Judah that their God was the one and only God. There were no other gods. And the pride and arrogance of the Babylonians would stand no chance against the justice and righteous judgment of God. 

The false gods of the Babylonians would prove useless in the face of God’s vengeance. Their magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers would find themselves at a loss to explain what was happening and incapable of doing anything about it. And any nations the Babylonians might turn to for help in their time of need would end up ignoring them.

This entire passage is about the sovereignty of God. It is intended to remind the people of God that He is in control. The nations of the world are nothing more than instruments in His hands. Their power comes from Him. Their 15-minutes of fame is orchestrated and controlled by Him. They had no reason to become self-confident and secure in their ways. But neither did the people of Judah. And yet, they had become comfortable and complacent in their rebellion against God. They had become fat and happy, thinking that they could get away with anything because they were God’s chosen people. But, like the Babylonians, their false sense of security would eventually be exposed.

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.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

"I Am Doing A Work."

“Look among the nations, and see;
    wonder and be astounded.
For I am doing a work in your days
    that you would not believe if told.
For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
    that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
    to seize dwellings not their own.
They are dreaded and fearsome;
    their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.
Their horses are swifter than leopards,
    more fierce than the evening wolves;
    their horsemen press proudly on.
Their horsemen come from afar;
    they fly like an eagle swift to devour.
They all come for violence,
    all their faces forward.
    They gather captives like sand.
At kings they scoff,
    and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
    for they pile up earth and take it.
Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
    guilty men, whose own might is their god!” – Habakkuk 1:5-11 ESV

Habakkuk thought God was disinterested in what was going on in his world or had simply decided to do nothing about it. From Habakkuk’s perspective, God was not answering his calls for help or taking seriously his description of just how bad things had gotten in Judah. The place was filled with violence and sins of all kinds. Habakkuk saw himself as this isolated and lonely figure speaking the truth of God, but seeing no response to his message. And he was growing weary waiting for God to do something.

Then God spoke. He finally responded to Habakkuk’s impassioned pleas, but the answer He gave was not exactly what His despondent prophet was expecting. God was going to provide Habakkuk a glimpse into the unseen world of His sovereign plan. He would let Habakkuk in on the hidden and mysterious ways in which He works. And He tells Habakkuk “I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told” (Habakkuk 1:5 ESV). In essence, God tells Habakkuk that if he had heard any of this from anybody else but God, he wouldn’t have believed it. This was going to be jaw-dropping, I-can’t-believe-what=I’m-hearing kind of stuff.

God tells Habakkuk that His answer to the violence and iniquity of Judah is going to be the nation of the Chaldeans, whom God describes as “bitter and nasty.” And God breaks the news to Habakkuk that He will be the one to raise up the Chaldeans and use them as a weapon of judgment in His hands against His own people. Now you would think that this news would not be that shocking or surprising to Habakkuk. He would have known of God’s dealings with the northern kingdom of Israel and their fall at the hands of the Assyrians. He would have been well aware of how God had used foreign nations to inflict judgment on the people of Israel during the period of the judges. And yet, God knew that Habakkuk was not going to believe what he was hearing. The very idea that God would use a pagan nation to punish His people was going to shock Habakkuk. It would sound unreasonable and unjustified. It would come across as unfair and totally unnecessary to Habakkuk, like a massive overreaction on God’s part. Which is why God clarifies that He is doing a work in Habakkuk’s day that was going to be unbelievable. The Hebrew word God uses is 'aman and it means “to stand firm, to trust, to be certain, to believe in” (“H539 - 'aman - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). God warns His prophet that he is going to have a hard time accepting what God is about to tell him. Habakkuk is going to be tempted to lose trust in God over what he is about to hear. It is not that this news is going to be astonishing, but that it will be unacceptable to Habakkuk. It is not what he wants to hear from God.

The Chaldeans were the last thing Habakkuk would have expected. They were Semites, descendants of Kesed, the son of Nahor, Abraham’s brother. But they were Babylonians, and would be the final dynasty to rule the vast Babylonian empire. Under the reign of Nabopolassar, this nation had already made a name for itself as a ruthless and unstoppable force, inflicting its will throughout the ancient Near East. And now, God was telling Habakkuk that this same nation would be used by Him to inflict judgment on Judah. And as difficult as this was going to be for Habakkuk to accept, it should not have surprised him. God had warned the people of Israel centuries before what would happen if they refused to remain faithful to Him. Deuteronomy 28 contains God’s promise of blessings and curses, and He was very clear in what would happen to them should they disobey His commands and turn their backs on Him.

“Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, swooping down like the eagle, a nation whose language you do not understand, a hard-faced nation who shall not respect the old or show mercy to the young.” – Deuteronomy 28:47-50 ESV

The problem was that the people of Israel had not believed God. They really didn’t think He would do what He said. Somehow they had believed that they were immune to His judgment, that as His chosen people, they were protected from His wrath. But the people of Judah should have known better. They had watched their brothers and sisters to the north, Israel, fall at the hands of the Assyrians. They had seen God use a foreign power to enact justice and judgment on the people of God and take them into captivity. But they still found it hard to believe that God would do the same to them. The ways of God are unfathomable to us. His sovereign will is not only impossible for us to know, even when He reveals it, we find it hard to accept. The prophet Isaiah provides us with a sobering reminder of God’s divine power and perspective.

Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God—the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them. He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing. They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff. – Isaiah 40:21-24 NLT

God went on to tell Habakkuk just how devastating the coming of the Babylonians would be. They were going to come like an unstoppable force, laughing at any attempts made to halt their progress. Fortifications would fail. Armies would fall before them. Kings and princes would become their captives. No one would be able to stop them. But God. He would hold them accountable. He would use them, but He would also judge them. He would allow them to have their way, but He would also make sure that they got what they justly deserved: His judgment.

It is interesting to note that the apostle Paul quoted from this very same passage during a sermon he gave in Antioch in Pisidia. He wrapped up his message with the warning:

Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’”  – Acts 13:40-41 ESV

Paul delivered this message to Jews in the synagogue on the Sabbath. He was appealing to them to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Savior. He was attempting to get them to not do what their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem had done: reject Jesus as the Son of God.

“Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.” – Acts 13:26-27 ESV

And Paul warned them that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus was real. His offer of salvation was legitimate and not to be disbelieved. 

“Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” – Acts 13:38 ESV

Then he quoted from Habakkuk, telling them that God was doing a work in their midst that they would find hard to believe. He was doing something that would seem improbably and impossible. But God’s ways are not our ways. His methods are not what we would expect. He had used the death of His own Son as the means by whichsinful men and women can be restored to a right relationship with Himself. Unbelievable? Yes. Just as unbelievable as the idea of God using a pagan nation to bring judgment upon the people of God. But Habakkuk was going to have to take God at His word and believe that what He was saying was not only true, but the only way in which salvation and restoration was going to come to the people of Judah. God assured Habakkuk, “I am doing a work!” And God is doing a work in our generation. He is not inactive. He is not distant or disinterested. But His ways will sometimes shock and surprise us. Our job is to trust Him and believe that what He is doing is according to His will and for the best interest of those whom He calls His own.

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.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson