NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S SECOND DREAM
MEMORY VERSE
Psalm 47:2, ESV
For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
DAY 1
Daniel 4:4-12, NIrV
4 I was at home in my palace. I was content and very successful. 5 But I had a dream that made me afraid. I was lying in bed. Then dreams and visions passed through my mind. They terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men in Babylon be brought to me. I wanted them to tell me what my dream meant. 7 Those who try to figure things out by using magic came. So did those who study the heavens. I told all of them what I had dreamed. But they couldn’t tell me what it meant. 8 Finally, Daniel came to me. He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god. The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him my dream.
9 I said, “Belteshazzar, you are chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No mystery is too hard for you to figure out. Here is my dream. Tell me what it means. 10 Here are the visions I saw while I was lying in bed. I looked up and saw a tree standing in the middle of the land. It was very tall. 11 It had grown to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen anywhere on earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches. Every creature was fed from that tree.
BIBLE STUDY
This wasn’t the first time a strange dream had bothered Nebuchadnezzar in the middle of the night. In Daniel 2, the king dreamed of a gigantic statue smashed to bits by a mysterious rock. Daniel explained that this dream was a picture of God’s kingdom demolishing all the kingdoms of the world. Here in chapter four, the king again dreamed of something huge. This time, it was a towering tree. Like his first, this dream was a secret message from God. But it wasn’t the tree that troubled the king; it was the terrible thing done to it in the second part of his dream, which we’ll study next time.
+ Who was Belteshazzar? Where did that name come from? (vs. 8)
+ What did the wild animals and birds do with the tree? (vs. 12)
DAY 2
Daniel 4:13-18, NIrV
13 “While I was still lying in bed, I looked up. In my visions, I saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He was coming down from heaven. 14 He called out in a loud voice. He said, ‘Cut down the tree. Break off its branches. Strip off its leaves. Scatter its fruit. Let the animals under it run away. Let the birds in its branches fly off. 15 But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put a band of iron and bronze around it.
“ ‘Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. 16 Let him no longer have the mind of a man. Instead, let him be given the mind of an animal. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.
17 “ ‘The decision is announced by holy messengers. So all who are alive will know that the Most High God is King. He rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants. Sometimes he puts the least important people in charge of them.’
18 “This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now tell me what it means, Belteshazzar. None of the wise men in my kingdom can explain it to me. But you can. After all, the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
BIBLE STUDY
In the king’s dream, the towering tree was chopped and toppled after an order was given by a “holy one,” an angel of God. It was once a place of safety and food for the animals, but the majestic tree was now just a sad stump! The angel then spoke to the stump like it was Nebuchadnezzar himself. (Speaking to stumps is the kind of weird thing that happens only in dreams!) And what did the angel say? “You’re going to think and live like a wild beast for seven bits of time. And you’ll do that until you learn your lesson, that no king is greater than the Most High God, king of the universe!”
+ Describe Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
DAY 3
Daniel 4:19-23, NIrV
19 Daniel, who was also called Belteshazzar, was very bewildered for a while. His thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its meaning make you afraid.”
Belteshazzar answered, “My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies! I wish its meaning had to do with them! 20 You saw a tree. It grew to be large and strong. Its top touched the sky. It could be seen from anywhere on earth. 21 Its leaves were beautiful. It had a lot of fruit on it. It provided enough food for people and animals. Under the tree, the wild animals found safety. The birds lived in its branches. 22 Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky. Your rule has spread to all parts of the earth.
23 “Your Majesty, you saw a holy one. He was a messenger. He came down from heaven. He said, ‘Cut down the tree. Destroy it. But leave the stump with its roots in the ground. Let it stay in the field. Put an iron and bronze band around it. Let King Nebuchadnezzar become wet with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the wild animals. Let him stay that way until seven periods of time pass by.’
BIBLE STUDY
As Daniel explained the dream, he had nothing but bad news for the king. The towering tree was a picture of Nebuchadnezzar. Just as that tree stretched to the sky and provided food and shade for the wild animals, Nebuchadnezzar’s power had stretched all over the known world. His kingdom fed and sheltered the peoples of the many nations he had conquered in battle. But as surely as the angel ordered the dream tree chopped down to a stump, God had ordered high and mighty Nebuchadnezzar to be removed from his throne until he learned who was the greatest King of all!
+ Who did the tree represent in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream? (vs. 22)
+ How was Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom like the tree from his dream? (vs. 22)
DAY 4
Daniel 4:24-27, NIRV
24 “Your Majesty, here is what your dream means. The Most High God has given an order against you. 25 You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. You will become wet with the dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants. 26 But he gave a command to leave the stump of the tree along with its roots. That means your kingdom will be given back to you. It will happen when you recognize that the God of heaven rules. 27 So, Your Majesty, I hope you will accept my advice. Stop being sinful. Do what is right. Give up your evil practices. Show kindness to those who are being treated badly. Then perhaps things will continue to go well with you.”
BIBLE STUDY
Nebuchadnezzar’s double dreams were both warnings from God saying, "I’m the real king of the world, not you!" But Nebuchadnezzar was the kind of guy who had to learn things the hard way. To make his lesson stick, God planned to scramble the king’s thoughts for seven bits of time (probably seven years). He’d think and act like a wild beast. Instead of meals fit for a king, he’d snack on grass fit for a cow! But Daniel knew that the Lord was a forgiving God. He begged the king to listen to God’s warning. If he chose to bow down to God now, he wouldn’t have to live seven years as a cow!
+ What lesson was God teaching Nebuchadnezzar? (vs. 26)
+ What did Daniel say the stump in the dream meant? (vs. 26)
DAY 5
Daniel 4:28-33, NIRV
28 All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 It took place twelve months later. He was walking on the roof of his palace in Babylon. 30 He said, “Isn’t this the great Babylon I have built as a place for my royal palace? I used my mighty power to build it. It shows how glorious my majesty is.”
31 He was still speaking when he heard a voice from heaven. It said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, here is what has been ordered concerning you. Your royal authority has been taken from you. 32 You will be driven away from people. You will live with the wild animals. You will eat grass just as an ox does. Seven periods of time will pass by for you. Then you will recognize that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He gives them to anyone he wants.”
33 What had been said about King Nebuchadnezzar came true at once. He was driven away from people. He ate grass just as an ox does. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle. His nails became like the claws of a bird.
BIBLE STUDY
The Bible tells us in Psalm 19:1 that, when we look at the beauty of the world, we should give glory to God. But a year after his second God-sent dream, Nebuchadnezzar looked at the beauty of his kingdom and gave glory to himself! When he heard a voice speak immediately to him from heaven, I bet he wished he’d listened to God’s warning! Nebuchadnezzar was dragged away from the kingly comforts of his royal palace and into the wet and wild wilderness. For the next seven years, the richest and most powerful man on the planet lived his life looking like a monster and eating like a goat!
+ After seven years, what lesson was Nebuchadnezzar going to learn? (vs. 32)
+ Draw a picture of what Nebuchadnezzar looked like after seven years.
DAY 6
Daniel 4:34-37, NIRV
34 At the end of that time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven. My mind became clear again. Then I praised the Most High God. I gave honor and glory to the God who lives forever.
His rule will last forever.
His kingdom will never end.
35 He considers all the nations on earth
to be nothing.
He does as he pleases
with the powers of heaven.
He does what he wants
with the nations of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand.
No one can say to him,
“What have you done?”
36 My honor and glory were returned to me when my mind became clear again. The glory of my kingdom was given back to me. My advisers and nobles came to me. And I was put back on my throne. I became even greater than I had been before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise and honor and glory to the King of heaven. Everything he does is right. All his ways are fair. He is able to bring down those who live proudly.
BIBLE STUDY
We’ve been on a real roller coaster of a journey with Nebuchadnezzar. We started off by studying his strange dream of an enormous four-part statue being smashed by a planet-filling rock. This dream was a warning from God saying, “I’m the real king who rules over all. Only my kingdom will last forever!” At first, it seemed like Nebuchadnezzar got God’s point. After Daniel was the only one who could explain his dream, the king of Babylon called Daniel’s God the “God of gods” and “King of kings.”
But instead of bowing down to the Lord as king, Nebuchadnezzar built a giant version of his dream statue, covered it with gold, and ordered everyone to bow down to it! He even bragged to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that no God would be able to rescue them from his powerful hand. But as the king watched the three men and a mysterious fourth person stroll around his fiery furnace like it was no big deal, he saw his power was no match for God’s. So did the king learn his lesson this time? Not at all!
Nebuchadnezzar was as stubborn as a donkey. And it took seven years of thinking and living like a donkey for him to finally learn the lesson that God had been teaching him the entire time. When the king looked up to heaven, God cleared his mind. And what was the first thing he did? He praised God, saying things like, “Your kingdom will never end” and “Only you have the power to do whatever you want.”
When the tree in the dream was chopped down, the angel ordered the stump to remain. It was a picture that, after his seven animal years, Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would be given back to him. And God did exactly what he said he’d do. King Nebuchadnezzar once again returned to sit on his throne, probably after getting a haircut, trimming his nails, and taking a really long bath! And this time, he ruled his kingdom knowing that there was a God in heaven who was the true ruler over everything!
Nebuchadnezzar’s roller coaster of a life is a message from God to us. It teaches us the same lesson God was teaching the stubborn king of Babylon. God is the King who rules over all, no matter what you look like, where you live, or how rich and powerful you are. As king, he has the right to tell us how to live in his world. And he also has the right to punish those who refuse to obey his commands. That includes you and me!
But God is not only a powerful king. He’s also loving and forgiving. He sent his only Son to rescue us. Jesus paid for our sins by dying on the cross, then rose back to life again on the third day after his death. Those who believe that good news about Jesus in this life will enjoy the riches of God’s forever kingdom in the life to come!
+ What two things did Nebuchadnezzar say about God? (vs. 34-35)
+ How did Nebuchadnezzar rule his kingdom differently? (vs. 37)
© 2023 Andrew Doane. All rights reserved.