Page 128 - Daniel

announced destruction of the tree and the other details that the king had
already recited, Daniel proceeded to the detailed interpretation. It is
significant that he called it “a decree of the Most High” (v. 24), which
was Daniel’s interpretation of the expression in verse 17, “the decree of
the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones.” Although

Nebuchadnezzar’s description did not immediately specify divine
agency, it is clear that this was Daniel’s interpretation.

4:24–27 “This is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most
High, which has come upon my lord the king, 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. 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. 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.”

The meaning of the tree being cut down and the attendant

circumstances was then defined. Nebuchadnezzar would be driven from
ordinary human association to live with animals in the field. There he
would eat grass as the ox and suffer the dew of heaven until he
understood that God gives to men the power to rule as He wills. The
stump with its bands of iron and brass meant that Nebuchadnezzar

would retain control of his kingdom and that it would be restored to him
after he came back to his senses. To have had his mind restored without
the kingdom would have been a hollow victory. In spite of his pride,
Nebuchadnezzar would experience God’s graciousness.

The expression “Heaven rules” is of interest because it is the only time
in the Old Testament where the word heaven is substituted for God. This
usage became prominent in later literature such as in 1 Maccabees and
in the New Testament in Matthew where the term “kingdom of heaven”
is similar to this expression. Daniel was not accepting the Babylonian
deification of heavenly bodies, as he made clear in 4:25 that “the Most