The tree vision

Chapter 4 in the Book of Daniel is what’s called “the tree vision” and it’s a rather odd account in Nebuchadnezzar’s life.

“What you have is a picture of Nebby’s insanity,” says Jordan. “He had bats in his belfry. He was a dingbat. He was an insane ruler and I’m sure they kept it quiet, and I don’t know if you know much about history or monarchs, but down through the ages, folks, many of them have been lunatics, and some of the most brilliant geniuses who have ever lived, militarily and politically, have been wacko in their private life and Nebby was one of them and he had these spits of insanity.

“They don’t come on him all the time. They come in and they go out and he has one in this chapter here that’s of divine origin. God sends it upon him.

“What you see here in the chapter is a foreshadowing of the pride and the madness and the downfall that’s going to be the characteristic of the Gentile time. And then the restoration of Nebby is a picture and a foreshadowing of the restoration of certain Gentile nations to enter in to the kingdom.

“What you have here is not just a tragic picture of a monarch gone bad, but rather you’re having here a picture of the course of the Gentile nations. Nebby is the head of that image in chapter 2. He’s the first king who reigns supreme in the times of the Gentiles, and in Nebby’s pride that lifts him up, and the madness that followed that pride, and in the tremendous fall he takes because of that, you see the course and the characteristics of what make up the Gentile powers.”

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Daniel 4: 1-3 says, [1] Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
[2] I thought it good to shew the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward me.
[3] How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.”

Jordan explains, “What you’ve got here, and you notice in the first three verses, is that this chapter is really the Babylonian state document. This is an official governmental decree and proclamation that Nebuchadnezzar sends out to the whole world.

“Verse 1. He was king over all of them. Babylon ruled over everything and he sends his proclamation and this thing literally is a confession of his sin of pride and of his subsequent conversion to the most high God.

“Daniel 2:46. You’ll notice there that Nebuchadnezzar, the king, fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel. Nebby is converted to Daniel in Chapter 2. In chapter 3:29. Nebuchadnezzar is converted to Daniel’s God. And in chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar gives evidence of genuine conversion to the Lord. He gives a personal testimony about how God had been dealing in his life.

“You know what the greatest testimony in the face of unbelief is? A personal testimony about what you know.

“It’s SOME dream and Nebuchadnezzar’s troubled by that thing. The thing that bothers him, no doubt, is not so much that he sees the tree, but it’s the fact that when you get on down there to the interpretation, or rather to the watcher coming down and talking about it, it says in verse 14, ‘He cried aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches.’

“See, Nebuchadnezzar knows that that tree represents somebody; it’s not just a tree, it’s a HIM! It’s a personification. So Nebby’s got a problem. He’s all worried and shook up about the thing, and so he gets Daniel. He says, ‘Dan, nobody else can do it, but I know you can, man. You’ve come through before. God’s with you.’

“Verse 19. Daniel’s going to give him the interpretation. ‘Astonied’ is an old English word that means astonished). Daniel was shook up by the thing too. He was ‘astonied’ for one hour. Old boy was just speechless for about an hour. And his thoughts troubled him. He got worried about the thing.

“ ‘The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee.’ In other words, don’t keep to yourself. Don’t be afraid to tell me what it is. If it’s bad news, that’s okay.

“ ‘Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.’

“In other words, this is going to be bad news. The dream is to your enemies. That is, it’s to their advantage. It’s for their good. They’re going to like it and you’re not going to like it.

“Verse 20: ‘The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth.’

“The tree then is who? Now wasn’t that hard to get? See. You know, folks, the Bible is that way. If you’ll keep reading, the Bible will tell you what it means. And when you don’t understand something,  you know what you ought to do? Just keep reading!

“There’s always a verse to explain a verse you don’t understand. And if you’ll make that the basis of your philosophy and Bible study, you’ll begin to understand God’s Word.

“Now a tree in the Bible is used to represent a man (Psalm 1). It’s used to represent nations. Ezekiel 31:3 is almost a parallel passage to Daniel 4 because it’s the same type of a tree. You see how the Assyrian is likened unto a tree? The leader of a nation.

“Trees are oftentime used in the Bible to describe nations and in Daniel 4, this tree represents Nebuchadnezzar and it’s a foreshadowing, folks, of God’s dealings. This is how God’s going to deal with the Gentile nations.

“You see Nebuchadnezzar the head of gold in Daniel 2—you watch how God’s going to deal with him now and you’re going to see how the course of the Gentiles is going to go. So Nebuchadnezzar is the tree. Now notice the madness that follows . . .”

(To be continued)