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Prophets and Kings
Babylon one of the wonders of the world, ministered to his pride, until
he was in grave danger of spoiling his record as a wise ruler whom
God could continue to use as an instrument for the carrying out of the
divine purpose.
In mercy God gave the king another dream, to warn him of his
peril and of the snare that had been laid for his ruin. In a vision of the
night, Nebuchadnezzar saw a great tree growing in the midst of the
earth, its top towering to the heavens and its branches stretching to
the ends of the earth. Flocks and herds from the mountains and hills
enjoyed shelter beneath its shadow, and the birds of the air built their
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nests in its boughs. “The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof
much, and in it was meat for all: ... and all flesh was fed of it.”
As the king gazed upon the lofty tree, he beheld “a Watcher,” even
“an Holy One,” who approached the tree and in a loud voice cried:
“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: nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in
the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the
field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be
with the beasts in the grass of the earth: let his heart be changed from
man’s, and let a beast’s heart be given unto him; and let seven times
pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the
demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may
know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it
to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.”
Greatly troubled by the dream, which was evidently a prediction
of adversity, the king repeated it to “the magicians, the astrologers,
the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers;” but although the dream was very
explicit, none of the wise men could interpret it.
Once more in this idolatrous nation, testimony was to be borne
to the fact that only those who love and fear God can understand the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. The king in his perplexity sent
for his servant Daniel, a man esteemed for his integrity and constancy
and for his unrivaled wisdom.
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When Daniel, in response to the royal summons, stood in the
king’s presence, Nebuchadnezzar said, “O Belteshazzar, master of the
magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee,
and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I