Wonderful Prayer Meeting

The king goes mad

Years rolled by. Nebuchadnezzar kept on building up Babylon and extending his empire. He became stronger and stronger, richer and still more rich.

By now he had become quite sure that Daniel had been wrong in saying that his kingdom would pass away and that another would arise to take its place. That might have been possible at the beginning of his reign, but not now. Look at his army! Note the height of the walls of his fortress capital! See all the people he had conquered! No enemy could take all this from him now!

Then it was that he had another dream. This one he did not forget, but he couldn't understand it.

Strangely enough, it was about a tree. At first the tree was small, but it grew and grew until its branches reached far up into the sky. It bore much fruit, and many animals took shelter in its shade.

Then he saw an angel come down from heaven crying, “Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beast get away from under it, and the fowls from his branches: nevertheless leave the stump . . . in the earth . . . and let it be wet with the dew of heaven."

Then, to Nebuchadnezzar's surprise, the heavenly messenger seemed to change the subject, saying “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 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."

Greatly puzzled, the king called in his magicians, astrologers, and Chaldeans as of old, and asked them to tell him what the dream meant, if anything. What they told him we do not know, but Nebuchadnezzar was not satisfied. He was sure that there was a message in this dream for him, and he was determined to find out what it was.

Finally he remembered Daniel, who had once recalled his dream of the strange metallic image. Daniel! Of course! Why had he not thought of him before? Surely he could help.

But even Daniel did not reply at once. He saw the meaning of the dream immediately, but was too upset to tell it.

Noticing the troubled look on his friend's face, Nebuchadnezzar said, Belteshazzar (calling Daniel by his Chaldean name), don't let the dream alarm you."

Daniel replied that he wished the dream had been about the king's enemies, rather than about the king himself.

Then he told Nebuchadnezzar what the dream meant. “The tree is yourself," he said. “You have grown and become strong and your kingdom reaches to the ends of the earth. But by the decree of the most High you shall be driven from your place and made to live among the beast of the field. You will eat grass as they do, and your body will be wet with the dew. For seven years this will continue, until you admit that the most High rules in the kingdom of men gives it to whomever He will."

This was a terrible thing to say to a king in those days—especially one with a temper like Nebuchadnezzar's, but Daniel was never afraid of doing his duty. Then, seeing the king was deeply moved, he added with great tenderness, “Wherefore, O king, accept my counsel: Break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor."

The king listened thoughtfully. Perhaps for a moment he thought he would do as Daniel had said. But as the days and weeks went by he drifted back into his old ways. He was still too proud to make God first in his life.

“At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom Babylon" saying to himself, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for honour of my majesty?"

Then, suddenly, “while the words was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar; to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.

“The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles'feathers, and his nails like birds'claws".

In other words, he became mad and lived like an animal out in the fields.

At the end of seven years he became sane again. Here is the amazing story in his own words: “At the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding return unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: and all the inhabitants of earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

“At the same time my reason returned unto me; and . . . I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.

“Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those who walk in pride he able to abase."

So Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most famous kings of ancient times, found his way to God. He learned how foolish it is to be proud, to take glory to oneself. Humbly he admitted that he—though king of Babylon—was nobody at all in the presence of the Lord of heaven. Gladly he agreed that God is in charge of the affairs of this world and that “the heavens do rule." Maybe some of us need to learn the same lesson today.