Transcript Daniel 4 - Thurmans.com

Daniel 4
The humbling of the king
Questioning Daniel 4 and 5
• Timeline – Was Daniel written around 600
BC or 200 BC (Maccabean Period)
– Aramaic section, Hebrew section
• Was Daniel written by Daniel or someone
else transcribing (with errors) much later?
• No outside validation of Chapter 4
• Chapter 5 says Belshazzar was the son of
Nebuchadnezzar, but historians say there
were 5 kings in between
The Chaldeans
Answering the questions
• Chapter 5 speaks of Belshazzar, but
historians said there was no such
character until recent archaeological
discoveries proved his existence and
referenced his reign
• He was a lesser figure in history and
someone in 200 BC across the known
world would not have known of him
• How do modern day muslims react if they
feel their religious leaders are being
maligned? – misquote Nebuchadnezzar?
Answering the questions II
• Jesus spoke of the writings of the Prophet
Daniel as “spoken of by the prophet
Daniel”
– Matthew 24:15
– Mark 13:14
• Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the
whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will
come.
• Mat 24:15 "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the
abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet
Daniel—let the reader understand—
• Mat 24:16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
• Good enough for me!
Daniel 4:30 ESV
(30) and the king answered and said, "Is
not this great Babylon, which I have built
by my mighty power as a royal residence
and for the glory of my majesty?"
Material - Clay Cylinder
Neo-Babylonian dynasty
Date: 604-562 BC
Length: 24.44 cm
Diameter: 11.43 cm
Depth:
Babylon, southern Iraq
Excavated by: Robert Koldeway 1899-1914
Location: British Museum, London
Item: ANE 91142
Room: 55, Later Mesopotamia
This clay cylinder is one of three
cylinders found in the ruins of
ancient Babylon that describe
Nebuchadnezzar's royal palace
that he built for himself in
Babylon. He actually built 3
palaces with his summer palace
on the Euphrates River. The
Nebuchadnezzar II Clay Cylinder
is an important discovery in
Biblical Archaeology, it mentions
Nebuchadnezzar by name and
confirms the Biblical account.
Museum Excerpt
Cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar II
The King's palaces described
This clay cylinder was found in the ruins of the city of Babylon. The
cuneiform text describes the three palaces which Nebuchadnezzar II
(reigned 604-562 BC) built for himself in Babylon. The first palace was a
rebuilding of the palace used by his father Nabopolassar (reigned 625-605
BC), which Nebuchadnezzar says had become dilapidated. When he had
finished, he decided that it was not grand enough, so he built himself a
new palace on the northern edge of Babylon. This palace had a blue
parapet and was surrounded by massive fortification walls. Later
Nebuchadnezzar erected new city walls around the east side of Babylon,
and built himself a third palace next to the River Euphrates. This is known
today as his 'summer' palace, as it had ventilation shafts of a type still
used today for cooling houses in the Near East. All three palaces were
built of baked brick and bitumen, with roofs and doors constructed from
fine imported timbers, cedar, cypress and fir.
Cylinders of this type were buried in the corners of all large buildings by
Nebuchadnezzar and his successors. They were meant to be found and
read by future kings whenever the buildings had to be repaired.
Material - Cuneiform Clay Tablet
Neo-Babylonian
Date: 550-400 BC
Length: 8.25 cm
Width: 6.19 cm
Depth:
Babylon, southern Iraq
Excavated by: Robert Koldeway 1899-1914
Location: British Museum, London
Item: ANE 21946
Room: 55, Later Mesopotamia, case 15, no. 24
The Babylonian Chronicle records events in
ancient Babylon dating from about 750 BC to
280 BC. This tablet is part of that chronicle and
records events from 605-594 BC
including Nebuchadnezzar II's campaigns in
the west, where Jerusalem is. It also records
the defeat of the Assyrians and the fall of the
Assyrian Empire and the rising threat of Egypt.
It records the Battle of Carchemish where
Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon defeated
Pharoah Necho of Egypt in 605 BC. It records
Nebuchadnezzar's rise to power, it records the
removing of Jehoiachin, king of Judah and
inserting Zedekiah as king in his place, as
recorded in Scripture, and it records the
capture of Jerusalem on the 16th of March,
598 BC. The discovery of this part of the
Babylonian Chronicle is important in the study
of Biblical Archaeology because it contains
several events mentioned in the Bible that
correspond exactly.
Museum Excerpt
Cuneiform tablet with part of the Babylonian Chronicle (605-594 BC)
Nebuchadnezzar II's campaigns in the west
This tablet is one of a series that summarizes the principal events of each
year from 747 BC to at least 280 BC. Each entry is separated by a horizontal
line and begins with a reference to the year of reign of the king in question.
Following the defeat of the Assyrians (as described in the Chronicle for 616609 BC), the Egyptians became the greatest threat to the Babylonians. In 605
Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian crown prince, replaced his father
Nabopolassar as commander-in-chief and led the army up the Euphrates to
the city of Charchemish. There he defeated the Egyptians. Later that year
Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon to be crowned.
Over the next few years he kept his control over Syria and extended it into
Palestine. In 601 BC he marched to Egypt, but withdrew on meeting the
Egyptian army. After re-equipping his army, Nebuchadnezzar marched to
Syria in 599 BC. He marched westwards again, in December 598 BC, as
Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had ceased to pay tribute. Nebuchadnezzar's
army besieged Jerusalem and captured it on 15/16th March 597 BC. The new
king of Judah, Jehoiachin, was captured and carried off to Babylon. A series
of expeditions to Syria brings this Chronicle to an end in 594 BC.
In his own words
• Nebuchadnezzar delivered an
international letter, in his capacity as the
most powerful king of his day, to tell the
world that he recognized the God of Israel
as the one true God.
• Said it was his pleasure to share
• And then praises Him [God]
From comfort to fear
• In his own home, prosperous and
comfortable he was presented with a
dream from the Lord that frightened him
“terrified me”
The dream
• So frightful a picture of judgment on pride
that Daniel shuddered to interpret it for him
• Daniel warned him to repent quickly that
he might stay the hand of God (4:27)
• Nebuchadnezzar walked his roof in pride
and the promise of the dream befell him
and he was as a beast of the field
Restoration
• Dan 4:34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my
eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the
Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His
dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from
generation to generation.
• Dan 4:35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He
does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of
the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have
you done?"
• Dan 4:36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor
and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My
advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne
and became even greater than before.
• Dan 4:37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the
King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways
are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Restoration
• God restored Nebuchadnezzar to his place of
honor when he had acknowledged (as foretold)
that it was at the pleasure of the almighty God
that any man stands
• If you can’t be a good example, at least be a
good warning sign…
• Nebuchadnezzar memorialized a beautiful
lesson for us so that we can seek God humbly in
the hopes of his favor, which brings glory to men
• We shouldn’t then forget the source lest we have
to find out how grass tastes