“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37, ESV).

Have you ever been watching a movie and the chronological order of the story reverts to a previous or later time like “3 days ago” or “5 years later”?

If the story in Daniel 4 was a movie, Chapter 4 would begin with “8 years later” in the subtitle because the narrative of the chapter begins at the end of the story. The proclamation of God’s sovereignty Nebuchadnezzar makes in vs. 3, “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation,” is the result of the events that take place in the remainder of the chapter 8 years earlier!

Nebuchadnezzar has yet another dream that he wants to know the meaning of and he calls on the the wise men of Babylon for its interpretation. This time, in contrast to his dream in Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar tells the wise men about the dream. And again, among the king’s advisors only Daniel is able to interpret the dream.

In the dream Nebuchadnezzar saw a huge tree standing in the middle of the land. The tree grew even larger so that it seemed to reach heaven and was visible to the ends of the earth. The tree had beautiful leaves and abundant fruit. It provided food for all living creatures, gave shelter to the beasts of the field and served as nesting places for the birds of the sky.

King Nebechadnezzar then saw in the dream a holy one descended from heaven and proclaimed the tree to be cut down, be stripped of its branches, leaves, and fruit and then scattering the animals and birds, leaving only the stump and roots in the ground bound with iron and bronze. The stump of the tree was to remain among the grass. The holy one then proclaimed that the king’s heart shall be changed from a man’s heart to the heart of an animal for a period of 7 years.

Daniel understood that the dream referred to Nebuchadnezzar himself because his kingdom extended over much of the known world and many nations had prospered under his rule. Apparently, his greatness had reached to heaven as evidenced by the holy one (the messenger or watchman) coming down from heaven to deliver the message.

The order of the holy one to cut down the tree meant that Nebuchadnezzar would lose his kingdom and be removed from power. But the stump left in the ground meant his kingdom would not be destroyed permanently. His royal authority would be preserved and he would regain it only after losing his sanity and living like a wild animal for 7 years until he learned his lesson about human pride.

About a year later, Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace and said: “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30, ESV).

Before he finished speaking, a voice from heaven declared that the kingdom had departed from him. Immediately Nebuchadnezzar lost his reason and lived like a wild animal, eating grass and growing his hair and beard like eagles’ feathers and his fingernails like birds’ claws just as Daniel had interpreted.

After living like a wild animal for 7 years, Nebuchadnezzar finally learned his lesson and lifted his eyes toward heaven. His understanding returned and he praised and honored the God Most High. His kingdom was restored and his greatness became even greater than before.

The image of the cosmic tree reaching to the heavens is the epitome of the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. The Tower of Babel demonstrated humanity’s rejection of God’s Genesis 1 commission to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28, ESV) by replacing God’s rule with self-rule: “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4, ESV).

Daniel 4 also recalls some other biblical passages about mighty trees representing proud rulers or empires:

• Ezekiel 31, where Assyria is compared to a majestic cedar in Eden that is cut down because of pride.
• Isaiah 10, where Assyria is likened to a great forest felled by God.
• Psalm 1, by contrast, where the righteous are compared to a flourishing tree because they are rooted in God’s instruction rather than their own greatness.

So, Daniel 4 isn’t an isolated story about the corruption of one king. Many biblical scholars note that Daniel purposely uses imagery and themes from earlier biblical texts. The towering tree, the heavenly decree, and the humbling of Babylon’s king all fit the Bible’s larger pattern of recalling earlier stories to amplify their meaning.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream demonstrates a recurring theological pattern of a “Babylon” predisposition among human beings. It is the predisposition of people to be pompous people and exalt human capability apart from God’s sovereignty. At its core this human propensity for pomposity is rebellion against God’s plan and purpose to build a human family to dwell eternally with Him.

Lasting greatness and satisfaction transpires only when people “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” (Daniel 4:37, ESV).