Final Day: Nebuchadnezzar

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.

Daniel 4:33

Nebuchadnezzar’s story is frustrating and it is endearing. The king of Babylon was versed in other gods and religious practices. He lived a life that was foreign to the children of Israel. But the Israelites’ captivity changed this king’s life forever, and God used a very tumultuous period in Israel’s history to convert and soften the heart of a very stubborn king. Had he not conquered Israel, Nebuchadnezzar never would have known God.

Thus begins a long journey of a troubled king who regularly receives concerning dreams from God, and after consulting his own scribes, magicians and advisors to no effect, turns instead to the prophet Daniel, who then interprets the dreams using the wisdom of God. Nebuchadnezzar struggles with God countless times; at first believing the prophecies of these dreams, and then devising his own plans to stop the prophecies from taking place. For example, when he has the dream of the statue of many materials, after which Daniel explains that the various metals stand for kingdoms that will reign after Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar quickly recovers from his awe at God’s majesty, and erects his won image made completely of one metal: Gold, the one that symbolised Babylon in his dream. Nebuchadnezzar regularly goes back and forth with God for four chapters, one instance declaring that the God of Israel is true, and in the next, he is declaring godhood for himself.

God’s patience is a lesson in empathy: unlike the Children of Israel, Nebuchadnezzar was raised without a knowledge of Him, so he continues to work on the stubborn king’s heart, understanding that conversion takes time. Things eventually come to a head when, after another dream, Nebuchadnezzar rejects the prophecy, declaring his own Kingdom as supreme, and as the prophecy rightly stated, he descended into madness, grazing in his own gardens like a cow, not speaking, and living outside like an animal. He behaved in this way until he properly understood God’s importance in his life, after which his mind returned to normal. Nebuchadnezzar responds by saying:

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

Daniel 4:37

Nebuchadnezzar was humbled greatly by this experience, and like Manasseh, he turned to God for help and guidance in the midst of a rock-bottom experience, emerging stronger and more faithful afterwards. Nebuchadnezzar is another lesson for those who feel that they are stuck in the same cycle of doing the wrong things, never learning, always sinning. God is patient. He is always willing to pick you up and heal you from these mistakes, if you decide to come back to Him.