Ob and In:
1. The words of Daniel matched verbatim to the voice from heaven, except one phrase.
From Daniel v.25You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes
The voice from heaven v.32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”
And what Daniel and the voice from heaven said matched what had happened, except more details about his hair and nails. However, did Neb really understand that God is ruling over Babylon, and Neb only ruled under Him?
What actually had happened v.33b He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers and his nails like a bird’s claws. 34 But at the end of the appointed time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
2. Why did Daniel give him the advice of showing mercy to the poor if the lesson he needed to learn eventually was about pride? Was the lesson really about pride as what Neb said in v.37? He is able to bring down those who live in pride.
What was the intention of Neb's judgement? Why did judgement come to him?
a. the dream came to him when he was relaxing in his home v.1
v.4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was relaxing in my home, living luxuriously in my palace. I saw a dream that frightened me badly
The judgment came to him when he was on top of his palace praising himself
29 After 12 months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence by my own mighty strength and for my majestic honor?”
b. The relationship between, "showing mercy to the poor," and "understanding that God is ruling over Babylon, and Neb only ruled under Him"
Perhaps showing mercy to the poor was the last thing a tyrant-type of king would think of. If their kingdom was their own, then they would only think of how the strong and rich people would help him to maintain his power.
Reflection: Am I a person like Neb who does what I wish and no one can tell me what to do? Do I only seeking the good for those who can support my "ruling?" Do I ignore the poor who has nothing to do with my power?
3. Did the advice Daniel gave to Nebuchadnezzar help him v.27? Did he follow and delay the incident for 12 months v.29? If yes, why did he eventually violate the vision from God?
(EBC) But the one-year delay in the judgment on him implies he made some effort to follow Daniel’s recommendation.
(EBC) The sin at the root of Nebuchadnezzar’s tyranny was not, however, touched by his attempts to amend his ways. Though eager to avoid judgment, he still retained his pride, taking to himself all the credit for the remarkable achievements he really owed to God’s grace (v.30). Perhaps he refrained from boasting during his reprieve (v.29), but he never realized his indebtedness to God for all his blessings and his dependence on him for all his power. He retained a profound admiration for what he had done in beautifying his capital. In fact, his works there were most impressive. The celebrated Ishtar Gate (excavated by Robert Koldewey and the Deutsche Orientgesellschaft c. 1900) seems to have been erected by him, along with the enameled-brick facing, displaying a procession of dragons and bulls. The East India House Inscription, now in London, refers to about twenty temples he rebuilt or refurbished in Babylon and Borsippa, and also to a vast system of fortifications and large shipping docks (cf. Ira M. Price, The Dramatic Story of Old Testament History [Philadelphia: Revell, 1925], p. 356).
On one of his inscriptions, Nebuchadnezzar boasted, “The fortifications of Esagila [the temple of Marduk] and Babylon I strengthened, and established the name of my reign forever” (cf. George A. Barton, Archaeology and the Bible [Philadelphia: American Sunday School Union, 1916], p. 479). To this inscription he appended a prayer to Marduk: “O Marduk, lord of the gods, my divine creator, may my deeds find favor before thee … Thou art indeed my deliverer and my help, O Marduk; by thy faithful word which does not change, may my weapons advance, be sharp and be stronger than the weapons of the foe!” At the time of his enthronement, he had composed a hymn that included this humble petition to Marduk: “I am the prince who obeys thee, the creation of thy hand. Thou art my creator, and the sovereignty over the hosts of men thou hast entrusted to me. According to thy mercy, O lord, which thou hast extended over all of them, incline unto compassion thine exalted power, and set the fear of thy godhead in my heart. Grant that which may seem good unto thee” (Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. 1, pl. 53). Nevertheless this official expression of deference to the patron deity of Babylon had in it a large measure of the pride of one who by his own achievements deserved the special favor of Heaven. Moreover it was devoid of any appreciation of Yahweh, the one true God, who had so marvelously revealed himself to Nebuchadnezzar (cf. chs. 2–3).
Reflection: Did I take God's warning seriously? Is my change only temporally? Or I did not have the real conviction?
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