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The three decrees.
Chapter 2: records Nebuchadnezzar's own action and confession. They were not of a
very deep nature: they were not accompanied by any change of heart or life, nor did they
cause Nebuchadnezzar to refrain from idolatry. Chapter 3: records the setting up of the
golden image and the attempt upon the lives of the three captives. As a result of God's
intervention on their behalf, Nebuchadnezzar published a decree in the following terms:--
"Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak
anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, shall be cut in
pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other god that can
deliver after this sort" (3: 29).
In addition to this public decree we have the private confession of Nebuchadnezzar
himself:--
"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel,
and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and
yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own
God" (Dan. 3: 28).
This is an advance on the confession of chapter 2: In it Nebuchadnezzar himself
blesses God, and prohibits, under severe penalties, any word against Him. But it is in
chapter 4: that we get the fullest and most complete recognition of God.
The whole of this chapter is the proclamation of king Nebuchadnezzar. When one has
waded through a series of royal proclamations made by kings of Assyria, Babylon or
Egypt, full of idolatry, cruelty, and human pride, this proclamation of so mighty a king is
seen to be all the more remarkable. It is the one solitary contribution to Holy Scripture
made by a Gentile king. In thus becoming a contributor to these holy writings,
Nebuchadnezzar must be allowed a place with David, Solomon and Hezekiah. The
careful student will, moreover, realize that, in its limited compass, Dan. 4:
accomplishes for Nebuchadnezzar what Ecclesiastes does for Solomon who as we know
had lapsed into idolatry and worldliness.
Dan. 4: is a long passage to quote in full in these limited pages, yet its value and
unique character almost justify our doing so. We refrain, however, and give only the
opening and closing section, trusting that any reader not fully acquainted with the passage
will read it throughout before proceeding further:--
"NEBUCHADNEZZAR, the king, unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell
in all the earth; peace be multiplied unto you. I thought it good to shew the signs and
wonders, that the Most High God hath wrought toward me. How great are His signs!
and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His
dominion is from generation to generation."
* * * * * * *
"And at the end of the days I, NEBUCHADNEZZAR, lifted up mine eyes unto
heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed The Most High, and I
praised and honoured Him that liveth for ever, Whose dominion is an everlasting