Many people have heard of Nebuchadnezzar, the famous King of the Babylonian Empire that ruled the world in 600 BC. Nebuchadnezzar is famous for his Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Saddam
Hussein is rumoured to have considered himself to be a reincarnation of
Nebuchadnezzar. He had the inscription
“To King Nebuchadnezzar in the reign of Saddam Hussein” inscribed on the bricks
of his reconstruction of the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq, and named one of
his Republican Guard divisions after him.
Nebuchadnezzar
is also one of the most infamous characters in the Old Testament because of his
role in destroying Jerusalem and the Temple and taking the Jews out of Judah and
out of Jerusalem hundreds of miles away to Babylon for a 70 year captivity.
Nebuchadnezzar
figures prominently in the Book of Daniel.
Daniel was one of the Jewish youths who was caught up in the exile to
Babylon. His captors rename him
Belteshazzar, after the name of the god of Babylon, Bel.
After
defeating Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream one night, and when his
magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers can’t correctly interpret it,
he orders the execution of all of Babylon’s wise men.
After
Daniel saves the day by correctly interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:
… King Nebuchadnezzar
(falls) prostrate before Daniel and (pays) him honor and (orders) that an
offering and incense be presented to him. The king (says) to
Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a
revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” (Dan 2:46-47)
Later
on, Nebuchadnezzar makes a gigantic gold statue and orders everybody to fall
down and worship it or die. When three Jews,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to worship the image, they are thrown
into a furnace of fire. When they
miraculously survive, Nebuchadnezzar confesses:
“Praise be to the God
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his
servants! They trusted in him and defied
the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or
worship any god except their own God. Therefore
I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the
God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be
turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” (Dan
3:28-29)
After
Daniel correctly interprets another dream of Nebuchadnezzar when, once again,
the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners cannot interpret it,
Nebuchadnezzar confesses to everybody in his empire:
It is my pleasure to
tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has
performed for me.
How great are his
signs,
how mighty his
wonders!
His kingdom is an
eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures
from generation to generation. (Dan 4:2-3)
Nebuchadnezzar
eventually becomes so powerful that his heart becomes arrogant and hardened
with pride (Dan 5:20). God decides to
greatly humble Nebuchadnezzar by driving him to insanity and taking away his
kingdom for seven years.
Daniel
explains that:
…
he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.
He
was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal;
he
lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox;
and
his body was drenched with the dew of heaven,
his
hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the
claws of a bird. until he acknowledged
that the Most High God is
sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over
them anyone
he wishes.
(Dan 4:33b, 5:20-21)
After
God restores Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity and his throne, Nebuchadnezzar says:
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.
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?”
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. (Dan 4:34, 35, 37, 5:20-21)
Before
Nebuchadnezzar, the last guy who attempted to destroy Jerusalem was King
Sennacherib of Assyria. He came up
against Jerusalem in 700 BC, but God killed off 185,000 of his troops. King Sennacherib then went home to the temple
of his god Nisrok and two of his sons murdered him. In contrast, one hundred years later in 600
BC, Nebuchadnezzar does succeed in destroying Jerusalem and the Temple; and yet
God reveals Himself to him. In bringing
Nebuchadnezzar to repentance, God was very merciful to him.
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