Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was appalled for a time, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered him and said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, let the dream be for those who hate you, and the interpretation for your enemies.” Daniel 4:19.
Daniel was horrified by the interpretation because he realized it referred to the king and what was going to happen to him. The tree the king had seen represented him and his kingdom (Daniel 4:20–21). His kingdom and his greatness had extended right to the ends of the earth (Daniel 4:22). In the dream the king saw a watcher who said, “Cut down the tree but to leave its stump.” (Daniel 4:23). The significance of this is that the king will be removed from among men and will have his dwelling in the field with the beasts; his food will be grass and he will be wet with the dew of heaven just as oxen are (Daniel 4:24–25). He will remain in this condition for seven years in order that he may be made aware that the Most High governs the kingdoms of men (Daniel 4:25). The fact that the stump was left shows that after those seven years his kingdom will be restored to him, once he has come to know that the rule of the heavens applies (Daniel 4:26).
After interpreting the dream, Daniel encourages the king to break from his sins and do righteousness, and to turn from his perversities by showing favor to the afflicted. In so doing, there may be a lengthening of his prosperity (Daniel 4:27).
The LORD arranges Himself in battle against the proud (James 4:6); He places the humble among the high-born men in the kingdoms of men as He sees fit (Daniel 4:17). This was the third and final time that Nebuchadnezzar would meet the God of Daniel. God had made it known to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel the interpretation of his first dream and its meaning, even though the king had refused to share the dream with any of his wise men, as he demanded they tell him and reveal its meaning. In the second encounter, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego were preserved from the king’s wrath, since he had thrown them into a fiery furnace for having refused to worship his image. In both instances, nothing his gods could do could match what happened; yet the king still did not change his prideful attitude.
In the twelfth month the king was walking around in his royal palace talking to himself about his own greatness when the order was given for the kingdom to be separated from him (Daniel 4:29–31).
