Diving into Daniel: The King Acknowledges God
Daniel 4:1-3 - Declare the glory of God and His signs and wonders to everyone who will listen! Why keep quiet about something that is so important?
“Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth:
“May your peace abound! It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for 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.”
Daniel 4:1-3 NASB1995
Chapter 4 of the Book of Daniel is unique in that the testimony given throughout the entire chapter is from Nebuchadnezzar II. The first three verses are apparently looking back in retrospect after what occurs throughout the rest of the chapter. Reading commentary about this passage (and chapter) I discovered that many conservative scholars are of the opinion that this is one of the most important chapters of Scripture in the Bible. It is the first-person narrative of a powerful Gentile, pagan king who comes to belief in the Hebrew God or at least a mindful acknowledgement of the most high God. These are the same scholars who take the authenticity of Daniel and its timeframe literally, and do not subscribe to the theory that the book was written at a much later date.
So when did this story take place? According to John MacArthur, quoted on Precept Austin:
The setting of Daniel 4 probably took place between the thirtieth and thirty-fifth years of his reign, approximately twenty-five to thirty years after the incident of the fiery furnace. Daniel was between forty-five to fifty years of age. (Daniel 4-1-37: How Are the Mighty Fallen! - Study Guide)
There are others who agree with this timeframe. The language in the text is also apparently comparable to the few remnants of writings from Nebuchadnezzar. Here is what the late John F. Valvoord, quoted in Precept Austin, says about the authenticity and documentary evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls (if you go to the link at the end, it will take you to this voluminous study of Daniel by Valvoord and the scholarship about the timeframe of Daniel is in the introduction):
Those who reject chapter 4 of Daniel without exception assume that the account is not inspired of the Holy Spirit, that an experience like Nebuchadnezzar’s is essentially incredible, and that it is a myth rather than an authentic historical record. Such objections obviously assume that higher criticism is right in declaring Daniel a forgery of the second century B.C. This conclusion is now subject to question not only because of the fallacious reasoning which supports it, but because it is now challenged by the documentary evidence in the Qumran text of Daniel, which on the basis of the critics’ own criteria would require Daniel to be much older than the second century b.c. (see Introduction). Conservative scholarship has united in declaring this chapter a genuine portion of the Word of God, equally inspired with other sections of Daniel. (Chapter 4 Nebuchadnezzar’s Pride And Punishment)
So back to our introduction to this chapter. The king is addressing all peoples of the world known at that time and declares that he hopes that their peace may abound. He wants to declare the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for him. These signs and wonders declare the greatness of God. Nebuchadnezzar also notes that God’s kingdom is everlasting and has dominion over every generation. It’s interesting to recall that this is the same man who egotistically made a gigantic golden image of himself and required everyone to worship it. But conversions are often miracle stories in and of themselves and the converted (like the apostle Paul, as well as Steve and myself) are transformed completely. I love this story that is shared by Donald Campbell and found on Precept Austin:
How completely different this proclamation from the ones Nebuchadnezzar had made previously. It can only be explained by God's work in the life of this heathen monarch, bringing him to repentance and faith in Himself. It was clearly a miracle of God's grace—as is every conversion.
It was December 7, 1941, when Mitsuo Fuchida (read his story From Pearl Harbor to Calvary), a proud and militant Japanese commander, led the attack on Pearl Harbor. But his brilliant military career ended with the defeat of Japan and the close of the war. Returning to his home village near Osaka, he took up farming. One day Fuchida was summoned to Tokyo to testify in the war crimes trials and was handed a pamphlet as he got off the train. He was intrigued by the title, I Was A Prisoner of Japan (read it). It was the story of Jacob De Shazer, the Doolittle raider who was converted to Christ in a Japanese prison camp while reading the Bible.
Fuchida's curiosity was aroused from reading of the incident, and he went to a bookstore and bought a Bible. When he went home he began reading it (See different account of how he got a Bible - Mitsuo Fuchida - another bio)."Every night I read the Bible," he said. "I read while plowing the rice fields. One night I read that Jesus died and that He prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.' I realized I was one of 'them' for whom Jesus prayed." At the age of 47, on April 12, 1950, Fuchida received Christ as Savior and began a new life. Though later asked to consider heading Japan's air force as commander-in-chief, Fuchida turned down the invitation and spent the rest of his life traveling in Japan, the United States, and Canada, sharing what God had done in his life. Nebuchadnezzar's conversion was no less dramatic. (Daniel God's Man in a Secular Society)
I did not know this particular (and wonderful) story, even though Steve and I have both become quite interested in WWII history. If you go to some of the links and read the information, Jacob De Shazer (a Doolittle Raid pilot in 1942 and prisoner of war) and Mitsuo Fuchida worked together in later life as evangelists.
We should, as believers, be much more active in declaring God’s signs and wonders. Even if that declaration is the sharing of the signs and wonders in Scripture with non-believers, it still shows how the living God is working through His disciples to add to the harvest of souls.
My next devotional dives into the vision that Nebuchadnezzar has of a great tree (Daniel 4:4-18).
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Thank you for the astute scholars who study Your Word and confirm its authenticity. Thank you for Mitsuo Fuchida and Jacob De Shazer, two men who were able to come to You in belief and overcome the horrors of WWII. Help me to be more active in declaring Your Signs and Wonders. Amen.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Precept Austin was accessed on 4/4/2025 to review commentary for Daniel 4:1-3.