In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the dream meant he would be driven away from men, eating grass with the animals and have the night due fall upon him for seven seasons until he realized that God is in control of all people. “All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar” and “at the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from you. And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make you to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will”, and in chapter four and verse thirty-three of his book Daniel said, “the same hour the thing was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar” where we read,
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.
The verse reads, “The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, …” Daniel began with the words, “the same hour” or “the selfsame hour of time in which the voice from heaven spoke” “was the thing fulfilled” which means “was the prophetic message of Daniel completed” “upon Nebuchadnezzar” or “on Nebuchadnezzar whose name means ‘may Nebo protect the crown’ and was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive”: “and he was driven from men” which means “and he, King Nebuchadnezzar was chased away and separated from people”, “and did eat grass as oxen” or “and consumed and devoured herbage similar and in likeness to oxen animals”. Daniel shared how within the selfsame hour that the voice from heaven spoke, King Nebuchadnezzar was chased away from people and began to eat herbage like animals.
The verse continues, “… and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.” Daniel added the words, “and his body” which means “and his, King Nebuchadnezzar’s, physical body” “was wet with the dew of heaven” or “existed with wetness and moister from the sky”, “till his hairs” which means “until his, King Nebuchadnezzar’s physical hairs” “were grown like eagle’s feathers” or “were increased similar and in likeness to the feathers of an eagle, vulture or griffon-vulture”, “and his nails like bird’s claws” which means “and his, King Nebuchadnezzar’s, fingernails were similar and in likeness to the claws of a fowl or winged creature”. Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar’s physical body was covered with wetness from the mist of the sky, the “hairs” on his head increased in size similar to the feathers of a “eagle” and his fingernails became similar to “bird claws”.
When we meditate upon Daniel’s words in this verse, we discover how Daniel’s rendering of King Nebuchadnezzar’s “dream” was completely fulfilled. After he boasted about his own abilities and took credit for what God had given him, all these things came upon him. God gives people their gifts and positions, and those gifts and positions are always to be acknowledged as coming from Him. He gave all of us the gift of His Son Jesus who died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead after three days, and when we receive Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to remind us to always give Him the glory, honor and praise for the abilities and positions He has given to us.
Next time Daniel says, “at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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