In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a tree, and Daniel began to tell him the meaning of it by declaring, “The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation. It is you, O king, that are grown and become strong: for your greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and your dominion to the end of the earth”, and in chapter four and verse twenty-three of his book Daniel said, “the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven” of the tree where we read,
And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;
The verse reads, “And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it;” Daniel began with the words, “and whereas the king” or “and in which the royal ruler and leader, Nebuchadnezzar” “saw a watcher” which means “perceived, noticed, discerned, distinguished and observed a wakeful one or angel” “and an holy one” or “and a sacred and purely separated entity” “coming down from heaven” which means “descending separate and apart from the sky, atmosphere and sidereal heaven where God dwells and other spiritual beings”, “and saying” or “and uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “hew the tree down” which means “cut down the physical tree”, “and destroy it” or “and hurt and ruin it, the tree”. Daniel referred to how King Nebuchadnezzar observed the angel and pure one descending from “heaven” and declaring that the “tree” was to be cut down.
The verse continues, “yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field;” Daniel added the words, “yet leave the stump” which means “still and even so let the base, bottom part or stock of roots of the tree remain” “of the roots thereof” or “pertaining to the rootstock or tuber” “in the earth” which means “within the territory, region and world”, “even with a band of iron” or “indeed accompanied by an iron strap, ring or hoop” “and brass” which means “and bronze or copper”, “in the tender grass” or “within the herb-like grass” “of the field” which means “belonging to the plain”. Daniel referred to how the base and stock of the “tree” within the world was to remain with an iron and bronze ring surrounding it.
Finally the verse says, “and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him;” Daniel concluded this verse with the words, “and let it be wet” or “and allow it, the stump of the tree, to exist with a ground covering mist” “with the dew of heaven” which means “according to the wetness from the sky”, “and let his portion be” or “and allow and permit his, the tree’s (King Nebuchadnezzar’s) part, lot and possession exist” “with the beasts of the field” which means “alongside and accompanying the animals belonging to the plain”, “till seven times pass over him” or “and allow and permit seven set times or years go by him, the stump (King Nebuchadnezzar)”. Daniel ended this verse by referring to the part of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream where the mist from the sky covered the “stump” and it was to have it’s part among the animals in the plain until seven years or seasons had passed.
When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how Daniel continued to relay to King Nebuchadnezzar the parts of the dream he told him, and he would give him the meaning in our next verse. For now let us consider the way Daniel communicated with King Nebuchadnezzar concerning his dream. He repeated what King Nebuchadnezzar told him before he told him the meaning of the dream. God gave Daniel wisdom, not only for the rendering of the dream, but also for managing his conversation with this powerful king. God is able to give gifts of wisdom to people who surrender their lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. When we believe and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit’s wisdom within us to manage difficulties and people that are difficult in our lives. (See James 1:5-6)
Next time Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar, “this is the interpretation, O king”, 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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