Why do you suppose God repeatedly spoke to Nebuchadnezzar in dreams?
The Bible does not really tell us why God chose to keep speaking to Nebuchadnezzar through dreams, so I do not think we should try to make more out of it than Scripture gives us. But it is interesting that God had already spoken to him through a dream in Daniel 2, and now He does it again in Daniel 4.
The first dream showed Nebuchadnezzar something about the kingdoms of the world and how God is really the One in control of them. This dream gets much more personal. Daniel tells him that the purpose was "that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men" (Daniel 4:17). It is almost like God first showed Nebuchadnezzar the big picture, and now He was making him look at himself.
Nebuchadnezzar had already seen what God could do, but seeing the power of God and humbling yourself before God are two different things. He still had to learn that his kingdom, his position, and everything he had came from God.
Why didn't Nebuchadnezzar turn to Daniel immediately to interpret his dream instead of calling his "wise men"?
This is something I find interesting because Nebuchadnezzar already knew Daniel had interpreted his earlier dream when nobody else could. Still, he says, "But at the last Daniel came in before me" (Daniel 4:8).
Why did he wait until last? The Bible does not say. Maybe he was simply following the normal way he handled things and called his wise men first. Maybe he hoped somebody else could give him an answer he liked better. We really do not know, and I would not want to say that was definitely his reason.
It does remind me, though, of how easy it is for people to look everywhere else before going to the place where they already know the truth can be found. It is like having the instruction manual sitting right beside you while asking everybody else in the room how the machine works. Nebuchadnezzar already knew there was something different about Daniel and Daniel's God, but Daniel was still the last one brought in.
How long do you think is seven periods of time?
Daniel says that "seven times shall pass over thee" (Daniel 4:25). I think seven years is probably the best way to understand that, especially when we compare the way similar language is used later in Daniel.
At the same time, Daniel 4 itself does not plainly say, "seven years." It says seven times. So I would probably say it was seven years, but I would not make that something to argue over because Scripture does not spell it out that clearly.
The important point really is not whether we can prove the exact length down to the last day. The important point is that God had already determined how long Nebuchadnezzar's judgment would last, and it would not end until he learned what God intended to teach him.
Do you think Nebuchadnezzar remained king during this time?
I do not think he was actually functioning as king while this was happening. After his understanding returned, Nebuchadnezzar says, "I was established in my kingdom" (Daniel 4:36). That sounds like he had not been actively ruling during that period.
But there is another interesting part. Before any of this happened, Daniel told him, "thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee" (Daniel 4:26). So somehow God made sure the kingdom was still there for Nebuchadnezzar when the judgment was over.
Think about that for a minute. Here was probably the most powerful man in the world, and yet he could not keep himself on his own throne. God could remove him from it, preserve it while he was gone, and put him right back on it when He chose. That alone should have taught Nebuchadnezzar who was really in control.
Was it Daniel who was in charge of handling the affairs of the kingdom during his period of insanity?
We really do not know. Daniel certainly had a very high position in Babylon. Daniel 2:48 says Nebuchadnezzar made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief over the wise men, so Daniel obviously had a lot of authority.
It is certainly possible that Daniel had an important role while Nebuchadnezzar was unable to rule, but Scripture never tells us that Daniel became acting king or that he personally ran the whole empire during that time.
This is one of those questions where I think the best answer is simply that we do not know. There is nothing wrong with wondering about it, but we do not want to turn a possibility into something the Bible actually says.
Why make Nebuchadnezzar act like an animal?
I think this is one of the strongest parts of the whole chapter because Nebuchadnezzar's real problem was pride. He looked over Babylon and said, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built... by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30).
You can almost hear what was going on in his mind. Look what I built. Look at my power. Look at my greatness. Then God took the most powerful man in the kingdom and brought him down to where he was living like an animal.
That really puts man's pride in perspective. Nebuchadnezzar could command armies, conquer nations, build cities, and tell other men what to do, but he could not even hold on to his own ability to reason when God took it away from him.
It is almost like God stripped away everything Nebuchadnezzar thought made him great and showed him how completely dependent he really was. A man can sit on a throne and think he controls everything around him, but he still depends on God for his next breath, his next thought, and his ability to get out of bed in the morning.
Another thing that really stands out to me is the tree in the dream. Nebuchadnezzar saw this huge tree that had grown strong and reached toward heaven. Daniel eventually tells him, "It is thou, O king" (Daniel 4:22).
Then the command comes to cut the tree down. That is quite a picture because Nebuchadnezzar had spent years building Babylon and probably thought what he had built could never be shaken. Yet God could bring him down with a word.
But God did not have the stump destroyed. The stump was left in the ground because Nebuchadnezzar was going to be restored. God was judging him, but He had already determined that the judgment would not be the end of him.
Something else I find interesting is that Nebuchadnezzar was warned well before the judgment came. Daniel told him to turn from his sins and show mercy to the poor in verse 27, but then verse 29 says, "At the end of twelve months."
A whole year went by. That means Nebuchadnezzar had plenty of time to think about what Daniel had told him. Every day that passed without judgment was another opportunity for him to humble himself before God.
Then twelve months later he is walking through his palace, looking at Babylon, and bragging about what he had accomplished. Scripture says that while the words were still in his mouth, the voice came from heaven.
That is something worth thinking about. God's patience should never be mistaken for God forgetting what He has said.
One of my favorite parts of the chapter comes near the end when Nebuchadnezzar says, "I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me" (Daniel 4:34).
Earlier he had been looking at Babylon and thinking about his own greatness. Now he looks toward heaven and starts praising God. There is a big difference between those two pictures.
By the end of the chapter Nebuchadnezzar says that God's works are truth, His ways are judgment, and "those that walk in pride he is able to abase" (Daniel 4:37). That sounds like a man who finally understood the lesson God had been teaching him.
The whole chapter really comes back to the same truth. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was in control because he was king, but God showed him that even kings answer to Him. "The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men" (Daniel 4:17), and Nebuchadnezzar had to learn that the hard way.
