King Nebuchadnezzar

[Rose]

Was King Nebuchadnezzar saved?

 

[Gabrielle]

I love the whole story of King Nebuchadnezzar.
I'm not sure if he was saved originally, but I think he was after his 7-year ordeal.

“At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.” Daniel 4:34

 

[David]

Nebuchadnezzar’s story is a good example of why we have to pay attention not only to what a man says about God, but to whether he has actually bowed before God.

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar is impressed. Daniel reveals the dream, and the king responds, “Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings” (Daniel 2:47). That sounds strong, but notice the distance in his words. He still says, “your God.” He has seen the power of God, but seeing God’s power is not the same thing as submitting to God Himself.

Then in Daniel 3, after Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are delivered from the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar goes further. He blesses their God and says, “there is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (Daniel 3:29). Again, he is acknowledging something true about God. But he is still speaking about the God of these men, not yet as a man who has been personally humbled before Him.

Daniel 4 is different because now God deals directly with Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. The issue is no longer whether Nebuchadnezzar can recognize that God is powerful. The issue is whether he will acknowledge that God rules and that he does not. That is the point God presses on him.

After he is humbled, Nebuchadnezzar says, “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever” (Daniel 4:34). Then he says that God “doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth” (Daniel 4:35). Finally he says, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment” (Daniel 4:37).

That is more than admiration. Nebuchadnezzar has been brought face to face with the fact that God is sovereign and that his own pride had put him in rebellion against that truth. He does not merely say God is powerful. He says God is right. He does not merely say God can humble a man. He confesses that God was right to humble him.

That is why Daniel 4 sounds so different from Daniel 2 and Daniel 3. In the earlier chapters, Nebuchadnezzar is impressed by God. In Daniel 4, he has been broken by the truth of who God is.

Was he saved? Scripture does not plainly say, so we should not claim more than the text gives us. But there is strong reason to believe that something real happened in him. The clearest evidence is not merely that he praised God, but that his pride was exposed and he confessed the righteousness and absolute rule of the God who humbled him.

The warning in the passage is just as important for us. A person can admire God, speak respectfully about God, and even acknowledge His power without truly bowing before Him. Nebuchadnezzar’s story forces the question deeper: Have we merely recognized that God is great, or have we actually submitted to Him as God?

 

[Yesua888]

After he is humbled, Nebuchadnezzar says, “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever” (Daniel 4:34). Then he says that God “doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth” (Daniel 4:35). Finally he says, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment” (Daniel 4:37).

I was not sure about Nebuchadnezzar blessing God ... maybe that was okay seeing that he was so high himself, a king : )

That is more than admiration. Nebuchadnezzar has been brought face to face with the fact that God is sovereign and that his own pride had put him in rebellion against that truth. He does not merely say God is powerful. He says God is right. He does not merely say God can humble a man. He confesses that God was right to humble him.

I had to check this out myself because I could not find anything saying that Nebuchadnezzar said that he himself was humbled : )
This came up:
In Daniel 4:37 itself, Nebuchadnezzar does not say "I was humbled." The verse states the principle in the third person: "And those who walk in pride he is able to humble." It's a general declaration about God's power, not a first-person confession.
"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His works are true and all His ways are just. And He is able to humble those who walk in pride."
The immediately preceding verses (33–36) narrate his personal experience in vivid detail — he lived among the animals, ate grass, his hair grew like an eagle's feathers, his nails like a bird's claws, and his sanity was restored. So while verse 37 phrases the lesson generically, the context makes it unmistakable that he is speaking from his own experience of being humbled. He simply chooses to state the principle universally rather than say "I was the one who was humbled."

The warning in the passage is just as important for us. A person can admire God, speak respectfully about God, and even acknowledge His power without truly bowing before Him. Nebuchadnezzar’s story forces the question deeper: Have we merely recognized that God is great, or have we actually submitted to Him as God?

The arrogance (v. 30): While on the roof of his palace, Nebuchadnezzar boasts: "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?"

The judgment and insanity (vv. 31–33): While the words are still in his mouth, a voice from heaven pronounces the judgment, and it is fulfilled immediately. He is driven from people, eats grass like an ox, his body is drenched with dew, his hair grows like eagle feathers, and his nails like bird claws. This lasts seven periods of time.

The restoration (vv. 34–36): At the end of that time, he raises his eyes to heaven and his sanity is restored. He praises the Most High. His honor, splendor, kingdom, and throne are returned to him — and "I became even greater than before."

This flusters me: "I became even greater than before."

The concluding doxology (v. 37): The verse we discussed — "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven… And those who walk in pride he is able to humble."
He does confess personally (the "I" is in the verse, and the entire chapter is his first-person testimony), but he chooses to state the conclusion as a universal principle because that's what a royal decree does, and because it makes his personal humiliation into a warning for everyone.

I'm probably repeating what you said David : )

The text never uses the word "saved" or "salvation" for Nebuchadnezzar. What it uses is the language of restoration — sanity, kingdom, throne, honor. The soteriological reading is an inference layered on top.

So was the "inference ..." clearly indicating that he was saved ... I would say not because he considered himself "even greater than before". Was he humbled? Was he saved?

???

 

[David]

Yesua888, I think you are asking exactly the right questions here. This is one of those places where it helps to slow down and just stay with what the text actually says. : )

You are right about one thing I said earlier. Nebuchadnezzar never comes right out and says, “God was right to humble me.” I was drawing that conclusion from Daniel 4:37, where he says that God’s works are truth, His ways are judgment, and that “those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” I think the conclusion fits the context, but I should have made it clearer that those were my words describing what happened, not an exact quote from Nebuchadnezzar.

Now, was he humbled? I do not think there is much doubt about that when you read the whole chapter.

God told him ahead of time what the judgment was for: “till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men” (Daniel 4:25). Then Nebuchadnezzar stands there saying, “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).

That is about as prideful as a man can get.

Then God strips it all away.

Afterward, Nebuchadnezzar lifts his eyes toward heaven and says, “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever” (Daniel 4:34). Then in verse 37 he says God is able to abase those who walk in pride.

So even though he never says, “I was humbled,” it is hard to read Daniel 4 and miss that this is exactly what happened to him.

You mentioned being a little unsure about Nebuchadnezzar blessing God. I do not see a problem there. David says, “I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1). When a man blesses God, he is not giving God something God lacks. He is praising Him and declaring His greatness.

Now the part that flustered you caught my attention too: “I became even greater than before.”

I went back and looked at that closely because at first glance it can sound like, “Here we go again, Nebuchadnezzar is talking about how great he is.”

But notice how the KJV words it: “and excellent majesty was added unto me” (Daniel 4:36).

That is different from Daniel 4:30. Before the judgment he says, “I have built,” “my power,” and “my majesty.” After the judgment, the majesty is something that was added unto him. His reason was restored, his kingdom was restored, his counselors returned to him, and his position was restored.

The question then becomes, who gets the glory for it?

And the very next verse answers that. “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven” (Daniel 4:37).

That does not sound like the same attitude we saw in verse 30.

Now, the harder question: Was he saved?

This is where I do not want to go beyond Scripture.

Daniel 4 definitely shows a change. Nebuchadnezzar goes from bragging about his own power and majesty to praising the Most High, acknowledging God’s rule, and saying God’s works are truth and His ways judgment.

That is a serious change.

But does Daniel ever actually say, “Nebuchadnezzar was saved”? No.

Does it say his sins were forgiven? No.

Does it tell us directly that he had saving faith? No.

So I think you are right to be cautious about making that jump.

At the same time, I would also be cautious about going the other direction and saying he was definitely not saved just because his kingdom became greater than before. God restoring his position does not prove pride, especially when the very next thing Nebuchadnezzar does is praise God.

So maybe the safest way to say it is this:

Was Nebuchadnezzar humbled? I think Daniel 4 makes that very clear.

Was he saved? There are certainly things in the chapter that make you wonder whether God did more in him than simply restore his sanity and kingdom, but Scripture never plainly tells us.

And if God did not tell us plainly, I do not think we should pretend we know for certain.

What do you think about the change between verse 30 and verse 37? To me, that contrast may be the biggest clue in the whole chapter.