Thus were the visions of my head upon my bed I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.
The chapter is Nebuchadnezzar's own public account of what God did to him. Here he starts to describe the dream: one tree, standing at the centre of the earth, towering upward. Everything in the chapter turns on what that tree stood for, and on who had the right to cut it down.
The dream did not arrive during a crisis. It came to a man who felt settled. Earlier dealings with God had left him unchanged inside.
It is plain, from his own account, although he gives it to show the mercy shown to him, that after all the remarkable events of the previous chapters, Nebuchadnezzar was just the same man at bottom. There was no thorough change in his soul — his heart was not brought to God. He was at rest in his house and flourishing in his palace. As the man of the earth, everything God had put into his hands only fed his pride and self-satisfaction. In this condition God sends him a fresh testimony.
Why speak through pictures seen on a bed at night? One writer connects it with what Job's friend Elihu says about God's methods with a man who is not listening.
While he was deep in his idol worship, the living God began to deal with him. God speaks once, yes twice, yet man does not perceive it. He speaks in a dream, in the vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumberings on the bed. Then He opens the ears of men and seals their instruction, to withdraw man from his purpose and hide pride from man (Job 33). And this does not always work. So, to do His own purpose of blessing, He turns to more severe measures.
The tree stands for one man, not for a nation or an age.
A great tree is always the symbol of a man of vast power on the earth. One tree was enough in this case, because Nebuchadnezzar in fact ruled over all the civilised or prophetic earth. There was, as it were, only one tree: "The beasts of the field had shelter under it, and the birds of the heaven lived in its branches."
Trees appear all over the Bible. One writer asks what the image means when a tree is picked for size and not for fruit.
We may see from these passages that the symbol of a tree points to greatness in the earth, unless fruit is the object. This holds in every case — whether it is an individual as an expression of power, like Nebuchadnezzar, or a nation that rises to the top, or a religious system, as in Matthew 13. That is its universal teaching. Of course, I am not speaking so much of trees grown only for fruit. I mean those chosen for their size and grand appearance as well. Earthly power is clearly what the tree means in Daniel.
The tree stood at the centre. That position, given by God, became the very thing the king claimed for himself.
But what becomes of this delegated power? It is used as an occasion for self-exaltation. God had entrusted this power to Nebuchadnezzar; He had blessed the king beyond measure in temporal things. As a result pride takes hold of him. This happens despite the warning in the interpretation of the dream, and despite the plain prediction of what was coming. The things a man sees blind his heart... "Is not this great Babylon which I have built?" He makes himself the centre instead of God.
The dream did not end with the tree's height. A watcher came down with an order, and the closing question is aimed at every reader.
In a dream he saw a mighty tree, with room in its vast branches for the birds of heaven, and shade beneath for the beasts of the field. He also saw a watcher and a holy one come down from heaven, giving orders for the tree to be cut down, with only its stump left. The magicians were helpless as usual, so the king called in Daniel. Daniel told him that the tree stood for himself. Heaven had noted his ways, and God was about to visit him in judgement unless he repented. Men forget that there is a Watcher who sees their every act and hears their every word... How would any of us stand if the word went out, "Cut down the tree"?
- Rest. The dream came to a man at ease in his palace. All he had seen of God had left him unchanged, and comfort only fed his pride.
- Dream. God opens a man's ears in the night to turn him from his course and hide pride from him. When a man ignores that, harder measures follow.
- Tree. In the Bible a tall tree pictures greatness on earth, not fruit. Here that greatness is one man.
- Centre. God handed the king his power. The king used it to lift himself up, and put himself where God belonged.
- Watcher. Heaven had already noted his ways, and the sentence was ready. How would any of us stand if the same word went out?
The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached unto the heavens, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth.
Nebuchadnezzar tells his own story here, in a public proclamation, and he is still describing the tree of his dream. Two questions decide the chapter: what does such a tree stand for in Scripture, and does heaven admire it as earth does?
The image was not new. The dream showed only one tree, and there was a reason for that:
A great tree is always the symbol of a man of vast power on the earth. Here one tree was enough, because Nebuchadnezzar really did rule over the whole civilized earth, the earth that prophecy deals with. There was, as it were, only one tree.
The same symbol appears elsewhere in Scripture, and it always carries one meaning:
In every case the symbol of a tree points to greatness in the earth, unless fruit is the object. It may be an individual who stands for power, like Nebuchadnezzar, or a nation that rises to the top, or a system of religion, as in Matthew 13. That is its teaching everywhere.
One commentator sets the dream beside Ezekiel's picture of Assyria as a cedar of Lebanon, with birds nesting in its boughs and nations resting in its shade:
This striking correspondence helps a great deal in understanding the symbols of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams. It lets us see how fitting a picture the tree is of being lifted high in the government of the earth. Its far-reaching, wide-spreading branches shelter and protect people of every rank and condition. Both the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven appear here, because God had given both alike into his hand. So Daniel could well say to the king, "Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth."
The tree did not plant itself. An earlier dream, of a great statue, had already shown the king where his empire came from:
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom was a direct gift from God. As Daniel said, "You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory." No one could say this of the three kingdoms that followed. They come on the scene in a providential way, as God permits, for the government of the earth and according to His ordering. But their heads never held power directly, as Nebuchadnezzar did. He was nearest God in this external sense, and his responsibility was therefore all the greater.
Everything about the tree won applause — its size, its shade, its fruit. Then came a different verdict:
Before long, heaven visited it, and it was an entirely different thing in heaven's judgment. The Watcher and the Holy One came down, as the Lord Himself had done in the earlier days of Babel and Sodom. This visitor from heaven inspected the tree of wonderful growth. But to Him it was no object of admiration or worship. He was not moved to desire its beauty. To all flesh it was a tree good for food, pleasant to the eye, and desirable. In His thoughts it was none of these. He looked on it as something ripe for righteous judgment.
One man in Babylon shared heaven's view:
In that day Daniel was one man who had the mind of heaven about this tree, the mind of the Watcher and the Holy One. Only such as he had it. For the saint on earth has the mind of heaven in him. This is our place. All flesh may feed on a thing while faith, the mind of Christ in us, already sees its end under the sure judgment of God.
Babel had already shown the pattern:
The builders of Babel joined in one great alliance. A proud plan filled their heart, and they stretched out their hand to carry it through. It was nothing less than to raise a tower that would reach to heaven. But in that hour of proudest daring the Lord comes down in judgment… Nebuchadnezzar walked in his palace, admired his splendour, and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built?" The Lord was watching that evil. While the proud word was still in his mouth, the man who exalted himself was brought low.
- Symbol. In Scripture a great tree means greatness on the earth: a man, a nation, or a religious system. Fruit is not the point.
- Gift. The height reaching heaven pictured the king's greatness; the reach across the earth, his rule. The God of heaven had given him both.
- Shelter. Its shade and branches show government at its best: shelter for people of every rank, because God had put the beasts and the birds in his hand.
- Verdict. All flesh admired the tree. The Watcher inspected it and found it ripe for judgment. Only Daniel shared heaven's mind.
- Fall. Babel and Nebuchadnezzar show the pattern: pride climbs toward heaven, and God cuts it down while the boast is still in the mouth.
Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
Nebuchadnezzar, at the height of his power, dreamed of a huge tree that fed and sheltered every living thing under heaven. The picture is glorious, and that is the problem: it is the world's admiring portrait of a man, drawn just before heaven passes sentence on him.
Daniel does not leave the image open to guesswork. When he reaches the interpretation, the whole splendid picture collapses into one person.
The tree, which was so imposing in the sight of the earth and which provided shelter for all living creatures, was a figure of the king himself.
In an earlier dream Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold on a great statue. This dream is narrower.
Both concern Nebuchadnezzar, as it plainly says. But the head of gold takes in his dynasty as well, since the second of the four prophetic kingdoms does not appear until his dynasty ends. The tree is a symbol of Nebuchadnezzar himself, as the judgment carried out shows.
The image was not invented for this dream. It carries a settled meaning across Scripture.
A tree may stand for an individual who expresses power, like Nebuchadnezzar. It may stand for a nation that rises to the top, or for a system of religion, as in Matthew 13. In every case the symbol points to greatness in the earth, unless fruit is the object. That is its consistent teaching.
Notice also that the vision holds a single tree, with no forest around it.
A great tree is always the symbol of a man of vast power on the earth. One tree was enough here. Nebuchadnezzar in fact ruled over all the civilized, or prophetic, earth.
The animals in the verse are not decoration. God had already given this king the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens.
The tree is a fitting picture of exaltation in the government of the earth, in the far-reaching, wide-spreading, sheltering protection it gives to people of every rank and condition. The beasts of the field and the birds of heaven appear because both alike had been given into his hand. They, and the children of men with them, are seen as subject to his authority, sustained and protected by it.
So the verse records real benefit. Under this rule people ate and lived in safety.
The tree grew because God made it grow. That is where the danger lay.
God had entrusted this power to Nebuchadnezzar; He had blessed the king beyond measure in temporal things. As a result pride took hold of him... The case is this. The throne of God had been taken from the Jews. God puts the Gentiles into the place of power in the person of Nebuchadnezzar. But man is guilty, and so unable to keep any law. Power cannot be committed to him without his lifting himself up against the God who gave it. "Is not this great Babylon which I have built?" He makes himself the centre instead of God.
Every eye on earth looked up at the beautiful leaves and the abundant fruit. Heaven came down and saw the same tree differently.
Soon afterwards, heaven visited it. In heaven's judgment it was a different thing altogether. The Watcher and the Holy One came down... and this visitor from heaven inspected this tree of beautiful, astonishing growth. But to Him it was no object of admiration or worship. He was not moved to desire its beauty. To all flesh it was a tree good for food, pleasant to the eye, desirable for every purpose. In His thoughts it was none of these. He looked on it as something ripe for righteous judgment.
Jesus compared the kingdom to a mustard seed that grows into a tree with birds in its branches. Commentators trace that picture back to this verse.
The kingdom itself is like a little grain of mustard seed becoming a great tree. In the Old Testament that is a symbol of something raised high in the world, of a political power. We know well that this has come. The birds nesting in its branches signify the protection it gives. Compare Daniel 4:12.
- Given. The height, the fruit and the reach were all God's gift. Nebuchadnezzar held rule over men, beasts and birds before he ever boasted of it.
- Grown. In Scripture a tree pictures greatness in the earth. One tree was enough here, because one man ruled the whole known world.
- Sheltering. The shade and the food did real people real good. The empire sheltered every rank and condition.
- Seen. All flesh admired the tree. Heaven inspected it and found it ripe for judgment. One tree drew worship from below and a sentence from above.
- Sequel. Jesus used the same picture for a kingdom that grows into a great tree with birds in its branches. Greatness on earth is never proof of God's approval.