Franz Liszt, the great musician, was also quite a diplomat. Being
famous in the field of music led to his being constantly put on the
spot by women who expected unmerited praise for their singing. He
finally developed a stock reply when some young amateur would
inquire, "Maestro, do you think I have a good voice?" "Ah, my dear
young lady," Liszt would reply with vibrant sincerity, "Good is not
the word." The word might have been awful, but he not only
avoided saying it and offending the person, he allowed them to
interpret it according to their own pride, and they would be pleased
with him because they would assume it was a compliment.
It is surprising how cleverly one can lie while speaking nothing
but the truth. Good is not the word. This reminds me of the pastor
who was put on the spot by one of his members. She had baked a
cake for him and his family. She apparently left something out for it
tasted horrible, and they had to throw it away. The next time he met
the woman she asked him how they liked the cake? He didn't want
to tell her the truth, but he also did not want to lie, and so he said,
"You can't imagine how fast your cake goes at our house." If she
had asked him if it was good he could have used the reply of Liszt,
"Good is not the word."
What has this got to do with old Nebuchadnezzar? Several
things, for it reveals the subtlety of language and the ease with which
words can be misinterpreted. We will consider this further a little
later. The immediate connection is with the fact that for
Nebuchadnezzar good was the word. He was not using this positive
word to diplomatically convey and opposite impression of what he
really thought. He says he thought it good to pass on his personal
testimony of what God had done in his life. Good was the word, and he
meant by it that he felt it to be a positive value for all to hear of his
experience with God. This is the author's own explanation for the
existence of this chapter. He thought it was good. This adds to the
evidence that this king was a true believer, for what unregenerate
man would consider it good to record such a humbling experience,
and especially one so mighty as Nebuchadnezzar? All the facts of
history and psychology are against it. Humiliating incidents in the
lives of ancient rulers were suppressed and blotted out of the records
if possible. It was certainly not the practice to make public
proclamation of them by special letter from the king himself.
Ernest Tatham in his book Daniel Speaks Today says, "It is
impossible to read this narrative without gaining the fullest
conviction that Nebuchadnezzar, as a result of his remarkable
humbling, became a truly regenerate man." I agree with this
conviction. Good was the word for Nebuchadnezzar. It seemed good
to him to share his conviction about the greatness of God, and of how
he came to that conviction. When God works so persistently and
works miracle after miracle to win a man, and the man himself
acknowledges that God has succeeded in winning him, it is time to
face the fact about that man's conversion.
Verse 3 reveals a man whose eyes have been open to the marvels
of God's nature and power. Here was a king who could sing the
hymn How Great Thou Art with conviction. His concept of God may
have been far from perfect, but it was as exalted as a human mind
can conceive. God was the almighty and everlasting sovereign whose
kingdom had no end. He begins with the conclusion and then goes onto
tell the story of how he arrived at that conclusion. In verse 4 he
gives us the setting. He was lazily lounging in his plush palace like a
typical oriental king. Prosperity beyond our imagination surrounded
him. He had won wars all over the world, and now all was under his
control. Peace and prosperity was his, and he was living the life of
luxury in his palace.
Had God not introduced a problem into his life there is no reason
to believe that he would had ever given God another thought. He
had everything life could offer, and he felt no need of God. Jesus
said that it is almost impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom
of God. With man it is impossible, but with God all things are
possible. The reason it is impossible for man is that his pride and
wealth combine to make himself-sufficient. He sees no need for God,
and the idea of crying out for help is so undignified that he call for
surrender to Christ is only an offense. The only way such persons
can be won is by the path of trial. Troubles are the only hope for
men who have everything. Unless they can be humbled there is no
hope. It is a paradox, but the fact is, trouble is the rich man's
greatest blessing.
Nebuchadnezzar's story is one with a good ending. His trouble
all began with a dream. He was a strong believer in dreams, and
when he had one he took it very seriously. This one really shook him
up, and he must have sensed that it was not a good dream. He called
for the magicians again and again, and they were no help, for they
could not interpret the dream, even though this time he remembered
it and could tell them what it was all about. Verse 8 says that at last
Daniel showed up, and in verse 9 he is called the chief of the
magicians. The king had confidence in him that he could help him,
for no mystery was too hard for Daniel. He told him the dream and
then asks for its interpretation. The book of Daniel shows the
importance of interpretation more than any other book. God's
revelation to man is worthless without interpretation. The king
could even repeat the revelation he received, and yet it had no
meaning to him without interpretation. God's truth has no meaning
until it is interpreted so that men understand what He intended to
communicate.
The Ethiopian Eunuch in the book of Acts had a copy of God's
Word and was reading it as he rode along in his chariot. He had
God's Word, but yet he didn't have it. It might just as well have been
a tablet of hieroglyphics, for he did not understand it. Then he heard
it explained and he responded and was saved. Mere position of the
Bible or a Gospel track is not a communication of God's Word. One
only possesses God's Word when it is interpreted properly so that we
understand what God has said. The dream the king had was from
God, but the dream itself was not the message. It was only the
vehicle of the message. The dream contained the Word of God, but it
only became the Word of God when it was interpreted and
understood.
The dream was about a tree and its greatness and its fall. You
could study trees forever and never come to any understanding of
what this dream meant. It had to be interpreted so that its
symbolism became understandable. The king could understand
perfectly the symbols, for even a first grade child could understand a
story about a great tree and its being cut down. The Bible is not
interpreted, however, just because we know what all the words are.
It is only interpreted when we know what the words mean. This was
the king's problem. He knew what the dream said, but he didn't
know what it meant.
Life is filled with problems that arise because people do not
make a distinction between knowing what is said and what is meant.
Like the salesman who picked up a hippy hitchhiker just before a
terrific sleet storm blew up. In a short while the roads were slippery
and vision was extremely limited. The salesman stopped at a stop sign
where two highways intersected. He asked his passenger if he
saw anything from his side. He responded, "No man. Just a dog."
So the salesman started through, but three days later he woke up in
the hospital and saw his passenger in the next bed. He shouted at
him, "Hey you! I thought you said there was only a dog." He
replied, "Sure man-a Greyhound." Being able to define the word
dog would not guarantee that one understands the meaning of that
word in every context. If the hippy would have been an interpreter,
he could have easily made it clear what he meant.
This is not a matter, which applies just to the incidental and
foolish, but it is important in the most vital areas of life. Anyone can
hear the statement of Jesus when He says, "I am the door." They
have no problem in defining what He said, for they know what a
door is, but it is meaningless until we know what He meant. It calls
for interpretation, and then we learn that Jesus is conveying to us
that He is the way by which we enter the kingdom of God. I've
labored this point because it is so essential for us to be conscience of
this distinction. We think that speech, words and symbols are in
themselves a communication of truth, but it is not so without
interpretation.
Someone said that when a woman puts her hand out of the car
window while driving it means only one thing-the window is open.
In other words, it has no certain meaning that can be accurately
interpreted. At least the joker that said this found some meaning in
that symbol, but the magicians of Babylon could not come up with
anything as they heard the king's dream. It was up to Daniel to be
the interpreter, but this time it was not his life only that was at stake,
but it was the king's life as well. When Daniel heard the dream he
was shocked, and verse 19 gives the impression that he just stared in
silent shock at this dream. The king urged him to speak up and not
be afraid, for he wanted to know the truth. There is always hope for
a man who wants to face reality. Daniel then prepared the king for
the worst by saying he hoped the dream would be for those who
hated the king, and that the interpretation would be for his enemies.
