46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Nebuchadnezzar, an Intellectual Convert
Nebuchadnezzar is the first person to attend a Daniel seminar. Nebuchadnezzar is moved by the message. He is so moved that he over-responds bows and worships Daniel. Intellectually he sees the power of Daniel’s God at work. God uses Daniel and his three companion’s faithfulness to witness to Nebuchadnezzar, a wicked heathen king. God in his love extends mercy to all, but everyone will not accept. Unknowingly to Nebuchadnezzar, these four Hebrews will mentor him during their captivity. . It is interesting that Daniel’s only request was to have his three companions with him, community was the most important thing to them. This is a lesson for us. As people come to Christ, we must nurture and mentor them and create community. We must be aware that Satan tries to divide and conquer.
Nebuchadnezzar’s praises are remarkable. He responded appropriately to Yahweh’s dramatic demonstrations. He acknowledged that the God of the Hebrews was God of gods (Dan. 2:47) and that there is no other god who could save as He does (3:29). Such praises are befitting a servant of Yahweh. The problem is that Nebuchadnezzar’s praises were short‑lived. He spoke the truth about the God of the Hebrews but in essence lacked the faith in that God to sustain the conviction in his own life. For “God’s truth is to be individually recognized, understood, and applied.”
Nebuchadnezzar had tangible evidence of the unique character and power of the God of the Hebrews. For reasons known only to him, he failed to build a relationship with the God who thus revealed Himself. The king accomplished God’s mission without making a personal commitment to this God. This failure created a relational problem between Nebuchadnezzar and the God he worked for. Unfortunately, his actions betray him. His words about God should have been matched by his life. Nebuchadnezzar served at least two masters, Yahweh and Marduk. His allegiance was divided.
At this point, there is no change in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar. The tale tell sign are the words ‘your God is a God of gods’. He was not ready for Daniel’s God to be his only God.
Be sure to return, each chapter gets more and more interesting. God wants for you to know what the future holds. He gives us this information so we are prepared for the times ahead and for hope that a better time is to come…paradise will be restored and our relationship with our Creator will be restored.