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Nebuchadnezzar Character Study - Inductive Bible Study Notes for Small Discussion Groups

Nebuchadnezzar Character Study

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. 1 Cor 10:6

Meaning of Name:

OT:5019 Nebuwkadne'tstsar (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar'); or Nebukadne'tstsar (2 Kings 24:1,10) (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar'); or Nebuwkadnetstsar (Est 2:6; Dan 1:18) (neb-oo-kad-nets-tsar'); or Nebuwkadre'tstsar (neb-oo-kad-rets-tsar'); or Nebuwkadre'tstsowr (Ezra 2:1; Jer 49:28) (neb-oo-kad-rets-tsore'); or foreign derivation; Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar, or -retstsor), king of Babylon:

KJV - Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadrezzar.

 

Chronology:

 

Kings of Judah during this period:

            King                                 Term                      How Deposed                 Reference

Jehoahaz (Joahaz)	608 – 3 months	King Neco of Egypt	2 Chron 36:1-3
Jehoiakim (Eliakim) (Joahaz’s brother)	608- 598 11 yrs.	Died	2 Kings 23:35-24:6
Jehoiachin (Jeconiah, Coniah)	598-597	Exiled to Babylon	2 Kings 24:6-15; 25:27-29 2 Chron 36:8,9 Jer 52:31-33
Zedekiah (Mattaniah) (Jehoiachin’s uncle)	597-586	Exiled to Babylon (sons executed, he’s  blinded)	2 Kings 24:17-25:7 2 Chron 36:10-14

 

His Ancestry and Family Life:

Nabopolassar was his father

 

When and Where He Lived:

King of Babylon. He traveled to many lands conquering them militarily.

 

Circumstances of Birth:

Unknown

 

Training He received and His Occupation:

Training was unknown. He was a military commander and a king

 

Place in History:

 

Special traits:

 

Weaknesses:

 

 

Strengths:

 

Important Acts and Events:

Dan 1:1-7

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his god. 3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the royal family and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king's court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. 5 The king appointed for them a daily ration from the king's choice food and from the wine which he drank, and appointed that they should be educated three years, at the end of which they were to enter the king's personal service. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name  Belteshazzar, to Hananiah Shadrach, to Mishael Meshach and to Azariah Abed-nego.

This took place in 605 B.C. and was the 1^st stage of the conquering of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He was able to conquer it because “the Lord gave (it) into his hand. He was the King of Babylon in the land of Shinar. Babylon is the same as Babel (Gen 11:1-9) where man in his pride tried to rebel against God with his apostate worship. It is the symbol of unregenerate man’s pride, achievements, and ambitions.  Ultimately the Lord will completely destroy it (Dan 2:35 Rev 18:1-10.). Nebuchadnezzar’s plan was to take the best of the captives and incorporate them into his government. First, however they were to undergo a 3 year training/indoctrination program. This included:

 

2 Chron 36: 2-7

2 Joahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold.

4 The king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Joahaz his brother and brought him to Egypt. 5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and he did evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also brought some of the articles of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his temple at Babylon.

Joahaz was King of Judah for only 3 months when the King Neco of Egypt deposed him. His brother Eliakim was 25 when he was made King of Judah in his place. Eliakim’s name was changed to Jehoiakim and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. In 604 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jehoiakim (and Jerusalem) and bound him with bronze chains to take him to Babylon. Meanwhile Nebuchadnezzar got some urgent news that his father Nabopolassar had died in Babylon. He apparently made a deal with Jehoiakim to pledge him allegiance and Nebuchadnezzar allowed him to remain in king in Jerusalem. When Nebuchadnezzar returned to Babylon, he took some articles from the house of the Lord with him to place in his temple at Babylon. This was to signify that his gods were greater than the God of Judah.

 

2 Kings 24:10-16

At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, just as the LORD had said. 14 Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. 15 So he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king's mother and the king's wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of valor, seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.

Jer 27:5-8

I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight. 6 "Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him. 7 " All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. 8 "It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence," declares the LORD, "until I have destroyed it by his hand.

Jer 43:10-13

10 and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them. 11 "He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. 12 "And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 "He will also shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire."'"

Nebuchadnezzar was God’s chosen instrument, His servant, to rule over all the world. He would punish any nation that would not serve him.

 

Dan 1:18-21

18 Then at the end of the days which the king had specified for presenting them, the commander of the officials presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king's personal service. 20 As for every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and conjurers who were in all his realm.

The graduating class from the University of Babylon was presented before King Nebuchadnezzar. He interviewed them personally and none were found that could match the wisdom and understanding of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered into his personal service.

 

 

Dan 2:1-13

Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar  had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, "I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream." 4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: " O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation." 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, " The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6 "But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation." 7 They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation." 8 The king replied, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation." 10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11 "Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh." 12 Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. 

King Nebuchadnezzar had a recurring dream that greatly troubled him so that he was losing sleep. He called in his wise men to have it interpreted. Because he maybe didn’t trust them, he wisely tested them by requiring them to relate the dream to him before offering the interpretation. He probably reasoned that since they claimed to be able to tell the future, they should certainly be able to reveal a past dream to him. They replied that this was impossible except for the gods and that no ruler in history had ever made such a requirement. This infuriated King Nebuchadnezzar so he issued a decree for all wise men in Babylon to be destroyed.

 

Dan 2:25-30

25 Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king's presence and spoke to him as follows: "I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!" 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?" 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 "However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. 29 "As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 30 "But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

King Nebuchadnezzar gets straight to the point with Daniel and asks him if he is able to relate the dream and its interpretation. The magnitude of his dream reflects the important position God has placed him in.

 

Dan 2:36-38

"This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 38 and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

Nebuchadnezzar’s dream revealed the Gentile kingdoms that would reign until Christ returns and completely destroys human government replacing it with His personal rule on earth for 1,000 years. The time period represented by the statue is called the “times of the Gentiles” Luke 21:24. The head of gold represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom. Each successive kingdom was of less valuable metal showing them to be progressively inferior. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom represented by a head of gold was therefore shown to be superior to all subsequent Gentile kingdoms.

 

Dan 2:46-49

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery." 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king's court.

Because Daniel had given God the glory and taken none of it for himself, King Nebuchadnezzar immediately recognized the supernatural nature of the response and praises Daniel’s God. Though Nebuchadnezzar‘s demand to relate the dream before interpreting it may have been unreasonable, when Daniel “delivered” the king was not sparing with his reward. He promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, made him ruler over the province of Babylon, established him as chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon, and at Daniel’s request appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego as heads over the administration of the province of Babylon.

 

Dan 3:1-30

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 Then the herald loudly proclaimed: "To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every  language, 5 that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. 6 "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire." 7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every  language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

8 For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews. 9 They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: " O king, live forever! 10 "You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image. 11 "But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire. 12 "There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 "Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"

16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar , we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. 17 " If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. 18 " But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

19 Daniel's Friends Protected Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king's command was  urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!" 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. 27 The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." 30 Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar arrogantly erects an enormous statue of gold about 27 ½ meters tall to honor himself. All his subjects were invited for the dedication and required to fall down and worship the image. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, of course, refuse to fall down and worship the image. Some Chal