NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE WARRIOR

Nebuchadnezzar is a much-feared Babylonian king who ruled from about 605 BC until approximately 562 BC.  He is first mentioned in a prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah as a brutal conqueror. Nebuchadnezzar is a Power of Will character.

“… flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction. A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.” Jeremiah 4:6-7

NEBUCHADNEZZAR THE BUILDER

King Nebuchadnezzar is a builder as well as a destroyer.  Among his cultural accomplishments are the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate, two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The gardens are long gone, but I’ve seen the Ishtar Gate at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.  I can testify that the towering ceramic entryway is designed to make all who approach feel insignificant and small. Life-like ferocious beasts line the walkway adding a touch of terror.

The gate is symbolic of Nebuchadnezzar war-like persona.  He conquers Judah, destroys Jerusalem, and topples the Temple of Solomon. He force-marches thousands of Jews to their Babylonian captivity. The prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, the book of Daniel, and the last chapters of Kings and Chronicles detail Nebuchadnezzar’s cruel reign.

Although Nebuchadnezzar’s name appears 90 times in the Bible, he is most prominent in the book of Daniel. In this book, Nebuchadnezzar captures Daniel and other young Jews and trains them in the Babylonian Magical Arts.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DREAM

When strange dreams torment the king, he cannot fathom their meaning.  In one dream, he sees a “head of gold” on a statue, with a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet made of terracotta clay.

The king asks his court “magicians” to guess the strange image in his dream and then supply its interpretation.  No one can read the king’s mind.  Infuriated, Nebuchadnezzar imprisons all his magicians. Daniel and his friends are among those jailed, and they all await certain death.

Daniel prays for God’s deliverance.  He approaches Nebuchadnezzar, once God helps him interpret the dream, and uses this information to save himself and others from execution. Daniel tells the king:

“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, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all — you are the head of gold.” Daniel 2:36-38

Nebuchadnezzar misunderstands Daniel’s interpretation and creates a golden image of himself and forces all to worship it. He orders the death of those who defy him.

When three young Jewish men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, refuse to bow down, the king throws them into a fiery furnace.  They emerge unscathed, led by an angel.  Awed, Nebuchadnezzar promotes the young men to high office in his court.  He decrees that anyone who speaks against their God should be torn limb from limb.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S PRIDE

Although he acknowledges the power and might of God, Nebuchadnezzar believes himself to be equal to God in authority and majesty. It takes losing his mind and living like a beast of the field for seven years for him to look up into the sky and finally declare:

“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, for all his works are right, and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”  Daniel 4:37

Let’s look at how Nebuchadnezzar’s spiritual journey plays out in the Character Map.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S MASK

(Point One of the Diamond)

Nebuchadnezzar presents himself as:

Fierce

Brutal

Oppressive

In researching his character, I was surprised to discover that Nebuchadnezzar is a dwarf.  In order not to be vulnerable or preyed upon because of his short stature, he projects an image designed to be terrifying. He is cruel, ruthless, and domineering.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S FEAR

(Point Two of the Diamond)

He fears being:

Weak

Vulnerable

Powerless

King Nebuchadnezzar loses his iron-fisted control only in his sleep. Strange dreams, dreams he can’t understand, disturb his sleep. These visions shake him to his core.

“In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him.” Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar is powerless to understand his unsettling dreams. None of his wise men or magicians can give him the comfort of an interpretation.

“…the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.” Daniel 1:12-13

The phrase “an idol with feet of clay” originates from the image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The terracotta feet of the massive statue made it vulnerable and unable to support its massive weight. It foretold the crumbling of Nebuchadnezzar’s empire. The phrase is meant to describe a fatal weakness in a hero, a truly terrifying thought to the mighty king.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S STRONGEST TRAITS

(Point Three of the Diamond)

Nebuchadnezzar is renown for being:

Bold

Brave

Resolute

Nebuchadnezzar’s strongest traits are his ferociousness, courage, and single-mindedness. His warrior response to every obstacle is to beat it into submission.  Conquering is different than governing. A king must be thoughtful and measured in his approach to governance.

His tyrannical mindset is his downfall. Nebuchadnezzar continually re-enforces his power and strength as a murderous despot.  He has no humility before God. He has no compassion (which he believes looks like weakness).

The Strongest Traits are how we believe we can handle life’s challenges on our own. These traits evidence our pride in our accomplishments and never mind God. They are also the way we cope with or push away our fear, rather than facing it.  Like Nebuchadnezzar, ultimately, we all must face the fact that we are powerless. We must depend entirely on God. Or give ourselves up to a “Higher Power” as described in AA (Alcoholic Anonymous).

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S TROUBLE TRAITS

(Point Five of the Diamond)

He gets in trouble by being:

Proud

Obsessive

Defiant

Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and obsession with maintaining a suffocating grip on power gets him in trouble. He is unwilling to humble himself, be grateful, and surrender to God.

God, through Daniel as his messenger, gives King Nebuchadnezzar every chance, yet he misconstrues every interpretation.  He heeds no warnings and continues to see himself as majestic as God.  He doesn’t realize all his power is a gift from God. Then, he is forcibly humbled.

… “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.  Daniel 4:31-33

GOD’S CALL TO NEBUCHADNEZZAR

(Point Four of the Diamond)

Nebuchadnezzar is called to be:

Humble

Magnanimous

Merciful

God is calling Nebuchadnezzar to be a faithful king.  When Nebuchadnezzar finally looks up into the sky and realizes God’s might, God releases him from his torment with a further warning:

“Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, handle your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” Daniel 4:27

SCHINDLER’S LIST EXAMPLE

In the American film, Schindler’s List, Oscar Schindler (Liam Neeson) has a conversation with the despotic and bloodthirsty Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes).  Schindler is trying to stop Commander Goeth from randomly shooting concentration camp prisoners from his balcony.  Schindler argues that real power is benevolence.

Oskar Schindler: Power is when we have every justification to kill, and we don’t.

Amon Goeth: You think that’s power?

Oskar Schindler: That’s what the Emperors had. A man steals something; he’s brought in before the Emperor, he throws himself down on the ground. He begs for mercy; he knows he’s going to die. And the Emperor pardons him. This worthless man, he lets him go.

Amon Goeth: I think you are drunk.

Oskar Schindler: That’s power, Amon. That is power.

When one is not hounded and haunted by fear, it’s natural to be generous and merciful. A true king of the jungle has nothing to prove and can afford to be magnanimous. Righteousness isn’t mistaken for weakness if one is confident in his strength.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S DARK SIDE

(Point Six of the Diamond)

He falls to the Dark Side when he is:

Paranoid

Violent

Cruel

Nebuchadnezzar sees every person as a threat.  Anyone who presents themselves as an obstacle in his quest for power is his enemy. Defeat is not enough. Total annihilation of anyone in his way is his goal. His suspicion is his biggest obstacle and pride is his downfall.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S WANT:

Power and majesty, as if a god on Earth.

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S NEED:

To be righteous and merciful, as a ruler

NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S PRICE:

To be entirely humbled by God

Nebuchadnezzar wants to gain more and more control over men and kingdoms and become God’s equal on Earth. He is bloodthirsty and amoral in his quest for power.

He needs to listen to God’s warning and instruction through Daniel’s advice and dream interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar is a conqueror who must learn to become a king.

He is unwilling to make a leap of faith to become a benevolent, merciful, and righteous ruler. Nebuchadnezzar equates kindness with weakness and is afraid of seeming vulnerable. He doesn’t realize that real expansion of his power is only through following God’s dictates to do good.

God completely humbles Nebuchadnezzar.  His price is to lose all power, and even his senses and rationality. Only when Nebuchadnezzar recognizes the might and power of God does he regain his kingdom.

“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”  Daniel 4:34