NEBUDCHANEZZAR: THE KING WHO GRAZED ON GRASS

(Daniel 4)

THE KING WHO GRAZED ON GRASS

  

While Daniel was captive in Babylon

Nebudchanezzar was the king.

He oppressed the poor and exalted himself,

But God saw him worth teaching.

One day the king had a vivid dream,

While he was rich and content.

The dream he had made him fearful;

He didn’t know what it meant.

So he called together his “wise” men,

That consisted of magicians and enchanters.

The crowd of “wise” men also included,

Astrologers and diviners.

But none could interpret the dream,

Then Daniel entered his presence.

The king remembered Daniel’s God,

And no mystery could master His brilliance.

Daniel was to tell details of the dream,

Though its meaning left him spent.

Though Daniel was afraid to respond,

The king asked what the dream meant.

Daniel at first was puzzled,

And his thoughts terrified him.

He knew his reply might trouble the king,

So he was feeling grim.

The king told Daniel to have no fear,

If the meaning he would disclose.

Daniel said it would be better,

If the dream was meant for his foes.

Daniel told how the tree in the dream,

Was so large that the whole world could see.

Then Daniel explained that part:

“You, Oh King, are that tree.”

So far, so good, but the dream turned sour;

One would come from heaven and say,

“Cut down the tree and destroy it,

But the stump and the roots should stay.”

“Seven years you will live like animals,

You’ll be drenched in heaven’s dew.

You will graze on grass like cattle,

And no one will be there for you.”

But nothing happened overnight;

A year later on the roof stood the "tree."

He thought he was king of the world,

Reveling in his own majesty.

The words were still on his lips,

When a voice came down from heaven.

“Your royal authority has been taken,

And from people you will be driven.”

And so the dream was fulfilled;

The king was like a wild beast.

He was drenched in heaven’s dew,

While on the grass he would feast.

His hair was like eagle’s feathers,

And his nails like the claws of a bird.

Seven years passed and he looked to heaven,

And his sanity returned at God’s word.

He became greater than ever before;

His honor and splendor returned.

But he now gave God the glory,

And told how his lesson he’d learned.

He acknowledged that the prideful,

God is able to humble.

He took pleasure in telling his story;

He didn’t want others to stumble.

“Pride comes before the fall,” scripture says,

And the king represents all men.

Though he was a legend in his own mind,

Once humbled, God restored him again.

Becky L. Wall

KING BELSHAZZAR: THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL

(Daniel 5)

King Belshazzar gave a banquet,

For a thousand nobles and his harem.

They toasted their gods with goblets of gold,

From God’s temple in Jerusalem.

They praised the gods of silver and gold,

As they all drank their fine wine.

While praising gods of bronze, wood and iron,

God’s vessels they would malign.

There in the royal palace,

On a wall near the lampstand,

They couldn’t believe their eyes;

There appeared the fingers of a hand.

The king watched the hand as it wrote;

His face turned deathly pale.

He was so afraid his knees knocked together,

And his legs began to fail.

Enchanters, astrologers and diviners;

The king called his “wise” men to him.

The one who could translate the writing,

Would be third ruler over them.

But none of the “wise” men could read it,

So the king turned the color of cream.

The queen reminded him of Daniel,

And how he had solved his dad’s dream.

Daniel told King Belshazzar,

How God had made his dad king,

But his dad showed attitude, not gratitude;

God knew he needed humbling.

His dad lost his mind and grazed on grass;

Pride was his biggest sin.

When seven years later he looked to heaven,

God restored his dad again.

Belshazzar knew the story,

Yet the Lord God he ignored.

In fact he opposed Him when he praised other gods,

And his actions God deplored.

After Daniel told of God’s mindset,

For writing on the wall,

He began to interpret the writing,

Which foretold Belshazzar’s fall.

It said “Mene mene tekel parsin,”

“Mene” means with God you’ll contend,

Your days are numbered and so is your reign;

They will soon be brought to an end.

“Tekel” means you’ve been weighed on the scales,

And there you’ve been found wanting.

In other words, he had displeased God,

For the weight of his sins was daunting.

“Parsin” or “Peres” both mean the same:

The kingdom will be divided.

It will go to the Medes and Persians.

By God you should have been guided.

Daniel was then clothed in purple,

On his neck was placed a gold chain.

He was made the third highest ruler,

And that night the king was slain.

Becky L. Wall