Daniel 4:1–“Peter Parker”

 

As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king to the all of the peoples, the nations, and the languages which dwelling in the all of the earth: May your (pl.) peace/prosperity increase.

I suppose, in some sense, this might be considered one of the most unusual chapters in the Bible – the chapter where a great king is turned into a cow! The last chapter – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace – is certainly one of the most amazing. In that, the Lord showed His great power by conquering raging flames, while here in chapter 4, He displays His great power by humiliating a seemingly powerful man. Nebuchadnezzar, it would seem, finally “got the point,” and so he embarks on this proclamation recorded for us in the book of Daniel.

First of all, a minor exegetical matter is to note that in the Aramaic text, verses 1-3 are actually attached to the previous chapter. The chapter/verse breakdowns of course are not part of the inspired text, so they are not necessarily of any profound importance, but I personally think our English arrangement to be correct. Verse 1 is a very typical ancient heading for a letter or proclamation, appearing exactly as it does here, at the head of the manuscript. Interestingly, after the “Daniel in the Lions’ Den” events later in chapter 6, King Darius (a Medo-Persian) issues his own proclamation in precisely the same words (v.25) and there, also clearly at the head of his proclamation.

Next, I think it worth noting exactly who we are dealing with here in 4:1. This is Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, whom we have met in every chapter so far. Notice that his letter is being addressed to “the all of the peoples, the nations, and the languages which dwelling in the all of the earth.” Some commentators are quick to minimize this address, acknowledging that, of course, he didn’t rule over “all the world.” However, I will beg to differ on this basis: In chapter 2, verses 37,38, when Daniel was interpreting the king’s dream, he said to him, “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands He has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, He has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.”

Notice, “He has made you ruler over them all.” I would note that, whether Nebuchadnezzar ever actually extended his reign to the ends of the earth or not, he could have. As Scofield noted, “He was divinely authorized to do so.” I believe it worth noting that this king is possibly the most powerful man who ever lived. Even the city of Babylon itself was astounding. There are various accounts of the size, population, and wealth of the city, but it was enormous – something like 4 miles by 4 miles square. Again, estimates vary, but the population could have easily reached 1,000,000.

It is a marvel to pause and consider an ancient city that large. As a civil engineer, I can’t fathom how they got water in to all those people and their sewage out. Both had to happen. People cannot live without water and obviously the sewage must be removed in some sanitary manner, or the whole city would soon be dead. Even trash and garbage would have to be removed in some frequent, systematic manner or the city would very soon be overrun with rats. I even wonder about their traffic control. Even if people were walking and on horse (or camel) back, still, that many people would mean crowds at every major intersection. How did they “control” that traffic, so it could move smoothly in both directions?

My point in all of this is simply to notice just who we’re dealing with. This is Nebuchadnezzar, possibly the most powerful king who ever reigned, ruling perhaps one of the greatest cities ever built, ruling (or authorized to do so) over literally the entire planet earth.

His opening words are, “May your (pl.) peace/prosperity increase.” On one hand, we can’t read into these words too much good will. It’s a nice wish from a king to his subjects, but, as I noted above, this a very typical way to begin a proclamation and would be standard form whether the king possessed any good will or not. On the other hand it truly is a nice wish, “May your (pl.) peace/prosperity increase.” The word I translated “peace/prosperity” is just that. It is the familiar Jewish greeting of “Shalom!” which we tend to translate as “peace.” However, in the original languages it meant so much more than our English word “peace.” It really refers to “everything” good and right. It is kind of a “Norman Rockwell” word, a picture of the happy family with everyone there and healthy and happy.

So it certainly is a nice wish. This is, however, exactly the point at which I want to note something. Nebuchadnezzar is the king. He is a very powerful king, a very wealthy king. He has it within his power and wealth to fulfill for his people this very wish. He has within his power the ability to do great good for all of these peoples. However, he also possesses the power to do them great harm. He has the power.

Whether you and I are great kings (or queens) or simply parents or bosses or teachers or coaches or even president of the local butterfly collectors’ club, we human beings find ourselves in various ways and at various times people granted positions of power. We, like Nebuchadnezzar, can use that power to do people good or to do them great harm. Sometimes the harm we do can be deliberate (like dirty crooked politicians) or it can be simply neglect, but, with our position comes the ability to affect others. Obviously, as people in power would think of those under them, they should be thinking, “May your (pl.) peace/prosperity increase,” and act accordingly.

What is too bad is that the human race has rarely embraced this idea, reflected in today’s “Peter Parker” principle. That is the words spoken by Uncle Ben, “With great power comes great responsibility.” In the Spider-man series, this is the advice given to young Peter Parker by his uncle when he suddenly is granted the super “spider” powers. Ben’s  point of course is that Peter now faces a choice. He can use those powers for his own personal ambitions or see them as the opportunity, even responsibility, to do good to others.

This of course is nothing less than the Biblical principle of servanthood, “Even the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), but, whether it’s the Peter Parker principle or straight out of the Bible, the world has largely missed it.

But you and I can be different. We can acknowledge that any “power” we possess is a gift from God and intended by Him to be used in the service of others. We truly should desire “peace/prosperity” for anyone over whom we possess the power to impact and we should use “power” very deliberately to do good to others. I would suggest, in one sense, that is our calling as Christians – to use whatever power God gives us to do good to others. I fear too often American Christians only see their faith as practical when they’re at the church building. We need to see instead this is our life – that the Lord wants to adorn His Gospel literally everywhere we go, in everything we do, to everyone we intersect, precisely because we use whatever power we may have to do them good. Our souls toward others should live, ““May your (pl.) peace/prosperity increase.”

Whether it’s Peter Parker or the Bible, “With great power comes great responsibility.”