Daniel 4:1-3--Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

Daniel 4:1-3
English Standard Version

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
4  King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! 2 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

3 How great are his signs,
    how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

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This decree is evidence if what God is doing in the heart of King Nebuchadnezzar.  He's not quite to the point of realizing that the LORD is God alone and there are no other gods, but he is to the point recognizing that God is unlike any other.  He is the Most High God and there is no one that do the signs and wonders (the miraculous works) that He can do.  For this reason, the king orders all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell on the earth (no one is excluded) to join him in worshiping the LORD for what He has done for the good of the king of Babylon and the salvation of His people of Israel and Judah.

The king of Babylon is starting to realize that the Kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom and that means that his kingdom (Babylon) will not be an everlasting kingdom.  His dominion endures from generation to generation meaning that He has no successor because He lives forever and ever and no one can unseat Him from His throne.  There is none powerful enough to contend with Him.

The king is really, really close to the kingdom of God here, but we have not yet seen repentance.  That is coming at the end of this chapter, and I think at that point we will see the king's salvation experience.  He will sing a song of praise that will sound much like this song, but the words come from a slightly different place giving them a slightly different meaning.  Between these two songs are stories of how the king battled with pride and ego.  I think this passage along with the rest of the chapter teach us to not get too excited by someone saying what appears to be the right words.  We should wait to see if their lives produce fruit in keeping with repentance or not.  That is not to say that once we are saved we will never sin again, but the LORD knew the heart of the king and that there was still more work to do for the king to be broken of his pride and to fully surrender and submit to the LORD.