Did Nebuchadnezzer come to saving faith in God?

[Herald]

[bible]Daniel 4:34-37[/bible]

Did Nebuchadnezzer become a believer?

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

I believe he did. You may wish to consult Stuart Olyott's Dare to Stand Alone for a defence of this view. And I believe E.J. Young also takes this position.

Most of the older commentators disagree, but if Nebuchadnezzar was not saved, then I am not sure who ever has been. Keep in mind that his profession of faith in the sovereign God was a lot stronger than that of most Arminian Christians today.

 

[AV1611]

Did Nebuchadnezzer become a believer?

I am not convinced that he did, but I would be happy to be wrong

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

Did Nebuchadnezzer become a believer?

I am not convinced that he did, but I would be happy to be wrong

Since there is nothing in the Biblical text to say that he did not, then surely the judgment of charity must cause us to conclude that he was?

 

[Herald]

I wonder whether a parallel an be drawn between Nebuchadnezzer's confession and Nineveh's repentance in Jonah? Interesting.

 

[Reformed Covenanter]

I wonder whether a parallel an be drawn between Nebuchadnezzer's confession and Nineveh's repentance in Jonah? Interesting.

Didn't Nebuchadnezzar die shortly after this? So that we cannot proffer any reason why his profession was not genuine?

 

[Herald]

Daniel,

I believe he did die shortly thereafter.

Daniel seemed to have an affection for Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel said to the king:

Daniel 4:19 19 "Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, 'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.' Belteshazzar replied, 'My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!

Notice that Nebuchadnezzar does not react in anger against Daniel for his foreboding interpretation. At the end of the interpretation Daniel says:

Daniel 4:27 27 'Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.'

Daniel did not share the same affection for Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son. When summoned to interpret the handwriting on the wall, and after being offered gifts and a promotion, Daniel said:

Daniel 5:17 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.

Daniel 5:22 22 "Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,

Notice that Daniel never pleaded with Belshazzar to change his ways.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

I agree with Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar, I believe, gave a credible and beautiful profession of faith.

 

[VirginiaHuguenot]

http://www.puritanboard.com/f15/nebuchadnezzar-saved-29026/

 

[Pilgrim Standard]

I don't see by what grounds one would say that he did not come to saving faith in God.
And ditto to Daniel Ritchie "Keep in mind that his profession of faith in the sovereign God was a lot stronger than that of most Arminian Christians today."

 

[caddy]

Did Nebuchadnezzer become a believer?

I am not convinced that he did, but I would be happy to be wrong

I agree

 

[Grymir]

I agree with Daniel Ritchie too, esp his great sentence about the profession of faith better than arminian church's! I don't think that someone could say things about God the way Nebuchadnezzer did unless he was saved. (It was recorded by Daniel and is the word of God, so if he was faking, it would have said so or not been written down)

 

[JonathanHunt]

I hope so, but I don't know so.

 

[Wannabee]

I wonder whether a parallel an be drawn between Nebuchadnezzer's confession and Nineveh's repentance in Jonah? Interesting.

I'm not sure what you could mean here. Maybe I misunderstood. But if this is pointing out a possible relationship in time and location, the two won't go together. I might get a few details wrong here, but overall the record is pretty close. And the spelling of names may be off too.
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon (the Chaldeans). Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The chronology of power lied in Assyria, Babylon and then the Persians and the Medes before Alexander the Great invaded the region (Wasn't it Xerxes I, the Persian, to set out to destroy Athens and was met by the 300 Spartans at Battle of Thermopylae? That would have been about 480 B.C.).
In the late 800s Shalmanezer (sp?) III was the king. Jehu bowed down to him and swore Israel's fealty to Assyria, but Judah did not. Shortly after this would have been the time of Jonah, around 790. Then, in the late 700s Tiglath Peneser came against Judah after King Uzziah died (735). It is speculated that Nineveh's repentance accounts for her relative silence during the first half of the 700s. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't until later, obviously.

Well, it goes something like that. Perhaps our resident historians can correct my mistakes. The point is, the repentance of Nineveh and Nebuchadnezzar are not related in location or time.

 

[Herald]

I wonder whether a parallel an be drawn between Nebuchadnezzer's confession and Nineveh's repentance in Jonah? Interesting.

I'm not sure what you could mean here. Maybe I misunderstood. But if this is pointing out a possible relationship in time and location, the two won't go together. I might get a few details wrong here, but overall the record is pretty close. And the spelling of names may be off too.
Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon (the Chaldeans). Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. The chronology of power lied in Assyria, Babylon and then the Persians and the Medes before Alexander the Great invaded the region (Wasn't it Xerxes I, the Persian, to set out to destroy Athens and was met by the 300 Spartans at Battle of Thermopylae? That would have been about 480 B.C.).
In the late 800s Shalmanezer (sp?) III was the king. Jehu bowed down to him and swore Israel's fealty to Assyria, but Judah did not. Shortly after this would have been the time of Jonah, around 790. Then, in the late 700s Tiglath Peneser came against Judah after King Uzziah died (735). It is speculated that Nineveh's repentance accounts for her relative silence during the first half of the 700s. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't until later, obviously.

Well, it goes something like that. Perhaps our resident historians can correct my mistakes. The point is, the repentance of Nineveh and Nebuchadnezzar are not related in location or time.

I was looking at the larger picture, the fact that two heathen kings repented in the face of judgment (one realized, the other impending). It displays God's grace even to gentiles.