“And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.”
My Notes
What Does Daniel 5:21 Mean?
Daniel recounts Nebuchadnezzar's seven-year humiliation to his grandson Belshazzar — who should have learned from it but hasn't. The former king was driven from humanity, given an animal's heart, lived with wild donkeys, ate grass, and was exposed to the elements — "till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men."
The phrase "till he knew" reveals the purpose of the humiliation: it was educational, not punitive. God wasn't destroying Nebuchadnezzar; he was teaching him. The grass-eating, the animal-living, the dew-soaking — all of it was curriculum. The lesson was simple: God rules. You don't. And the curriculum lasted until the lesson was learned.
Daniel tells this story to Belshazzar on the night of Babylon's fall — the night of the handwriting on the wall. The subtext is devastating: you knew this story, Belshazzar. You knew what happened to your grandfather. You knew the lesson. And you learned nothing. The knowledge that should have produced humility produced only arrogance.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What testimony of God's sovereignty do you know intellectually but haven't internalized?
- 2.Why doesn't secondhand knowledge of someone else's experience produce the same transformation?
- 3.What 'grass-eating' experience might you be avoiding that could teach you what Nebuchadnezzar learned?
- 4.Where are you acting like Belshazzar — knowing the story but ignoring the lesson?
Devotional
Your grandfather ate grass for seven years until he learned that God rules. And you, Belshazzar, knowing all of this, have learned nothing. That's the context of Daniel's retelling — a story the grandson already knows, applied to a night when it's already too late.
The "till he knew" is the mercy in Nebuchadnezzar's story. The humiliation had a terminus — it lasted only until the lesson was absorbed. The moment Nebuchadnezzar looked up and acknowledged God's sovereignty, his sanity returned, his kingdom was restored, and his story became a testimony. The grass-eating wasn't permanent; it was provisional. It lasted exactly as long as the resistance did.
Belshazzar had the benefit of this story and did nothing with it. He watched (or heard about) his grandfather's seven-year descent into animality, his eventual restoration, and his public testimony about God's sovereignty — and then Belshazzar threw a party using the temple vessels and praised gods of gold and silver. He learned nothing from the most dramatic conversion story in the ancient world.
This is the danger of secondhand knowledge. Nebuchadnezzar learned through experience. Belshazzar had the information without the experience, and the information without transformation is worthless. Knowing what happened to someone else doesn't protect you if you don't internalize the lesson.
What stories of God's sovereignty have you heard — from Scripture, from testimony, from your own family — that you haven't yet internalized? Knowledge that doesn't produce humility produces Belshazzar's fate.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he was driven from the sons of men,.... From their company, and from conversation with them; his madness was of that…
And he was driven ... - See this fully explained in Dan 4:25-33.
Here is, I. The information given to the king, by the queen-mother, concerning Daniel, how fit he was to be consulted in…
See Dan 4:25; Dan 4:32-33.
the wild asses An untamable animal, which roamed in the open plains (see Job 39:5-8; and cf.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture