God’s Word for You
Daniel 4:4-8 after the name of what god?
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, October 3, 2025
4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. 5 I had a dream that frightened me. I was laying in my bed, but the images and the visions in my head alarmed me. 6 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, so that they could interpret the dream for me. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me 8 until at last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream. I said:
The two halves of the book of Daniel overlap following the death of King Nebuchadnezzar. In the captivity accounts (chapters 1-6), most of our attention is on Nebuchadnezzar as the great king of Babylon who conquered Judah and who destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Two later events, one involving the ruler Belshazzar and one much later one involving Darius, end the captivity accounts. Then beginning with chapter 7, Daniel records his own visions, which I have called the Apocalypse section of the book, returning to the time of Belshazzar and then other visions in the days of Darius and Cyrus. Here in chapter 4 we are drawing close to the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s life and reign. It is, I think, very close to the year 570 BC. It was in that year that the Egyptian General Amasis completed the army’s revolt against Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 44:30) and Amasis, already reigning as Pharaoh Amasis II, became sole Pharaoh. Some of Nebuchadnezzar’s records suggest that his army was involved in this struggle on the side of Amasis.
At about this time. Nebuchadnezzar had the nightmare that troubled him. He writes that he called in his wise men, just as he had more than thirty years before when another dream troubled him (Daniel 2). This time he remembered the dream and he didn’t try to hide it from anyone, but even so, his astrologers and wise men could not give him an interpretation. Then Daniel came. By this time Daniel was in the prime of his life, in his mid-forties, well-respected and honored throughout Babylon. He was, in fact, the chief of the Magi or Wise Men.
Nebuchadnezzar remembered the special name he had given to Daniel, which was Belteshazzar, “Bel Protects,” after Bel the Babylonian god. But Daniel’s Hebrew name means “God is my Judge.” He had not forgotten his lord, his faith, or the special protection and favor that God had given to him.
Was it wrong or sinful for Daniel to permit himself to be known by a pagan name, with the name of a pagan god in his name? For Daniel, it wasn’t an act of worship, but simply obedience to his government. The king might have given him a number, or a strange name that was the name of a plant, or, as he actually did, a name with his pagan god’s name in it. That didn’t mean Daniel worshiped Bel any more than a boy named after Thor worships a Norse weather god today.
Many of the lessons we learn in Daniel have to do with our obedience to those who rule over us, whether parents, or a boss, or a king. When we submit to them it’s in obedience to the Fourth Commandment. There are people who deny this, and even try to forbid Christians to take a government office. This is because they misunderstand Christian freedom. They understand this to mean that they are independent from any external authority, and they fail to understand the distinction between Christ’s kingdom and human, civil kingdoms or governments.
On the other side of that error is the mistake of other Christians who think that the church has a power superior to that of a human government. They might qualify this to be, “where the salvation of souls demands it,” but they mean that they, a church, have the power to depose rulers and overthrow governments. But the government’s role is only in temporal matters, civil (government) and social matters. In no way does the role of the government touch the realm of spiritual matters. And since the source of the government’s power and authority is from God himself, rebellion against the government is rebellion against God’s authority and his representative.
What should someone do who finds that they have spoken out in what must be a sinful way? Or even thought in a sinful way? We live in troubling times, and the temptations to do such things can be overwhelming for some people. But we know that when we bring our sins before our loving Father, he will forgive us for Jesus’ sake, and through the merits of Jesus we stand forgiven. Then, we should ask for God’s help and grace as we bear the cross of living in such difficult and uncertain times. He will help us, through his holy word, and through the gracious love we show to one another. As God has been there for you, be there to console the people around you. And if someone is confused by some strange thing that a leader has done (such as a nickname that includes the name of a heathen god), may the true God give us strength to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God (Micah 6:8).
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.