The moral character of Nebuchadnezzar is not such as entitles him to
our approval. Besides the overweening pride which brought on him such
terrible chastisement, we note a violence and fury common enough in
Oriental monarchs of the weaker kind, but from which the greatest of
them have usually been free; while at the same time we observe a cold
and relentless cruelty that is particularly revolting. The blinding
of Zedekiah may possibly be justified as an ordinary Eastern practice,
though it is the earliest case of the kind on record; but the refinement
of cruelty by which he was made to witness his sons’ execution before his
eyes were put out was more worthy of a Dionysius or a Domitian than of a
really great king.
Again, the detention of Jehoiachin in prison thirty-six years for an
offence committed at the age of eighteen is a severity surpassing
Oriental harshness.
Against these grave faults we have nothing to set, unless it be a
feeble trait of magnanimity in the pardon of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego--when he found that he was without power to punish them.
It has been thought remarkable that to a man of this character God should
have vouchsafed a revelation of the future by means of visions. But the
circumstance, however it may disturb our preconceived notions, is not
really at variance with the general laws of God’s providence, as revealed
to us in Scripture.
As with His natural gifts, so with His supernatural gifts--they are not
confined to the worthy. Even under Christianity, miraculous powers were
sometimes possessed by those who made an ill use of them. And God, it
is plain, did not leave the old heathen world without some supernatural
aid, but made His presence felt from time to time in visions, through
prophets, or even by a voice from Heaven.
It is only necessary to refer to the histories of Pharaoh, Abimelech, Job
and Balaam in order to establish the parity of Nebuchadnezzar’s visions
with other facts recorded in the Bible. He was warned, and the nations
over which he ruled were warned through him, God leaving not Himself
“without witness” even in those dark times.
Abydenus, a heathen writer who generally drew his inspiration from
Berosus, ascribes to Nebuchadnezzar a miraculous speech just before his
death, announcing to the Babylonians the speedy coming of “a Persian
mule,” who, with the aid of the Medes, would enslave Babylon.