The Prompt: In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar went mad and ate grass like an ox. What happened to him? How did he live, think, and feel? Describe him after he went mad.
I would imagine his sanity left him gradually. He probably had the urge to eat grass every now and then and tried as hard as he could to suppress it. This probably only added to his insanity. When he wanted to eat the grass and act like an ox, his mind thought only like an animal's. He had no memories of his life as king.
When his subjects found out what was happening to Nebby, they probably put him away to hide the disgrace. Then, when he realized that he was locked away, in one of his lucid moments, he was outraged and probably tried his best to get out of the jail, cursing, pulling at the bars, and the like. He thought they had betrayed him. For months, he suffered fits of anger followed by his bovine urges, with fewer breaks in between the urges.
I always imagined that when he did go fully crazy, he lived out in the wilderness. No one recognized him, with his hair long and tangled and his clothes unkempt. He probably resembled the stereotypical caveman. I think at this point, Nebby hit his lowest point. He was barely human. His subjects mourned him and his lost glory. He was abandoned; no one visited him. I expect that at this point, Nebby sat in his filth and could remember everything about his past. I'm sure Daniel's words from God and his dream's interpretations especially rang in his ears. He felt angry, guilty, depressed, despicable, and finally humble. It was an awful feeling, realizing he had been wrong all these years and wishing he had the chance to relive his life. If God had given him that chance though, would Nebuchadnezzar had really acted any differently?
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