In Daniel 2:38, Daniel says that Nebuchadnezzar (N) is ruling over the beasts of the Earth as the “head of gold”. This is in fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah (J) in Jeremiah 28, where the false prophet Hananiah broke off the wooden yoke from J’s neck. J came back, and said that God was replacing the wooden yoke with an iron yoke (cf Deut 28:48, where God said disobedience would result in Him putting an “iron yoke” on them until He had destroyed them). The result of this “iron yoke” is that even the wild beasts would be ruled by N (see Jeremiah 28:14), which is in view now in the passage in Daniel 2. This is the context of Daniel 2’s statue, that Nebuchadnezzar is already fulfilling the Jer 28 prophecy, that Nebuchadnezzar is now this “iron yoke” on Israel, instead of simply a wooden one, as indicated by his rulership over even the animals.
As I read the text, this is what I see. Already, I consider Daniel 9:24’s “70 7’s” to be the 7-fold increase in punishment from Leviticus 26:18, failure to obey after the allotted punishment (70 years) would result in a 7-fold addition, or 8 in all. They were not a time of “blessing to Israel”, as in the prophecy, both the city’s building, being lived in, and destruction and desolation are all promised. In addition to 70 years, Israel was given 70 7’s of years (which, given that this is punishment, makes a “gap” untenable). But, specifically, what is certainly clear is that Nebuchadnezzar was elevated to his position as that “head of gold”, the “iron yoke”, as a direct result of God to punish His chosen, covenant people, Israel.