After first bringing up the whole pride thing a few days ago…I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that I had to write about Nebuchadnezzar. The life of King Nebby teaches us about pride, and how God deals with it. We’ve seen how the king praised God after Daniel interpreted his dream about the statue, and how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were miraculously delivered out of the blazing furnace. But the king still didn’t get it, he still didn’t believe in God completely, and surely wasn’t submitting to Him alone. When we see how the king behaved, Can’t we also consider the way many behave today? Many people attend church and speak “Christian-ese,” but they don’t truly honor God with their lives. Profession doesn’t always mean possession.
So we continue in chapter 4…
“I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant.” Daniel 4: 4-6
Wow, what is it going to take for the king to “get it,” and realize magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune tellers can’t help…only God can. I think he may have come to his senses calling Daniel to come help him, or like so many of us … turn to God as a last resort?
“I said to him, ‘Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means.” Daniel 4:9
(Notice that the king calls Daniel by the Babylonian name that he himself gave him, which is the name of Babylon’s chief god, Bel. He’s still worshiping many gods, and is far away from the Living God.)
“While I was lying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. The tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in the shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree.
Then as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted,
‘Cut down the tree and lop off its branches!
Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit!
Chase the wild animals from its shade
and the birds from its branches
But leave the stump and roots in the ground,
bound with a band of iron and bronze
and surrounded by tender grass.
Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven,
and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field.
For seven periods of time,
let him have the mind of a wild animal
instead of the mind of a human.
For this has been decreed by the messengers;
it is commanded by the holy ones,
so that everyone may know
that the Most High rules over kingdoms of the world.
He gives them to anyone He chooses—
even to the lowliest of people.”
…and we’ll pick up Monday on Daniel’s interpretation, and fulfillment of this dream. Have a nice weekend:)