July 4, Daniel 4
"You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will."
- Daniel 4:25
How did a pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar come to sing such fine praise to God in the opening words of Chapter 4? How did the mighty king who thought so highly of himself learn to be humble before the God of heaven?
Nebuchadnezzar had been dreaming again. The king of Babylon had control of much of the then-known world. He was a brilliant military strategist. But he could not control his dreams and could not understand what they meant. Frightening dreams had invaded the invader's dreams, and made the fearless Nebuchadnezzar afraid. So the king summoned his assortment of wisemen. This time he didn't demand that they reveal the dream to him. He told them the dream about the great tree, and ordered them to interpret it.
Once again, the king's wise men were stumped. They could not interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream about the big tree and how it was cut down. Do you wonder how these fellows kept their jobs (and their heads) when they were not very good at telling the king what he wanted to know?
But when Daniel came in, God gave him the interpretation of the king's dream. The prophet dreaded telling Nebuchadnezzar what the dream meant because it was about the king himself, and the news was not good. All Nebuchadnezzar’s victories and prosperity had filled him with pride. God was about to refresh Nebuchadnezzar's memory about who was God and who was not. Through the dream and Daniel's interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar learned that he would lose his mind and be driven out of his palace to live out in the wild with the wild beasts. He would be wet with the dew. His hair would grow long like eagles' feathers, and his nails would grow until they looked like birds' talons. He would live like that for seven periods of time. The seven unspecified periods of time may have been seven years.
When Nebuchadnezzar learned his painful lesson, God returned him to his senses and his palace. The road that led Nebuchadnezzar from pride to humility had been long and hard. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar sang a song of praise to God that rivals some of David's psalms for lyric beauty.
Before Nebuchadnezzar lost his mind and went out for an extended experience of outdoor living, Daniel counseled him about what repentance should look like in his life. He advised him to break off his sins and practice righteousness. He could show his change of heart by showing mercy to the oppressed ones. When the king showed those fruits of repentance, Daniel said that God would perhaps restore and lengthen his prosperity.
Let's remember that God hates pride, and that pride is toxic to our trust in God. It blinds us to God's sovereignty. It makes us forget that every good in our lives is a gift from him. Satan appealed to Eve's pride when he tempted her to take the fruit: "You will be be like God, knowing good and evil." He uses the same tactics to entice us to be our own god, and do our own will instead of obeying the Lord. God can move us from pride to humility. But as Nebuchadnezzar learned, the path between pride and humility may be long and hard.
Let's also realize that Daniel's prescription for Nebuchadnezzar's repentance is appropriate for us as well. Paul said that grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live sober, righteous and godly lives. We too can show we have turned from our sinful disobedience by showing mercy to people around us instead of oppressing them. When I really change my mind about preferring my will to God's will, that change will show in my actions. Nebuchadnezzar's guide to repentance will work for us as well.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—July 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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