Babylon- The Repentant Series

Series: Biblical Cities- Babylon [#9]

BABYLON- THE REPENTANT

Psalm 137:1

Introduction:

We are continuing in our study of Babylon. The city is the 2nd on the list of most mentions. Babylon is mentioned 286 times in the Bible. It means “the gate of god(s). Over the last few weeks, we have looked at Babylon during the time of Daniel. The Book of Daniel gives a picture of how things were in Babylon.

Psalm 137:1

Who here has to learn everything the hard way? When it comes to being obedient to God are you stubborn? Just as Jacob wrestled with God, we find that God will let us wrestle with Him; but He can stop the wrestling match anytime He wants to. Daniel 4 is focused on the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s pride, his fall, and his repentance. He had a dream, and just like in the past, no one could interpret his dream until Daniel showed up.

Daniel 4:4

* The dream.

Nebuchadnezzar told Daniel the dream he had in detail. Daniel listened.

Daniel 4:9-18

* The interpretation.

Daniel heard the dream and now it was time for him to interpret the dream. It is obvious that Daniel was not excited about telling him the interpretation; but he told him the truth.

Daniel 4:19-26

* The call to repentance.

Daniel asked him to repent of his sins so that he might be able to avoid the consequences of his sins; but he did not.

Daniel 4:27-33

The attitude of the…

1. Prideful.

The king was told what was going to happen. He realized that he was a very powerful man and became extremely prideful. He was like a strong tree that could not be harmed, so he thought. Now the underlying theme here is important- Remember that King Nebuchadnezzar had acknowledged to Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that their God was the greatest of all gods because God had rescued them; but he had never acknowledged that Jehovah God was the only true God. The king was looking for a god that would be his “errand-boy”.

The attitude of the…

2. Fallen.

God is patient with us; but God does get our attention. This is an important message not only to Christians; but to our Nation. You may think you are powerful, rich, etc…; but pride goes before the fall. Christians, you may be stubborn, but God will “line you out”. It would be so much easier if you would just be obedient the 1st time. King Nebuchadnezzar went from the most powerful man to eating grass like a cow. What a change. God can remove those things that keep you from Him.

Daniel 4:34-36

The attitude of the…

3. Repentant.

As soon as his time of punishment was over, he surrendered to God. He was convinced that God was the only God. Notice that after he surrendered to God that all of the focus on himself was gone and when he focused on God he began to praise and worship him.

Conclusion:

Daniel 4:37

The key to this passage is in this verse: God is perfect and righteous, and you can choose to follow Him and enjoy your fellowship with God or you can walk in pride and be humbled by God. King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony is 1 of failure in self and success through God. Are you going to keep being stubborn or are you going to surrender to God?