Some lessons in life are hard to learn, some may even seem impossible. Many of us have found ourselves in situations that seemed impossible and yet some how we made it through and even grew from those experiences. I would say one of these lessons is losing a loved one for instance. We must learn to let go of someone we spent years learning to love; that can be tough. Some of us may find putting the toilet seat down as an almost impossible habit to build up. Some of your kids may make putting their toys away seem like an impossible task to learn. Some lessons, by choice, are made harder such as not wanting to study to understand school work. You cannot learn a lesson without studying.
In today’s text, a king has a great lesson to learn himself and he will do so the hard way by choice. In the book of Daniel chapter 4 we find the story of Daniel serving in King Nebuchadnezzar’s household. This passage is a rare site in the Bible as it is the only chapter written by someone other than the writer of the book. This king was not a Hebrew and did not serve God and yet his words are recorded here because he learned a very valuable lesson. Listen to the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and let us see what lessons He had to learn.
The Story of King Nebuchadnezzar
King Nebuchadnezzar sent this letter to the people, nations, and those who speak every language in the entire world: I wish you peace and great wealth! The Most High God has done miracles and wonderful things for me that I am happy to tell you about.
His wonderful acts are great, and his miracles are mighty.
His kingdom goes on forever, and his rule continues from now on.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was happy and successful at my palace, but I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying on my bed, I saw pictures and visions in my mind that alarmed me. So I ordered all the wise men of Babylon to come to me and tell me what my dream meant. The fortune-tellers, magicians, and wise men came, and I told them about the dream. But they could not tell me what it meant.
Finally, Daniel came to me. (I called him Belteshazzar to honor my god, because the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I told my dream to him. I said, "Belteshazzar, you are the most important of all the fortune-tellers. I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, so there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand. This was what I dreamed; tell me what it means. These are the visions I saw while I was lying in my bed: I looked, and there in front of me was a tree standing in the middle of the earth. And it was very tall. The tree grew large and strong. The top of the tree touched the sky and could be seen from anywhere on earth. The leaves of the tree were beautiful. It had plenty of good fruit on it, enough food for everyone. The wild animals found shelter under the tree, and the birds lived in its branches. Every animal ate from it.
"As I was looking at those things in the vision while lying on my bed, I saw an observer, a holy angel coming down from heaven. He spoke very loudly and said, ’Cut down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals under the tree run away, and let the birds in its branches fly away. But leave the stump and its roots in the ground with a band of iron and bronze around it; let it stay in the field with the grass around it.
"’Let the man become wet with dew, and let him live among the animals and plants of the earth. Let him not think like a human any longer, but let him have the mind of an animal for seven years. "’The observers gave this command; the holy ones declared the sentence. This is so all people may know that the Most High God rules over every kingdom on earth. God gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants, and he chooses people to rule them who are not proud.’ "That is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed. Now Belteshazzar, tell me what the dream means. None of the wise men in my kingdom can explain it to me, but you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you."
Daniel Explains the Dream
Then Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, was very quiet for a while, because his understanding of the dream frightened him. So I said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning make you afraid." Belteshazzar then answered me saying, "My master, I wish the dream were about your enemies, and I wish its meaning were for those who are against you! You saw a tree in your dream that grew large and strong. Its top touched the sky, and it could be seen from all over the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, and it had plenty of fruit for everyone to eat. It was a home for the wild animals, and its branches were nesting places for the birds. O king, you are that tree! You have become great and powerful, like the tall tree that touched the sky. Your power reaches to the far parts of the earth.
"O king, you saw an observer, a holy angel, coming down from heaven who said, ’Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and its roots in the ground with a band of iron and bronze around it; leave it in the field with the grass. Let him become wet with dew and live like a wild animal for seven years.’ "This is the meaning of the dream, O king. The Most High God has commanded these things to happen to my master the king: You will be forced away from people to live among the wild animals. People will feed you grass like an ox, and dew from the sky will make you wet. Seven years will pass, and then you will learn this lesson: The Most High God is ruler over every kingdom on earth, and he gives those kingdoms to anyone he chooses. "Since the stump of the tree and its roots were left in the ground, your kingdom will be given back to you when you learn that one in heaven rules your kingdom. So, O king, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Stop doing wicked things and be kind to the poor. Then you might continue to be successful."
The King’s Dream Comes True
All these things happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later as I was walking on the roof of my palace in Babylon, I said, "I have built this great Babylon as my royal home. I built it by my power to show my glory and my majesty." The words were still in my mouth when a voice from heaven said, "King Nebuchadnezzar, these things will happen to you: Your royal power has been taken away from you. You will be forced away from people. You will live with the wild animals and will be fed grass like an ox. Seven years will pass before you learn this lesson: The Most High God rules over every kingdom on earth and gives those kingdoms to anyone he chooses."
Immediately the words came true. I was forced to go away from people, and I began eating grass like an ox. I became wet from dew. My hair grew long like the feathers of an eagle, and my nails grew like the claws of a bird. At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven, and I could think normally again! Then I gave praise to the Most High God; I gave honor and glory to him who lives forever.
God’s rule is forever, and his kingdom continues for all time. People on earth are not truly important. God does what he wants with the powers of heaven and the people on earth. No one can stop his powerful hand or question what he does. At that time I could think normally again, and God gave back my great honor and power and returned the glory to my kingdom. The people who advised me and the royal family came to me for help again. I became king again and was even greater and more powerful than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise and honor and glory to the King of heaven. Everything he does is right and fair, and he is able to make proud people humble.
Nebuchadnezzar had a great lesson to learn: “The Most High God rules over every kingdom on earth and gives those kingdoms to anyone he chooses.” We too may need to learn this lesson from the life of Nebuchadnezzar. God rules over everything in this world and gives it to whomever he chooses. Nebuchadnezzar made a big mistake. At the beginning of the chapter, He praises God for saving Daniel’s friends from the furnace and yet even after getting the vision says in verses 29 and 30 that He has created his great kingdom for his glory and majesty. He had become prideful during his reign as king. He began to glorify himself and ignore God. I would say that we can fall into the same trap. Today, we live better than most kings did for the last 3,000 to 4,000 years. We have homes, food, warm clothing for winter, television, movies, internet, cable, and the list could go on for a long time. We believe that we as humans have went to work and made the money to buy all those things we desire. We develop this inner attitude that says “I deserve this because I make the money.” This is the exact same prideful and demanding attitude that Nebuchadnezzar had. Look at all I have bought and how great I am with my nice car and house full of nice furniture. We somehow believe that we have provided for us and forget all about God who even made having the job you have possible.
You fall into the same mistakes and the king did in the story. You feel comfort and safety in being able to provide for your family and buy nice things. There is nothing wrong with buying nice things until you deny that God gave that money to you in the first place. The Most High God rules over everything and gives it to whomever He chooses. The most High God provided your house, your job, your car, your television, your everything and yet you take credit for it. That stuff belongs to God. We all get into this mindset that we deserve more and that since we have earned it that money and stuff belong to us but everything in this world is owned by God.
One day, God may take everything back. Nebuchadnezzar found this out the hard way when one day he glorified himself and took God’s honor. God then proceeded to take everything He had given Nebuchadnezzar away from him. God turned him into a raving lunatic who acted basically like a cow. He had no honor, no glorious palace, no beautiful wives, and no glory of which to speak. Nebuchadnezzar went through a very arduous trial because he didn’t give God the glory He deserved. Nebuchadnezzar had everything a person of that day could have wanted. His pride and selfishness caught up to him and God took it away to teach him a lesson. God may have made him crazy for as long as seven years before Nebuchadnezzar finally realized the truth about God. He was punished for seven years, absolutely destitute, before his sanity returned.
Money has a great way of growing wings and flying away. You save some and then it disappears before you know it. The bottom line is that we take several things in life for granted. We take our homes for granted and our refrigerators packed with food. We will take advantage of our heaters and forget to thank God we have heat at all this winter. We take advantage of our vehicles on a daily basis as well as our families. How do we react when God takes away our precious stuff? We get angry and ask God why? Why did you take away my stuff? I can’t afford to replace or fix it. How are we going to make it? You then take what little savings you do have and “make it” through the crisis just fine and complain to God about it. Who do you think gave you that job and gave you that savings? Who gave you your house and made you capable to work? God did and he has a right to take it away if you do not worship Him. Nebuchadnezzar worshipped himself and lost everything because of it. God put the king through a tough trial but when the king returned to God and gave God glory then he was restored to his former place.
God restored Nebuchadnezzar to his place as king and even gave him the stuff he so glorified earlier. However, He was only restored once he recognized that God was ruler of all things. Again, we should learn a lesson here. When life gets tough and we have trials and struggles, it could be an indication that you have gotten too attached to your money or your stuff and began to deny God His rightful place. Have you thanked God recently for everything He has given you? Have you thanked him for a running car or have you complained about not having a better one? Have you thanked Him for providing a home for you to live in and a job to pay for it or have you grumbled because your job isn’t so good and your house isn’t a mansion? Nebuchadnezzar took glory for himself and praised himself for providing such a wonderful life for himself. Sometimes we too choose to thank and praise ourselves for our jobs, money, house, car, and other amenities that we do not need. We feel we deserve stuff way too often.
God had a lesson to teach King Nebuchadnezzar and a lesson we should also take to heart. “The Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.” God gives you whatever he chooses to give you. Some get more such as Bill Gates and some people live in poverty. I do not know why God makes those choices but that is because He is God and I am not. I do not know what choice he has made in the case of your finances and your life but I do know this: Praise God for what he has given. If you take credit for it, He may take it away to teach you a lesson. However, if you return to Him, He will restore your life in the way that He sees fit. Does that necessarily mean he will give it all back, no but it does mean that He will take care of you again. Keep this in mind when you drive home in your car and sit down in your house and eat your food. All of that belongs to God and one day he may well take it back. Praise Him for His generosity. He has provided the glorious life you live. On that note, have you ever considered willingly giving back some of what he gave to you? What greater praise can God receive than us giving back to Him and saying thank you?
