It is surprising, and even shocking, that the greatest hero of
Saddam Hussain, the ruler of Iraq, was one who wrote part of the
Bible. Nebuchadnezzar is a familiar name to students of the Bible,
but few realize that he was one of the authors of the Bible. Here in
chapter 4 of Daniel we see clearly that this is one of his letters and his
personal testimony. Someone had to write it down for him, but these
are his words. Nebuchadnezzar is the most prominent heathen monarch
referred to the Bible, and the most important. The prophecies of
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and the last chapters of Kings and
Chronicles center around the life of this great man. There are many
of the great people of God who do not get a fraction of the coverage
that he gets in the Bible. He is named 86 times in the Bible. He
reigned for 43 years and died in 594 B.C. at the age of 84. His capital
was Babylon just about 100 miles from Baghdad, the present capital
of Iraq.
This area of the world seems like an insignificant place to us in
the West, but there are few places on earth with such a rich heritage
of history. The area of Iraq where the Tigris and the Euphrates
rivers come together is considered the most likely place where man
began his history, for this is where the Garden of Eden was
according to the best guesses. The oldest organized states are to be
found in this area, and it was not far from this area that Abraham
was called to become the father of God's people. He is the most
honored man in all of history, and he came from this area.
This area was called Messopotamia, and some of the world's
most famous people ruled here. Hammurabi, the great ancient
lawgiver, ruled here in 1700 B. C. When Nebuchadnezzar came to
power in the 600's he was used of God to punish His people. He
came to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple, and he carried Israel
into captivity to Babylon. There was no help for Israel, for
Nebuchadnezzar had defeated all his foes, and even Syria and Egypt
came under his power. With relative peace he gave himself to
become a great builder in beautifying his capital of Babylon. His
hanging gardens were one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
Daniel was taken captive along with most of Israel, and they
lived for 70 years in Babylon until the Persians conquered Babylon
and Cyrus the Great let the Jews go back to Israel. A lot of what we
have seen in our day is due to the heritage of Iran and Iraq. The
leaders of these nations have a noble heritage, and in their pride they
feel they can recapture the glory of Bible days, and again be world
powers. Saddam Hussain is rebuilding Babylon and trying to make
his nation the center of power, glory and luxury. Every year he
stages a festival in Babylon. He mints a special gold coin with face on
one side and that of Nebuchadnezzar on the other.
The study of Babylon is fascinating, for there are hundreds of
references to Babylon in the Bible. Peter even refers to a church
there in I Peter 5:13. The tomb of the prophet Ezekiel is not far
outside of Babylon. But in the book of Revelation it becomes a
symbol of the evil power of the world that is judged by God.
Babylon The Great is fallen, and it represents the lost just as
Jerusalem represents the redeemed. I do not pretend to be a
prophecy expert, but the fact is, if a war breaks out in the cities of
Babylon and Jerusalem it could be a rehearsal for the final battle.
But we want to focus on the record of Nebuchadnezzar who reigned
over ancient Babylon.
All of the bricks dug up from the ruins of ancient Babylon, and a
hundred other towns in the neighborhood of Bagdad have no other
name on them but that of Nebuchadnezzar. Here in 4:30
Nebuchadnezzar says, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as
the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my
majesty?" The Jewish and Greek historians agree that he was more
celebrated then was Hercules among the Greeks. He was brilliant,
powerful, and very religious. He built more temples than any other
ruler.
He was the king who built the 90-foot image of gold, and he
threw Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego into the fiery furnace for
not bowing to it. He is one of the few kings who saw a miracle of God
when a fourth man appeared in the fire and the 3 came out without a
hair singed. He was so deeply impressed by this miracle that he
praised their God, and he made a decree that exalted God, and he
promoted the 3 Jews to higher positions so that it was a truly happy
ending.
Here are the words of Nebuchadnezzar in Dan. 3:28-29: "Then
Nebuchadnezzar said, praise be to the God of Shadrack, Meshack
and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!
They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing
to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except
their own God. Therefore, I decree that the people of any nation or
language who say anything against the God of Shadrack, Meshack
and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles
of rubble, for no other god can save in this way." This heathen king
with gods galore makes it a capital crime to say a negative word
about the God of Israel. He praises God and acknowledges that he is
the greatest Savior of all gods.
Now in chapter 4 of Daniel we see an amazing account of how
this most famous king of Babylon went through a very similar
experience as Job in terms of suffering and surviving in his pride he
thought of himself more highly than he ought, and God had to teach
him that he only had what he had by God's power and authority.
God judged him and he became a madman. He lost his mind and
became like a wild animal. He was eating grass like a cow and was
totally insane. God was teaching him a lesson in humanity, but he
gave him another chance. When he was restored to his right mind
we read this testimony in 4:34-37. "At the end of that time, I
Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was
restored. Then I praised the Most High, I honored and gloried Him
who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom
endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of
heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand
or say to Him: What have you done? At the same time that my
sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for
the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out,
and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than
before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the
King of Heaven, because everything He does is right and all His ways
are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to humble."
You would have a hard time finding anything that surpasses this
song of praise to Jehovah, and it comes from a polytheistic heathen
king of Babylon. This opens up more doors than we can begin to
even peek behind, but lets explore a few. The first thing that struck
me is how God in mercy restored this proud king. Many are
smashed in judgment and never recover, but here God does to this
heathen what he did for Job. He restores him to greater glory than
he had before his judgment. Nebuchadnezzar was able to save face
even though he was made to be like a wild animal. God gave him
back his mind and his glory, and he became a humble man.
This is a principle by which God operates. If pride leads to a
fall, and judgment must come, it is still not too late for the man who
can learn from judgment to forsake his pride. God can even use the
judgment for the ultimate good of one who learns by judgment to be
humble. Pride is the number one sin that leads to some kind of crisis,
and humanity is the only way to come out a winner. This account of
Nebuchadnezzar makes it clear that God is ever playing the role of
the Hound of Heaven toward the rulers of nations. In his famous
poem Francis Thompson begins-
"I fled him down the nights and down the days,
I fled him down the arches of the years.
I fled him down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears
I hid from Him and under running laughter,
Up vistad hopes I sped;
And shot, precipitated
A down titanic glooms of chasmed fears,
From those strong feet that followed, followed often.
Thompson wrote this poem to describe his own experience. He
dropped out of the study for the ministry and got on opium. He
ended up a ragged unkempt bum in the London slums. Fortunately
for him he was befriended by the Christian poets Mr. and Mrs.
Willfrid Maynell, and they by patient understanding led him to
surrender to Christ. He became a Christian poet and wrote the
Hound of Heaven in gratitude to God for being the Selestial Hunter
who stayed on his trail and tracked him down even in the slums. He
had to learn the hard way, but he did learn, and this is what we see in
the life of Nebuchadnezzar. He was not a down and outer, but an up
and outer. But both had the same basic problem. In pride they
would run their own lives and escape the control of God. Chapter 4
of Daniel is Nebuchadnezzar's testimony of the Hound of Heaven
tracking him and finally teaching him to surrender and win. He too
had to learn the hard way, but the good news is he did learn, and a
great man became greater by the grace of God.
There are many who are skeptical and suspicious of the
testimony of this great king. They find it hard to believe that
Nebuchadnezzar really became a believer in Jehovah, for if he did,
this means that the famous heathen ruler of Babylon will be our
brother in heaven. This man who destroyed God's temple and the
Holy City of Jerusalem, and who carried away God's people into
captivity is one who will be among the saints of God praising Him
forever.
This truth rubs people the wrong way, and it goes against the
grain of human pride. Some feel that if God is going to let every
Tom, Dick, and Nebuchadnezzar into heaven, they are not sure they
want to go. What if Saddam Hussain became a believer and, like
Nebuchadnezzar, acknowledged the God of the Bible to be his
Sovereign Lord. Many would vote that he be sent to hell if God let
such a decision be made by the majority vote. I wonder how many
votes Nebuchadnezzar would have gotten? There are many who
doubt the validity of his testimony, and so they consider him still a
lost heathen. Men of such stature as Calvin hold this view.
I personally think it is exciting to see God working in his life this
way, for it shows the very sovereignty of God that Nebuchadnezzar is
praising. Israel was defeated, and the temple was destroyed. The
people of God were displaced, and one could conclude that God's
plan was a flop, but it was not so. God does not cease to work just
because His people utterly fail Him. God goes on working in the lives
of those in the heathen world, and this testimony of Nebuchadnezzar
is a great example.
As Christians we are not unlike the Jews. We tend to feel that
God only works through Christians, and if Christians fail, then God
has no other means by which to get His will done in the world. This
is a very narrow and limited view of the God of the Bible. He is not
tied to His chosen people at all. He works in the lives and decisions
of the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. God
is working through all kinds of governments to accomplish His
purpose, and many of them are not Christian at all. The Bible will
not support the limited view of God's sovereignty. I believe the
testimony of Nebuchadnezzar is in the Bible because God is revealing
to His people for all time that He can win powerful heathen rulers to
Himself. This is not in the Bible as an example of a fate testimony,
but as an authentic testimony to the grace of God, even in the world
of the polytheist.
Nebuchadnezzar had many gods, but he came to acknowledge
Jehovah as God of gods. In Babylon today, and in the whole of the
Arab world, there is no longer any polytheism, but pure monotheism.
The God that Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged, the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob is now the only God who is acknowledged and
honored in that part of the world.
The reason it is dangerous for Christians to preach of Christ
there is because they see it as introducing another god, rather than
the God of Abraham. They, like the Jews, will hear of no other god,
and they refuse to accept that Jesus is the God of the Bible. Once
that can be seen these people could easily become Christians, but that
is a blindness not easily overcome. But the point is, they are already
a step closer than Nebuchadnezzar was, for he had many gods, and
today these people have only one, and he is the God of the Old
Testament.
Many feel that Nebuchadnezzar could not help but fall back into
his idolatry, and that is why they doubt his true conversion. But if it
is not real, then the whole account of it is a waste of our time, and we
have to call Daniel foolish for recording it, and God mistaken to have
it become a part of His Holy Word. We have here a whole chapter of
God's inspired Word written by an uninspired hypocrite if
Nebuchadnezzar was not a true convert to the God of Israel. It is
much ado about nothing if it does not reveal the valid conversion of
this great king. It means that God did a miracle and restored him,
and then gave him greater glory than ever, even though it was all a
sham. I prefer to see it as the marvelous account of how God used
this man to destroy the old Jerusalem and temple, and then win him
to Himself so that he will join the chorus in the New Jerusalem
forever singing the praises of his God.
Look at verse 1 where we see Nebuchadnezzar making his
proclamation, not just to Babylon, or to his people only, but to the
people of the entire world as he knew it. You have to have a mighty
strong conviction to make your testimony universal and have it
translated into all the languages of the world. He did not just pin this
on the castle bulletin board for his servants, or just put it in the local
paper. He spread the news over the whole globe of his awareness
that the God of the people he took captive had taken him captive, and
made a believer out of him. Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilling the Great
Commission before it was ever given, for he is preaching to the whole
world the one true God. Only eternity will reveal how many lives
were changed by this message. It gave the Jews a whole new history
of freedom, and there is no way to know how many Gentiles became
believers because of this testimony.
Chapter 4 reveals a marked change in the spirit of this
all-powerful monarch. He can kill as he chooses, and his first
proclamation is that all who do not bow to his idol will be thrown
into the fiery furnace. After the 3 Jews survived that, he proclaims
that any who speak against the God of Israel will be cut to pieces.
There is always the threat of death that goes with his proclamations.
This is the way of the totalitarian ruler. But now in chapter 4 there
is a positive proclamation of the wonders and miracles of God, and of
His grace and restoring Nebuchadnezzar to his glory. There is no
threat, but just a beautiful testimony revealing that he had changed
from a proud king to a humble servant of God, and now with a more
kind and merciful approach to his people. He did not say bow down
to God or die, but look here at the marvelous power and love of the
God who saved me. We have a picture here of a converted monarch
who went from insane to humane.
The officials all over the world who received this proclamation
must have read and reread it looking for some kind of threat if the
message was not heeded, and wondering if it really was from the
king. When the man who has conquered the world is being nice to
you when he does not have to, then you are dealing with a man who
has had a radical change in his life. Nebuchadnezzar was changed,
and because of it we have hope in this world that any tyrant can be
changed and become one of God's chosen if they will surrender to
Him. That is why we must always pray for the leaders of nations
who are not believers. We must even pray for the terrible tyrants
because in the sovereignty and grace of God they can go from insane
to humane.
