Daniel 4:34-37
Daniel 4:34-37
New King James Version (NKJV)
Nebuchadnezzar Praises God
34 And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or say to Him, “What have You done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.
My Thoughts:
Just as God had said Nebuchadnezzar’s mind returned on time. And it is worth noting that the first thing that the king did was praise God. We too should be praising God for all things. If there is in lesson we should take for this chapter it is; God is in control of all things and He is the only one that should receive the credit.
I like what Matthew Henry say on this topic: “Those may justly be reckoned void of understanding that do not bless and praise God; nor do men ever rightly use their reason till they begin to be religious, nor live as men till they live to the glory of God. As reason is the substratum or subject of religion (so that creatures which have no reason are not capable of religion), so religion is the crown and glory of reason, and we have our reason in vain, and shall one day wish we had never had it, if we do not glorify God with it.”
It is very easy “His pride separated him from God”
This is the last Scripture record we have of Nebuchadnezzar. Since there is no other record of Him we can assume that he learned his lesson and died a true believer.
Ellen White Statements:
““At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me.”
The once proud monarch had become a humble child of God; the tyrannical, overbearing ruler, a wise and compassionate king. He who had defied and blasphemed the God of heaven, now acknowledged the power of the Most High and earnestly sought to promote the fear of Jehovah and the happiness of his subjects. Under the rebuke of Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, Nebuchadnezzar had learned at last the lesson which all rulers need to learn—that true greatness consists in true goodness. He acknowledged Jehovah as the living God, saying, “I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.”
God’s purpose that the greatest kingdom in the world should show forth His praise was now fulfilled. This public proclamation, in which Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the mercy and goodness and authority of God, was the last act of his life recorded in sacred history.” {PK 521}
Last thoughts:
What do we learn from Chapter 4?
1) We see that God is in control.
2) We know that there are Angels that watch over us.
3) God does assign prophets to guide His people.
4) God does not like prideful people. (Prov. 8:13)
Let’s end this chapter with (Micah 6:8)
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
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I have to disagree with your wording on your last thought. I’m going with the thought that God doesn’t like pride and what it causes people to do but He still loves the people. It makes things so much easier to handle knowing God is in control. Why He created us knowing we were going to do all we have done is beyond me. I am so grateful He did. I cannot begin to image His love for us. Nebuchadnezzar learned(finally) and praised God which is only right. What a hard lesson to take in. How sad that we have to push God into giving us lessons instead of listening and obeying our Father.
Yes, God loves us all and yes He hates the sin not the sinner. this lesson just goes to show how far He will go to make us understand this lesson.
How easy it was for King Neb to come around again; he meerly looked up to God in humbleness. I see the lesson in Micah 6:8 learned: Do justly. love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord. Like Irv stated in his sermon this Sabbath, if we even have one ingredient wrong in our recipe it could be dissasterious; let alone so many. We seen Daniel advising the King to at the end of the interpetation to be “righteous” and “by showing mercy to the poor”; yet interesting Daniel didn’t mention anything about becoming humble…maybe he was afraid to offend. God was discipling the most important one: pride. Really if we’re humbled the others follow easier, but pride is a real hinderance.
Two quotes that seem to fit in our study and discussion:
Proverbs 21:1-4 “The King’s heart is in the hand of the Lord. Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes. Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weights the hearts. To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. A haughty look, a proud heart, and the lamp of the wicked are sin.”
Proverbs 6:16 “There are six things that the Lord hates, Yes, seven that are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks likes, And one who sows discord among brethren.”
I think the fact that Daniel telling the king to be righteous was his was of saying hunble yourself.