26. True Greatness: Daniel and the Faithful God Part 2

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[00:01:00] G'day! I'm Dave Whittingham. Welcome to Stories of a Faithful God.

[00:01:06] What makes someone or something great? What makes a country great? What makes a person great? How do you define greatness?

[00:01:16] Is it in strength? Being the toughest around, no one can defeat you? Is it in prestige? Winning medals at the Olympics? Having a university degree? Getting awards in your career?

[00:01:29] Or does greatness simply come in believing that you, your country, your company, your family, whatever, simply believing that you are the best?

[00:01:39] What if people have it completely wrong? What if what people think of as great isn't great at all? What if, by trying to reach greatness, we set ourselves on a path to destruction?

[00:01:54] In today's story, King Nebuchadnezzar, king of one of the greatest civilizations to have ever existed, completely misunderstands what's truly great and who's truly great.

[00:02:07] And for that, his greatness is stripped away from him.

[00:02:13] And so I present to you our next episode of Stories of a Faithful God.

[00:02:43] At the end of our last story, Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had been promoted.

[00:02:52] At Daniel's request, King Nebuchadnezzar had appointed them to manage the province of Babylon.

[00:02:57] He'd done this as a favour to Daniel because God had spoken through Daniel, telling him about the king's dream.

[00:03:05] In the dream, the king was shown how God had made him great.

[00:03:10] But his great kingdom would fall and be followed by another, and another, and another.

[00:03:17] Most importantly, God would establish a different sort of kingdom that would truly last forever.

[00:03:23] A kingdom greater than all these other temporary human kingdoms.

[00:03:29] As excited as the king was to discover the meaning of the dream, he didn't seem to take it to heart.

[00:03:35] Rather than searching for the kingdom that will last forever, he's decided to glorify himself and his own kingdom.

[00:03:44] He does that by building an enormous image or statue, 27 metres or 90 feet high, and almost 3 metres or 9 feet wide.

[00:03:55] That's about as high as a nine-storey building.

[00:03:58] He makes it out of gold and sets it up in the plain of Dura.

[00:04:03] We're not told what it's an image of.

[00:04:05] It could be a god, it could be the king.

[00:04:08] Whatever it is, it seems significant that it's all of gold.

[00:04:12] In Nebuchadnezzar's dream, he was just represented by a golden head.

[00:04:17] He was just one of a number of kings and kingdoms, all of which will be destroyed.

[00:04:23] Now, he seems to be saying, I alone am the greatest.

[00:04:28] And he wants to communicate that to all the powerful people in his empire.

[00:04:33] He sends a message to all the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces.

[00:04:43] People like the three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:04:47] People from different countries and languages and cultures, all brought under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:04:54] He summons them all to the dedication of this image that he's set up.

[00:04:58] An image of which they've probably never seen the like of before.

[00:05:02] So, verse 3 of Daniel 3 tells us,

[00:05:18] Imagine them all gathered on the plain of Jura.

[00:05:22] Every person of power, every person of influence, every person of authority who owes their position to the king.

[00:05:30] In their own provinces and domains, they're great and important people.

[00:05:36] Here, standing before the image that the king set up, their greatness means nothing.

[00:05:42] They're merely subjects to the great king.

[00:05:46] A herald steps forward to address them all.

[00:05:50] He calls out in a loud voice in verse 4,

[00:05:54] People of every nation and language, you are commanded.

[00:05:58] When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music,

[00:06:06] you are to fall face down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

[00:06:12] But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.

[00:06:20] This is absolutely a power move.

[00:06:26] Nebuchadnezzar wants all these people to know exactly who's in charge.

[00:06:30] Even though the worship is going to the image, it's the king who has all the power.

[00:06:36] When he says come, they come.

[00:06:38] When he says fall face down, they fall face down.

[00:06:41] When he says worship, they worship.

[00:06:44] And if they don't obey him, they'll burn.

[00:06:49] The command he's given is a horrible command for the people of God.

[00:06:53] The very first commandment at Mount Sinai, God said in Exodus chapter 20,

[00:06:58] I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

[00:07:05] Do not have other gods besides me.

[00:07:09] And the second commandment.

[00:07:11] Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

[00:07:19] Do not bow in worship to them and do not serve them.

[00:07:23] For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the father's iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.

[00:07:34] But showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.

[00:07:42] And so, do you obey the king?

[00:07:45] Or do you obey God?

[00:07:48] Well, the music starts up.

[00:07:50] The people hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and every kind of music.

[00:07:57] And we're told, people of every nation and language fall down and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

[00:08:06] What a power trip for King Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:08:09] How great he must be to be able to command all these important people from every nation and every language.

[00:08:19] Except, there's one tiny problem.

[00:08:23] Some Chaldeans, the special fortune tellers for the king, they come forward.

[00:08:29] These are the guys who in the last chapter were upstaged by Daniel and his three friends.

[00:08:35] Never mind that the actions of the Jews save their lives.

[00:08:39] That's not what's important.

[00:08:40] What's important is that these foreigners, these captives have suddenly been advanced and promoted to levels of huge responsibility.

[00:08:50] Now it's time for the Chaldeans to get their own back.

[00:08:54] They come with words dripping honey.

[00:08:57] Their only concern seems to be for the honour of the king.

[00:09:01] They say in verse 9,

[00:09:03] May the king live forever!

[00:09:06] You as king have issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music must fall down and worship the gold statue.

[00:09:20] Whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.

[00:09:26] There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon.

[00:09:32] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:09:35] These men have ignored you, the king.

[00:09:39] They do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.

[00:09:46] Again, even though they don't serve these gods and worship the gold statue, that's not really the point.

[00:09:52] The point is that they don't listen to the king.

[00:09:56] That's where the true greatness lies.

[00:09:58] These men have ignored you, the king.

[00:10:01] They do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.

[00:10:08] And Nebuchadnezzar very much takes it as a personal affront.

[00:10:12] He flies into a furious rage and orders that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him.

[00:10:19] So they're found and brought before the king.

[00:10:22] And it's almost like the king can't believe that people wouldn't obey him.

[00:10:27] Even though he's declared that the disobedient should be thrown in the furnace, he'd still prefer that they just obey him.

[00:10:34] Not because he's a humanitarian at heart, but because that preserves his honor.

[00:10:40] He wants to be able to say that everyone under his rule obeys him.

[00:10:44] And so he asks them in verse 14,

[00:10:47] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,

[00:10:50] Is it true that you don't serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?

[00:10:56] Now, if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, drum, and every kind of music,

[00:11:05] fall down and worship the statue I made.

[00:11:08] But if you don't worship it, you will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.

[00:11:15] And then he says the line that shows exactly how great he thinks he is.

[00:11:20] He says to them,

[00:11:22] And who is the god who can rescue you from my power?

[00:11:29] Not from the power of my gods?

[00:11:31] Or the power of this enormous image I've set up?

[00:11:35] What god can possibly save you from my power?

[00:11:42] Thankfully, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego know exactly which god can rescue them from his power.

[00:11:50] The god of their ancestors.

[00:11:52] The god who rescued his people out of Egypt.

[00:11:54] The faithful god.

[00:11:56] And so, given a choice between Nebuchadnezzar and his gods,

[00:12:00] and the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, there's no debate.

[00:12:04] In verse 16, they reply,

[00:12:07] Nebuchadnezzar, we don't need to give you an answer to this question.

[00:12:11] If the god we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire.

[00:12:17] And he can rescue us from the power of you, the king.

[00:12:21] But even if he does not rescue us,

[00:12:23] we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods

[00:12:27] or worship the gold statue you set up.

[00:12:31] I like how they're not presuming on god.

[00:12:34] They don't have a promise from god that he'll rescue them from the fire.

[00:12:38] They know he can, but it's up to him whether he will or not.

[00:12:42] But even if he doesn't, there's nothing that's going to make them turn back to their god.

[00:12:47] This is what they were saying way back in chapter 1 when they refused to eat the king's food.

[00:12:52] They were saying there's a limit to their obedience.

[00:12:55] They'll listen to the king up to a point, but they do have a greater allegiance.

[00:13:01] And while not eating the food was symbolic of that,

[00:13:05] worshipping the king's gods is absolutely the line in the sand.

[00:13:09] And nothing, not even the threat of a blazing furnace, will induce them to cross it.

[00:13:17] Up until this point, in King Nebuchadnezzar's mind, he's been Mr. Nice Guy.

[00:13:23] He's kept his cool and given them an opportunity to be reasonable.

[00:13:27] But now the rage boils over.

[00:13:30] And I love this phrase from the Bible writer in verse 19.

[00:13:34] The expression on his face changed towards Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

[00:13:41] And then we read,

[00:13:42] He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary.

[00:13:47] And he commanded some of his best soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

[00:13:53] and throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.

[00:13:57] And the author makes a point of telling us that they don't strip the men down.

[00:14:01] This all needs to happen in a hurry.

[00:14:03] And so they're tied up in their trousers, robes, head coverings and other clothes.

[00:14:09] They're taken to the edge of the furnace.

[00:14:11] And because the king's command has been so urgent,

[00:14:14] because there's this desperate need to get the fire as hot as humanly possible,

[00:14:19] they've done whatever the ancient equivalent is of throwing a can of oil on there.

[00:14:23] It's so incredibly hot that these strong guards, some of the best men in the army,

[00:14:29] are caught up in the raging flames and burned to death.

[00:14:34] Not before, though, they can push Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

[00:14:40] bound up with ropes and wearing all their clothes, into the blazing furnace.

[00:14:50] King Nebuchadnezzar has been watching the whole spectacle.

[00:14:54] He wants to be on hand to witness the death of these three men who've dared to challenge his power.

[00:15:02] At least, he thought it was three men.

[00:15:07] As he gazes into the blazing furnace, he sees something astounding.

[00:15:12] He suddenly jumps out of his seat in alarm.

[00:15:15] He says to his advisors,

[00:15:17] Didn't we throw three men into the fire?

[00:15:21] That's a really weird question to be asking.

[00:15:23] You can imagine the side glances they're giving each other as they reply,

[00:15:28] Yes, of course, your majesty.

[00:15:31] He isn't going mad, though.

[00:15:33] What he's seeing is astonishing.

[00:15:36] And he calls them to have a look as well.

[00:15:38] He exclaims to them in verse 25,

[00:15:41] Look!

[00:15:41] I see four men, not tied, walking around in the fire, unharmed.

[00:15:47] As if that's not astonishing enough, he also says,

[00:15:50] And the fourth looks like the son of the gods!

[00:15:54] We're not told who this fourth person is, but one thing is clear.

[00:15:59] Whoever it is, they're providing the protection that can only come from the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:16:09] The god who they entrusted their lives to.

[00:16:14] Nebuchadnezzar knows he's beaten.

[00:16:17] He approaches the door of the furnace of blazing fire, and he calls out over the sounds of the furnace,

[00:16:24] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out!

[00:16:30] And so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego step out of the blazing fire.

[00:16:36] Imagine the stunned silence as the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king's advisors gather around them.

[00:16:43] The stares as they see that the fire has had absolutely no effect on any part of their bodies whatsoever.

[00:16:50] It hasn't even affected their clothes.

[00:16:53] We're told in verse 27,

[00:16:54] Not a hair of their heads was singed.

[00:16:57] Their robes were unaffected.

[00:17:00] And there was no smell of fire on them.

[00:17:06] Nebuchadnezzar had asked,

[00:17:07] Who is the god who can rescue you from my power?

[00:17:12] The answer has come back loud and clear.

[00:17:15] The god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:17:19] The Most High God.

[00:17:22] There's no denying it.

[00:17:24] And so the king exclaims,

[00:17:26] Praise to the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:17:29] He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in him.

[00:17:34] They violated the king's command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own god.

[00:17:44] This is a massive turnaround for the king.

[00:17:47] He'd been furious.

[00:17:49] Furious that they'd choose to serve their god rather than obey him.

[00:17:54] But now he sees.

[00:17:56] They were right to do that.

[00:17:58] He recognizes there's no god who can do what their god can do.

[00:18:03] No god can save like their god can save.

[00:18:06] And so he issues a decree.

[00:18:09] It's similar to what he commanded at the beginning of this whole event.

[00:18:13] A command that must be followed on pain of death.

[00:18:16] But this time it isn't for his glory.

[00:18:19] It's for the glory of God.

[00:18:22] In verse 29 he says this.

[00:18:24] He says,

[00:18:24] Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the god of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump.

[00:18:42] For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.

[00:18:47] Then the king rewarded Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

[00:18:57] It seems like Nebuchadnezzar has finally recognized someone greater than himself.

[00:19:03] A power greater than his own.

[00:19:06] It seems like he's finally coming to terms with the Most High God who revealed the future to him.

[00:19:12] And who powerfully saved Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

[00:19:17] But unfortunately, the message still hasn't sunk in.

[00:19:23] God's about to change that though.

[00:19:54] Chapter 4 begins with an unexpected letter.

[00:19:58] King Nebuchadnezzar writes a letter to all the people who live in his vast empire.

[00:20:03] All the different people groups.

[00:20:05] All the different nations.

[00:20:07] All the different languages.

[00:20:09] He writes to tell them not about his own greatness, but the greatness of the Most High God.

[00:20:16] The first way he explains that greatness is in terms of kindness.

[00:20:21] This Most High God has done something incredibly kind to the king.

[00:20:26] Something miraculous and wonderful.

[00:20:28] Something extraordinarily powerful.

[00:20:31] And it leads him to praise this God.

[00:20:34] The God who rules a never-ending kingdom of power and glory.

[00:20:39] You'd think Nebuchadnezzar would have understood the greatness of this God after he revealed the future to him back in chapter 2.

[00:20:46] If not then, then at least he should have understood the power and kindness of God when he saved his servants from the blazing furnace.

[00:20:55] But he didn't.

[00:20:57] The message hadn't sunk into his stubborn heart.

[00:21:01] And that's how you know that this God is kind.

[00:21:04] Because instead of just destroying Nebuchadnezzar, God's persisted in teaching him this most important of lessons.

[00:21:12] And now Nebuchadnezzar wants his whole empire to know that lesson too.

[00:21:18] This is what he writes from chapter 4, verse 1.

[00:21:21] He says,

[00:21:23] King Nebuchadnezzar,

[00:21:25] To those of every people, nation, and language who live on the whole earth, may your prosperity increase.

[00:21:33] I am pleased to tell you about the miracles and wonders the Most High God has done for me.

[00:21:39] How great are his miracles, and how mighty his wonders!

[00:21:44] His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

[00:21:52] So what has the Most High God done for the king?

[00:21:56] It begins with another dream.

[00:22:00] Nebuchadnezzar's been living the good life.

[00:22:02] He's enjoying life in his palace.

[00:22:04] He and his kingdom are flourishing.

[00:22:06] Everything seems great.

[00:22:09] Then he has this dream that terrifies him.

[00:22:13] He's completely shaken by the visions he's been given.

[00:22:17] And so, just like we saw back in chapter 2,

[00:22:20] he summons all the wise men of Babylon to tell him what the dream means.

[00:22:25] In come the magicians, mediums, Chaldeans, and diviners.

[00:22:30] This time, he's kind enough to tell them what the dream actually was.

[00:22:35] But even with this information, they still have no idea what it means.

[00:22:41] All these experts, all these people whose job it is to advise the king about his dreams,

[00:22:47] they can't help him at all.

[00:22:50] Finally, though.

[00:22:51] Finally, someone arrives who he didn't have at the beginning of chapter 2.

[00:22:56] The only person in chapter 2 who was actually able to help him,

[00:22:59] because of his knowledge of the Most High God.

[00:23:02] The one who's been put in charge of all the magicians.

[00:23:05] In verse 8, the king writes,

[00:23:08] Finally, Daniel, named Belteshazzar after the name of my God,

[00:23:13] and a spirit of the holy gods is in him, came before me.

[00:23:17] I told him the dream.

[00:23:20] It's quite a theologically awkward sentence.

[00:23:23] Because even now, Nebuchadnezzar doesn't fully understand that there really is only one God.

[00:23:28] He uses Daniel's Babylonian name that refers to the god, Bel.

[00:23:33] He doesn't talk about how the spirit of God is in him, but a spirit of the holy gods.

[00:23:39] And yet, the kind, most holy God is still able to teach the most important of lessons to Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:23:49] His weak understanding doesn't mean he can't learn about the true God.

[00:23:55] He begs Daniel in verse 9,

[00:24:13] So what did he dream?

[00:24:15] He says to Daniel,

[00:24:51] It's actually a really lovely image, isn't it?

[00:24:54] It's almost like the Garden of Eden.

[00:24:57] A place of safety, of abundant food.

[00:25:00] The tree is both protector and provider over a vast area.

[00:25:06] But it's not to last.

[00:25:09] As the king's watching the tree, a holy one comes down from heaven.

[00:25:13] He calls this person a watcher, like a guard.

[00:25:17] The watcher calls for the desolation of this idyllic scene.

[00:25:21] He calls out loudly in verse 14,

[00:25:25] Cut down the tree and chop off its branches.

[00:25:28] Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

[00:25:31] Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

[00:25:38] This magnificent, glorious tree is brought to nothing.

[00:25:44] Or almost nothing.

[00:25:46] The watcher says to leave the stump in the ground.

[00:25:50] It's like a tiny glimmer of hope for a possible future.

[00:25:54] And then there's a subtle change in the watcher's language.

[00:25:58] Instead of talking about the tree and the stump as an it,

[00:26:02] he starts referring to it as a he, as though it's a person.

[00:26:07] In fact, he's even described as someone with the mind of a person.

[00:26:11] And yet in this curse that falls on him,

[00:26:14] his mind is changed to be like an animal's.

[00:26:18] He even has to live like an animal.

[00:26:20] The watcher says,

[00:26:22] Let him be drenched with dew from the sky,

[00:26:25] and share the plants of the earth with the animals.

[00:26:28] Let his mind be changed from that of a human,

[00:26:31] and let him be given the mind of an animal for seven periods of time.

[00:26:36] People get all caught up in that seven periods of time,

[00:26:42] and make confident pronouncements about what it means.

[00:26:45] Often they say seven years.

[00:26:47] But God hasn't actually told us.

[00:26:49] He could have said seven years,

[00:26:52] but instead he says this weird seven times.

[00:26:55] The point is not the times.

[00:26:58] It's the seven.

[00:27:00] Throughout the Bible, seven represents completeness.

[00:27:03] The perfect whole amount.

[00:27:05] So this person will be brought from the heights of glory

[00:27:09] to the lowliness of the animals.

[00:27:12] But just like the stump is a tiny glimmer of hope,

[00:27:15] so in the seven times,

[00:27:18] it implies an end or a finish or a completion to this humiliation.

[00:27:24] It will have reached its purpose.

[00:27:28] So why is the tree, this person, being humbled like this?

[00:27:32] Why are they being brought so low?

[00:27:36] It's so that people will know who's in charge.

[00:27:41] God's in charge.

[00:27:43] God decides who has greatness and glory and who's humbled.

[00:27:48] God decides who rules a kingdom and who doesn't.

[00:27:51] He can make anyone ruler no matter how lowly they are.

[00:27:55] And he can make anyone a beggar no matter how important they are.

[00:27:59] Verse 17 says,

[00:28:01] This word is by decree of the watchers,

[00:28:04] and the decision is by command from the holy ones.

[00:28:07] This is so that the living will know that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms.

[00:28:14] He gives them to anyone he wants,

[00:28:17] and sets the lowliest of people over them.

[00:28:21] This dream terrifies Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:28:26] And none of his other wise men can tell him what it means.

[00:28:30] And so he's turned to the wisest of them all,

[00:28:33] the chief among them, Belteshazzar, Daniel.

[00:28:36] He says to Daniel,

[00:28:37] You can tell me what it means because you have a spirit of the holy gods.

[00:28:43] For a while, as all eyes are on Belteshazzar,

[00:28:48] he stands in stunned silence.

[00:28:50] He's so shocked by what he's heard,

[00:28:54] he can't bring himself to say what it means.

[00:28:56] The words seem too awful for him.

[00:29:01] Nebuchadnezzar comforts him and encourages him to speak.

[00:29:05] Belteshazzar, he says,

[00:29:07] Don't let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.

[00:29:11] You can almost hear the trembling in his voice as he replies in verse 20.

[00:29:45] My Lord,

[00:29:59] It's a powerful image of Nebuchadnezzar's greatness, isn't it?

[00:30:04] He's the great protector.

[00:30:06] He's the great provider.

[00:30:08] His greatness reaches to the heavens.

[00:30:11] It's especially remarkable,

[00:30:12] because that's a level of greatness that was denied to the first builders of Babylon.

[00:30:18] When they wanted to make a name for themselves and constructed the Tower of Babel,

[00:30:23] a tower reaching up to heaven,

[00:30:24] God frustrated their plans.

[00:30:27] But now Nebuchadnezzar has a greatness that they could only dream of.

[00:30:32] And yet,

[00:30:34] even as Daniel recites the dream and dwells on the greatness and majesty and power of the tree,

[00:30:40] the declaration that Nebuchadnezzar is that tree,

[00:30:45] far from being a moment of joy and pride,

[00:30:48] should be enough to send shards of fear running down his spine.

[00:30:54] Daniel recites the dream again so that the horror of what's to come is sitting fresh in our minds.

[00:31:01] He says in verse 43,

[00:31:27] And then Daniel gives the interpretation of the dream.

[00:31:30] He says that this is the declaration of the Most High against the King.

[00:31:36] The Most High God who Nebuchadnezzar has encountered before.

[00:31:40] In chapter 2, he revealed his power over an insight into the future.

[00:31:45] In chapter 3, he displayed his power to save his people.

[00:31:49] His power that's far greater than any might of any earthly king.

[00:31:54] It's this God who Nebuchadnezzar has encountered.

[00:31:58] Honored briefly.

[00:32:00] And then ignored.

[00:32:02] And now the Most High has declared what will happen to the king.

[00:32:08] You'll be humbled, Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:32:11] You'll be driven from your palace of glory and throne of splendor.

[00:32:15] You'll live away from people and live like an animal with wild animals.

[00:32:20] You'll eat grass like the cattle of the field.

[00:32:23] And as you sleep in the field, the dew will fall from the sky upon you for seven periods of time.

[00:32:31] And what will mark the end of this time?

[00:32:33] What will bring it to a close?

[00:32:35] What will happen that will mean this time of humiliation has reached its final purpose and perfect goal?

[00:32:42] Daniel says in verse 25 that it will go on until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms,

[00:32:52] and he gives them to anyone he wants.

[00:32:58] Nebuchadnezzar must realize that his glory and power and majesty haven't come from his own greatness.

[00:33:06] They're a gift of the Most High God.

[00:33:09] They can be given, and they can be taken away.

[00:33:13] When he does that, when he acknowledges not his own greatness, but the greatness of the Most High,

[00:33:21] then in a remarkable act of mercy and kindness, his kingdom will be restored.

[00:33:29] But, but when you hear of the coming discipline of God, why wait to learn the lesson?

[00:33:36] Why not just learn the lesson now?

[00:33:38] God's graciously given him this vision of the future of how he'll be humbled.

[00:33:42] If he humbles himself before God now, if he turns away from sin now,

[00:33:48] if he pursues righteousness now, there'll be no need for this stern lesson.

[00:33:53] And so in genuine love for his king, Daniel offers his God-given wisdom.

[00:33:59] In verse 27 he says,

[00:34:01] Therefore may my advice seem good to you, my king.

[00:34:05] Separate yourself from your sins by doing what is right,

[00:34:08] and from your injustices by showing mercy to the needy.

[00:34:12] Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.

[00:34:16] Notice how Daniel sees a link between acknowledging the Most High God in his rightful place,

[00:34:22] and loving behavior towards other people.

[00:34:25] When you truly submit to the God of justice and mercy,

[00:34:29] you too will show justice and mercy.

[00:34:34] Unfortunately for King Nebuchadnezzar, just like with his previous dream,

[00:34:38] he doesn't learn the lesson.

[00:34:40] And everything that God said will happen to him, does happen to him.

[00:34:47] A year goes by.

[00:34:49] Twelve months with nothing happening.

[00:34:52] At the end of those twelve months, the king is walking on the roof of his royal palace,

[00:34:58] gazing out at his magnificent city.

[00:35:01] Even today, more than two thousand years later,

[00:35:04] one of the things Nebuchadnezzar is known for

[00:35:07] is his magnificent building projects and beautification of Babylon.

[00:35:11] And as he gazes out, his heart bursts with pride at the remarkableness of his own achievements.

[00:35:19] He exclaims in verse 30,

[00:35:22] Is this not Babylon the Great that I have built to be a royal residence by my vast power and for my majestic glory?

[00:35:32] No mention of God.

[00:35:34] No glory given to the true power behind the throne.

[00:35:38] It's all about him.

[00:35:40] I have built my vast power, my majestic glory.

[00:35:46] We're told that while the words were still in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven.

[00:35:53] King Nebuchadnezzar,

[00:35:55] To you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.

[00:35:59] You will be driven away from the people to live with the wild animals,

[00:36:03] and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time

[00:36:07] until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms,

[00:36:12] and he gives them to anyone he wants.

[00:36:17] And everything happens just like God said it would.

[00:36:21] Nebuchadnezzar is driven away from people.

[00:36:24] He becomes a wild madman.

[00:36:27] All his reason is gone, all his luxury and finery forgotten,

[00:36:31] all his power vanished.

[00:36:33] Verse 33 says,

[00:36:35] He ate grass like cattle,

[00:36:37] and his body was drenched with dew from the sky,

[00:36:41] until his hair grew like eagle's feathers and his nails like bird's claws.

[00:36:47] Can you imagine walking through a field and coming across this sorry figure of a man?

[00:36:53] It would be terrifying.

[00:36:56] And yet,

[00:36:58] also like God promised,

[00:37:00] there comes a day,

[00:37:02] a moment of wonderful, glorious, amazing grace.

[00:37:08] This wild man has no reason, no logic, no wisdom.

[00:37:13] And then it's like God opens his eyes.

[00:37:16] In his own words in verse 34, he says,

[00:37:19] But at the end of those days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven,

[00:37:24] and my sanity returned to me.

[00:37:26] Then I praised the Most High and honored and glorified him who lives forever.

[00:37:33] Remember, he's writing this to his entire kingdom.

[00:37:36] An empire of different peoples,

[00:37:38] different nations,

[00:37:40] different languages.

[00:37:41] He wants them all to hear it.

[00:37:43] He wants them all to hear that there's a God who rules everyone and everything.

[00:37:49] Gone is the man who set up worthless images and commanded people to worship them.

[00:37:54] Gone is the man who can only think of his own power and glory.

[00:37:58] Gone is the man filled with his own pride and arrogance.

[00:38:03] It's like he's died and been reborn.

[00:38:06] It's like he was blind, but now he can see.

[00:38:09] And what he sees is not his own glory,

[00:38:12] but the beautiful glory of the Most High God.

[00:38:16] The God whose kingdom is not like earthly kingdoms,

[00:38:19] whose power is not like earthly power.

[00:38:22] He praises God with these words in verse 36.

[00:38:25] He says,

[00:38:26] For his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

[00:38:29] and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

[00:38:33] All the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing,

[00:38:36] and he does what he wants with the army of heaven

[00:38:39] and the inhabitants of the earth.

[00:38:41] There is no one who can block his hand

[00:38:44] or say to him,

[00:38:46] What have you done?

[00:38:47] And God is true to his word.

[00:38:52] He faithfully keeps his promise to restore Nebuchadnezzar's majesty and splendor.

[00:38:58] As he sits in the field,

[00:39:00] gazing up at heaven and glorifying the Most High God,

[00:39:04] there are some excited voices in the distance.

[00:39:07] There he is! We've found him!

[00:39:09] The king says,

[00:39:10] My advisors and my nobles sought me out.

[00:39:14] I was re-established over my kingdom,

[00:39:16] and even more greatness came to me.

[00:39:19] His greatness is greater than it ever was before.

[00:39:23] But that doesn't lead to greater pride.

[00:39:26] Instead, it's guided by a greater picture of the greatest God.

[00:39:31] Instead of his eyes and heart turning towards himself,

[00:39:35] they turn toward heaven.

[00:39:36] In fact, instead of drawing the eyes of his entire kingdom to himself,

[00:39:42] he points them all towards heaven

[00:39:44] as he writes these words in verse 37,

[00:39:48] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exult, and glorify the king of the heavens,

[00:39:54] because all his works are true and his ways are just.

[00:39:59] He is able to humble those who walk in pride.

[00:40:05] So what is greatness?

[00:40:08] What truly makes someone great?

[00:40:11] It isn't when they achieve great things,

[00:40:14] or they achieve great wealth,

[00:40:16] or when they pull themselves up by their bootstraps,

[00:40:18] or have great accomplishments.

[00:40:20] All those things have nothing to do with them,

[00:40:24] and everything to do with the gift of God.

[00:40:27] He can give it,

[00:40:29] and he can take it away.

[00:40:32] True greatness is something that sits in the heart.

[00:40:36] It's a person that doesn't focus on themselves,

[00:40:40] but on the God to whom he or she owes everything.

[00:40:45] Think about the greatest king who's ever lived.

[00:40:48] Not Nebuchadnezzar.

[00:40:50] He's nothing compared to this king.

[00:40:52] This king sat in majesty and glory and power.

[00:40:57] He sat equal with God,

[00:41:00] the only king in the universe who could truly say that.

[00:41:04] And yet, he gave it up.

[00:41:08] Nebuchadnezzar was forced into humility,

[00:41:10] but Jesus Christ deliberately stepped into it.

[00:41:14] As Philippians chapter 2 tells us about Jesus,

[00:41:18] who, existing in the form of God,

[00:41:21] did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.

[00:41:25] Instead, he emptied himself

[00:41:28] by assuming the form of a servant,

[00:41:31] taking on the likeness of humanity.

[00:41:33] And when he had come as a man,

[00:41:36] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

[00:41:40] even to death on a cross.

[00:41:43] For this reason,

[00:41:44] God highly exalted him,

[00:41:47] and gave him the name that is above every name,

[00:41:50] so that at the name of Jesus

[00:41:52] every knee will bow,

[00:41:54] in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

[00:41:57] and every tongue will confess

[00:41:59] that Jesus Christ is Lord,

[00:42:01] to the glory of God the Father.

[00:42:05] How remarkable that even there,

[00:42:08] as Jesus is praised and honoured

[00:42:10] and worshipped and adored,

[00:42:12] he points the glory to his Father.

[00:42:15] In fact, that's what Jesus prayed in John chapter 17, verse 1.

[00:42:19] On the night before he died, he prayed,

[00:42:22] Father, the hour has come.

[00:42:24] Glorify your Son,

[00:42:26] so that the Son may glorify you.

[00:42:31] How wonderful to have the greatest king as king of the universe,

[00:42:37] who even in his majesty and glory,

[00:42:40] wants to use his majesty and glory for his Father.

[00:42:45] If we want to be great,

[00:42:47] we should be as God-focused as that king.

[00:42:54] Back in Babylon,

[00:42:55] in the course of time,

[00:42:57] a new king will soon come to power.

[00:42:59] And he'd hope that he'd learn the lessons

[00:43:02] that Nebuchadnezzar paid so dearly for.

[00:43:05] If he doesn't,

[00:43:06] well,

[00:43:08] the writing's on the wall.

[00:43:10] But that's a story,

[00:43:12] for next time.

[00:43:27] I want to remind you about the stories of a faithful God club.

[00:43:31] There are bonus episodes there for both adults and kids.

[00:43:35] I've just produced a bonus episode on how the Bible,

[00:43:39] and particularly the New Testament,

[00:43:40] came together,

[00:43:41] and how that actually builds our trust in the Bible.

[00:43:44] For kids, we've been covering topics like the importance of prayer,

[00:43:48] reading the Bible,

[00:43:49] and our identity in Jesus.

[00:43:51] All with a bit of wackiness thrown in.

[00:43:54] By joining,

[00:43:55] you're also helping me to produce these free episodes.

[00:43:59] Membership can be as little as about a dollar a week,

[00:44:02] depending on where you're from.

[00:44:03] You can start with a free seven-day trial

[00:44:06] and cancel any time.

[00:44:08] Another thing you can do with it

[00:44:09] is give up to a year's membership as a gift.

[00:44:12] So why not give it a go?

[00:44:14] Just follow the link to Patreon in the show notes.

[00:44:17] Keep trusting Jesus.

[00:44:20] Bye for now.

[00:44:23] All Scripture is breathed out by God

[00:44:25] and profitable for teaching,

[00:44:28] for reproof,

[00:44:29] for correction,

[00:44:30] and for training in righteousness.

[00:44:33] That's 2 Timothy 3, verse 16

[00:44:36] in the ASV translation.

[00:44:38] It's a wonderful verse, isn't it?

[00:44:41] It's saying every single word,

[00:44:43] every single verse,

[00:44:44] every single chapter of Scripture,

[00:44:46] that's come from God's mouth.

[00:44:48] It's His word.

[00:44:50] It's His revelation to us.

[00:44:52] It does raise the question though,

[00:44:55] so what is Scripture?

[00:44:57] What's included in Scripture?

[00:44:59] What actually is it that's God breathed?

[00:45:02] And in one sense,

[00:45:03] the answer's easy, isn't it?

[00:45:04] This book I have in my hands,

[00:45:06] the Bible,

[00:45:07] that's Scripture.

[00:45:08] What's the problem?

[00:45:10] It's nice to have simple answers.

[00:45:14] What do you do though,

[00:45:15] when you get to a passage like John chapter 7, verse 53,

[00:45:19] like we did in our recent John series?

[00:45:22] In my CSB, it's in parentheses,

[00:45:25] and there's a footnote.

[00:45:26] It's similar in most translations,

[00:45:28] but this is what the CSB says.

[00:45:30] The earliest manuscripts do not include 7, 53 to 8, 11.

[00:45:36] And you go to the end of verse 11,

[00:45:37] and sure enough, the parentheses are closed,

[00:45:40] and the passage moves on.

[00:45:41] And it's like, what just happened there?

[00:45:44] What do you mean the earliest manuscripts don't have it?

[00:45:47] Is it part of the Bible, or isn't it?

[00:45:48] If it is, why are you putting some doubt in my mind?

[00:45:53] If it isn't, why have you included it?

[00:45:56] Most importantly,

[00:45:58] is it God breathed?

[00:46:01] These can be difficult questions to answer.

[00:46:04] For some,

[00:46:05] it can even rock their faith in the Bible as God's word.

[00:46:08] That isn't my intention though.

[00:46:11] In fact, I want to do the opposite.

[00:46:13] By asking the tough questions,

[00:46:15] I'd argue that we actually come to a much stronger trust in the Bible as God's word.

[00:46:21] We can be confident,

[00:46:23] not just in a simplistic way,

[00:46:25] but in a way that truly grapples with the detail.

[00:46:29] Let's start by asking, how did the Bible come together?

[00:46:33] I'm sure you know that no one person sat down and wrote the Bible.

[00:46:43] Thanks for listening to this episode.

[00:46:45] If you think this podcast is helpful,

[00:46:47] then please help Dave to keep it free for others

[00:46:50] by making a donation at faithfulgod.net.

[00:46:53] That's faithfulgod.net.

[00:46:56] Don't forget to like and subscribe on whatever app you're listening on.

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[00:47:09] Stories of a Faithful God for Kids.

[00:47:11] And peace and all the best,

[00:47:12] You just want to go on Facebook and Facebook and email.ś