Skip to content Humbling the Mighty: Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar's Journey - Daniel 4 May 2 · 14 min ...more
Humbling the Mighty: Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar's Journey - Daniel 4
May 2, 2025 · 14 min
Join us in uncovering King Nebuchadnezzar's transformation as he learns the supremacy of God's eternal kingdom over earthly realms.
Series Stand on the Word - Video On Demand May 2, 2025 · 14 min · Stand on the Word - Video On Demand
Join us in uncovering King Nebuchadnezzar's transformation as he learns the supremacy of God's eternal kingdom over earthly realms. ...more Show the full description Show less Join us in uncovering King Nebuchadnezzar's transformation as he learns the supremacy of God's eternal kingdom over earthly realms.
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The Humbling of Nebuchadnezzar 0:12 Good morning from Jerusalem as we stand on the word. Today, we are in Daniel chapter 4 when leaders are crazy. Alright. Daniel chapter 4 verse 17. The sentence is0:24 by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and0:35 sets over them the lowest of men. And what we find in this chapter, these are the words of Nebuchadnezzar providing the narrative of his encounter with0:47 God, which Daniel then includes in his prophecy. Now the core message is this, that God is God and we're not. In this account, what we see is God0:59 humbling Nebuchadnezzar because of his pride. I'm gonna say this upfront. Every leader should read this chapter, particularly verse 17, and I'll talk more about that in a minute. Alright. Let me give you the1:11 timeline of this chapter. As I said, these chapters are not necessarily in chronological order. At best, as can be determined, the dream comes around the 30 fourth or 30 fifth year of his reign, which would be around1:22 5 72 BC. A year later, the prophetic dream is fulfilled. And, he refused because he refused to heed the advice of Daniel that Daniel gave to him when the vision1:34 first came to him. He spent 7 years out in the wild, out of his mind. You see, he comes to his senses. He gives glory to the 1 true god, and he returns to the throne for1:46 2 years before he dies at the age of 72. So let's jump right into this verse 1, chapter 4. King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth. Peace be1:58 multiplied to you. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me. How great are his signs. How mighty his wonders. His kingdom is2:10 an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. There is no end to the kingdom of God. We see these these huge, dynasties, these empires2:22 that rise and fall, but the kingdom of God is forever and ever. Now so this chapter begins with a with a kind of a prologue that concludes the ordeal Nebuchadnezzar is about2:34 to tell in detail. So he kinda starts at the end and, and then works his way forward giving all the details. He recognizes that there's only 1 king and 1 kingdom that is all powerful2:46 and everlasting, and that is the most high God. God. Notice what he does with this, acquired knowledge. Okay? I think this is important. It seemed good or2:58 appropriate to declare the wonders that the most high God has done for me. So give testimony to the power of God for the glory of God. And that's what Nebuchadnezzar is doing here. Verse3:10 4. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house, prospering in my palace. Not a good place to be, he was at ease. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I3:22 lay in bed, the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. Alright. He had created all of this. And, of course, we're gonna see in a moment what he did when he didn't heed the advice of Daniel.3:34 So he has his dream. He calls all the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers to come and give him the interpretation. It's like deja vu. You know, have have we seen this before?3:46 So question I had is why does he go back to the same people who couldn't help him before? Now there's various interpretations of this or opinions, I should say. Maybe he didn't wanna know the truth.3:58 So he didn't call upon Daniel at first because he knew Daniel would shoot straight with it. But maybe it was his desire to really have the right answers when he couldn't get any answers that he once4:10 again goes to the servant of the 1 true god, Daniel. And there's a there's a message there as well. As we stand for truth, there are those who will reject the truth, even our own families. But4:22 as we stand firm for the truth of God, when they run out of answers elsewhere, they'll turn to someone or someplace like the church that stands fast on the truth4:34 of God's word. So Daniel then reluctantly provides the interpretation. No doubt because the message is not a good 1, and a relationship had developed here. I mean, I4:46 think Daniel, even though he was a captive in this land, he cared about Nebuchadnezzar. I have no doubt that he prayed for Nebuchadnezzar. And and so as we see this,4:58 you know, we need to be even with those government leaders or or maybe it's, your boss that you disagree with, we need to be seeking their well-being, praying for5:09 them, and, and and encouraging them to walk with the Lord. Alright. Verse 19. Then Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts5:21 alarmed him. The king answered and said, Belshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you. Belshazzar answered and said, my lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your5:33 enemies. He knew this wasn't good. The tree you saw, which grew and became strong so that its top reached the heaven and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit5:45 abundant, and which was food for all under which beast of the field found shade and whose branches the birds of the heavens lived. It is you, oh king, who have grown and become5:56 strong. Your greatness has grown and reached to heaven and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy 1 coming down from heaven and saying chop down the tree and destroy it, but6:07 leave the stump of its roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field and let him be wet with the dew of heaven and let his portion be with the beast of the field till 76:19 periods of time pass over him. This is the interpret interpretation, oh king. It is a decree from the most high, which has come upon my lord, the6:31 king, that you shall be driven from among men and your dwelling shall be in with the beast of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and 7 periods of time shall6:42 pass over you till you know that the most high rules the knowledge, rather, that the most high rules the kingdom of men and whom it and and6:54 gives it to whom he will. Alright? So a humbling is coming. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you for the time that you know that heaven7:06 rules. Therefore, oh king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed that there may be7:18 perhaps a lengthening of your prosperity, that you might discover the mercy and grace of God. Now the fragments of, Babylonian7:30 writing, cuneiform, The the text appears to support, as they have discovered this in the ruins, this biblical account as they7:41 describe strange behavior by Nebuchadnezzar and being separated from his family. Now they're very guarded in what they say because they don't wanna say anything that reflects negatively on the leaders, but7:53 there is enough there to that runs parallel to what we have here in this biblical passage. Now there's a lot in this chapter that we're not gonna have time to to cover in detail, so I encourage you to read the entire8:05 chapter. But I wanna focus on something that, we've seen throughout our 2 year journey through the bible, and that is the presence and the problem of pride. It was8:17 pride, the denial, or the refusal to recognize the sovereignty of God and that the lord is above all people and all things. Right? He has no rivals. Now every leader should read this8:29 chapter and particularly verse 17. I'm gonna read it again. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones to the end that the living may know that the most high rules the8:40 kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowest of men. Now in our previous sessions, chapters we looked at at Daniel, I did make reference to the mood swings of Nebuchadnezzar,8:53 Some point to his mental or emotional instability, and many say that this was a a form of mental illness or psychosis. But, you know, he wouldn't be alone among leaders. The list of9:05 rulers and leaders in history that have suffered from some form of mental or emotional illness is is prevalent. It's more prevalent than you think. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar,9:17 Napoleon Bonaparte, King George the third, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and the list goes on. Now this doesn't include the great writers and9:29 the artists who also fell. Many of them fell into this category. So should we be surprised? Look again at verse 17. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy9:41 ones, to the end that the living may know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over at the lowest of men.9:53 God will not have rivals. Pride is the door through which much of man's vexations walk. Proverbs 16 to 18 says pride goes before destruction10:05 and a haughty fear spirit before a fall. Look at the look here at at the remedy or the preventative that Daniel gives to the king to ward off this pending judgment because of his pride. Verse 27, therefore,10:17 oh king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by practicing righteousness. Not just enough to stop. You know, we have to repent. We have to turn and go the opposite direction. And your iniquities by10:29 sowing mercy to the oppressed that there may be perhaps a lengthening of your prosperity. The turning point for Nebuchadnezzar found in verse 34.10:41 He he refused to heed the warning of Daniel straightforward into walking in his pride. This came upon him. This prophecy was fulfilled. And then he said at the end of the days,10:53 I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,11:05 and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the world,11:17 and none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? This is a remarkable passage. In fact, the the book of Daniel, fascinating because it not only gives us11:29 a a a view into the government of man and our role in it, but also the hand of God in the government of man. So we we often think that we can't affect change, and we're11:41 gonna see through what we've already seen, but we're gonna see more of it. Daniel's prayers and intercession, yes, is he was placed in a position. He gave counsel, but that was preceded by prayer. We're gonna see that11:52 with we're gonna see that with when we get to, Nehemiah, same thing. Prayer. Prayer. As the church, we've12:04 been given the authority to pray, And I believe that, the scripture points to the fact that as we pray, we can shift the governments12:16 of men through the work of heaven. Alright. Just a reminder, this Saturday is our monthly stand on the word bible study. We'll be hosting at our Baton Rouge facility, and, Lord willing, I'll be12:28 back. I'll be leaving Jerusalem and, heading to Tel Aviv to catch my flight just in time to get back for our Sunday our Saturday night gathering. If you'd like more information, you'd like to join us, just12:40 email me 20 20 perkins dot com. If you can't make it to Baton Rouge, we will once again be broadcasting it live on our Stand Firm app. So if you don't have the Stand Firm app, I encourage you to get that. We'll be12:51 talking about Daniel, and I'll be giving you an update from, the various, meetings I had with governmental leaders here and some of the places we visited, during this, delegation trip to, to Israel. So let's pray.13:03 Father, thank you for your word. And, Lord, again, ask the Holy Spirit to lead us through this study of your word as we're in the book of Daniel. Lord, maybe we're receptive to the truth. May we13:14 understand how to apply the truths and principles here to this world in which we live beginning with us. We thank you for your word. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks so much for joining us.13:26 Until next time, keep standing on the word.13:31 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:43 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Humbling of Nebuchadnezzar
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