If you would open your Bibles
to the book of Daniel, Daniel chapter 1. It is always so comforting before
coming up here to sing a song and it gives lines such as other
refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee, leave
I leave me not alone, still support and comfort me, all my trust
on thee is stayed, all my help from thee I bring. I couldn't
sum up the way I feel before coming up here any better. When I got a call from Gabe to
preach Went back to a place I'd gone many times before and for
a long time. I've wanted to preach from Daniel
chapter 3 The story of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and being
cast into the fiery furnace and saved by the Lord And I hear
multiple of you turning your pages right now that he said
Daniel 1 or Daniel 3 I did say Daniel 1 but every time I study
for a message for a long time I It just doesn't come together
in Daniel 3. And I end up somewhere else and
preaching something else and putting it off to the next time.
And it actually has become frustrating and I just couldn't figure it
out. Well, this time as I read Daniel 3, I feel like I really
found something. But it wasn't in Daniel 3 and
it wasn't what I was looking for. Maybe that's because I'm
having a hard time Relating to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
They're described through this book of Daniel in a couple different
ways. They're said to be children in whom was no blemish, well
favored, skilled in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge, understanding
science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's
palace. And I sure can't relate to any
of that. And then as young men, they're described with Daniel
as none were found to be like them. And the king inquired of
them for wisdom and understanding. And then, the story we all know,
where they defied this same king, maybe the most powerful man in
all the world, they defied him knowing that they would be cast
into a fiery furnace for sure death if they did so. And I'm
very jealous of these men for their wisdom, their faith, and
their love for the Lord Jesus Christ. But I find myself feeling
much more like Peter. And apart from the grace of the
God, I will deny that I ever knew the Lord when faced with
something like this. And really, it doesn't have to be faced with
death. It can be faced with something very simple, even as small as
one of my innocent children asking me a question that I feel like
I can't answer or don't say anything to. But I did find someone that
I can relate with in these chapters. It's King Nebuchadnezzar. And
it's not because he's a king. It's not because of his power
and his many great war victories. And it's not because of his great
riches. But I can see myself in this man because of the many
foolish things that he says and does throughout these chapters.
And we're going to look at four specific instances where the
Lord teaches Nebuchadnezzar the same thing over and over again.
Can anybody understand that, being taught the same thing over
and over again? Nebuchadnezzar is told and is
taught one thing, and it's the title of the message. He is able. The Lord is able. The book of
Daniel starts by telling us that Nebuchadnezzar, who is the king
of Babylon, was given Judah and Jerusalem by the Lord. And it's
important because it's said that way, because Daniel's representing
that he didn't conquer Judah and Jerusalem. He didn't conquer
Israel. The Lord allowed him to take that land. And he conquered
many lands and was many thought to be the most powerful man in
the world for a long period of time. And when they did this,
they took the smartest of all the young Jewish boys. And they trained them and taught
them their language. And we're going to use them.
And they trained them over a period of time. And of all these boys,
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thought to be the
most highly favored. It says that over and over again.
And King Nebuchadnezzar, early on, had a dream. He had a dream
that troubled him. It troubled his spirit, he couldn't
sleep, and he struggled with it greatly. So turn over, actually,
to Daniel 2, verse 2. And with this dream, in verse 2,
then the king commanded to call the magicians and the astrologers
and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans for to show the king his dream.
So they came and stood before the king, and the king said unto
them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to
know the dream. Then spake the Chaldeans to the
king of Syriac, O king, live forever. Which you can tell a
lot about these men by that's their first comment, kissing
up immediately. O king, live forever. Tell thy
servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The
king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the thing is gone
from me. If you will not make known unto
me the dream with the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in
pieces and your house shall be made a dunghill. So he tells
these men, I have a dream and I need you to interpret the dream.
Well, these sorcerers and magicians and all that, they don't bat
an eye at that. They think, tell us the dream, we'll interpret
it for you. Well, then he throws them the ultimate curveball on
this and says, I can't remember my dream, but I still want you
to interpret it. So now these men who are so used
to giving kind words and this forked tongue and saying what
they think will be like to her, now they're sitting there and
they don't know what to do. And he also said, and I want you
this interpretation, and if you don't, you shall be cut in pieces
and your houses shall be made a dunghill. This reminds me of
my struggles with my own sin, this dream. I don't understand it, and I
can't come to grips with it. At times, or most of the time,
I don't even know it's there, but it's always a thorn in my
side. It's always bothering me. And
I would love for someone to be able to tell me what to do, how
to do it, and what it all means. And all these so-called wise
men kept telling him, there's no one can help you. But if you
can remember the dream, we'll cleanse your pain. We'll solve
this for you. This is just like so many false
prophets today. You've got to do your part. You've
got to do something. You've got to come up with some
part in salvation. And they'll also tell you there's
no one who can do all this. These men keep telling him throughout
here, you're asking the impossible. No one can interpret this dream,
let alone tell you what it is. So look at Daniel 2 verse 12. For this cause, because they
could not figure it out for him, the king was angry and very furious
and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And
the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain, and
they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain." Now, I totally
understand what these men were saying in this circumstance.
They were being asked to remember a dream that they didn't know
anything about. So the king was so frustrated by this that he
said, fine, if you can't do it, we're going to get rid of all
of you. Every person that calls them a wise man, we're going
to kill all of them. And because Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, these guys were brought out separately
when they were young, they were determined to be wise men, so
they were going to be killed too. Now Daniel asked for some time. When he found out what had happened,
he asked a man who was in charge of him and his other men, asked
for some time. Then he went to his house and
he prayed with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And look at verse
23 in Daniel 2. I thank thee, and this is Daniel
speaking, I thank thee and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers,
who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto
me now what we desired of thee. For thou hast now made known
unto us the king's matter. Daniel went and prayed about
this, and the Lord showed him the dream. And then look in verse 26. Daniel went to him. The king
answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
that was the Babylonian name they gave Daniel, Are thou able
to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation
thereof? Daniel answered in the presence
of the king and said the secret which the king hath demanded
cannot the wise men the astrologers the magicians the soothsayers
show unto the king it is Amazing that Daniel did not answer this
question until he had appointed out that all these other men
who believe all these other gods and all this We've established
they can't help you, right? 28 But there is a God in heaven
that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king, Nebuchadnezzar,
what shall be in the latter days, thy dream and the visions of
thy head upon thy bed are these. And then he goes on and says
this. In verse 26, the king says to
Daniel, Art thou able And then in verse 28, Daniel says, There
is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, that is, Abel. This
is the first time Nebuchadnezzar is taught he is Abel. The God
of heaven and earth is Abel. And Daniel makes sure to give
credit to God in those verses we just read. He doesn't say
he's able to do it. He says there's a God in heaven
who's able to do it, and he's just the messenger with him.
Now look at verse 37. While Daniel is telling, Daniel
has told him what his dream was and is getting ready to interpret
it. But Daniel says in verse 37, Thou, O king, art a king
of kings, for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power,
and strength, and glory. This is the second time we see
this, but Daniel says to the king, this is a bold statement
to say to a king, O king, or the king of kings, for the God
of heaven hath given thee a kingdom. He just took the credit away
from the king for having his own kingdom. But he goes on and
tells him what the interpretation of his dream is. And if we go
on, the king's reaction to hearing his dream, and this interpretation
is in verse 46 to 49. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar
fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they
should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him. The king
answered unto Daniel and said, Of a truth it is that your God
is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets,
seeing thou couldst reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel
a great man and gave him many great gifts and made him ruler
over the whole providence of Babylon and chief of the governors
over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the
king that he should set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the
affairs of the providence of Babylon. Daniel gave up this
power and gave it to those three men. But Daniel sat in the gate
of the king." Now the reaction is important here for Nebuchadnezzar. He is elated by this. He thought
no one was ever going to be able to tell him what his dream was
and what the interpretation was. And he gives a great answer to
this, and he is so happy, and he worships Daniel. And he's
misguided in some of this, but he says that your God is a God
of gods and a Lord of kings. He does have an understanding
that somehow there was someone gave Daniel this ability, and
he understands it. So after Nebuchadnezzar is told all these things, and
he's told that the God of heaven is able to help him, what does
he now do next? Look at verse 1 of chapter 3.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king, made an image of gold whose height
was threescore cubits and the breadth thereof six cubits, and
he set it up in the plain of Jura in the province of Babylon. We don't know how much time is
in between these two. It doesn't mean, because we read
these oftentimes reading stories, we think it was like two days
later or something. But it could have been many years
or whatever it was. The point is, he made a golden
image that was taller than any building in the city of Kingsport. And he made it, we don't know
exactly who this was. Some people think it was actually
a statue of himself. Some think it's one of his ancestors,
and some think it was a god, one of the gods of his people.
But none of that really matters because whoever it was, it was
an idol. And it wasn't even an idol that
was designed to give the glory to God either. Now, Nebuchadnezzar
made a law that whenever certain instruments were played, everyone
had to bow down and worship this image. And it was placed in a
valley, in a place where you could see it from miles around,
so no one was going to have an excuse that they couldn't bow
down to this image. And then what would happen if
they didn't bow down? Look at verse 6 of chapter 3. And whoso falleth not down, whoever
doesn't bow, and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace. Now with that threat, does anyone
doubt what happened when the music was being played? Look
in verse 7. Therefore, at that time, when
all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations,
and the languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that
Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. It's described particularly
with all these certain instruments being played. But I have a feeling
that it really didn't matter what music was being played.
I feel like if I were around at that time frame, and apart
from the grace of God, if I heard anybody playing music of any
kind, I was bowing down and looking for that statue. I mean, if you
knew you were going to be thrown in there, and most of these people
just didn't know any better. Some of these men, some of the
Chaldeans, came to Nebuchadnezzar. These were men that would have
probably fallen into the class of the magicians and the soothsayers
and these people that couldn't interpret the original dream.
And they came to him and told him, Nebuchadnezzar, there are
some Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who aren't bowing
down to your statue. So Nebuchadnezzar had these men
brought before him. And I believe, and I didn't know
this at first, I heard this story all the time growing up, And
I never had thought about it before until I'd read a writer
on it explaining this, that everyone believes that Nebuchadnezzar
really loved these men. If you look back, Daniel gave
up his position over Babylon to these three men. And then
before that, these three men were looked upon as people who
had great wisdom, and the king asked them questions and always
confided in them and everything. So to keep that position, he
had to have thought very highly of them. So these men came and
told him that, And I believe that he had them come before
him because he wanted to clear it up. I don't think he had any
doubt in his mind that these guys were just lying to him,
that they would bow down before the statue. So Daniel 3 verse
14, Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, did not ye serve my gods, nor
worship the golden image which I have set up? He actually just
asked them the question first. I mean, I think if they would
have said, yeah, we do, he would have been okay with it. That's
the end of it. But he keeps going and saying, now, if you be ready,
he's going to give him another chance, that at what time you
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery,
and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship
the image which I have made. Well, but so he's saying that's
good if you do it, that's great But if you worship not you shall
be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace
And who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?
Nebuchadnezzar is saying this and I try to put myself in a
position of If I were saying this lines to a dear friend of
mine a loved one if I was telling them this is the situation you're
in if you don't do this and Have to kill you So I'm gonna we're
gonna play this. I want you to do this I think
he really is thinking that they are going to do this for him
and so he says all that to them and the response that these men
give him is the mindset that I pray that we always have in
these moments where we are called out someone is putting us in
a situation where they're a Claiming another God has power where they
are doing something to cause reproach upon the Lord Jesus
Christ And I I pray that we would have that I'm I'm not fooling
us to think that I would have this fortitude to do this But
but I pray that maybe I would by the grace of God and I look
at verse 16 Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said
to the king You notice it says all three of them answered to
him. They're all three saying this together. I Oh, Nebuchadnezzar,
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. Their lives
are on the line right here, and they know the response they're
going to give means that they're going to be put into a fiery
furnace. We'll see later that it doesn't mean they're going
to die. They're not sure of that, but they know they're going to
be put into a fiery furnace, and they are not fearful, and they're
not going to mince words to him. Verse 17, if it be so, Our God,
whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O King. But if not,
be it known unto thee, O King, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." There
are so many parts of this that I love. The fact that they're
not careful to answer him about the matter, they don't have to
think about it, they don't have to say, give us five minutes, we want
to talk about this and figure out how we want to answer you. And then
when they say it, they start immediately and say, if it be
so. I mean, we don't have the power
here, but if it be so, our God is able to deliver us. There's
no doubt of his ability in this situation. That's not in question.
And then there's also no doubt that he will deliver us out of
thine hand, O king, if he so desires. And then verse 18, then
they say, but if not, they are okay if He doesn't bring them
out of this. If that's not His will for them
to be saved, that's fine. They're okay by that. But we
will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which
thou hast set up. Now, this is the second time that Nebuchadnezzar
hears that God is able. His reaction this time is not
the same as the first. Look in verse 19. Then, and remember
this, Nebuchadnezzar, these are men that he dearly cares for
that are standing in front of him. Then was Nebuchadnezzar
full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He no longer looked upon them
in the same way he did before. 24 Therefore he spake, and commanded
that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it
was wont to be heated. 25 And he commanded the most
mighty men that were in his army to bind them, and to cast them
into the burning, fiery furnace. 26 Then these men were bound
in their coats, their hosing in their hats, and their other
garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning, fiery
furnace. Therefore, because the king's commandment was urgent
and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those
men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three
men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst
of the burning fiery furnace." This story has left us with no
other alternative for what the resolution will be. This fire
was so hot that it killed the men who threw them in. So not
just anybody in the fiery furnace would die. Anybody who got near
the fiery furnace was gonna die. Then we bound them so there was
no way that they could get out on their own. Then they threw
them in and they're on the ground. There's no way for them to get
out of this. What's the difference between
these two responses by Nebuchadnezzar? The first one, he's told God
is able and he loved it. Proclaimed how great God was.
And the second time, he was furious and filled with fury. The difference
between these two lies in the will of man. The first time Daniel
interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Nebuchadnezzar got all
he wanted. This time, things were going
in the opposite direction that Nebuchadnezzar had desired and
what he wanted. Just like so many people in the
world today, Nebuchadnezzar had no problem hearing, God is able,
as long as it benefited them. But the minute he caught a glimpse
of God's power over him, he was full of fury. Now, if I made
a statement to everyone in here, and I said, I'm able to do anything
that I want to do, and I was genuine about it, You would probably
kind of snicker, maybe make a comment about, well, not when your wife's
here or something. And we'd kind of laugh it off, but it wouldn't
mean that much. But if instead I made the statement and just
added a couple words on the end, I'm able to do anything I want
to you. Now, if I'm serious about that,
that's a little different issue. I can do anything I want. You
don't care that much about that. I mean, if you love me, you don't
want me to do anything bad or anything. But if I can tell you I can do
anything I want to you, Now we might have a little bit of a
grief. And that's what's happened here with these men. Nebuchadnezzar
is fine hearing that the Lord can do anything he wants. He
has the ability and the power. But power over him is totally
different. And I'm sure it's even more difficult for a man
in his position who has great power, who no one stands up to
and no one does anything to. Now, we've all heard this story
and how it ends, but I'm going to read a few verses to see Nebuchadnezzar's
experience in it as we keep going and looking at him. So verse
24 here, Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished and rose
up in haste and spake and said unto his counselors, Did not
we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered
and said unto the king, True, O king, He answered and said,
Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and
they have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son
of God. I don't have the words to explain
what Nebuchadnezzar experienced in that moment. Being full of
fury and all of this had to have happened in just a few moments
those men he brought him before him He told him you can give
you one more chance. They denied him and said we are
not gonna bow down to this statue He got that furnace as high as
he could get it threw him in there, and he thought he was
done with it And I find it interesting that he was looking in there In that circumstance was there
any doubt what was going to happen to those men to him I He made
the furnace seven times hotter. I don't know how you would even
do that. A furnace that would kill someone, you'd make it seven
times hotter? I don't even know if that's possible.
But he was looking in there to see what happened to those men.
And when he did, the last line of that, in the form of the fourth,
is like the Son of God. That can only be explained as
the Lord was showing him that. That's the only way. And then
going on to verse 28, After this happened then Nebuchadnezzar
has a different reaction. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said,
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has
sent his angel and delivered his servants that trusted in
him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies,
that they might not serve nor worship any god except their
own god. Therefore, I make a decree that
every people, nation, and language which speak anything amiss against
the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut into
pieces, and their house shall be made a dunghill, because there
is no other God that can deliver after this sort. Nebuchadnezzar
has a change of tune once he sees how little power he is.
That was maybe the worst way and the most proficient way he
could think of to get rid of those men. At the end of that,
there shouldn't have even been ash left of those men, no remnants
of them even existing. Now, seeing how Nebuchadnezzar
has been told and shown twice that God is able, but just like
us, we need to hear it again and again. Nebuchadnezzar has
another dream. Daniel 4 verse 4, I, Nebuchadnezzar,
was at rest in mine house and flourishing in my palace. I saw
a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed
and the visions of my head troubled me. Therefore made I a decree
to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they
might make known unto me the interpretation of the dream.
Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and
the soothsayers, and I told the dream before them, but they did
not make known unto me the interpretation thereof." It is so difficult here not to
be really harsh on Nebuchadnezzar. Humanly speaking, it just seems
unfathomable, but this is the way he goes about this. Let me
give an illustration of this. Kids, if you guys have homework
to do, And you come to a problem, and you don't know the answer,
and you need help. So you go in the other room, and you ask
your sister. And she's too busy. She's not going to help you.
And then you go to the next room over, and your brother's in there,
and he doesn't know how to help you. Then you go in the other room, and
your dad's in there, and he's on the phone, so he can't help you. And then
you go, lastly, to your mom in the one room, and she says, sure.
And in just a couple seconds, she explains how to do it, and
you go back in the other room. When you sit down back at the
table, and you look at the next problem, and you realize, I don't know
how to do this one either. Who are you going to go to first?
Are you going to go to your brother who couldn't help you? Are you
going to go to your sister who said she didn't want to help
you? Are you going to go to your dad who's on the phone? No, you're
going to go to your mom. You're going to go back to the
person who helped you the first time. The first time he had a dream,
Nebuchadnezzar did, he was ready to kill everyone that said they
could interpret a dream until Daniel came along and showed
him the dream. This time he has a dream and knows the dream,
but he doesn't go to Daniel. He has all these men come to
him. And I don't want to be hard on him because it's the same
thing I do. I have so many trials. I have so many problems. I have
so many things that bother me. And I do so many things before
I go to the Lord with it. And that's what I do. And this
is a great illustration of this. And so we also look at what he
does. Love it that he tells these men
the dream this time and the last time all these men told him if
you tell me the dream I'll tell you what it means these guys
are scared to death to interpret this dream because they know
who's still around If they interpret this dream and Daniel comes back
or Daniel comes and interprets it They know that he's gonna
believe Daniel over them because they're just making something
up so I I rarely go straight to the Lord
in the way that Nebuchadnezzar didn't go straight to Daniel,
the person who would help him through the Lord. Now, I'm going
to tell myself something, but I'm going to say it out loud
so we can all hear it as well. I truly believe that he is able,
that the Lord Jesus Christ is able And I want my actions to
prove that I believe that. I want to approach the Lord instead
of worrying about my problems. I want to give him thanks instead
of gloating when things get better. I want to praise him instead
of doing all the earthly junk that I fill my time with and
all my energy towards. And somehow I want all of this
to happen without me giving myself credit and being self-righteous
about it. And the only way that this is ever going to happen
is through the grace of God. That's it. That's the only way
it's going to happen. And the sooner that the Lord teaches
us that, the better off we'll be. Now Nebuchadnezzar has told
his dream to Daniel. So look at verse 18. After he
tells Daniel the dream, in verse 8, the first line says, But at
the last Daniel came in before him. I don't know if that means
that Nebuchadnezzar had everybody come in and Daniel didn't come
yet, or if he had all of them come in and didn't summon Daniel
too. I don't know. But Daniel came in last. Verse
18, After hearing the dream, This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar,
have seen, Now thou, O Belteshazzar, or Daniel, declare the interpretation
thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not
able to make known unto me the interpretation, he says, all
of my men are unable to make known, but thou art able, for
the Spirit of the holy gods is in thee. We see again that Nebuchadnezzar
says here, he understands. He has learned part of this lesson.
Though he didn't go to Daniel first, but he has learned that
all of these men can't interpret this for me. They can't do it.
They're not able. But you are able. Just another example of
the king learning of these false prophets who served other gods
who did not have the ability and unable to help their king.
And it does show too that Nebuchadnezzar has faith in Daniel. With power
from the Lord, that Daniel's able to help him. Now Daniel
interprets this dream for him, and it is not good for the king.
The dream is not something that the king will like to hear. So
in verse 25, Daniel says that they shall drive
thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the
field. And they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they
shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall
pass over thee, till thou know that the Most High ruleth in
the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Daniel
interprets this dream and tells the king the most powerful man
in the world That you are going to be put in a position where
you're going to be with the beast of the field and you're going
to eat grass like an oxen I Said before that I can relate
to Nebuchadnezzar Look what he does in verse 28 So he's heard
this warning and told this is what's going to happen to you
and And look at verse 27 first. Wherefore, O king, Daniel says,
Let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy
sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to
the poor, if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility. Daniel says,
Please change your ways, and it might put off this interpretation
that I've given you. Verse 28, This all came upon
the king, Verse 29, at the end of 12 months, he walked in the
palace of the king of Babylon. I said I could relate to him.
If I got a warning that I was going to be turned into basically
an animal with no understanding, I feel pretty confident that
I would be scared to death for at least a few days, maybe a
couple weeks. And then at some point, my prosperity,
and in the king's case, nothing's happened, you know, maybe this
was just, it's not really that big of a deal, it's not gonna
come, and my prosperity would lead me into a position where
I would just think, I'm okay, I'd forget about it. And Nebuchadnezzar
lasted longer than I did. He lasted 12 months, and I might
not have lasted five minutes, but at the end of 12 months,
verse 29, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, and
the king spake and said, these are the king's word to himself,
is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of
the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my
majesty. Nebuchadnezzar had not learned
just like we haven't learned over and over again that he's
not the cause behind these things that are prosperity for him.
He hasn't learned about it. And so the punishment was severe
and it was immediate. Verse 31, while the word was
in the king's mouth, before he had even finished saying the
last word, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar,
to thee it is spoken, the kingdom is departed from thee. And they
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the
beasts of the field, and shall make thee to eat grass as oxen,
and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the
Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever
he will." It's important to know that this voice says, It doesn't
say this punishment is upon you, it's going to be forever and
all stuff. It gives the purpose of this punishment. Until thou
know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth
it to whomsoever he will. This is going to go until you
realize that the power is from above. Verse 33, The same hour
was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven
from men and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with
the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers
and his nails like bird claws. This trial is very scary and
a great warning to all men, but the Lord uses it to teach Nebuchadnezzar. Look at verse 34. At the end
of the days, at the end of this trial, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted
up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto
me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him
that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and
his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest
thou? Nebuchadnezzar realizes that
no one can stay the Lord's hand, and he does what he will to whom
he will. He learned who was in control
and who has all the power. Now, how do we know that was
the reason for the trial? because right when he said these
words in verse thirty four and thirty five verse thirty six
happened at the same time my reason returned unto me the moment
he came to that realization that the Lord opened his eyes and
let him understand that or made him to understand that verse
thirty six at the same time my reason returned unto me and for
the glory of my kingdom my honor and brightness returned unto
me and my counselors and my Lord sought unto me and I was established
in my kingdom and excellent majesty was added unto him. Nebuchadnezzar
was given everything back that he had been taken away from him.
Once he realized that the Lord was in control and had all the
power, that the Lord was the one who was able, and not Nebuchadnezzar,
everything was given back to him. Now, Nebuchadnezzar is another
example of a sinner who needs constant teaching, repetitive
reminders, and an absurdly large number of chances. He can't seem
to get it right and always makes the wrong choice. And I relate
to this. I can relate to all these things
and all the negative things that we've said, thought, and imagined
about Nebuchadnezzar. But I don't like these stories,
and I don't like this man because I am similar to him. I am similarly
foolish, and I am similarly incompetent to him. That's not the reason
I like this story. But I love these chapters because the Lord
Jesus Christ, the only one who is able, had mercy on this man
and saved his soul. I love hope. And these stories
give me hope that a sinner like me, a wretched sinner, has hope
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Because as we've seen multiple
times here, He is the one who's able. It's not us. I have no
hope in myself. And I ask the Lord to not put
me or you through trials nearly this severe. But more importantly
than that, I ask the Lord to save my soul and to save the
souls of my family and my friends and my brothers and sisters.
So regardless of the means that he determines to use to do that,
I pray that he would. Now let's finish this by reading
a few more verses. Chapter 4 of this book was actually
written by Nebuchadnezzar. He wrote this book So I intentionally
left out the very beginning his introduction and then the very
end of this so go back to the first verse of Daniel 4 and in
these verses We see that all these things that have happened
to him, we can see his mindset and his attitude after these.
But of course, we're reading these first three verses. He's
writing this after all of this has happened. So this is his
perspective before he says it. Verse 1, Nebuchadnezzar the king
unto all people, nations, and languages that dwell in all the
earth, peace be multiplied unto you. The first thing he does
is give peace to everyone in the world, to everyone else,
to all the other people who have power, everybody. I thought it
good to show the signs and wonders that the high God wrought toward
me. I want everyone in the world to know what the Lord has done
for me. How great are his signs and how
mighty are his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.
The pronoun that is used in this verse, how great are His signs,
how mighty are His wonders, His kingdom is everlasting, and His
dominion is from generation to generation. Turn over to the
last verse of this chapter. The last thing that he says,
he starts off with, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar. After all of this has happened,
Now 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. This man,
after going through all these things he's been through, his
words are, I praise and extol and honor the King of heaven.
We've got no negative things to say. He's not sorry for anything
that's happened to him. He doesn't wish it happened a
different way. He's just ecstatic that the Lord has done what he
has for him. And the last thing he says, and those that walk
in pride, he is able to abase. The thing that he keeps getting
taught throughout all these chapters is that the Lord is the one who's
able, and that's the last thing he says. Those that walk in pride,
he is able to abase. That's all for thanks, and you'll
be dismissed.