How Mighty His Wonders

Good morning. Good morning. We are ready to go. Good morning. It's it's good to be with you all as we continue our study of the book of Daniel.

We are picking back up here in chapter four this morning. It's printed there in your worship guide. It's a lot of text. It's a lot there in front of us. Don't worry, we will read every word of it.

So, in the book of Daniel, chapter four stands out as unique in its format and in its content and most distinctively, the chapter is primarily a first person testimony from king Nebuchadnezzar. And over the last three chapters, we have come to know Nebuchadnezzar as an equally ruthless and paranoid ruler. We have seen him execute his dissenters and frantically question the loyalty of his closest advisors. And across history, have seen that this is a bad mix, powerful and paranoid. It's the classic trope of the mad king, when absolute power corrupts absolutely.

But as we have studied Daniel together these past few weeks, Daniel and his exiled friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego have sought to honor the Lord in all faithfulness, all while serving this pagan king in uprightness. They are honoring the emperor while refusing to yield their faithfulness to God alone. And in the spirit of last week's one hour walk through the bible, I I want to offer a simple framework for reading an Old Testament text, especially one as unique as today's passage is. So as we approach this passage of Daniel chapter four, we will do so with three main questions in mind, three successive progressive questions as we work all the way through it. And here are those questions.

The first one, what happened? What's going on in this passage? What is unfolding here? The second question, what does what happened tell us about God? If the whole of scripture is ultimately first and foremost about God, what does this chapter have to instruct us about him?

What are we seeing God reveal about himself here at this point in salvation history? And more specifically, how is it preparing us for Jesus? Third question. What does what happened tell us about ourselves? What does it say about humanity, about the human heart, about our rebelling or repenting?

What does it say about obedience, and how we are called to live our lives before God as followers of Jesus? So those three questions, what happened? What does what happened tell us about God? And what does what happened tell us about our selves? And so as we begin this time, as we're going to work through Daniel four together, I want to ground us first in the future hope that we have found in Revelation chapter 11.

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

This isn't printed in your worship guide, but if you would listen carefully. Revelation chapter 11 verse 15, and let us listen carefully for this is God's word. Then, the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There were loud voices in heaven saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever.

Revelation 11:15

This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray together. O Lord, almighty and eternal, you alone are worthy of our praise and our delight. Today, as we open your word, would you open our hearts and our minds to receive your truth? Oh, spirit, help us to fix our attention and our affections on Christ our savior, our friend, and our king.

Would you speak, Lord, for your servants are listening? We pray this in the name of the father, the son, and holy spirit. Amen. So chapter three ended with a divine rescue of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. And after their deliverance, Nebuchadnezzar, in utter amazement at the power of God, made a royal proclamation.

You might remember this. Chapter three verse 28, It says, Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him and set aside the king's command, yielded up their bodies rather than to serve and worship any god except their own. Therefore, I make a decree. Any people, nation or language that speaks anything against the god of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses laid in ruins for there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. So what's happening?

By the end of chapter three, Nebuchadnezzar is clearly impressed by the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So much so that he is willing to issue a decree that no one, literally no one on earth, from any people, any nation, any language can say anything bad about Yahweh, lest they be utterly destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar is impressed with God's ability remarking, there is no other God who is able to rescue in this way. That is the basis of Nebuchadnezzar's decree. He respects the power of Yahweh that he has seen displayed for these men.

And now, Nebuchadnezzar is not worshiping God. He isn't bowing to him in repentance or heartfelt worship. He's simply impressed by his power. But just because Nebuchadnezzar is keeping the safe distance from engaging the Lord, that doesn't mean that the Lord is done with Nebuchadnezzar, hardly. So, let's look now at the opening lines of chapter four.

It's printed there in your worship guide. Daniel chapter four beginning in verse one. King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. Chapter four opens with the words of a royal pronouncement, an address whose audience is the world. Remember that the city of Babylon was known at that time as the greatest city in the world, and under Nebuchadnezzar's rule, the Babylonian Empire was ruled by a king who viewed himself essentially as the king of the world.

So, the king of the world speaks, he expects the world to listen. But while this address begins with this kind of expected tone of the king's supremacy, it shifts very quickly in verse two. Let's look together. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me. So that doesn't sound like king Nebuchadnezzar.

We've come to know in these past three chapters a very different voice. Yes, we saw him in awe of Yahweh's power in rescuing, but now he describes a very different regard for God. Notice that Nebuchadnezzar is not only writing about the signs and wonders carried out by the most high God, he's speaking personally, saying these signs and wonders were done for him by the most high God. Nebuchadnezzar goes on to declare in verse three, how great are his signs, how mighty his wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Again, this doesn't sound like king Nebuchadnezzar. It sounds more like king David who spoke of Yahweh in Psalm one forty five saying, your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. Or Nebuchadnezzar sounds like the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 32, when he said, oh Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But, this isn't the great prophet Jeremiah, and it's not the great king David. It's the ruthless, idol worshiping king Nebuchadnezzar, who ransacked Jerusalem and hauled Daniel and his friends into exile. And now, somehow, he is sounding like a prophet of God. So what has happened to the king of Babylon?

That's our first question. What has happened? And thankfully, Nebuchadnezzar is eager to tell us, to recount the wonders of God. And this is the start of that first person testimony. It's a much larger section.

I'm gonna read, through verse 18 for us. So let's settle in. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed, the fantasies and the visions of my head alarmed me, so, I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, the astrologers, they came in and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. At last, Daniel came in before me. He who was named Belteshazzar, after the name of my God and in whom the spirit of the holy gods, I told him the dream. Oh, Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.

The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these. I saw and behold a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. Do you hear the echo of Eve in Eden?

The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold a watcher, a holy one came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus, chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze amid the tender grass of the field. Let him...

See the switch? Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts and the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him. And let seven periods of time pass over him.

The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the word of the holy ones to the end of the living may know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar saw and you, old Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. Once again, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream that is deeply troubling him, just like he did in chapter two, and the king wants someone to interpret it. And he's brought again all of these different interpreters, the wise men of Babylon, and none of them can tell him what it means. Although, it doesn't seem that hard to figure out.

This idea that it's such a mystery, perhaps he just doesn't want to admit what he knows that it means. But he's asking Daniel to help him. And once again, Daniel, empowered by the spirit of God, will help Nebuchadnezzar understand this dream's meaning. Let's look together at verse 19. Then, Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him.

And the king answered him and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you. Belteshar answered and said, my lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies. Notice Daniel's compassion here. Even though he was taken from his home, forced into exile, this wicked king had caused so much suffering and sorrow and yet Daniel still shows genuine compassion for Nebuchadnezzar. And while he regrets the meaning of the dream, he shares with Nebuchadnezzar the truth, saying in verse 20, the tree that you saw which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven and it was visible to the end of the earth whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant and in it was food for all under which beasts of the field found shade and in whose branches the birds of heaven lived.

It is you, oh king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots and the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze. And the tender grass of the field, let him be wet with the dew of heaven and his let his portion be with the beasts of the field till seven periods of time pass over him. This is the interpretation, o king.

It is a decree from the most high which has come upon my lord the king that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox. You shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you till you know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules. Therefore, o 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 perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. Daniel does not wish for this great suffering to happen to Nebuchadnezzar. And, in his compassion, Daniel gives him wise counsel of what he should do next. He shall break off from his sins, practice righteousness, show mercy to the oppressed. Daniel calls the king to repentance, to turn from his evil ways and perceive and pursue that goodness because perhaps the Lord would then refrain from these things.

But, the divine objective of the dream was not only to call the king away from wicked living and oppression, the Lord's primary purpose in this decree to Nebuchadnezzar was to teach him an essential truth. The aim of bringing the king low, lower than even a man to the station of a beast was to show Nebuchadnezzar that the most high rules over every kingdom of earth, and he does as he wills. In other words, the goal of bringing Nebuchadnezzar low was to make him know the supremacy of God alone. Nebuchadnezzar was rightfully terrified by the dream and Daniel was likewise terrified by its interpretation. But over time, Nebuchadnezzar seems to have lost his fear and his humility and has returned back to his callous pride and hubris.

And, this shouldn't be too unfamiliar for us. I'm sure that each of us can recall a time when we were acutely aware seriousness of our faith, the seriousness of sin, and the need to repent and to walk with the Lord in righteousness. Times when we were so clear minded, so alert, but then as time went on, we entered into a forgetfulness that perhaps even led to a negligence or indifference. As the year goes on, Nebuchadnezzar forgets this sobering warning and he forgets what the Lord has decreed, but the Lord has not forgotten. Let's look at verse 28.

And all this came upon king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. And the king answered and said, is not this great Babylon which I have built by my power, my mighty power, as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty. And while these words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven. Oh, king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you And, you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the most high rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

High upon the palace roof. If he knew the story of David, he would know that good things don't happen up there. High upon the palace roof, likely the highest point in all the land, Nebuchadnezzar looked upon his kingdom and saw his own might, his own power, his own glory, his own majesty. He believed that he had built everything that he saw with his own hands, his own wisdom, his own greatness. And Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar stood there.

He stood there reveling in that supposed greatness and the Lord carried out that great warning fulfilling the plan to teach this king who Yahweh truly is. Look at verse 33. Immediately, the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. Notice the shift from the first person. It's like someone else is speaking here because our narrator is becoming like a beast.

He was driven from among men and ate grass like of an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles feathers and his nails were like bird's claws. Nebuchadnezzar went from the height of the palace, the highest place of greatest comfort and ease, and was immediately brought lower than the lowest human. He became like the beast of the field. He went from surveying his vast empire and glory to wandering the misty fields like an ox for seven periods of time. In other words, a perfect exactly right amount of time.

Nebuchadnezzar lost his stature, he lost his reasoning, he lost his pride, he lost every sense of his own greatness and his glory. For what? Just to be made a fool? Just to show some cruelty to the one who has been cruel to countless others? While that would be poetic justice, that was not the point.

Nebuchadnezzar was brought low. He was made to lose everything so that he might gain an understanding of the Lord. So let's read through the conclusion of the chapter beginning verse 34. And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, returned to first person. I 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. His kingdom endures from generation to generation, and all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and no one can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? At the same time, my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors, my lord s sought me and I was established in my kingdom and still more greatness was added to me. And now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven.

For all his works are right and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride, he is able to humble. Nebuchadnezzar closed chapter three marveling at the ability of God to deliver his servants from the fiery furnace. And here at the close of chapter four, Nebuchadnezzar is marveling at the ability of God to humble those who walk in pride. And rather than bitterness or anger toward the Lord, he says, for all his works are right and his ways are just. No one can stop or stay his hand.

The language there, it's written in Aramaic, the the meaning behind it, it's it's like a parent slapping away the hand of a child reaching for something that they should not be getting. No one can slap away the hand of the Lord. No one can look at him and say, what have you done? Nebuchadnezzar was made to lose everything so that he might gain an understanding that God alone is supreme. No one should look upon the greatness and graciousness of God and suppose it to be their own greatness.

That is a stolen glory and no one can steal the glory that belongs to the Lord alone. As the Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 42 when he said, I am Yahweh, that is my name. I will not give my glory to another nor my praise to idols. Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar that the Lord would teach him these lessons through great suffering, and Daniel warned him that he would come to know and to understand that God alone is over all, including him and his kingdom. And, the Lord was faithful to carry out this lesson in humility.

Nebuchadnezzar's reason and position were restored to him, but according to the story, he did not return to this rule the same. He was changed. The biblical story of Nebuchadnezzar ends with these words of praise to the king of heaven, humbled words of adoration and gratitude and delight in the one true king who is over him, whose rule and reign are eternal. That is what happened. So what does that teach us about God?

Daniel said that Nebuchadnezzar would have to learn of the greatness and the glory of God. If we take those two declarations, the first one from the start of chapter four and the other one from the end of chapter four that are kind of bracketed out, almost like poetry, from those two things, we get a summary of what he has learned about God. The number of cross references to other places in scripture from these few verses is more than we possibly have time to explore together today. But, one way to understand what this passage is teaching us about who God is is through three truths that Nebuchadnezzar proclaims about the Lord. First, that God himself is eternal.

He is self existent. No one created him. He is without a beginning and without an end. And, Daniel... Nebuchadnezzar says it in Daniel chapter four verse 34, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven and my reason returned to me.

I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever. Two. God's kingdom is eternal. No one gave the Lord his kingdom. It will never be overthrown, it will never be taken away, it will never end.

Nebuchadnezzar confessed this in verse three saying, his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and his dominion endures from generation to generation. Third, God's power is eternal. Nebuchadnezzar had already seen God's power to deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but now he declares God's power to humble even the greatest of prideful hearts. And, he confessed this in verse 35. He, the Lord, does according to his will amongst the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

No one can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? Nebuchadnezzar confesses what he has learned about himself, that he has been brought low by God. And in his lowliness, he is faced with the limits of his being, the limits of his power, and the limits of his kingdom. And, his kingdom, this is in contrast to everything that he has come to learn about the Lord. Where Nebuchadnezzar is limited in his being, brought low like a beast.

Limit of his rule, limits of his power, it is the Lord who is eternal in all of it. And then, what most pointedly does this passage do to prepare us for Jesus? We see each of these truths displayed in the person of Jesus. Jesus is the eternal God and king who reigns in perfect power over an eternal kingdom. His kingdom which he has called you to, his kingdom that he transferred you into from the domain of darkness, the kingdom that he has qualified you to enter into through his life, death, and resurrection.

And, Christ accomplished all of this, all of the father's will, not through pride, but through humility. We read of this in the Apostle Paul's letter to the Philippian church in chapter two when he says, Jesus emptied himself taking on the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. Think of this, where Nebuchadnezzar was brought low from his station as a man to be that of a beast, God himself in Christ, in the incarnation takes on flesh to be found in human form. To walk among us, that we might be rescued and redeemed into his kingdom. And one day, Christ will look over the kingdom of heaven and with all truth and righteousness declare, is this not my great kingdom which I have built by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty.

Christ will say what was blasphemy for Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar looked at it and said, I built this with my own hands, and Jesus can look at his kingdom and say, I built this with my nail pierced hands. The eternal kingdom of heaven displays Christ's eternal power and eternal glory and it will forever. What does this teach us about God? Father, son and holy spirit, holy and eternal, there is none like him.

He can take the highest earthly power and reduce it to a lowly donkey, grazing aimlessly in the fields. His kingdom and his power are eternal, unchanging, unrelenting, and unmatched. And then our final question, what does this passage teach us about us? Well, we are not pagan kings and queens oppressive empires, at least I hope not. But, we are still called to a life marked by faithful humility, by God's grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, we don't have to learn humility the way that Nebuchadnezzar learned humility.

But, what Nebuchadnezzar was made to understand remains true for each of us as we seek to cultivate a heart of humility and a life of humility before the Lord. Humility begins where our pride meets what we have come to know of the Lord. His eternal supremacy, his kingdom, his power. And, through the work of the Holy Spirit, we receive the mind of Christ, so we too might live in this glorious life giving humility. So, as followers of Jesus, how do we seek this heart of humility?

How do we cultivate humility in our hearts? Well, I would offer up three practices that help us cultivate this heart of humility. Three practices. The first, we practice adoration. We regularly behold the work and the wonders of God in our own lives, in the lives around us, in our brothers and sisters, and in the history of scripture.

We behold and we adore him. That doesn't mean that we love every situation or every circumstance, every sorrow. We don't have to call bad things good. But, we can adore our Lord in the midst of it all, and trust in his loving kindness. Charles Spurgeon, after a season of great, what we would now probably classify as as a post traumatic stress disorder, he saw a terrible fire where people were trampled to death.

The fire was actually false, someone yelled fire, trampling occurred while he was preaching. And he said, I have come to learn to kiss the waves that cast me upon the rock of ages. We don't have to like the things, we don't have to love the suffering, but if it casts us upon the rock of Christ, if it throws us against Jesus, we can be grateful. We start with adoration till we practice that gratitude. Notice when Nebuchadnezzar introduced the story of being brought low, he introduces it as a testimony of what God did for me, not what God did to me.

Many of us can get stuck in this posture of thinking that what is unfolding in our lives is what God is doing to us, not for us. And yet, even in his rebellion and disbelief, Nebuchadnezzar rightly saw that his experiences of being brought low was what God was doing for him. That perspective matters because it's at the heart of gratitude. It's at the heart of trusting the Lord's sovereignty and his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus. We practice adoration.

We practice gratitude. And third, we practice delight. We enjoy the Lord, delighting in his supremacy over all things including us. We delight in his power and his kingdom. We delight in a promised future with Christ as our eternal king.

And we fight to live in the joy, this place of joy in him. Even as the nations rage, even as our relationships rage, even when our own bodies rage, we defiantly persist in the joy of the Lord. We hold fast to those words from Revelation 11. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. For from him, and through him, and to him are all things.

And, the Lord will rescue us from every evil deed and bring us safely into his heavenly kingdom. We practice adoration, gratitude, and delight, and cultivate a heart of humility that endures even in the darkest of our days. We practice and we persist with deep love, resilient thankfulness, and a joy that surpasses even our very best understanding because our eternal God is both with us and for us. To Christ, the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Let's go to him now in prayer.

Oh, father, by your spirit, would you help us to fix our eyes on Jesus? To fix our eyes on him in such a manner that the things of this earth would grow strangely dim, in the light of both his glory and his grace. Spirit, help us. Help us even now in this moment, this morning, tend to our unbelief that we might stand faithful and true in the goodness and the graciousness of Jesus, our present, our future, and our eternal king. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.