November 26, 2016
Today’s reading from Encounter with God

The King Who Went Crazy

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Opening Prayer

Dear Father, thank You for making this day another day of fresh opportunity to hunger and thirst after righteousness.

Read Daniel 4:19-37

[19] Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! [20] The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, [21] with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds- [22] Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth. [23] “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’ [24] “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: [25] You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. [26] The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. [27] Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” [28] All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. [29] Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, [30] he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” [31] Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. [32] You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.” [33] Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. [34] At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. [35] All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” [36] At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. [37] Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Reflect

“Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1 Cor. 10:12, NASB). Pride is a form of spiritual insanity. It is claiming credit for ourselves that belongs to God.

 

How do you speak the truth when it will clearly hurt? God’s prophets have no option, but that doesn’t mean they are unfeeling. Only those who love dare to speak words of judgment, for judgment is the shadow side of love. Daniel explains Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, holding nothing back. Fearful of the dream becoming reality he urges a different path and encourages good and generous leadership, but his words fall on deaf ears. Once the dream is explained, fear is dismissed and life returns to normal. “I hear you” is the empty response.
What a parody of the Lord’s Prayer comes from the king’s lips (30). In effect, he says, “Mine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,” whereupon God pointedly says, “No, it is not!” As high as has been Nebuchadnezzar’s glory, so low will be his fall. He loses his wits and all the dignity of humanity is taken from him. His days pass isolated, deranged and abandoned. Could this possibly be the greatest king there ever was? What a mockery of power and its pretensions.
The turning point comes when Nebuchadnezzar looks up to heaven, not down on others or on the earth. Perspective returns, memory is recovered and identity is re-established. He bears no grudges, attributes no blame and takes no revenge. Instead, he is moved to worship and, in so doing, finds that he is restored to his throne. Incidentally, the kingdom seems to have gotten on quite well in his enforced absence! He was not quite as indispensable as he thought. His final years are blessed, but the greatest change is in him. He has at last seen through his own self-publicity and put himself in a right relationship with the God who made him and who wants him to walk in righteousness.

How do you speak the truth when it will clearly hurt? God’s prophets have no option, but that doesn’t mean they are unfeeling. Only those who love dare to speak words of judgment, for judgment is the shadow side of love. Daniel explains Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, holding nothing back. Fearful of the dream becoming reality he urges a different path and encourages good and generous leadership, but his words fall on deaf ears. Once the dream is explained, fear is dismissed and life returns to normal. “I hear you” is the empty response.

What a parody of the Lord’s Prayer comes from the king’s lips (30). In effect, he says, “Mine is the kingdom, the power and the glory,” whereupon God pointedly says, “No, it is not!” As high as has been Nebuchadnezzar’s glory, so low will be his fall. He loses his wits and all the dignity of humanity is taken from him. His days pass isolated, deranged and abandoned. Could this possibly be the greatest king there ever was? What a mockery of power and its pretensions.

The turning point comes when Nebuchadnezzar looks up to heaven, not down on others or on the earth. Perspective returns, memory is recovered and identity is re-established. He bears no grudges, attributes no blame and takes no revenge. Instead, he is moved to worship and, in so doing, finds that he is restored to his throne. Incidentally, the kingdom seems to have gotten on quite well in his enforced absence! He was not quite as indispensable as he thought. His final years are blessed, but the greatest change is in him. He has at last seen through his own self-publicity and put himself in a right relationship with the God who made him and who wants him to walk in righteousness.

 

Apply

“There are two tragedies in life. One is to not to get your heart’s desire. The other is to get it” (George Bernard Shaw, 1856–1950). In what ways has God tried to shake your tree? What are the lessons you have learned from the experience?

Closing prayer

Holy One, I can only walk in righteousness if You empower me. I want to live my ordinary life extraordinarily for You.

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