I, NEBUCHADNEZZAR
Posted on October 4, 2016 by America's Keswick in Freedom Fighters
“King Nebuchadnezzar sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: “Peace and prosperity to you! “I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me. How great are His signs, how powerful His wonders! His kingdom will last forever, His rule through all generations.” ~Daniel 4:1-3 (NLT)
Humility can come to us in many forms. For Brother Lawrence it came from working in a priory kitchen but for Nebuchadnezzar it came from eating grass. The difference between these two men are as such, one was a soldier and fought in the “Thirty Years War” received an injury and went on to become a monk, the other was a mighty king who had a statue formed from gold to honor his favorite god. Some say it was of himself, some say it was of Bel (the popular god of the time period) but none the matter, El Elyon (The Most High God) wasn’t having any of his nonsense and took this King Nebuchadnezzar and reduced him to some crazy dude hanging out in the fields eating Babylonian grass…like a cow.
Now Nebbie’s story starts off with the decimation of what was left of Israel and exiling its people back to Babylon. He has this dream and only one of those exiles, Daniel, interprets its meaning. And without going into some deep eschatological perspective Nebbie musta been so egotistical that when Daniel said, “You are the head of gold” his little ego voice said within himself, “YEAH! WHAT HE SAID!! THAT’S RIGHT!!! So not too long after this comes a statue, rebellion to its worship, a fiery furnace complete with divine intervention and then this statement…
“Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.” (Daniel 3:28-29)
Then came another dream and once again Daniel makes an interpretation. “Nebbie hate to tell this but now you’re a tree being cut-down. Repent, turn and acknowledge the Kingdom of El Elyon or get your grazing gear on ‘cos you’re doomed to become a cow.” Twelve months go by and thus says Nebbie, “I done built me a pretty good spread here, how great I art!!” Mooo… So what’s to be gleaned from this for ourselves today? Glad you asked.
Well first of all Nebuchadnezzar did NOT stay like a cow forever, he does come to his senses. He gets over his slight case of lycanthropy by pretty much finishing up the sentence that El Elyon told him he would have to serve for singing all that “How Great I Art” stuff then lifting his eyes up towards the kingdom of Heaven.
The second thing to glean is that there is repentance no matter how far gone your concept of self-praise is. Brother Lawrence found joy in the pots and pans that he considered privileged to wash…all to the glory of God. That kind of humility is rare these days. These days we have to be reduced down to eating grass and having our lives removed from its comfort zone (or for 4yrs of historical record like Nebuchadnezzar) before we will even take that first glance towards the Throne of Grace. There is an example to follow however….
“Jesus knew that the Father had given Him authority over everything and that He had come from God and would return to God. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel He had around Him.” (John 13:3-5) If THE King of kings and Lord of lords can humble himself to wash the feet of a bunch of misfits then who are we not to follow the example? Even the biggest misfit of the bunch knew this enough to pen this, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7)
Secularland needs to see divine humility in these self-indulgenced days…why not take a chance and be the one who shows it to them. Amen?
Written by Chris Hughes: Chris, a graduate of The Colony of Mercy (11-2003) is married (Kathy) with two adult children (Kevin and Karen) and has been a Freedom Fighter contributor since 2008.
The Daily Bible Reading: Psalm 123; Proverbs 4
Daily Quote: “No tree can grow except on the root from which it sprang. Through all its existence it can only live with the life that was in the seed that gave it being. This truth, in its application to the first and Second Adam, can greatly help us to understand both the need and the nature of the redemption there is in Jesus.” —Andrew Murray
This Week’s Verse to Memorize:
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