Daniel 4 (2)

God Humbles the Proud

Introduction:

About 30 years have passed between chapter 3 and 4.

Plural Noun Proposition: In Daniel 4, God dramatically puts on display for you, four sovereign ways that he humbles the proud hearts of sinners.

I. Reminds of Past Power (vv 1-3)

Daniel 4:1–3 “King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be 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 is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.”

Daniel chapter 4 was written by king Nebuchadnezzar, in the first person. The pagan king, by God’s grace, gets a chapter in the Holy Scriptures. This decree by the king was preserved and carefully guarded throughout history. It may very well have been his last recorded words, how amazing then that it is his testimony. It’s unusual that a powerful pagan king such as Nebuchadnezzar would want his vulnerability exposed to the world, yet this is exactly what he does. This once proud ruler, now humbled by God, lays out for you his testimony of the power of God to humble the hardest and proudest of hearts.

He addresses all the people, nations, and languages. Literally this letter was to be written in Aramaic and made available to the entire world. This list is intended to cover all political, ethnic, and language groupings, in order to show Nebuchadnezzar’s desire to proclaim the works of God to the world.

Dan 3:4, 29; Daniel 7:14

It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me

Now, we will get into the stunning signs and wonders in this chapter but let’s remind ourselves of God’s past display’s of power in the book of Daniel.

Daniel 1, Daniel and his three friends refused to defile themselves with the king’s food or wine and requested to eat only vegetables and drink only water and at the end of 10 days they looked better and were healthier than all the young men who ate the king’s food. God granted them wisdom and the consulted with the king.

Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar has his first dream and threatens to tear the Chaldeans limb from limb if they can’t interpret it. God grants Daniel the interpretation and Daniel intercedes for the wise men of Babylon and interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. And he declares to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, and Lord of kings.”

Daniel 3, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendago would not worship Nebuchadnezzar’s 90ft golden Oscar and so he had them thrown into the furnace of blazing fire, yet they were not burned. And Nebuchadnezzar saw a forth like the son of the gods walking in the midst of the fire. And then listen to the wisdom from Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 3:29, “For there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

All of those amazing events were recorded in Daniel, by God the Holy Spirit, to remind not only the Babylonians, but to the Jewish people in bondage and now also, to all people, nations, and languages in the entire world today.

How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation

What a statement by the Babylonian king. His heart now humbled, he declares that Yahweh’s kingdom is everlasting and that Yahweh rules forever.

I don’t know if Nebuchadnezzar got his hands on some Psalms but his words echo the haunting words of the psalmists

Listen to the oldest Psalm, Psalm 90

vv 1-2, “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

So from the first Psalm, to Daniel 4, and to 2024. God has been displaying his mighty signs and wonders, from generation to generation.

And now you have God’s holy and inspired word in your hands to remind you of his past power, the past signs, the past wonders of God. You have in your hands the recorded words of creation, the words of judgement and wrath, the words of rescue and redemption, and the greatest wonder…the words of Christ.

Do you remember them or have you forgotten? Let me remind you…

Luke 23:34 “And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”

Luke 23:43 “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.””

John 19:26–27 “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.”

Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””

John 19:28 “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.””

John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Luke 23:46 “Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.”

I wonder, when you hear Jesus’ last words, or when you read the breathtaking account of creation, or the mystery of election, or the weeping prayers of the prophets, does it remind you of the glorious power of God?

You know I’ve had many friends from the church over for dinner, if you haven’t been over yet, let my wife know and we will make a date. But I like to ask a couple of questions to our dinner guests. The first one is would you mind sharing your testimony? I do that because what better way to get to know someone else, than to hear them remember the salvation that God so lavishly poured out on them.

The second question I ask, Is what has brought you the most joy from following Jesus? Again, to bring to remembrance the joy that comes from knowing our eternal life has been predestined by God, redeemed by Christ, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

But it’s so easy to forget the goodness of God sometimes, isn’t it? Circumstances make you anxious, doubts creep in when you don’t have all the facts, sin creeps in and devastates you, and just like that, we forget our own testimony, we forget the joy we have in Jesus. But God never forgets…

Psalm 112:6 “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.”

Psalm 115:12 “The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron;”

There’s only one thing that God doesn’t remember…

Isaiah 43:25 ““I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”

Remember the power that God displayed in the past, yes in his holy word from Genesis to Revelation, but also in your life, and in your salvation.

Nebuchadnezzar opened this chapter with a testimony of remembrance of God’s past power, then he moves on to speak about how God revealed to him his future plans to humble him with a dream.

II. Reveals Future Plans (vv 4-18)

Daniel 4:4–18 “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 fancies 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, and the astrologers 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 is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, “O 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 tr…”

III. Removes Present Pride (vv 19-33)

Daniel 4:19–33 “Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived— it is you, O 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 in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass…”

IV. Restores His Praise (vv 34-37)

Daniel 4:34–37 “At the end of the days 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, 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 earth; and none 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 and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 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.”

Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”