He That Is Humble

Last week, we talked about Nebuchadnezzar’s pride, and we applied it to ourselves, discussing our choice to pull worship from God or to point worship to God.

We are going to talk more about pride, but three important aspects of pride found in a verse in the middle of this chapter. Than, we are going to take a broad view of the whole thing.

Let’s read the chapter before I get too far into my explanation of what is going to happen.

Daniel 4 NIV

King Nebuchadnezzar, To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth: May you prosper greatly! It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed. “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven. He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field. “ ‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him. “ ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” 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! The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, 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—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. “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.’ “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: 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. 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. 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.” All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 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?” 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. 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.” 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. 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. 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?” 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. 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.

So much craziness in this chapter! But, before we get bogged down:

We are going to see 3 prides in this chapter, the pride of provision, position, and praise. Then we are going to look at God’s response.

Before we dive in, will you pray with me?

1. Three Prides

Okay, let’s look at the three prides of Nebuchadnezzar.

A. Pride of Provision

A year after God warned Nebuchadnezzar about his pride, through a dream interpreted by Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t repent. Instead, he stands on the roof of his palace, smuggling surveying his domain, and he says:

Daniel 4:30 NIV

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?”

Did you hear what he said?

I have built the great Babylon!

Babylon was greater than any other city at this time. It was known for beauty and strength, painstakingly built by slaves.

The Ishtar gate into the city was one of the 7 wonders of the world, covered with pictures of animal gods. Made with glazed bricks and lapis lazuli, more than 38 ft high. I was able to see this gate in Germany.

Through the gatehouse is the Processional Way, which is a brick-paved corridor over half a mile long with walls over 50 feet tall on each side. The walls are adorned with over 120 sculptural lions, flowers, and enameled yellow tiles. The Processional Way was used for the New Year's celebration, through which statues of the deities would parade down and the path paved with red and yellow stones. Each one of these stones has an inscription underneath: a small prayer from King Nebuchadnezzar to the chief god Marduk. It was this processional way that led to the temple of Marduk.

Around the city was a wall, 56 miles long, 300 feet high, 25 feet thick with another wall 75 feet behind the first wall, and the wall extended 35 feet below the ground. Chariot races were conducted around the tops. The bricks of the walls were faced with bright blue and bore the inscription, “I am Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.”

Within the city was another of the wonders of the ancient world: the Hanging Garden and water was raised from the Euphrates river by hydraulic pumps.

The building that Nebuchadnezzar was standing on, his palace, was considered to be the most magnificent building ever erected on earth.

He surveyed it all and said: Look what I have done. I provided it all.

Really, Nebuchadnezzar?

We do the same thing. We look at our lives, the things we do, accomplishments we have made, and we say: look what I have done!

And that wouldn’t be wrong, necessarily. However, the full picture is: look what God has chosen to do through me. God, you did it! I couldn’t have done it without you!

But, that’s not what Nebuchadnezzar said.

Look what I have done!

The pride of provision.

B. The Pride of Position

The pride of position.

Nebuchadnezzar said:

Daniel 4:30 NIV

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?”

By my mighty power!

This is the man who created that gold statue that we read about last week, to signify that his kingdom would never end. He is king of kings, the exulted one.

Look at my mighty power!

This chapter contains a unique name for God: the Most High. This name occurs 59 times in the Bible. Almost a quarter of the occurances are in the short book of Daniel, 13 times. And of 13 times, half of them are in this chapter.

In the face of Nebuchadnezzar saying: look who I am! I am the mighty one.

And God says: well, actually, I am. I am the Most High One.

We fall into this thinking way too often.

We do not often put ourselves in the position of God, verbally. But, in our minds we do so. We don’t just say: look at what I have done, but we say: look who I am. We are kings of our lives. When we want something, we should follow our heart. We have the power to do or be anything we want to be, just look within ourselves for our strength.

By my mighty power, because I am in control. I am on the throne. I am king of my own life.

When in fact, God is the Most High.

The pride of position

C. The Pride of Praise

The pride of praise.

What did Nebuchadnezzar say?

Daniel 4:30 NIV

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?”

For the glory of my majesty.

Yeah, that is a statement of the direction praise should go.

Sure, Nebuchadnezzar worshiped false gods, sacrificing at the altars and temples scattered throughout the city. But the god he worshiped the most was himself.

Everything has been done for my glory. Worship me!

Holy, Holy, Holy

Lord God, all Peter

Early in the morning, yalls song shall rise to me

Sounds pretty horrible. But, that’s what pride does, whether a pride of provision or a pride of position, it is all directed to a pride of praise. We want the glory, we want the praise, and we will not share it with anyone else.

So, we hunker down in our throne. Grip the armrests a little tighter and we tell God: you cannot take this away from me!

Pride.

That’s one of the big ones that people will not turn to Jesus, because are not willing to step off the throne of their life and give the authority, the praise, the glory to someone else.

B. God’s Response

Nebuchadnezzar was proud. So are we. What is God’s response to this?

A. He Humbles Us

Well, we can look at the story and see the answer to that: God humbles us.

James 4:6 NIV

But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

God takes the proud and humbles them.

That’s exactly what he did with Nebuchadnezzar. He took the man and made him like a beast.

As one person noted:

“A man who thinks he is like a god must become a beast to learn that he is only a human being.”

And through his seven years of acting like a beast, he learned that he was merely God’s tool.

“The king wins victories only when God gives them to him (Dan. 1:1–2); he understands his dreams only when God reveals their meaning through Daniel, his servant (chs. 2 and 4). Nebuchadnezzar cannot harm a hair on the head of one of God’s people (ch. 3). The book of Daniel reveals that the Babylonian king is powerless in his own right.”

And by the end of his 7 years, we read his confession:

Daniel 4:2–3 NIV

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.

Daniel 4:37 NIV

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.

He finally gets it.

Why? Because God decided to actively pursue a pagan king and prove to him that he was nothing compared to the God of the universe and to call this king to follow him.

Which brings me to my next point. Yes, God humbles the proud.

B. He Humbled Himself

But, he also humbled himself in order to redeem us.

Humility does not bring correct standing before God. Nothing we do can. We all carry the weight of the shame of our sin, starting with our pride. We could humble ourselves before God, but that doesn’t take away the shame and guilt.

But, as in the story of Nebuchadnezzar:

“Our God is a God who turns shame into rejoicing. But he does not do this by some sort of magical fiat. The gospel story is the story of God himself experiencing shame on our behalf. He subjected himself to the humiliation of the cross. Christ felt shame, but he underwent the experience in order to free us from shame and invite us to the glory of the resurrection.”

Hebrews 12:2 NIV

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Yes, we all struggle with pride. Yes, we all need humility. But, that is not the key to our change. The key is Jesus. Coming before the king of kings and lord of lords, bowing before him, confessing who he is, and saying that we need him.