Response to Human Government

Introduction: I’m so glad to be here with you all today! I am thankful for the opportunity to present God’s word this morning. Please turn with me to the book of Daniel chapter 4. Yes, those of you that know me knew we were going to an Old Testament passage this morning! Did you expect anything less? And we are not just going to any Old Testament passage! We are going to an obscure one! While you are turning there, Erika and I were recently watching Mysteries at the Museum. We love that show. My siblings however think Erika and I are old and boring to watch lame documentaries. In a recent episode we watched an account of an eye glass case and a manuscript, both with a bullet hole in it. They belonged to President Theodore Roosevelt, who was on the campaign trail for his third term in office. Many people were against a president having a third term. One man, a Saloon keeper was adometly against Roosevelt and against him running for another office. John Schank was stalking the president for a long time and found his opportune moment right before the possible new president was about to give an 80 minute speak. Yes 80 minutes. And you probably thought last weeks sermon was a long one. He took a shot at the the 26th president of the United States, and was soon after tackled. A bullet in his chest did not stop this former president from getting up and making his 80 min speech. After his speech, he was taken to a medical facility and stabilized after having a bullet lodged in his chest. His metal glasses case and his 50 page speaking manuscript, yes 50 pages was needed for a speech that long, had slowed down the bullet enough that it had not penetrated his lungs, just lodged in his chest. He would have this in his chest for the remainder of his life. Now this is an extreme case of political disrespect. Maybe we are not quite to the point that John Schank was.

But let me remind you of the day that we live in, where politics have become almost a religion in our country. And it has become so divisive. So many people are against “the other side” and absolutely abhorre someone from “the other side” being put into office. We live in a time where Donald Trump is president. To which the beginning of his office was met with violent and extreme acts of opposition. We live in a current time when Nancy Pelosi is the 3rd most powerful person in our country. To which many people would oppose her and speak out against her vehemently. And let us not forget that Coloradans recently elected the first openly homosexual governor who many people will oppose and be in disgust. My purpose this morning is not to at all condemn or raise up any of these three individuals. I know there are mixed opinions even within this room about these three people. In fact, there is probably opposing views in this room about any one of these people. Maybe already when I mentioned those names you had a great love for the individual, or maybe your blood was already boiling just hearing one of those names. But the question I have for us this morning, how should believers in God look at those in government? How should we as Christians respond to people in authority who are good? How should we as Christians respond to people in authority who are evil? I believe that our text this morning will enlighten us in this topic. Let us now read Daniel chapter 4. Follow along with me as I read. This will be a lot of verses for a Sunday Morning, but it is slightly difficult to pull a few verses out of a narrative passage. As I read, please notice who is writing this chapter. King Nebuchadnezzar himself. A Gentile! To my knowledge, he is one of the only, if not the only gentile who had a part in writing a portion of scripture.

Background of Daniel

What an odd story to look at this morning. The book of Daniel has some famous stories in it light shadrack, meshack, and abednego. Or Daniel in the lions den. We however will be looking at this obscure text today. As we dive into this chapter, it is important for us to understand the book of Daniel as that will shape our understanding of this passage. Daniel is a book with one driving theme throughout it: God is Sovereign. And a specific aspect of God’s sovereignty that is highlighted in Daniel is the fact that God is in control over human government. He does as he pleases. And despite any human’s intervention, God’s plans will not be thwarted. We see this theme through the first 6 chapters which are somewhat narrative. We also see this through the last 6 chapters which are more apocalyptic in nature. The first 6 chapters are not just narrative, but rather a literary genre called Novella. A well structured narrative of some length crafted for a particular purpose of teaching a moral or theological lesson. And the theological lesson being taught in Daniel is that God is in Control over all human governments. There is a sense of poetry in the Chiastic structure of the first half of Daniel. Maybe you will remember from our Psalms study last year about Chiasm as a form of Jewish poetry. Where similar parallel thoughts build to a climactic middle thought or parallel thoughts. and 5 are the contrasting parallel thoughts that the author is climaxing to.

The literary genre of the first 6 chapters of Daniel is Novella: A well structured narrative of some length crafted for a particular purpose of teaching a moral or theological lesson.

What is historically going on at this time? Because of Israels disobedience, God exiles the them into foreign lands. The first of which is by Babylon taking Judah into captivity. The year is 509 BC when King Nebuchadnezzar comes to power. His father had set up the New Babylonian Empire, the greatest and most vast empire the world had ever seen at this time. The new king starts his reign by conquering Egypt and Assyria. After that he goes to Judah. At which time Jehoiakim is reigning. Nebuchadnezzar comes, slaughters Judah’s King, and puts his dead body on the throne. This guy ransacks the Jewish temple, the most holy building for the Jewish people and takes many of the sacred artifacts and displays them in his own temple back in Babylon symbolizing that he and his gods had conquered the God of the Israelites. Then this Babylonian King takes 3,000 people captive. 3 months later, King Nebi takes 10,000 captives. On their victorious march back to Babylon, this king takes some of their Torah scriptures.King Nebuchadnezzar takes the Torah Scrolls, makes them into bags, fills them with sand, and forces the Jewish people to carry these desecrated bags of sand. If ripping people from their homes was not enough, once back in Babylon, he forced them to remove every part of their culture that they held dear. He forced them to dress like Babylonians, talk in a Babylonian language. Learn what Babylonians learned. Learn Babylonian culture. Even change their names to Babylonian names. He changes Daniel’s name to Beltashazzar after one of Nebuchadnezzar’s god. He forces them to worship Babylonian gods. At a later time, this king would kill 600,000 jews. That would be like killing all the people in the city of Denver.

This king was also vastly arrogant. When he had buildings built, he would have the construction workers inscribe his name on each of the bricks. He truly considered himself to be a god. So much so that he elevated himself on a throne, and had manmade clouds put under him. This man had some serious ego. If you were a Jew, what would your attitude be towards your new king? Think about that as we go into .

Notice, who is writing this chapter of the Bible? This is the only part of scripture written by a gentile. Interesting.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Realization

Look down at verses 1-3. First we see this great proclamation made by King Nebuchadnezzar in verses 1-3. Some debate exists whether these verses should at the beginning of chapter 4 or the end of chapter 3. However, most commentators would agree that these verses are meant to be with chapter 4 consistent with Jewish tradition. These verses along with verses 34-37 at the end of the chapter seem to form book ends to this episode.

Nebuchadnezzar makes this proclamation to all people. Maybe your translations say world. This is because he was leader of the known world at this time. He proclaims that God’s kingdom and his authority will last forever.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Realization: The Dream

Then we get to the dream that he had. We see first that he was living luxuriously in his palace. He was done with his wars and battles. This is towards the end of his life. He is living like a tyrannical and rich king over all that he had. But then he is terrified from this dream. And he is unable to understand it. So he calls in all of the wise men to try to interpret it. Why isn’t Daniel called in? That’s a great question. If you know anything about the book of Daniel, this should make you remember chapter two where this exact thing happens. King Nebuchadnezzar brings in all of his wise men to interpret a dream, they are unable to do it. So Daniel is called in, and only he is able to interpret the dream because God is with him. The same story happens here. The King calls in the wise men, they don’t know what to do or how to interpret the dream, then Daniel is called in to interpret the dream. Why not just call Daniel in the first place? We don’t know. I doubt the King just forgot about Daniel. Maybe the king wanted to use his own people for this task? Maybe he didn’t want to use Daniel because he knew Daniel would speak truth and would not say things to make him feel good? We don’t know. The king’s dream in chapter 2 was mostly positive. However, this one seems to be negative. This is why he is terrified.

Look down at verses 8-9. He realizes there is something special with Daniel, but does not however give credit to Yahweh yet. Rather he waters down Daniel’s ability by saying he has the spirit of the gods.

Then he tells Daniel the dream. This contrast to chapter 2 where Daniel has to give the dream and the interpretation. He tells of a great mighty full tree that was seen by all the earth from which everything was fed and sheltered. But then this tree is chopped down. And that it is brought down from it’s loftiness to a level with the animals. Look at verse 17. This verse gives us the purpose of the dream. That people will understand the the Most High has authority over Human Kingdoms. This statement i believe is the centerpiece of Daniel. The main point that Daniel is driving to in his book.

Then there is this stump that is not destroyed but rather preserved and protected with bronze and iron. Weird dream. Dreams in general are weird. I’m sure we all can relate to having super odd dreams.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Realization: The Dream’s Interpretation

So Daniel then interprets the dream that Nebuchadnezzar gives him. He tells him that the great tree refers to the king. Which is fitting. Nebuchadnezzar literally means Nebu protects. He had build himself a great empire. The greatest the world had seen, and had many people under him. Daniel tells him that the tree being cut down means that Nebuchadnezzar would be driven from his human kingdom to the animal kingdom. We will eat and sleep like a cow in the field. He tells the king that 7 periods of time would pass before the king would understand that the Most High is the ruler over human kingdoms and that He gives to whomever he wishes. Now this term “Most High” is significantly used here. This term is used 74 times in the scriptures. However it is used 28 times in the book of Daniel. So more than a third of uses of this name for God are in this small book of Daniel. This term “Most High” is in contrast to Nebuchadnezzar thinking of himself or even his gods as the most high. This is a bold proclamation of Yahweh that he rules supreme and he puts in power whoever he wants to put in power. He then ends with hope telling the King that he would be restored to his throne after he had come to grips with this truth.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Realization: The Dream’s Fulfillment.

Then we get to verse to verse 28, and see the dreams fulfillment. If you are looking at the passage, you are seeing that I am purposefully skipping some things. Do not be alarmed, I will come back to those things which I skipped over. 12 months have gone by at this point. Why? We don’t really know. Maybe Nebuchadnezzar repented of his ways for a brief time. Or maybe God showed him grace for a time. Notice also the change is person. It switches from First person, Nebuchadnezzar speaking, to third person speaking about Nebuchadnezzar. We will see that in verse 34 however, that the person switches back to first person. The reason? Maybe Nebuchadnezzar was so mentally insane he was not able to record this section.

Look with me at verse 30. He refuses to give credit to God for putting him in the position that he was in. Instead he takes pride in seeing that he was the one who set himself up. Now, King Nebuchadnezzar had reason from a worldly perspective to boast. He had built upon his fathers kingdom to make the greatest empire the world had ever seen. He had built 2 of the Ancient World’s Seven Wonders. One of which were the massive walls of Babylon. These walls were so great that they could hold a 4 wide chariot race on top. The second of these Ancient Wonders was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. He built this elaborate gardening system for his wife. Men, we really need to step up our game! So he had a lot to take pride in. But failing to recognize that it was God who who gave him this kingdom would result in his own mental insanity.

And we see this happen. A voice comes from heaven proclaiming that the dream he had 12 months previously will now come to past. And what is the purpose? Look down at verse 32. So that he would learn that the Most High is the ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

Nebuchadnezzar is driven from human society and made to eat and sleep like an ox. He really lets himself go, not having human reason and self preservation any longer. His hair grows as long as eagle feathers and his nails grow long like bird claws. Believe it or not, this is actually a real mental condition that people still have today. It was originally called lycanthropy, and now boanthropy. A condition where a person believes he is an animal, most often a cow.

But at the end of the appointed time, most likely 7 years, Nebuchadnezzar lifts up his eyes to heaven, and finally realizes what the dreams indented purpose is. He is no longer attempting to ignore the reality that God is in control, but embraces this truth with his heart. We see him worshiping the God of heaven now. Look at verse 34. He praises the Most High as the one who lives for ever. Gives credit to his authority. He recognizes that God does whatever he pleases and man will not thwart the plans of this great God. No one can do anything that this God does not allow.

Upon this realization, we see in verse 36 that his kingdom is restored and is even greater than before. He ends with a statement of praise exalting God for his righteous and just ways.

So what is the main point here? What is this text trying to teach us? Remember i said that this literary structure is Novella, a crafted story to teach a main theological or moral idea. The idea being taught, alluded at throughout this story and then blatantly communicated in verses 17, 25, and 32, is that the Most High God is the one who is sovereign over human kingdoms.

The Most High God is is sovereign over human kingdoms.

This is a theological thought taught throughout scripture, but strongly emphasized throughout the book of Daniel. If we took time to look at , we would see that God calls Nebuchadnezzar, an evil man mind you, to be his servant. He calls Nebuchadnezzar to be his servant to accomplish his plans. He tells Jeremiah to tell that people that he gives power to whomever he wants to give power to. And that he will raise up Nebuchadnezzar up to a position over the nations to rule in a terrible way, for the purposes of God. Interesting thought. That God would use evil men to accomplish his purposes. What a mighty and powerful God he is. That he can use man’s evil for his good. No one tells God what to do and how to rule. God does as he pleases for his own honor and his own glory, in spite of what we think would be best. Proverb 8:15 tells us:

Jeremiah 27 NET

The Lord spoke to Jeremiah early in the reign of Josiah’s son, King Zedekiah of Judah.The Lord told me, “Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, ‘The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to give your masters this message.“I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit.I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him.All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon.But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it.So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, by dreams, by consulting the dead, or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, ‘You do not need to be subject to the king of Babylon.’ Do not listen to them, because their prophecies are lies. Listening to them will only cause you to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile.Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!” ’ ” I told King Zedekiah of Judah the same thing. I said, “Submit to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. Be subject to him and his people. Then you will continue to live. There is no reason why you and your people should die in war or from starvation or disease! That’s what the Lord says will happen to any nation that will not be subject to the king of Babylon. Do not listen to the prophets who are telling you that you do not need to serve the king of Babylon. For they are prophesying lies to you. For I, the Lord, affirm that I did not send them. They are prophesying lies to you. If you listen to them, I will drive you and the prophets who are prophesying lies out of the land and you will all die in exile.” I also told the priests and all the people, “The Lord says, ‘Do not listen to what your prophets are saying. They are prophesying to you that the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon very soon. But they are prophesying a lie to you. Do not listen to them. Be subject to the king of Babylon. Then you will continue to live. Why should this city be made a pile of rubble?’ ”I also told them, “If they are really prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, let them pray earnestly to the Lord who rules over all. Let them plead with him not to let the valuable articles that are still left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace, and in Jerusalem be taken away to Babylon. For the Lord who rules over all has already spoken about the two bronze pillars, the large bronze basin called ‘The Sea,’ and the movable bronze stands. He has already spoken about the rest of the valuable articles that are left in this city. He has already spoken about these things that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take away when he carried Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem away as captives.Indeed, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all has already spoken about the valuable articles that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem. He has said, ‘They will be carried off to Babylon. They will remain there until it is time for me to show consideration for them again. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’ I, the Lord, affirm this!”

Proverbs 8:15-16

Proverbs 8:15–16 NET

Kings reign by means of me, and potentates decree righteousness; by me princes rule, as well as nobles and all righteous judges.

The only reason anyone is in any position of power or authority is only by the means of Yahweh. While we may think we have something to do with government, while governmental authorities like Nebuchadnezzar may think that they put themselves in power, no one tells God what to do. God is sovereign over all. No one is elected or put in any position of authority except by God.

This thought is not archaic. Turn with me to Romans, Romans chapter 13. This though is not just from the Old Testament. We see this theme throughout scripture and into the new testament. This theological thought is not just for Daniel’s day, but for ours as well.

Hebrews 13:1–2 NET

Brotherly love must continue. Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Romans 13

Romans 13:1–2 NET

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment

Romans 13:1 NET

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

What is God telling us here through the apostle Paul? That no one has any authority except through God’s direct appointment. Notice he does not say that God puts in power only good people, not evil people. Notice that God does not say he puts only democrats in office not republicans. Or republicans not democrats. Rather NO ONE, good or evil is put in office except through the institution of our God. So we as people of the Most High God must realize that God is sovereign over all of creation, and specifically human government. Despite whether they are good or evil. Our God controls all. We must realize the truth that God has instituted every authority that we have over us. Whether we agree with them or not. Whether we think they are good or evil.

So what should our response be to all of this? How should this make us feel?

What does this theological thought that God is sovereign over human kingdoms drive us to do practically?

Daniel’s Response

I hope that is the question on your mind! Lets go back to . Hopefully you noticed i skipped important parts of Daniel chapter 4. But it was intentional. Because we are going to look at the rest of the passage now. Once you are in , look at Daniel’s response when he comes on the scene in verse 19. Verse 19 tells us that Daniel was upset, or maybe your translation says dismayed or distressed. Not that he was putting on a show for the king, but rather He was genuinely upset for the king. So upset that the king comforts Daniel about his own dream! He not only interprets the dream, but look at his response at the end of verse 19. He wishes that this dream was for Nebuchadnezzar’s enemies! Not for him. Look down at verse 24. He calls him my lord. Daniel not only interprets the dream as the king asked, but goes beyond and gives the king advice that would prevent this fateful dream from possibly coming to pass.

Daniel’s Response: Sympathy

Daniel’s Response: Support

Daniel’s Response: Advice

What a response! Remember, this is a not kind and godly king. This is the king that destroyed Daniel’s homeland. This is the government that demolished the sacred Solomon’s Temple. This is the king that wickedly desecrated sacred things in the temple and brought them back to his false god’s temples. This is the king that slaughtered Daniel’s people. This is the king that took away any part of Daniel that was nationalistic jewish, and made him a Babylonian. This is the king that did not even allow Daniel to keep his name, but rather changed his name to that of a false god! How insulting!

Think about a possible similar situation more relatable to us. Imagine North Korea doing this. A country who’s ideology we despise. Imagine them coming, destroying large parts of the population, taking anyone who was not poor and dumb back to the North Korea, and forcing us to embrace their ideology and way of life. Forcing us to give up anything that is American. What would be our response? Yet in Daniel’s situation we see here an incredible response to this king. He response with sympathy, care, support, and advice.

What would our response be if we had all of these terrible things happen to us? “Haha! Bummer to be you king!” “It’s about time you get what you deserve king!” “good luck with all of your misfortune!” Daniel had every right to despise the king and treat him with hate. He had every right to disrespect him. But he doesn’t. We see and opposite response. Why? Because Daniel clearly understood the main theological thought we are looking at today. That God is sovereign over human kingdoms. He believed that no one came to power except by God’s hand. God had placed a wicked king Nebuchadnezzar over Daniel, and he was going to respect that. The Israelites are told in not only that God is raising up King Nebuchadnezzar as his servant, but also God tells them that they are to submit to this evil king that he institutes. What a thought. Again, this thought is not only for Daniel, but also for us today. Again lets jump back to .

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Romans 13:1 NET

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God.

Romans 13:2 NET

So the person who resists such authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment

Romans 13:5 NET

Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath of the authorities but also because of your conscience.

Romans 13:6 NET

For this reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants devoted to governing.

Romans 13:7 NET

Pay everyone what is owed: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Let every person be subject to governing authorities. What a thought for us today. I would say that this does not describe America today. I would even say that this does not describe believers in America today. Verse two says if you resist human government you resist what God has established. And we get to verse seven and think, yes, this respect is not due to this president! Or honor is not due to this congress! Or respect is not due to this governor! But we are not the determiners to whether or not these governing authorities are deserving of honor and respect. is not making this a subjective matter. Rather it is God who established them, and that is the reason for them deserving respect and honor. God being sovereign and instituting them is the reason we are to honor and respect them. We see this throughout the book of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar did not deserve Daniels honor or respect. He was an evil ungodly man. Yet he was God’s servant who God had set up and therefore Daniel respected and honored him. The reasons we give for disdain toward our governing officials, Daniel would have laughed at. He had far greater reason not to honor and respect government, but yet he did because he took to heart the theological truth that God institutes and sets up those who govern us.

Now does this mean that we do something government commands us to do that is against God? Absolutely not. We could also learn this from several chapters of Daniel, but that’s another sermon. The point here is respect and honor. We see this in numerous biblical authors. Peter tells Christians to be subject to EVERY human institution for the Lord’s sake. Not just the good ones, but rather every institution. Speaking to people who would soon be under the vile and wicked Nero who would slaughter Christians.

Another thought that I want to add in this discussion, is that the kingdoms of this world are temporary. They will pass away. While Nebuchadnezzar had a great and vast kingdom to which he ruled, provided, and protected, he is not a great example of a perfect godly ruler. However, there is a greater Nebuchadnezzar. Jesus Christ the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. We look forward to completion of the prophecy from that we just celebrated at Christmas.

Isaiah 9:8–9 NET

The sovereign master decreed judgment on Jacob, and it fell on Israel. All the people were aware of it, the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria. Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said,

Isaiah 9:6–7 NET

For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will be vast and he will bring immeasurable prosperity. He will rule on David’s throne and over David’s kingdom, establishing it and strengthening it by promoting justice and fairness, from this time forward and forevermore. The Lord’s intense devotion to his people will accomplish this.

We look forward to that blessed hope when the king of kings comes to rule in perfect justice and fairness forever more. We look forward to the day when the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign for ever and ever. But while we look forward to that blessed day, here is the main idea for us today:

Main Idea: Christ’s followers, who believe that God is sovereign and sets up human kingdoms, will respect and honor his appointed authorities

How does this practically apply to us today? I think will get us on the path to application.

Titus 3:1–2 NET

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work. They must not slander anyone, but be peaceable, gentle, showing complete courtesy to all people.

Wow. What sharp words to an American culture that is so divided politically! Let me read this again and think if these verses describe you.

My questions for us today as we close:

Do you believe that God is Sovereign and establishes human government?

Do you like Daniel respect and honor the human government that the Most High has Established?

Would people say of you that you are gentle and peaceable toward government? Or that you slander and speak ill of authorities God has set up in your lives?

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