At the Corner of Broadway and Babylon - 5

At the Corner of Broadway and Babylon – 5

Daniel 4:1-37

Introduction

[pic – Triana Lavey] This is Triana Lavey. She is a reality TV producer and talent coach for social media influencers. By her own admission, she loves taking selfies. Typically, if you don’t like the way your selfie turns out, you have a few options: delete it and try again, utilize an app and apply a filter…or do what Triana Lavey did…have plastic surgery. In her quest for the perfect Instagram selfie, Ms. Lavey dropped $15,000 for a nose job, a chin implant, Botox, and fat grafting. No filter or Photoshop was good enough for her. Now, as she told Nightline, “I now have the face that I always thought I had. I look like myself, but Photoshopped.” She has a word for some of you, in the name of being famous and successful like her: “Not everyone is born beautiful, and if you can get a little help from an app or a nip-tuck then more power to you.”

It is no secret that we live in a time of great narcissism. A worldview based on the Greek god Narcissus who was infatuated with himself. John Ortberg in his book Soul-Keeping cites a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association…over the course of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, people in any generation are 3x more likely to suffer from depression that the previous generation. Why is that? Psychologist Martin Seligman writes, “We have replaced church, faith, and community with a tiny little unit that cannot bear the weight of meaning. That’s the self. We’re all about the self. We revolve our lives around ourselves. Ironically, the more obsessed we are with our selves, the more we neglect our souls.”

TS – as we continue our study through Daniel, we have already noted that this book is not about Daniel and his friends or about King Nebuchadnezzar. It is a battle of the gods. It is a defense of the one, true God as supreme over all false gods. Now that we come to chapter 4, we don’t see the battle between God and one of the false gods of Babylon, but a battle between God and a false god we all know well…the god of self. The most powerful false god of Babylon was not Marduk, or Bel, or Nebo…it was the god of self. This is the false god that drives all the other ones. Not just for Babylon…but for all of us. It is the god of self that we worship the most. It is the god of self that we sacrifice the most for. It is the god of self that drives and dictates much of what we do in life.

This shouldn’t surprise us. It has been this way since the very beginning. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit. They saw the fruit was pleasing to the eye and was good for food, but what made them cross the line into sin was that by eating the fruit their eyes would be opened and they would be like God!

In Genesis 11, mankind decides to build a tower (called Babel) showing their might and glory. It was to stretch into the heavens to declare to God that we belong up there with him. Years later a nation will flourish in that same place and take the name of that tower – Babylon. The empire epitomized this kind of life…all about my might and glory. And all of that was well illustrated in their king. Nebuchadnezzar ruled at the height of Babylon’s might and glory.

The bible and history tell us much about King Nebuchadnezzar. He reigned 42 years, over half of the empire’s rule. He was a great administrator and military general. He defeated Egypt, who had been the reigning superpower on Earth for centuries. He built the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

And biblically, he plays a vital role in the history of Israel. He defeats King Jehoiakim of Judah. He takes members of the royal family and nobility back to Babylon in exile. He is the great and powerful ruler of the nation that has been self-obsessed since its beginning. He is the posterchild for self-obsession. He serves the god of self.

TS – yet it is through Daniel and some of his friends that Nebuchadnezzar comes to know the one, true God. He will discover that the god of self is empty and unsatisfying.

Daniel 4:28-30 – 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

Do you see the god of self? I, me, mine. He is fully committed to worship of self. He never should have gotten to this place. It is unbelievable that he says such things. He has already seen God’s greatness and power. Yet…he is still infatuated with himself. Mind-boggling.

Let me remind you of some context…in chapter 2, the king has a dream. It is a huge image…head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs and feet of iron. A small stone, not of human origin, crushes the statue, but then becomes a mountain that fills the whole earth. The dream greatly troubles him. He calls in his enchanters and sorcerers to interpret the dream. They can’t, but Daniel can. The dream is a vision of the kingdoms to come. The golden head is Babylon, but then the Persians are coming in, then the Greeks, then the Romans. But in the days of the Roman Empire, God himself is going to set up an eternal kingdom that will outrank and supersede them all. The kingdom of God will start small, but will grow to encompass people from every tribe, nation, and language on the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar responds well. Daniel 2:46-47 – 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. 47 The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

TS – at this point we begin to see a tug of war happening within him. He is thoroughly committed to himself, but he at least acknowledges how great God really is.

In chapter 3, the god of self wins again. Nebuchadnezzar erects a 90’ golden statue of himself and commands the entire empire to worship it, to worship him. And why not…he already worships himself, might as well have the empire join in. Three men refuse…Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king heats up the furnace and throws them in. He looks in the fire and sees four men walking around, and the fourth man is supernatural. He calls them out of the fire.

Daniel 3:27-29 - 27 And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

TS – so again, he has a face to face encounter with the one, true God. You’d think that would be enough to defeat the god of self in this little tug of war. It’s not. But God isn’t done with him yet.

In chapter 4, we find a personal letter from Nebuchadnezzar, written to the world, chronicling his experience with God. He tells us of another dream. After all that he’s seen and experienced, God tries to get through again. The dream is of a large tree that grows to provide shade, refuge, and food for the entire world. But a messenger from Heaven comes down and declares…cut it down. Cast out the king and let him become like a beast of the field, until he comes to know…v. 17 – The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.

Once again, the enchanters and sorcerers of Babylon cannot give him the interpretation. Apparently, the king hasn’t learned anything yet. But in comes Daniel, who gives him the interpretation. And here is the interpretation…the great tree that has grown to fill and feed the earth…that’s you! And the tree that is going to be cut down by Heaven…that’s you! Your kingdom will be stripped from you…end of v. 25 – till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

Daniel then pleads with him to repent. Daniel 4:26-27 - 26 And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules. 27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”

Stop worshiping the god of self! Turn to the one, true God! After all that Nebuchadnezzar has seen, after all that he has experienced, and now with this dream and its interpretation…which he knows is sure, because Daniel knows what he is talking about. Every interpretation Daniel gives comes true. Even after this clear threat from the Lord to strip him of his mind and his kingdom…after the king has seen God’s power repeatedly, after he hears of God’s impending judgment for his self-centeredness…makes the verses we read earlier all the more crazy:

Daniel 4:28-30 - 28 All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

We can easily look at Nebuchadnezzar and judge him. How stupid can you be?! Yup. But know this…in this tug of war we have in our souls with the god of self…I am Nebuchadnezzar. And so are you. We know God. We know of his power. We know what he has done for us in Jesus Christ. We have experienced his grace and his love. Yet we are still enticed by the god of self.

This was a lesson learned the hard way for Nebuchadnezzar. The judgment from God was fulfilled. He was driven from his palace, lives like an animal. He must learn that there is one, true God, and it is not him. He finally does.

Daniel 4:34-35 - 34 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; 35 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?”

Notice the stark contrast between his two speeches in this chapter. In verse 30, all he could talk about was my, me, mine. Now it is all about he and his. Two quick takeaways:

1. We must learn the lesson Nebuchadnezzar had to learn…the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. In an election year, we should memorize that statement and repeat it daily.

2. The antidote to the god of self is humility. What one author called “the freedom of self-forgetfulness.” To come to a place of humility requires you to put yourself in context.

Romans 11:33-12:3 - 33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?”

36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

If you compare yourself to other people, you can always find someone that will lead you to pride. Never compare yourself to other people…but to God. Put yourself in context. And when you compare yourself to God, it really is no comparison.

- Maybe you’re a big deal in your world…when compared to God, you certainly are not a big deal. You’re a nobody.

- Maybe you have some power in your job…when compared to God, you have no power. You’re weak.

- Maybe you’re a good person with lots of morals and ethics…when compared to God, you are a wretched sinner in need of saving.

So, we don’t need to prove to ourselves or to anyone else that we are a big deal, full of power, and inherently good. The Most High delights in saving weak, sinful nobodies.

It took so much for King Nebuchadnezzar to learn this. What will it take for you to learn this? This is the last we hear of Nebuchadnezzar. Chapter 5 opens with his grandson on the throne. He finally learned his lesson. Hear his final words:

Daniel 4:37 - 37 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.

Some of you are learning this lesson for the very first time. Others of you are in this tug of war with self right now. Use this time to come to the Most High and surrender.

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