Sermon Tone Analysis

9/11

Before we get into the Bible, I’d like to acknowledge that today marks 20 years since the twin towers fell at the hands of terrorists.

I had the privilege of doing Bible work in manhattan for four months in 1999.

I had recently turned nineteen when I lay down on the ground between the two massive buildings and took a picture that was something like this one (I’ve lost the original).

Just two years later I stood in the student center at Southern Adventist University and watched as terrorists buried planes into those towers.

I’m reminded of a brief mention of a tower falling in Luke 13:4-5 “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

No, I tell you...”

Jesus makes it clear that the tower didn’t fall on those people because they were worse sinners.

We are all in this world of sin together.

And we all suffer, though some have suffered much more than others.

20 years ago this nation was rocked by terrorists, and the world hasn’t been the same since.

May we use this memorial, and all others like it, to be reminded of the courage of ordinary men and women who gave their all to save a few.

And may we turn our hearts towards our God who gave his own life to save many.

.... Transition to recording

Introduction

Sheikh Mohammed has a lot in common with our friend Nebuchadnezzar that we’ve been reading about in the book of Daniel.

Though he isn’t a king, he is the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emerates, and the ruler of the Emerate of Dubai.

Like Nebuchadnezzar, his leadership has made possible some amazing building projects.

As the Emir or Dubai, he envisions a future where they are not reliant on income from oil exports.

And so he has been doing a lot of building.

He didn’t do the building, just to be clear.

He didn’t even create the designs, but he did provide the money, and the vision that made it all possible.

One of the ways he wants to make his nation prosper is to bring in tourism income.

The problem is, Dubai and the UAE aren’t really resort locations.

They’re hot, and very sandy.

But, they are on a peninsula between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

So, why not put all that sand to good use and make some islands to build resorts on?

On this map you can see two palm islands with the not-yet-developed world islands off to the right.

In a partnership with private investors and the state government, they are developing hundreds of properties to make Dubai a vacation Mecca for the millionaires and billionaires of the world.

And just for scale, look at the size of one of those palm islands.

You also may be familiar with the Burj Khalifa.

It’s the tallest building in the world at just over 1/2 a mile high—2,716 feet!

You could put 3 Eiffel towers on top of each other inside this building.

With an elevator that can travel 10 meters per second, you can jump in at ground level and be at the observation deck 124 floors later in just over a minute.

The building is so tall that you can see the top of it from 60 miles away.

And the higher you go up in the air, the more problems you get from the wind.

To overcome the wind, the building rises to the sky in several separate stalks, which top out unevenly around the central spire.

This design deflects the wind around the structure and prevents it from forming organized whirlpools of air current, or vortices, that would rock the tower from side to side and could even damage the building.

Even with this strategic design, the 206-story Burj Khalifa will still sway slowly back and forth by about 6 feet at the very top.

play video of UEA flight attendant

Which could have been somewhat disconcerting for this flight attendant who agreed to pose for this commercial with Emirates Airlines!

Everything Sheikh Mohammed does is designed to impress you and draw you in to leisure and prosperity.

Which brings us back to our story in Daniel.

The Builder

Nebuchadnezzar took Babylon from a respected nation, to the ruler of the known world.

He conquered formidable nations like Assyria, Egypt and Tyre.

But unlike the Assyrians who glorified their battles, Nebuchadnezzar didn’t spend much time recording his victories.

He spent 13 years besieging a city in Tyre, but no records of the seige have been found in Babylon.

We only know about it from other sources.

Instead, Nebuchadnezzar recorded building projects and focused on making a unified empire.

He’s the guy who educates elites from conquered nations and integrates them into his government.

His government allowed—even encouraged—conquered nations to continue their local government and religious practices.

He was a generous emperor, and a fair and just king.

...Mostly.

Early on in his story we hear about a dream he had.

Fresh off a winning streak on the battle field, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream from God where he was told he didn’t succeed all by himself.

In fact, God had set him on the Babylonian throne to accomplish a heavenly purpose.

He may have been a fantastic king, but it was God who made his wisdom and power and wealth possible.

At the end of that heavenly encounter, Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself and praised God:

A little more nation building, a few more battles won, a few more buildings erected, and Nebuchadnezzar forgot about the God of gods who made him king.

At the beginning of an edict he wrote:

“Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, the exalted prince, the favorite of Marduk, the lofty patesi (a priest king of Sumeria), the beloved of Nabu, the judge, the possessor of wisdom…the wise, the pious…the first-born son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon, am I.” (Harper, Robert Francis.

“Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (604-561 B.C.).”

The Biblical World 14.1 (1899): 3-12.

Web.)

In his pride he set up an image for all the leaders of his empire to bow and worship him.

But when three young men refused, and he had them thrown into the furnace for their disobedience, he saw the Son of God walking in the fire with those unharmed, faithful men.

He was again reminded that he sat on his throne at the pleasure of the God of heaven, and he humbled himself and praised God.

Daniel 3:28-29 (ESV)

“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.

...for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.

You would think that this king would learn a lesson, but it would take much more than that to cut the selfish pride out of his heart.

Standing Tall

Daniel 4 records the account in the kings own words.

This chapter, according to the text, is written by Nebuchadnezzar himself.

He says, “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.

I saw a dream that made me afraid.”

(Daniel 4:4-5)

At ease and prospering.

There is nothing more desirable than to be at ease and prospering.

When we work 12 hour days, we want ease.

When we’re hunting through our budget to figure out how to pay our bills, we want prosperity.

When we see others lounging and spending, we yearn for a break from the tsunami of tasks and chores and responsibilities of our week.

Of course, we enjoy work, and being useful, and so did Nebuchadnezzar.

His queen was longing for her home back in Persia where there were snow covered mountains and green valley oasis and delightful royal gardens.

So, Nebuchadnezzar built her a man-made mountain with greenery flowing over the sides right there in the city of Babylon.

To this day his “hanging gardens” are known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

But his successes, and his leisure, and his prosperity were eating away at his humility.

In God’s wisdom and grace he gave the king another dream, and it alarmed Nebuchadnezzar.

So he called in the wise men and astrologer and magicians, but they couldn’t decipher the dream to his satisfaction.

No one could explain mysteries like Daniel, so he called for Daniel and told him the dream:

Daniel 4:13–17 (ESV)

“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven.

He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches.

But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field.

Let him be wet with the dew of heaven.

Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth.

Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him.

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.’

Daniel took a moment.