Quote for the Day
“His kingdom is an eternal kingdom…”
Today's Prayer
This week pray for those traveling that they will see God’s power and majesty in the everyday events of life. Ask God to show His wisdom to each of us as we fulfill His will by obedience to Him.
Daniel 4:1-9
Daniel 4:1-9 (NIV)1 King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly!2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.3 How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. 5 I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. 6 So I commanded that all the wise men of be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. 7 When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. 8 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.)9 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.”
Message
At last we see the transformed Nebuchadnezzar. We will have to go through a couple of chapters with him to see the outcome, but we now have an acknowledgement (and MORE) from Nebuchadnezzar that God alone is in charge.Chapter 4 begins with King Nebuchadnezzar telling a story about himself, AFTER it has happened, so we will see later that this telling in chapter 4 is a minimum of seven years after the episode with Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah in the fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar does finally acknowledge God Almighty as the King of Kings, in verses 2 and 3, though this is AFTER the story he is about to tell. What is interesting is what he says about himself as he tells the story.First he describes himself as contented and prosperous. I would think so! He is king of the modern world at that time and has all the wealth one could imagine. From a human standpoint, how much more prosperous or contented could you get? From a spiritual view, he still sees many people and many gods as the way to wisdom. He has yet another dream, and instead of going to Daniel or one of his three friends, who have been saved from the furnace by God Almighty, Nebuchadnezzar goes to all the “regular” wise men and asks them to tell him what his dream means. Guess what? Just like before, they cannot figure it out, and this time he actually tells them the dream. As he tells the story he continues to call Daniel, “Belteshazzar,” the name of his god, rather than Daniel, his given name. He continues by telling Daniel, “I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you…” still not able to fully appreciate and understand what Daniel and his friends have shown him about the ONE true God.Soon he will learn, and it will be a VERY difficult lesson. God gives us all life lessons designed to show us His power and majesty. Are we listening? Or do we need additional lessons like Nebuchadnezzar is about to experience?
