”…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?” Daniel 4:28-30
Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful king of his time. God used him to bring judgment against pretty much every nation, Israel included. Among those he conquered and enslaved were some influential Jews, Daniel being one. One of the problems with the kind of power Nebuchadnezzar had was pride. Through Daniel, God warned him about his ego and what would happen if he kept up his arrogant ways. He did not listen and so God had to show him ‘who was who in the room’ (real power) - that He alone is…
THE EXALTED ONE…
”…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.” Daniel 4:34
Exalting yourself over God is as crazy a thing one could do. Who in their right mind, seeing the glory in the skies and the wonders on earth, could possibly think they’re all that and a bag of chips? The reasonable thing would be to realize there is a creator and that we bow to Him and His power. Not Nebuchadnezzar, he lost his marbles due to pride. Paul wrote in Romans 1:21, ‘Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.’ The end result is God gives them over to a depraved mind for refusing to acknowledge Him.
…AND THE ONE WHO EXALTS.
”At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me… I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.” Daniel 4:36
What is clear here, is clear headed people bear in mind that God is God and they are not. I guess it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. But far too often, the really ‘smart’ ones struggle to believe in anyone greater. Fools do that. And yet David, a very great man said to God in Psalm 18:35, ‘You stoop down to make me great.’ Like Nebuchadnezzar and David, if we lift our eyes to God, He elevates us here on earth, and raises us to heaven.
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