MESSAGE

FROM THE

WORD

A WACKY IRAQI

Daniel 4:1-37

SERIES:  Daniel                                                                                                 Message # 7

            He was one of our nation’s greatest innovators.  He invented airplanes, ran Hollywood studios, dated and married many of our nation’s most beautiful women, and was at one time one of the five richest men in America.  He died literally a crazy man.  His name was Howard Hughes.  He was admired by millions, the subjects of books and stories alike.  Just recently Hollywood released a movie entitled, “The Aviator” which chronicled his early life.  It was not accidental that Hughes was played by Leonardo Dicaprio, Hollywood’s leading romantic actor.  It is highly unlikely that a movie will be made chronicling the end of his life.  He became a paranoid recluse who hired people to make sure that germs never entered his home.  His story is not that uncommon.  History is filled with the tales of individuals who became wealthy and then squandered their wealth on riotous living and died alone and unloved.  Look at the life of Britney Spears which has been lived out in all of the tabloids over the past year. 

            When people claim that the Bible is irrelevant, it reveals how little they know about the Bible and about human nature.  As we come to Daniel 4, we are going to look at one of the great human interest stories in all of history.  What happens in the life of someone who chooses to reject God and lives to indulge their every desire?  Nebuchadnezzar is our subject and he had everything.  Iraq today is historical Babylon.  The Persian Empire, which took over Babylon, is the present nation of Iran.  The palaces we saw which were built by Saddam Hussein were cottages compared to those built by Nebuchadnezzar.  One of his wives grew up in a country with many mountains and lush vegetation.  To please her, Nebuchadnezzar took one of his palaces, built a small mountain on its roof, designed a hydraulic method to bring water in from the Euphrates, and planted thousands of trees, brush and vegetation. This later became known as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and was named by the Greeks as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.  One of his palaces was more than 600,000 sq. ft.  This man was “King of the world” and he knew it.  One of the realities of life is that God is not impressed with us.  There is no amount of wealth we might accumulate or good deeds we might accomplish that will cause Him to say “WOW”. 

            As we look at this chapter, we are going to see the rise and fall of an individual totally sold out to self indulgence and personal pleasure.

            FIRST, WE SEE HIS RELIGIOUS TRAPPINGS.  We read           DANIEL 4:1-3                 This is not that difficult for us to understand.  God had moved in the life of Nebuchadnezzar and the king had responded accordingly.  There is no indication that the king was a true believer, but he was acknowledging the true God.  We see this in our nation.  Our nation was formed with an understanding that the God of the Bible oversaw the affairs of men.  Not all of the founders were believers, but all understood the importance of a God-based nation.  This is why the Declaration of Independence tells us that rights come from God.  This is why every state Constitution mentions God in their preamble.  Not every founder believed that Jesus was God in the flesh, but all acknowledged the Bible as the basis of our nation.  This is why nearly every politician closes their speech by saying, “God bless the United States of America”.

            SECOND, WE SEE THE RECURRING DREAM.  Nebuchadnezzar had weird dreams.  We saw the first dream in chapter 2.  He has another dream in chapter 4.  We read               VERSES 4-18         The wise men must have rejoiced that the response of the king was slightly different this time.  In both cases he called for the wise men to come and give him the interpretation.  However, this second dream saw a gentler Nebuchadnezzar.  This time he did not call for the execution of the wise men when they couldn’t answer his question.  Just as we saw in chapter 2, this is a strange dream.  A giant tree was cut down to the ground, but the stump and root survived.  The tree was then drenched with the dew of the grass and told that he would have the mind of a beast of burden for a series of seven periods.

            That obviously is a strange dream, but Daniel is there to set the record straight.  It is interesting that the king did not make Daniel tell him the dream, only the interpretation.  Daniel had already proven that he has the capacity to do that.  He had earned the right to not have to prove himself.

            THIRD, WE SEE THE REPLY OF DANIEL.  Daniel was God’s man and he was placed in this situation to give the king a message.  We read               VERSES 19-27            There is a very interesting aspect to this interpretation.  I do not believe Daniel cow towed to the powers that be.  He was not one to kiss up to the authorities.  He told it like it was.  As Daniel listened to the dream and then received the interpretation, he was genuinely concerned for the well being of the king.  His first response was his concern for the king. 

            This is the heart of a Christian servant.  Every once in a while you read in the paper or see on the news a small group of people boycotting military funerals because the armed services superficially allow for homosexuals to be in the military.  Their signs are very offensive and extremely hostile.  Their primary message is that God hates homosexuals and can hardly wait to blast our nation because of its acceptance of this lifestyle. 

            The attitude of this group is, “God is going to judge you, “GOOD”!!  How different was the attitude of Daniel.  He understood that the king was a pagan and that he had committed untold acts of immorality and sin.  Yet, the heart’s desire of Daniel was for God to reach the king and bless him.  His attitude was really no different than God’s.  We read                    EZEKIEL 33:11; II PETER 3:9                   If God does not rejoice in the death of the wicked and He wishes that every sinner repents and comes to Christ, then what should our attitude be?  Those individuals who are saying such mean words are idolaters because they have created a god of their own kind, one who hates sinners.  God loves sinners, He doesn’t hate them.  This is why Paul wrote             ROMANS 2:4           He hates sin, which is why Jesus died on the cross.  He loves sinners, which is why He shows kindness to them.

            This becomes real practical as we look at such issues as terrorists, molesters, murderers and other evil individuals.  We look at some of these individuals who do so much evil and our first response is to pray for God to just blast them with hellfire and damnation.  When Jesus was nailed to the cross, a very important statement was made by God.  That statement was, “WHOEVER WANTS TO BE FORGIVEN MAY COME”.  We read                      COLOSSIANS 2:9-15          No one is exempt from that statement.  There are no exclusions to the fact that their sin was nailed to the cross.  We sometimes try to think that we are not as bad as others, but all of us when measured with a perfect Jesus fall short. 

            If we only commit one sin a day, we will have nearly 30,000 blemishes on our record when we stand before God.  Some sins are more evil than others; however, none of us will stand before God in anything other than our sinfulness.  That is unless we have come to Christ.  We read        ISAIAH 64:6         Paul wrote                    II COR. 5:21               All of us have skeletons in the closet.  We all have regrets in life.  Heaven will be filled with people who did shameful actions. All of the great heroes in the Bible did acts that would make most of us blush.  Yet, God sent His Son to die a terrible death so that the sins of all the ages would be placed on Him.  We are then filled with His Spirit and made white as snow.  This is what forgiveness is all about.

            FOURTH, WE SEE THE RESPONSE BY NEBUCHADNEZZAR.  There is an interesting discussion that takes place between Daniel and the king at the end of Daniel’s interpretation.  Daniel announced God’s judgment on the king and we read    VERSE 27           In other words, Daniel was giving the king an escape from the guaranteed judgment from God.  How can that be?  The truth is, I don’t know.  However, it is the tension between the sovereign will of God and the free will of mankind. 

            Look at the response.  Verse 29 opens by stating, “TWELVE MONTHS LATER…”  I hope I’m not reading into the passage what isn’t there, but it seems that the king was able to control himself for a year.  However, human nature grabbed hold and he succumbed.  We read             VERSES 28-33               The Bible has so much to say about pride.  Lucifer was driven from Heaven because of his pride.  Pride is the worst of sins.  Proverbs tells us there are seven things God hates and the first is a “PROUD LOOK…” We read in other passages           PROVERBS 8:13; 11:2; 16:5               This is not just a principle taught in the Old Testament.  We read                      JAMES 4:6          He watched his heart for a time, but eventually his nature took over.  As he walked around his city all he could think of was, “LOOK AT WHAT I DID…”  God flattened him.  For seven years Nebuchadnezzar walked on all fours and ate grass like a cow.  His hair grew mangled and his nails grew out like bird talons.  He literally went insane for seven years. 

            FIFTH, WE SEE THE RESTORATION OF THE KING.  We read               VERSES 34-37            It is amazing what confession can do to the individual.  We read              I TIMOTHY 1:5; 18-20            Did you notice the power of a clear conscience?  When sin is present, problems arrive.  A clear conscience is a powerful weapon in the hands of a holy God.  After seven years of torment, the king finally recalled the greatness of God and acknowledged His authority in his life.  The result was God’s restoration and the return of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom.

            Nebuchadnezzar learned a powerful lesson.  That lesson states simply that regardless of your station in life, you have nothing to boast about.  All that is comes from God.  Hard work, wisdom, and devotion to God are all seeds God plants to raise a great crop, but it eventually comes down to the sovereignty of God overshadowing your life.

            Let’s look at some applications to our life.

            First, life begins and ends with our commitment to praise God.  One of the actions Nebuchadnezzar did right was to give God praise for His greatness.  He did it within the concept of his being a polytheist (belief in many gods) but at least he understood that Jehovah was the biggest of the gods he believed in. 

            The highest priority of the believer is to praise God.  We read            REVELATION 4:9-11         There is no other priority in the life of the believer that even comes close to this one.

            Second, no amount of financial blessings will bring peace.  Our nation is filled with people who believe that a little more in their 401k, an extra bedroom, a membership at the club, or a more luxurious car will make them just a little more happy.  They have deluded themselves.  The suicide rate is higher for those who make more than $250,000 a year than it is for those who are under the poverty level. 

            Cash and stuff have the capacity to do good things, but they do not have the ability to bring joy or happiness.  Jesus even commented on this.  We read                  LUKE 12:15          Some of the most miserable people you know are wealthy individuals. 

            Third, life goes better when we have wise counselors.  One of the great truths in the scripture is that we need each other.  None of us knows enough to know it all.  You need people around you who know more, have greater insights, and have a more intimate walk with the Lord than you do.  This is why Solomon wrote               PROVERBS 11:14           Who do you have in your life who can shoot straight with you?  You need them.  One of the first statements God ever made was “IT IS NOT GOOD FOR MAN TO BE ALONE…”  We need people around us and they need to be wise.

            Fourth, God calls us to proclaim His word to the high and mighty.  All of us understand God’s call to go into the nations of the world to proclaim the gospel.  For some reason we forget that the rich are a part of the world.  If someone comes and tells us they are moving to Watts to minister in the inner city, we get out our checkbooks.  If someone tells us they are moving to Beverly Hills and joining the Beverly Hills Country Club so they can minister to the wealthy, we would probably chuckle.  This is one of the reasons our congregation supports the ministry of Mastermedia.  We believe the movers and shakers also need to be reached with the claims of Christ.

            Fifth, our heart’s desire should be to bless unbelievers.  It is so easy to attack those who are on opposite sides on the debate.  It is especially easy to attack those who are hostile to Christ.  However, the example of Christ is to bless your attackers and to do well to those who are hostile.  Is their someone who is hostile to you because of your walk with Christ?  Bless them.

            Sixth, God’s blessings are His to give as He sees fit.  God could have taken out Nebuchadnezzar at any time, but He continued to bless him and after the king repented, God blessed him more.  It is not your place to question why God allows one to prosper and another to suffer setbacks.  It is your place to walk in humility and obedience.

            Seventh, even in rebuke, our message is mercy and repentance.  Daniel had to deliver to the king the message of what C. S. Lewis called “Severe mercy”.  In the midst of delivering his message of judgment, Daniel’s heart was broken.  Believing that the ungodly will face God’s judgment rarely offends people.  What is usually offensive is the attitude of smugness that can accompany the belief.  In our belief of God’s justice, we must be examples of His mercy.  This is why Paul wrote             GAL. 6:1, 2               The people of God need to be examples of mercy.  It is God who has the power to condemn.  Our task is to warn and be compassionate.

            Eighth, God’s judgment is sure.  We want God to blast our enemies right now.  God wants our enemies to repent and turn to Him.  As Paul was persecuting the church, do you think there were people who prayed that God would take him out?  I am grateful that prayer was not answered.  Your prayers for those who seek your ouster should be for God to deal with them as He sees fit.  Just remember that no one who truly loves God would desire even their enemies to spend eternity separated from Him.

            Ninth, a clear conscience opens up a strong ministry.  We will see in Daniel 6 how important a clear conscience is.  Daniel could stand before the king and proclaim a holy message because he had no skeletons in the closet.  This is why God offers us forgiveness and repentance.  If there is sin in your life, deal with it.

            Tenth, repentance always leads to blessings.  Even those with major blemishes can be forgiven and restored.  Would you have dealt in mercy with the thief of the cross?  Most of us resent God for forgiving those we don’t like.  That is why He is God and you aren’t.  We saw earlier that God’s desire is that all would come to repentance.  He wants none to perish.  That should be your desire as well.

            Search your heart.  Is there anyone in your sphere of influence you hope is a recipient of God’s judgment?  Let me encourage you to repent of that attitude and pray for that person’s relationship with God.  It may be that a merciful act on your part might be the event that draws them to the Savior.

This message is from the teaching ministry of Glen Jackson, pastor of Faith Christian Church in Simi Valley, CA.