September 3rd

Today's reading from the One Year Bible Chronological Reading Plan is 1 Chronicles 8:29-9:1, Daniel 4, Ezekiel 40:1-37

There are a lot of commentaries available for Daniel 4. I haven't read them all, but they definitely seem to have a common theme....

Commentaries
Believing God on Election Day by John Piper
How are the Mighty Fallen by John MacArthur
Nebuchadnezzar's Pride and Punishment by John Walvoord on Bible.org
The Sovereignty of God in History by Bob Deffinbaugh on Bible.org
Nebuchadnezzar Learns About Birds and Beasts by Bob Deffinbaugh on bible.org
The Sovereignty of God by David Legge

The two common threads throughout these commentaries is the pride of man and the sovereignty of God.

In vs 30 King Nebuchadnezzar says "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (emphasis mine)

The sheer audacity of this King is made more understandable by recognizing that this King was (as far as he knew) in absolute control of the world. Babylon was the ruling nation and the King of Babylon ruled supreme.

[King Nebuchadnezzar knew] more of human sovereignty than any American ever could. Among the kings of history, this king is “the king of kings” (Daniel 2:37). He is the “head of gold” [described in Daniel 2:38]. In comparison with his kingdom, the remaining world empires are described as “inferior” (see 2:39-43). When Daniel spoke to Belshazzar of the kingdom of his father, Nebuchadnezzar, he described the extent of his dominion:

18 “O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. And because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated, and whomever he wished he humbled (Daniel 5:18-19).

In our world, we have no political leader or ruler who even approaches the kind of human sovereignty we see in Nebuchadnezzar. The Office of President of the United States is a position of great power, but it is not an example of sovereignty. Former President Richard Nixon was not free to run the country as he saw fit. His role in the Watergate conspiracy cost him the White House. Presidents may be criticized (if not removed from office) for sexual or moral improprieties. They certainly do not find it possible to pass every bill, create every program, or appoint every official that pleases them.

Nebuchadnezzar was a man of great military and political power. He ruled the nation (Babylon) with an iron fist, and Babylon dominated all other world powers of that day. He was the commander who defeated and destroyed Jerusalem and who led most of the Jews into Babylonian captivity. The people of Judah seemed insignificant and impotent against such a great man as Nebuchadnezzar, and indeed they were. But the God of the Jews is the One true God and the One great God. God chose to demonstrate His sovereignty over history and over all the nations of the earth by bringing Nebuchadnezzar to his knees in submission to and the worship of Himself. (Bob Deffinbaugh)

Nebuchadnezzar understood human sovereignty, no question. But the truth is there is no human sovereignty, not really. Our pride convinces us it is so. And pride Nebuchadnezzar had in abundance! The pride of self led Nebuchadnezzar through the valley of humiliation until he finally praised the sovereignty of God.

the essence of pride: the enjoyment of self-sufficiency rather than God-sufficiency and the enjoyment of self-exaltation rather than God-exaltation...

I did not say that pride was the achievement of self-sufficiency or the achievement of self-exaltation. I said that pride is the enjoyment of them, the delight in them, the desire for them. You may see your life as a total failure and feel crushed by this morning and still have pride as the driving force of your life. The very pain you feel at being a failure may be owing to the desperateness of your desire to look successful and to taste the glory of human praise.

One person may go to a party and brag and boast and draw attention to himself and his achievements. Another person may go to the same party and be so fearful and insecure that he hides in corners and tries to avoid people. And both of these persons may be driven by the unbelief pride. The strong person doesn't believe the grace of God is needed; the weak person doesn't believe the grace of God is sufficient. And since God is not their portion, man is—the longed-for esteem and praise of man. One person, fearful that he won't get it, hides. Another person, hopeful that he will get it, brags. Same disease, different symptoms. And all of us have it....

The second stage, by the grace of God, is the valley of humiliation.

And don't miss that word grace! God bends our stiff necks and pushes our face to the ground because that's where the streams of life are flowing....

I call this the VALLEY of humiliation because it is a long way down from being the king of Babylon to being a beast in the field. The reason God made Nebuchadnezzar act like an ox that eats grass, with hair as long as eagles wings and nails like a bird's claws—the reason he did that was to show us the bestiality of pride. When man tries to become like God, he becomes like an animal. Pride puts man in a class with the beasts of the field. That's the point of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity.

Stage two on the pathway that leads to heaven is the painful discovery of this truth. We thought we were strong and we discover that we were weak. We thought we were weak and we discover that we were protecting our ego. We thought we were self-sufficient and we discover that we were utterly dependent on God—for life and breath and everything.

So I urge you, if you have never been there, to go to the valley of humiliation. Let yourself feel the insanity and bestiality of pride. And when you have tasted the bitter grass of that field, come with me to the final stage our journey...

What is the biblical opposite of pride? This text teaches that the opposite of pride in man's strength is praise for God's sovereignty. This is what Nebuchadnezzar sings about when his sanity returns.....

The biblical way out of the valley of humiliation is a revolutionary change in the way we think about God. The truth that God rules the kingdom of men must grip your mind, and the sovereignty of his will must become the deep solid foundation of all your thinking.

The other revolution that takes place as you come up out of the valley of humiliation is an emotional revolution, a revolution in the way we feel about God. Nebuchadnezzar was persuaded in his head now that the slogan "By my power and for my glory" is the slogan of an ox or an ass in the field. The true slogan is now "By God's might and for God's glory." He learned in the valley of humiliation.

But he didn't just learn it in his head; he felt it in his heart. That's the point of verse 34, "I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him." The only person who does justice to the sovereignty of God is the person who sings about it.

Watch out for a person who wants to talk about the sovereignty of God but has no song in his heart. The biblical opposite of pride is not pondering the sovereignty of God, but praising the sovereignty of God—delighting in it, resting on it. (John Piper, emphasis mine)

Tomorrow's passage: Ezekiel 40:38-43:27