DANIEL 4
Read Daniel 4:1-37
Verse 4 sets out the issue for us, “I Nebuchadnezzar, was at home, contented and prosperous”. Nebuchadnezzar had seen the power of the almighty God through Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He had even confessed to believing in God, but had never really done so. He was contended and prosperous and, in his opinion, had no need of God. We see this so often in our own society. Many people are content. They have enough money to live a comfortable life, they have possessions, they have all they need in life. Jesus himself noted that it was often the rich that were the hardest to reach with the good news of salvation; “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25).
But although Nebuchadnezzar was materially comfortable, he was not at ease. Something was missing in his life. He had a disturbing dream and as before his magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners were unable to tell him what it meant. And isn’t it interesting that even today many people put their faith in astrology and fortune tellers and suchlike and ignore the Lord who is the one who does control all things.
The Lord once again honoured the faithful Daniel (now known by his Babylonian name, Belteshazzar) and enabled him to interpret the king’s dream and telling him that he will be driven away from his own people and suffer the indignities of being like an animal, eating grass and living in the wild. What is important here is that Daniel makes it clear that this is the Lord’s judgement upon Nebuchadnezzar for his pride and that if he mended his ways, renounced his sins and was kind to the oppressed; then he would avoid that judgement (v27). Nebuchadnezzar did not do as Daniel advised and so he came under the judgement of the Lord. It was only when Nebuchadnezzar cried out to the Lord that he was restored to health and restored to his former position (v36).
Sometimes the Lord brings us to a very low point to raise us up again to know the love and grace of his salvation. He did that with the nation of Israel, judging them for their idolatry by exiling them to Babylon, but then he restored them by allowing them to return to the Promised Land. It may possibly be what he is doing with the church in our own day as we go through difficult and turbulent times. We may fear for the future of the church with the problems that it is having at the moment, but we do have the Promise of Jesus in Matthew 28, “Obey everything I have commanded you and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”.