Recurrent Thought

The heart of man is desperately wicked. It can only be treated by the substitutional blood of the Lamb.

God created the Universes and therefore He is the rightful owner and ruler of all. The truth of Him being the Preeminent King was revealed and accepted by Israel, a people through whom his revelation was given. However, even when He Judged Israel and took its occupants to other nations, God ensured that the People of Israel took their Faith with them. They indeed became witnesses of God to the Nations. While in exile God’s revelation continues to be given to His People. When we read the texts that deal with the exile of Israel, we see how they lived and pursued their faith in the cultures of those Nations. The scriptures speak about the foreign Kings that led in those times. In Daniel it is Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; In Esther, it is Artaxerxes the Leader of the Medes and Persians. In have included links to Two E Books First  Biblical Themes of Leadership and Leadership Matters (Enduring Leadership for every context)

Background

• Babylon a kingdom founded by Nebopolazzar grew to defeat Assyria and Egypt at the battle of Carchemish.
• Nebuchadnezzar the son of Nebopolazzar was the General who became an Emporer of a great kingdom
• He raided Israel three times, bringing in captives from whom we can relate important personages of the Old Testament. In 605 BC he brought people from Royal Families. Daniel, Shadrach Mishach and Abednego. In 597 BC he brought the middle class and Prophet Ezekiel was one of the captives. 586 BC Judah was totally destroyed including the Temple. Jeremiah remained under the Gedaliah the Governor who kept the remnant. 
• Now this Text is about 25-30 Years from Chapter 3.

The Chapter is written as a Testimony of King Nebuchadnezzar and His Faith in Yahweh God. This Chapter is the last historical narrative of King Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel. Notice that all the first four chapters relate to his reign and the influence the empire exerted on the then-known world. 

The Chapter has a simple outline:

4: 1-3: The King's Tribute and Call for the Whole World to Know
4:4-18: The King's Dream which bothered him for some time
4:19-27    The King’s Dream is interpreted by Daniel
4:28-33 The King experiences the prophetic reality from the Dream
4:34-37 The King's Healing and Restoration including His Praise of Yahweh

The core of the message of this chapter is enshrined in the phrase the “Most High God rules in the kingdoms of men and gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men (17, 25 & 35).” Indeed, throughout human history and into the future, “His plans and Purposes shall always stand (Psalm 33:11 NIV). Therefore, human beings give the greatest honor and glory to God as they obey and follow His commands. However, we notice that this acceptance of Who God is and what he does became his ultimate recognition despite many chances he was given in the earlier Chapters.

Out of this text, we notice the following Five Traits of a loving God

1. God Relentlessly Chases After us

   • Notice the many Chances God gave him in the previous Chapters
   • In Chapter 1, He came to realize that the God of Daniel made them to excel in whatever they were asked to;
   • In Chapter 2. When He had a Dream that he forgot. When Daniel told of it and interpreted it, he confessed “Truly, Your God is God of gods and Lord of Kings and a revealer of mysteries. 
   • In Chapter 3. He was confronted with God’s power when He kept alive the three Young Hebrew men. He said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him . . . Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything the God of Shadrach . . . shall be torn limb by limb . . . . (Ch. 4:28-30).
   • Nebuchadnezzar had numerous encounters with God but he did not place Faith in God. 
   • God persistently showed him Mercy in different ways over the years. He was mesmerized by it, but not never placed faith in Yahweh. He was a religious king; watched God from afar
   • It is possible that some of us are being pursued by a relentless God, but we refuse to accept Him 
2. God Usually Waits Patiently for Us to Obediently Act on His Word 
   • Daniel was alarmed when requested to give the meaning of the dream,
   • The Prophetic Word of the Lord to Nebuchadnezzar was clear. The way he was going, he would end up in a mess.
   • The Lord executed the prophetic Reality after one Year. The Lord waited patiently for one Year.
   • We should not misinterpret God's delay in sending judgment; it is actually mercy and not delay. Remember there is always a limit to His patience. Numbers 32:23 states that 23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.
   • Could it be Nebuchadnezzar did not believe that God would fulfill this Word into reality?
   • How long will you impugn or challenge his goodness?  You How do are you handling the Patience of God
   • How long should Yahweh wait for you to change? Why are you pursuing the course you are on?
3. God is Rejected by Our Pride, which is the biggest obstacle to a Surrendered Heart
   • The first sin recorded in the bible is Pride when Lucifer wanted to exalt himself above God. Pride is the first sin spirit beings created. Lucifer created it. Adam and Eve desired to be like God: they wanted to be self-absorbed, which is a form of Pride
   • Nebuchadnezzar gloried in his accomplishments. The reality is true, the king was one of the most articulate King who expanded his kingdom to great lengths. He was a gifted and tremendous King. He built Babylon with great walls and hanging gardens
   • He felt that it was his brilliance, his skills, his abilities, that brought all these things to pass. 
   • It is usually normal to think that those who will be proud are those with more financial resources. But this is not true, all human beings are tempted by Pride.
   • We should remember that every talent, ability, or giftings that we possess we receive from God. God has purposed that the gifts we have should be used to glorify, like the 24 elders, we must place our crowns at his feet and use them as tools for worship. To use Your gift for purposes that do not ultimately bring glory to him, is to prostitute the gift of God
   • Don’t be proud and claim you are a self-made person. Your success is because God gave it to you. Nebuchadnezzar's ingenuity was a gift from God. He was God’s minister. Jer. 43:10
   • Proverbs 16: 18 Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.
   • Pride convinces us that we have all the answers and that we know better than even God.
   • Daniel before interpreting the Dream warned the King, because he saw the future consequences
   • Nebuchadnezzar despite noticing the Power of God in Chapters 2-3, did not stop and recognize his inferiority to it. Finally, he does not recognize the Prophetic warning that comes through the dream in Chapter 4
   • Nebuchadnezzar, just like most of us, lives indifferent to the will of God. We want to pretend we are the source of our health, wealth, and projector of our future
4. God will humble us if we don’t do it ourselves
   • God wants us to voluntarily repent, humble ourselves, and obey his Word. It is better for us to start.
   • When God warns us and we insist on our folly, we can be broken without repair. 
     Prov. 29:1 says Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. James 4: 10: Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you
   • 1 Peter 5:6 also states “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”
   • Mathew 23:12. Shows that God Puts down the Proud and lifts up the humble
   • James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore, it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
   • In this regard God judges Nebuchadnezzar with insanity and lives in the forest like an animal. His hair grew like the feathers of a bird, his nails like those of an animal. In some disciplines this called lycanthropy". or wolfman " This is a compound word "Lycos", which means "wolf" and "anthropos", which means "man". 
     
     Mental Health Challenges
     Does it mean all insanity is a punishment from God? Not at all. Here the scriptures is very explicit that the insanity he suffered for seven years was due to his lack of repentance; when he did, God healed and restored him. We must at the same time recognize two things of Mental Health. First, it should be noticed that mental health is a spectrum of experience, ranging from excellent health at one end and severe incapacitating symptoms of mental illness at the other end. Second, there are lots of circumstances that trigger mental health breakdown. Some are spiritual, some are related to substance abuse, some are pure satanic attacks, some are hereditary reasons, and a lot of many other causes. Some are mental health concerns that work begin as a contagion, especially issues that relate to peer pressure among teenagers. How do we handle Mental Health? Bring the cases to the Lord at all times. However, do not neglect the care that may begin by caregivers. 
5. God Heals and Restores the Broken-hearted
   • In the Testimony of Nebuchadnezzar, he confesses after seven years of insanity Ch.4:34-35
   • The Most High God rules in the Kingdom of Men: He Judges, and He restores. The cases that are spiritual are easily handled when the spiritual cause is taken care of. It could be a demon cause, a form of satanic oppression, or witchcraft
   • The Kingdom was restored to him. It looks like he continued to rule with more glory and splendor Ch.4:36

Conclusion

• God pursues You with love and mercy; therefore, don’t reject Him
• God waits patiently for you to come back; please don’t delay anymore.
• God may be left with no recourse, but to allow you to face the consequences of your sinful actions 
• Don’t allow Your pride never to override God’s Mercy and Grace 

Altar Time

Praying for Mercy & Grace