The King’s Humiliation | Sunday, July 2, 2023

God is so good, very, very good all the time. Garrett, in the announcements, mentioned that it would be a little quieter around here today because the youth are gone. Surely, it's not quieter around here, but it has been around my house because three of my four kids are at camp. It's been kind of strange.

If you would take out your Bible this morning, we're going to be in the Old Testament book of Daniel. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Daniel is right about the middle of your Bible. Open to the middle of your Bible; you'll probably be in the Psalms. Turn to the right, and eventually, you'll pass through Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Daniel chapter 4 is where we're going to be.

About 130 years before the time of the Prophet Daniel, there was another prophet in Israel by the name of Micah. In Micah chapter 6, he writes, "God has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." God has shown you what is good and what He requires of you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Centuries later, during the time of the early church, one of the earliest leaders of the church, a man by the name of James, wrote in James chapter 4, "God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble." Humility isn't exactly highly valued in the 21st-century Western world that we live in. This was illustrated in a very clear way a number of years ago, back in 2015, during the NBA Finals. LeBron James's team was down three to two in the finals, and he was asked by a journalist if he was concerned about their situation. He responded, "I am confident because I am the greatest player in the world. It is as simple as that." He is a picture of humility, King James, as they sometimes refer to him. But God, through Micah, says...

This is good. This is what God requires of you: to do justly, that is, to do what is right; to love mercy, most clearly seen in kindness; and to walk in humility. Again, humility is not exactly in style in 2023. It is not highly valued in the 21st-century Western culture that we live in. In fact, many times, it is quite the opposite, especially as we are now coming out of a period of time in our nation where, for an entire month, the opposite of humility—pride—is exalted as one of the chief virtues in 21st-century culture.

It is amazing that we dedicate an entire month to say that pride is one of our chief virtues, when ironically, the Scriptures identify it as one of the chief vices. The great King Solomon, 3,000 years ago, recorded in Proverbs Chapter 6, "These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to God." What’s the very first one? A proud look. At the top of God's list of vices, things that He hates and abominates, is a proud look.

So, what was once the chief vice according to the Scriptures has become one of America's chief virtues. I have been very interested in outcomes for a long time. If you do A, B, and C, then what is the X, Y, Z that will result? One of the sayings of Jesus, which can be very easily overlooked—one of those maybe throwaway things that I actually find to be a really great saying of Jesus—is that wisdom is justified by her children. In other words, outcomes are important.

So, it is worth considering: what is the outcome of a life lived in pride? What is the outcome when you walk in the path of the proud? Just before Solomon said these six things, the Lord...

Hates seven are an abomination, and a proud look was number one. Just before he said that, he mentioned that a worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth. He winks with his eyes, shuffles his feet, and points with his fingers. You can sense the arrogance in this; perversity is in his heart. He devises evil continually and sows discord. Therefore, the outcome is that his calamity shall be sudden; he shall be broken without remedy.

I've referenced this passage many times over the last several years as we here at Cross-Connection Church have been going through the Old Testament. Paul, in the New Testament, the last third of the Bible, says all of these things in the Old Testament, the first two-thirds of the Bible, were recorded for our instruction that we might learn from them. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. Pride comes before destruction, Proverbs chapter 16 says, and an arrogant spirit before a fall. Better to be lowly than to be proud, says Solomon in the Proverbs.

Over the last four weeks, which coincidentally happened to be during what is called Pride Month in our nation, we have been introduced to King Nebuchadnezzar and his great pride. He was the proud king who came to power in Babylon in 605 BC, and he was the one who led Babylon on a rampage to establish a great kingdom and empire. It was he who humbled the kingdoms and nations around him far and wide to extend Babylon's reign and reach.

It was Nebuchadnezzar who took possession of cities and nations. Many he humbled; he laid low their high places where they would worship their deities. He took the peoples of those places as prisoners, many of the most good-looking, well-positioned people in those territories. He would bring them to his own kingdom, to his own palace, and there they would be trained for several years in the ways, wisdom, literature, and learning of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians, that they might become good Babylonians. Among those people that were taken captive in Judah and Jerusalem was Daniel.

Hananiah, Michelle, and Azariah. In our previous studies in Daniel chapters one through three, we have been introduced to this haughty, high-minded, and oftentimes hysterical King Nebuchadnezzar. At the drop of a hat, he would fly off the handle, saying, "If you won't do what I tell you to do, I will cut you in pieces and destroy your entire household." Some of you may have a boss like that— a hard guy, an arrogant man.

Over the last several weeks, we have seen the king's pride, but today we are going to see the king's humiliation. This brings us to one of the most fascinating and unique passages of Scripture, particularly because of who the author of this passage is. We are going through the Book of Daniel, and the traditional view is that Daniel wrote the Book of Daniel, these twelve chapters, except for chapter four. Chapter four sits in a different position.

Look at verse one: "Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell on the earth." Who is the author of Daniel chapter four? None other than the proud King Nebuchadnezzar. While he may not have written all of it, the bulk of it is a testimony from the proud king of Babylon.

"Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell on the earth: Peace be multiplied to you." He opens it in much the same way that many of the letters of the New Testament open. "I thought it good to declare to you the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. I wanted to record a testimony for you of what the Most High God has done in my life."

This is one of the strangest, most unique passages of Scripture. "How great are His signs! How mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion from generation to generation." That is a striking opening coming from this man who, just a few weeks ago, made a ninety-foot tall image of gold of himself and commanded all peoples in all places to bow down and worship it whenever they would hear any kind of music. And now he says...

I, Nebuchadnezzar, the king, want everybody to know what the God of Heaven has done in my life. In light of all that we've seen of Nebuchadnezzar previously—his pride and his pomp—what we find here in this passage is amazing, especially the very last word. Turn just one page over and look at the very last verse of Daniel chapter 4.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth and whose ways are justice. Those who walk in pride, He is able to put down. How on Earth did we get from a 90-foot golden statue of himself, to which all of you shall bow when any music plays and worship me, to "I praise and extol the King of Heaven, whose ways are truth and justice, and He is able to put down a proud man's pride"?

Well, I might be getting ahead of myself a little bit. Back to Micah. About 130 years before Daniel found himself in Babylon, he said, "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." Keep those three things in your mind. It's a simple truth, but an important truth.

Point number one, if you're taking notes this morning: God honors the humble and detests the proud. You know, there was a prophet who lived right about the same time as the prophet Micah—a contemporary with Micah who lived in a different place. Micah was in the northern part of the nation of Israel, prophesying to what we call the Northern Kingdom of Israel before they were destroyed by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. Just south of where he was, in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, was another prophet. His name was Isaiah, and in Isaiah chapters 13 and 14, Isaiah received a vision from God of the rise and glory of Babylon more than 150 years before they would rise to a glorious position.

The rise and glory of Babylon, as well as their fall, is a significant theme in the Bible. Isaiah writes about this in an interesting prophecy found in Isaiah chapter 14. This passage can be challenging to interpret because, if you've ever read it or heard a Bible study on it, you will notice that it is often spiritually associated with a spiritual entity commonly referred to as Lucifer.

Many readers tend to view Isaiah chapter 14 solely through the lens of this spiritual entity. While there is indeed a supernatural focus in this chapter, there is also a natural focus. In this context, Isaiah is predicting the fall of Babylon and its proud king, Nebuchadnezzar.

Commentators often suggest that Isaiah chapter 14 has a dual fulfillment: one pointing to the spiritual entity and the other to the proud king, Nebuchadnezzar. In Isaiah chapter 14, verse 12, we read, "Oh shining Morning Star, how have you fallen from the heavens? You destroyer of the nations, you have been cut down to the ground."

Consider this in the context of the great proud king, Nebuchadnezzar. More than 150 years before he ruled, Isaiah saw a vision of his fall. He proclaims, "How you have fallen! For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods' assembly in the remotest parts of the north. I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.'"

Isaiah gives us a glimpse into the mindset of the proud king, who declares "I will" five times. However, the word of God to this great proud king is found in verse 15: "But you will be brought down low to the grave, into the deepest regions of the pit."

God honors the humble; He detests the proud. Jesus, in the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 23, says, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled." Solomon, in Proverbs chapter 29, says, "A man's pride will bring him low." Peter and James in the New Testament said, "God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble." Oh, the irony that America in 2023 values pride as a chief virtue, when the Scriptures say it is a major vice that leads to destruction.

Point number two, if you're taking notes: the ultimate portion of the proud is humiliation. The hard part is that it sure doesn't always seem that way to us, does it? Many times, as we look around the world we live in, it seems like those with the boastful, arrogant, proud heart succeed. They seem to have nothing but a nice, paved way before them, and it can be discouraging to see that the way of the proud doesn't always seem to lead to destruction or humiliation. It seems, oftentimes, that it leads to exaltation.

It can be discouraging. In fact, 3,000 years ago, there was a psalmist who wrote of his very same discouragement. He recorded it this way in Psalm 73: "I almost lost my footing; my feet were slipping; I was almost gone. I was having a really hard time. I almost tripped up and fell down. Why? For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness." Can anyone identify with the psalmist there today? Be honest; I sure can. They seem to live such painless lives. The psalmist said they don't have troubles like other people, like me. They wear their pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty. They scoff and speak evil in their pride; they seek to crush others. They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.

The psalmist says, "Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? It seems like they always prosper, the proud. And I've sought to walk in the way of humility. Have I kept my heart pure for nothing?"

I get nothing but trouble all day long. I ask again, can anyone identify with this? I tried to understand the way of the wicked, as described in verse 16 of Psalm 73, but it was a difficult task. Thinking about this, I was really not doing well until I went to the sanctuary of God and I saw their end. I saw the result.

You see, this life is not only about this life. There is a humiliation of the proud that will one day come. One day, every knee will bow before the throne of Christ, and every tongue will confess. The prosperity of the proud in this life is not the end of the story. There is a judgment that will come upon that which God says is the very thing He hates.

Many times, people like to tell you and me that we are reliably informed by those who don't even know the Bible well. They say, "Don't you know God is love? My God would never hate anything." Well, their god is a false god and not the God of the Scriptures. For God says there are some things He hates, and one of them is a proud look, which He will judge.

Anyway, back to Daniel chapter 4. Verse 4 states, "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace." Everything was going just fine, and then I saw a dream. Uh-oh, we've been down this road before. I saw a dream that made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Have you ever been there before?

Therefore, I issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me so that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Oh my goodness, déjà vu! The magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came in, and I told them the dream. This time, he was a little bit more kind. He told them what the dream was instead of saying, like the last time, "You tell me the dream and the interpretation." This time, he said, "Listen, I've had a bad dream," and they all went, "Oh goodness, here we go again. Do we have to do this again?"

I'll tell you what the dream was. I told him the dream, but note this: they did not make known to me its interpretation. It doesn't say they could not. Now, I might be speculating, but I think it's an informed speculation. They did not want to reveal the interpretation of the dream because they could tell it was rather obvious, as you will see when you hear the dream. They knew the King was not going to like what we have to say, so we shall hold our peace, if you will.

But verse 8 states, "At last, Daniel came before me." His name is Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, Bel, which is another name for the chief deity in Babylon called Marduk. Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, has in him the spirit of the holy God. I love that. I told him the dream, saying, "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy God is in you and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of the dream that I have seen and its interpretation."

These were the visions of my head while on my bed. I was looking, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth. Its height was great; the tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to the heavens and could be seen to the ends of all the earth. Its leaves were lovely, its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heaven dwelt in its branches. All flesh was fed from this great tree.

I saw the visions in my head while on my bed, and there was a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said, "Thus, chop down the tree and cut off its branches. Strip it of its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get out from under it and the birds from its branches. Nevertheless, let the stump and the roots remain in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze. Let the tender grass of the field be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man, and let him be given the heart of a beast. Let seven times pass over him."

This decision is by the decree of the watchers and the sentence by the word of the holy ones.

Here's the purpose: the reason that the living may know that the Most High rules in the Kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowliest of men. This dream I, Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Beltashazzar, declare its interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation. But you are able, for the spirit of the Holy God is in you.

Clearly, Daniel was distinctly different, and I like that. The distinctness and the difference in Daniel were identifiable by those around him, including the great proud king of Nebuchadnezzar. The best estimate of the timing in which this took place, judging by the histories of Babylon and when Nebuchadnezzar was out conquering and when he was back in Babylon, is that this occurred in about the 570s BC. This means that Daniel, who came to be in Babylon in 605 BC, has now been in the court of the king for about three decades—30 years.

During the 570s BC, Nebuchadnezzar II renovated and reformed the city of Babylon to the point that it was listed among the Seven Wonders of the World: the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. It was during that decade, around 575 BC, that this image you see on the screen was established at the Ishtar Gates of Babylon. He beautified the city; he made it awesome and great. It was in this context that he had this dream, and now Daniel comes to him. Nebuchadnezzar says, "Tell me the interpretation of the dream," and he could tell that Daniel was clearly and distinctly different. He says, "You are able to tell me the interpretation of the dream, for the spirit of the Holy God is in you."

Point number three, if you're taking notes: the meek are known by God's greatness within them and not their own. May it be with you and me as well that people see in us the evidence that the spirit of the one true Holy God is within us. How will people see this? What is it that will notify them or indicate to them that resident in you is the spirit of God? What is the evidence? Well, the evidence is told to us in Galatians chapter 5.

The fruit of the Spirit, the evidence of the Spirit, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. These virtues are essential. Notice that pride is not mentioned.

May it be that when we interact with people in our neighborhood, on our school campus, in the office building, or on the construction site—wherever we may be, even within our family—they see in us an increasing abundance of the fruit of peace. We live in a world that is lacking in peace, filled with people who are anxious, stressed, concerned, and fearful. There are so many things that cause stress and fear.

May it be that in you and me, people say, "It's so strange; you seem to be at rest when everybody else is stressed." May it be that they see in you self-control when that client, customer, or boss starts ranting, raving, yelling, and screaming, while everybody else is frantic and freaking out. You have control—not of yourself, but of the Spirit of God who resides in you.

Daniel was distinctly different, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, could see there was a difference in him. In verse 19, we read that Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for a time. He hears the dream and instantly knows this is not good. He is shocked by the dream, and his thoughts trouble him, even after the king had said, "I know that the mystery is in dreams; they don't trouble you, Daniel." Yet, he is troubled by this dream.

The king spoke and said, "Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you." I love this; the king sees Daniel's face change so much as he hears about this dream that even Nebuchadnezzar says, "Hey, listen, maybe you could just kind of pretend like it's not so bad. Don't let this thing trouble you, Daniel."

Belteshazzar answered and said, "My Lord, may the dream concern those who hate you and its interpretation your enemies." I think Nebuchadnezzar may have had an inkling about what this dream might have been about, but I believe he wanted the soothsayers in Chaldea and Babylon to interpret it first. Maybe this is why he invited them first, even though he knew that Daniel could interpret dreams.

He invited the soothsayers first to come in and say, "Oh, don't worry, King. This has everything to do with the Medes to the north. Don't trouble yourself with this." I think he may have assumed that this is not a good omen that has come from this dream. However, he brings Daniel in and tells him the dream. Daniel instantly knows what it's about and says, "May this have to do with your enemies and not with you, King."

This is striking because, let's put this in context for a moment. Daniel is standing before the man who is responsible for the destruction of Daniel's homeland. He is standing before the man who was responsible for probably the death of some of Daniel's family members. He was responsible for the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. He was responsible for Daniel being uprooted from his home and planted in Babylon. He was responsible for Daniel's name being changed to a Babylonian god's name, Belteshazzar. He was responsible for all his culture being destroyed, for his language being changed, and for his clothing being altered. He was responsible for him being castrated.

Yet, Daniel stands before Nebuchadnezzar and shows compassion on him. "Not my first inkling, my Lord. May the dream concern those who hate you. May its interpretation concern your enemies." Daniel had compassion on Nebuchadnezzar. The language reveals a genuine affection, care, and concern for Nebuchadnezzar, which is striking to me because it is not what I would imagine I would be feeling if I were in Daniel's circumstance and situation.

Why does Daniel have this compassionate heart towards Nebuchadnezzar? I suggest to you that it was within him that resided the spirit of the holy God. God's heart is for the lost; He desires that none would perish, even among the proud of this world. The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering and patient towards us, not willing that any should perish but that all would come to repentance, as stated in Second Peter, chapter 3, verse 9.

The Apostle Paul, in the book of First Timothy, chapter 2, says God is...

Our Savior desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Point number four, if you're taking notes: God's desire is for the proud to humble themselves in repentance and faith. God desires the salvation of all people, and seeing that, I have to ask myself, is that my desire? Is that my heart?

Another prophet who lived at the very same time as Daniel and close to the same place, because he also was in exile in Babylon, was Ezekiel. He writes this in Ezekiel 33: God inspired him to say, "I, God, have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked would turn from his evil way and live. Turn from your evil ways, for why should you die?"

Church, be careful when your desire is more for vengeance and destruction upon those in this world than for salvation and repentance. The desire for vengeance and destruction is an understandable tendency in us because there are things that make us angry as we look at this world. However, that desire for vengeance and destruction is more in line with the spirit that is identified as he who opposes God, the Father of Lies and Murder in the Scriptures, than it is with the heart of God.

I have to check myself when I find in my heart the thought that they need to be destroyed. That thought is very much in line with my flesh, but it is very far from the heart of God, who desires all men to come to repentance. He desires to save people. God desires salvation. Oh, that we would desire the same!

So Daniel says in verse 20, "The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong, whose height reached the heavens and which could be seen by all the earth, whose leaves were lovely and its fruit abundant, and which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of heaven found their home, it is you, O King, who have grown and become strong, for your greatness has grown to the reaches of heaven and your dominion..."

The end of the Earth, and inasmuch as you saw a watcher, a Holy One, come down from heaven saying, "Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let the tree be wet with the dew of heaven. Let him, Nebuchadnezzar, graze with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over him."

This is the interpretation, O King. Verse 24 states, "And this is the decree which the Most High has given, which has come upon my Lord the King. They shall drive you from men; your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat the grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you till you know that the Most High rules in the Kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses."

Inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and the roots of the tree in the ground, your kingdom shall be assured to you after you come to know that heaven rules. Therefore, O King, let my advice be acceptable to you.

He says, "Listen, King, here's the interpretation and here's why this is going to happen. There's a purpose behind this. God is going to do this to teach you a lesson. But I have some counsel for you; I have a word of advice that I want to give to you. Break off your sins by being righteous, by doing justly, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps it may be that length and prosperity will be added to you."

He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God.

Point number five, if you're taking notes this morning, is God's call to the proud in every place and at every time is the same: repent. It has been said that this word is the first word of the Gospel. A great message delivered by a great man in the 20th century, who was a great follower of God and a scholar of all things revival, was by the name of J. Edwin Orr. You can find his message online; it's called "The First Word of the Gospel." He shows throughout the New Testament that the first word of the Gospel is repent. It was the word of John the Baptist, it was the word of Jesus, and it was the word He told His disciples to preach. It was the word that was preached in Acts chapter 2.

The Apostle Paul preached throughout his time of wanderings and mission endeavors. Repentance is a change of mind that brings a change of heart, resulting in a change of life. It is a transformation that God brings in the life of a person when they turn in faith to Him. God says to repent, and the prophet says to the king, "I have compassion for you. I don't want you to go through this."

Wouldn't you imagine that maybe somewhere in Daniel's heart, he would think, "Oh, finally! I hate this guy"? But that's not the case. Would to God that you would repent, break off your sins, and show mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.

What do you think? Do you think he heeded Daniel's counsel? Look at verse 28: all of this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar just as the dream foretold. But notice this; this is amazing. At the end of twelve months, the Lord is slow to anger. He is long-suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish. He is so patient. Some of you know that patience very well. I would say that there are many today here in this room who are very thankful for that patience. I sure am.

Oh, if I were God, you'd all be smote, especially driving down the 15. Oh my goodness! If I had the smite button, they would be fixing more than potholes on the 15. There would be craters like you can't imagine, raining down fiery sulfur. Oh man, just like the sons of thunder, James and John said, "Might we call down fire from heaven upon them?" They said this to Jesus. Oh, you've never thought like that, have you? I sure do. Do you despise the riches of His kindness?

Goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering—not knowing that the goodness of God leads to repentance. Paul says in Romans 2, verse 4, "God is long-suffering towards us, not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance." The prophet Isaiah observed that God waits to be gracious.

All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar at the end of twelve months. What was the situation? The circumstance was that he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?" As he saw the Hanging Gardens, the Ishtar Gate, and the entire city beautified, he marveled at the walls of which Herodotus says were 300 feet tall—hard to believe, but that's what he says. They were wide enough for six chariots to go side by side on the walls of Babylon.

"Is not all this my majesty that I have built?" In that moment, while the word was still in the king's mouth, a voice fell from heaven. Remember, this is Nebuchadnezzar's own personal testimony: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you. They shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He chooses. You did not make yourself."

That very hour, the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and ate grass like an ox. His body was wet with the dew of heaven until his hair grew long like an eagle's feathers and his nails grew like a bird's claws. All this came upon Nebuchadnezzar just as was foretold in the dream that he dreamed. He did not heed Daniel's counsel to repent; he did not do justly, love mercy, or walk in humility. Therefore, judgment came, and Nebuchadnezzar experienced something very strange, which has even been observed by psychologists: in his insanity, he totally lost his identity and thought that he was a beast. There is actually a known condition called...

Lycanthropy is where individuals go through a transformation; he thought he was a beast. He lost his identity and was confused about who he was and his pride.

Interestingly, we're not seeing anything like that at scale in our culture today, are we? Oh, that our culture would recognize the need for repentance! It took nearly two millennia to build this culture as it is today, informed by the Scriptures. It will take a fraction of that time to undo it. Would to God that we would come to our senses!

I'm not as pessimistic, nor as optimistic as I once was. But at the end of that time, verse 34 states, "I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me. I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever, for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"

At the same time, my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor were restored to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, and I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me.

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of Heaven, all whose works are truth and whose ways are justice. Those who walk in pride, as I did, He is able to put down.

There are many Bible teachers, scholars, and commentators who believe that when you get to heaven, you'll meet Nebuchadnezzar. That's fascinating! And might I add, there may be a lot of people in heaven that you thought would not be there, including you and me, because God is gracious.

For seven times, he went about like a beast until he turned to the Lord. Now, there is discussion among commentators about what the seven times means. Some people believe it was seven years; others see it as the completion of God's timing, because seven is the number of completion. It does not really matter.

The timing in which Nebuchadnezzar went through this is significant, but what is more important is that God was working through this judgment. He had a purpose and aim planned from the beginning. In this judgment, He was seeking to bring Nebuchadnezzar to the place where he would finally turn and acknowledge God. It is as if God is up there asking, "Are we done yet?"

Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to Heaven, and his understanding returned to him. His reason returned to him, honor and splendor were restored to his kingdom, and he extolled the King of Heaven. The practical point of the message is pretty clear: humble yourself or be humbled. Humble yourself, and God will exalt you.

James 4:10 states, "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up." Similarly, 1 Peter 5:6 says, "Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting your care upon Him, for He cares for you."

I have gone over my time, and I hope you don’t mind, but I can't help but make the important contrast between the proud King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the King of Kings, who made Himself of no reputation, humbling Himself to the point of death. This is revealed to us in Philippians 2, where Paul says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. But He made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father. That day will come; there will come a day before the throne of Christ Jesus when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.

At this point, we are given a message to share with the proud world around us: turn to Him now in repentance and faith, and bow now.

Because He will not be so gracious at that point in the future, that throne that He will sit upon, as revealed in the Book of Revelation, is called the White Throne of Judgment. Today, He occupies a throne of mercy and grace. We know that from Hebrews: "Come to Me and find mercy and grace boldly at the throne of grace." Oh, that we would come humbly to find mercy and grace. Amen.

Let's stand together. He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Father God, I pray that You would help us to do that. Lord, work in us by Your Spirit, by Your power, and by Your grace to produce in us the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. God, work these things in us so that it would be evident to all those we come in contact with this week.

Lord, give us the boldness like You gave to Daniel to speak to those who, in their pride, stand with their fists raised to You and say, "Please repent! Please turn, for why will you die?" God, do it. Work, we pray. Lord, we live in a nation that boasts itself against You and loves the things that You hate. We pray, God, that You would move with compassion and grace through Your church and call people through us to repentance. For we ask this today in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

Good morning, Cross Connection! It's Pastor Garrett here. I'm glad that you could join us for services this morning. I have a couple of announcements for you. The first one is for the men: on July 8th, we are doing a special Men's Breakfast. We want you to sign up for that. We're going to have a guest speaker, Steve Neal, who played on the Patriots. He will join us and share a little bit about what that was like, along with a great message. So, men, sign up! It's going to be good food and a great speaker, so I hope to see you there on July 8th.

Also, for families with young kids, we want you to sign up for VBS soon because it's coming up on July 24th through the 28th. It's right around the corner, so if you haven't signed your kids up yet, sign them up now.

If you're looking to volunteer or maybe even try out Children's Ministry for a little while, check that out. It's a really great opportunity to serve at VBS with all of the kids there and perhaps see that you're called to Children's Ministry. We would love to see you there. Sign up at ccchurch.com/events for both of those.