Daniel 4: God Opposes the Proud

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble." Daniel 4:37

"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Matthew 23:12

In the first three chapters of Daniel, we have seen very clearly how God exalts the humble and obedient. In Daniel 1, Daniel and his buddies refused to eat the king's unholy food, and they were honored. In Daniel 2, Daniel stands up in courage and interprets Neb's dream, and he is promoted within the kingdom. In Daniel 3, Shad, Mesh, and Abed refuse to bow down to the golden image, and they are eventually promoted in Neb's kingdom as well. However, what if we flipped the coin over and discussed what happens to the disobedient and prideful?

Well, in Daniel 4, this is exactly what we see. The coin is flipped, and now the narrative examines Neb in his pride. Interestingly enough, Daniel 4 is narrated in the first person, which could mean that Neb in fact penned these words himself. Nevertheless, we find a great story given to us about the man Nebuchadnezzar. The entire story is bracketed in two exclamations of praise by Neb, thus showing us the theme of the entire story: that Neb has come to worship and exult the true God. In Daniel 3, Yahweh is one of many gods in Neb's "god cabinet." After chapter 4, Yahweh is the "god cabinet," and there are room for no others.

But how does Neb get there? Well, the story starts off with yet another startling dream that Neb asked Daniel to interpret. Daniel does so, and proclaims to Neb that the dream is speaking of his humiliation. Just like the great tree that was cut down in the dream, so would Neb be cut down from his own kingdom, only to be cast into the wilderness and live like an animal for a full seven years. In the end of these seven years, Neb comes to his senses and realizes that Daniel's God is in fact the Lord of All, able to humble the highest of men.

But what does this story mean for us? Well first, let us notice that God opposes the proud (James 4:6). Our God is a God who is jealous for his own glory, and he will not let any mortal man take it from him. Just as Neb was debased because of his own pride, he will debase us if we continue to exalt ourselves. Second, let us realize how God truly has the power to save all peoples. Neb was the most evil and prideful of men at the time, yet the Lord worked in his heart and caused him to repent. In our own evangelism, we must remember this: that God truly can save all people. Third, let us behold the king who truly has "an everlasting dominion" (v. 34). The book of Daniel is all about how the kingdom of Babylon has overtaken Israel, and how four faithful Israelite men remain true to God amidst of that horrendous fact. However, the kingdom of Babylon would not reign forever, nor would Persia or Greece or Rome or England or America. There is one kingdom that reigns forever, and that is the very kingdom that God's Word tells us we are citizens of if we have repented of our sins and believed the Gospel (Mark 1:15). Are you looking for hope this morning? Find it in a kingdom that will rule forever, as proclaimed by the very words of Nebuchadnezzar. Amen.