by Pastor Afolabi Oladele

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.  And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?  At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Daniel 4:28-37

This is the time to let God break from you that illusion of control that brings the persuasion that you got to where you are by your own capabilities! Nebuchadnezzar was such a man who failed to heed the warning given him in Daniel 4:27 after the dream he had was deciphered for him. In the interval of grace between verse 27 and verse 29, Nebuchadnezzar despised instruction, postponed or delayed responding to the warning until he forgot, lapsing into business as usual. How long will you delay God’s call to repent? Ecclesiastes 8:11; Amos 6:3-6 are God’s call to you! Delayed judgment is not weakness, rather a demonstration of His compassion and love not to see you destroyed but take the opportunity to repent (Luke 13:9; 2 Peter 3:9).

In our text for today compare verse 25 with verse 32 and see that nothing but God alone can change His word and that should cause us to tremble and obey Him.  Why wait until it is too late to begin to seek repentance? You may not have the opportunity of a second chance that Nebuchadnezzar had.

A close look at verses 34, 35 of our text reveal the manifestation of a broken man that understood the difference between man and God! His confession summarized tell of the persuasion and recognition that:

1. The Most High lives for ever and ever;
2. His dominion is an everlasting dominion;
3. His kingdom is from generation to generation;
4. All inhabitants of the earth are nothing;
5. He does according to His (righteous and holy) will in the army of heavens and amongst the inhabitants of the earth; and
6. No one can query or restrain Him in what He does or has done.

Wow what a confession and what are you waiting for resisting His correction?

And more consider verse 36b of our text and see the extra-ordinary kindness of our God in granting Nebuchadnezzar a return comparable only to Job’s in Job 42:10b-17. Perhaps the same can be yours if you will return in humility to Him. Selah.

Photo by Alicia Quan on Unsplash