{"id":23640,"date":"2022-10-18T22:00:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/daniel-4_1-18-copy\/"},"modified":"2022-10-04T13:48:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-04T20:48:49","slug":"daniel-4_19-37","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/daniel-4_19-37\/","title":{"rendered":"Pride Before the Fall, Humility Before Honor"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel\u00a0 4:19-37 \u00a0\u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Daniel 4:19-37.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Daniel 4:19-27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air–
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0you, O king, are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“You, O king, saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live like the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king:
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-27:\u00a0 In Daniel 1 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to understand visions and dreams of all kinds (Daniel 1:17).\u00a0 In Daniel 2 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to know what King Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming, which might be called a prophetic gift or a word of knowledge.\u00a0 Here in Daniel 4, we see Daniel not only being able to understand and interpret King Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream; even more we see evangelist Daniel calling Nebuchadnezzar to repentance.\u00a0 After interpreting Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream and identifying Nebuchadnezzar as the once glorious but later cut down tree, Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar to repentance in verse 27: \u201cTherefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It goes to show that\u00a0you can be kind, respectful and gentle and also lead people to repentance and faith in the Lord<\/strong>.\u00a0 Sharing Jesus with others doesn\u2019t require that you be arrogant or pushy.\u00a0 You just need a heart for people and an understanding that people need the Lord to save them.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0God is sovereign and is writing a greater story.<\/strong>\u00a0 God had allowed Daniel to go from a comfortable life in Judah to being an exile in Babylon for this very purpose: to speak into King Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s life.\u00a0 God had a greater plan for Daniel\u2019s life than Daniel could fathom.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Like Daniel, when we are open and humble before God, He can use us to make a positive difference in so many different ways.<\/p>\n

Daniel 4:28-33 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar.
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon,
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you.
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes.”
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 28-33:\u00a0 If you\u2019re wondering if there is any evidence outside of the Bible for the events of verse 33 really happening, the New American Commentary makes an interesting point: it is unlikely that historians would have allowed such a humiliating experience for King Nebuchadnezzar to remain in official records, especially in the case of ancient monarchs where the royal annals were mainly propaganda to show how great the nation and the king were.\u00a0 Still, here we have the eyewitness account of Daniel himself, including what appears to be Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s own personal testimony of what happened.<\/p>\n

Daniel 4:34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 34a:\u00a0 When Nebuchadnezzar raised his eyes to heaven, his sanity was restored.\u00a0 Likewise,\u00a0when you raise your gaze to heaven, your sanity is restored in that your perspective is renewed and your hope is resurrected.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>Don\u2019t sulk or complain.\u00a0 Raise your gaze.\u00a0\u00a0By looking to God, you find yourself again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Daniel 4:34b-37 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u2026Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
\n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”
\n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before.
\n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 34b-37:\u00a0 Like the glorious tree that was cut down in the dream, Nebuchadnezzar was cut down in his pride.\u00a0 But what the dream did not reveal but what Nebuchadnezzar experienced was that, after he humbled himself before the Lord, Nebuchadnezzar would be given even greater honour and glory.\u00a0 Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s experience here is arguably the Bible\u2019s most vivid and stark illustration of Proverbs 18:12 (NIV):\u00a0\u201cBefore his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Father, thank You that in this lifetime even when I have been cut down because of my own pride and self-centeredness, You give me an opportunity to humble myself and be lifted up by You again.\u00a0 Thank You that You are writing a greater story with my life than anything I could write myself.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs!<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Daniel 4:19-37.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Daniel 4:19-27 (NIV)
\n19\u00a0\u00a0Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!
\n20\u00a0\u00a0The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,
\n21\u00a0\u00a0with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air–<\/p>\n

On verses 19-27:\u00a0 In Daniel 1 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to understand visions and dreams of all kinds (Daniel 1:17).\u00a0 In Daniel 2 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to know what King Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming, which might be called a prophetic gift or a word of knowledge.\u00a0 Here in Daniel 4, we see Daniel not only being able to understand and interpret King Nebuchadnezzar\u2019s dream; even more we see evangelist Daniel calling Nebuchadnezzar to repentance.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23640"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23643,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23640\/revisions\/23643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}