Additional Thoughts about Nebuchadnezzar's Humbling

This story shows us that even over the whole Satan corrupted world, God is in control. The conclusion of Nebuchadnezzar's dream was that, "the Most High is the Ruler over the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He wills and sets up over it the lowliest of men." No matter what happens in the world, God is still working to accomplish His eternal purpose.

Nebuchadnezzar may have attained the highest position ever in the world. His achievements and power were unequaled in world history. So it is not at all surprising that he became proud. But at the height of his attainments God came in to deal with him in a way that was also unique, giving him the mind of a beast for seven periods of time. By this God taught him a great lesson. He used to think he was someone great but the higher he exalted himself the more he was like a beast.

Daniel was also tested in this story. First he was the one who had to give Nebuchadnezzar the unpleasant interpretation of his dream. There was no guarantee that the king would not become angry. There was also no limit to what he might do if he did get angry. In spite of this Daniel was faithful to tell him the meaning of the dream.

The other way Daniel was tested was in his attitude. Nebuchadnezzar had not only taken Daniel captive to Babylon, he had killed or taken captive the whole nation of Israel. Surely Daniel had ample reason to hate the king. Instead Daniel became alarmed when he realized the dream was about a judgement from God that was going to come upon the king. He even counseled the king how to delay, if possible, the coming judgement. What an excellent spirit Daniel had!

Pride is one of the main characteristics of fallen mankind. It was the source of Satan's rebellion against God (Ezek. 28:13-17). So being proud makes us one with Satan in his rebellion against God. No wonder God resists the proud! (Jam. 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5) Yet, no matter how well we know this, we easily get caught in this trap again and again. Satan tempts us with thoughts of being better than others and we so readily believe those thoughts and thus take his bait. We are especially vulnerable to his suggestions after some kind of success. If we allow pride to grow in our heart, we can be sure that we will fall into dishonor (Prov. 11:2; 16:18). If the success was in the work of the Lord, the crucial factor was the Lord's blessing. If we begin to take pride even secretly in our heart in anything of the Lord's work, then He will withhold His blessing and all our effort will come to nothing.

So how can we avoid becoming ensnared by pride? First of all, we need to admit to ourselves how easily and how often we are caught by this snare. If we think that we have no problem with pride, we are deceiving ourselves. Secondly, we need to reject Satan's suggestions of how great we are. If the Lord is working, give all the glory to Him. Don't dwell on any success. When a thought comes of how good that was, tell Satan, "Satan, you are a liar. Take your pride to the lake of fire where it belongs." Similarly, avoid dwelling on any failure or shortcoming. Confess it to the Lord believing in the cleansing power of His precious blood. Third, turn to the Lord, seeking His mercy and grace so that you could go on in spirit with Him. He is our salvation. We are nothing apart from Him. Whatever has eternal value is of Him, not of us. He is the unique wonderful One in the whole universe. He deserves all the praise and honor. Let us reject praise for ourselves in these days in hope of receiving praise from the Lord in the day of His appearing. In that day we will be free from our fallen nature and will be able to rejoice with the Lord without pride rising up to cause Him to turn His face away from us.