The Dangers of Pride
Have you ever heard of the expression, “pride comes before
the fall?” It is an axiom that is deeply rooted in Scripture, although it isn’t
a direct quote.
Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride
goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”
This common truism does capture the heart of Proverbs 16:18,
which is a synonymous proverb, meaning the second line is a restatement of the
first line in a different way. It is true that pride comes before the fall, and
the Bible gives warnings over and over again of the dangers of pride.
Consider James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5; Proverbs 8:13; Proverbs
11:2; Psalm 10:4; Romans 12:16, just to name a few.
1 Corinthians 10:12 – “Therefore
let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”
“Why is pride so sinful? Pride is giving ourselves the
credit for something that God has accomplished. Pride is taking the glory that
belongs to God alone and keeping it for ourselves. Pride is essentially
self-worship. Anything we accomplish in this world would not have been possible
were it not for God enabling and sustaining us.” - S. Michael Houdmann
At the root of all sin, we can find pride. This desire for
recognition, for glory, for control and for autonomy is an expression of pride.
When our self-focus blinds us to the reality of who God is and what He has
done, we are in danger of God humbling us. This is why James and Peter both
encourage us to humble ourselves before God, which will result in a reward and
we will escape being humbled (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:5).
As an aside, there is a type of pride that is good. The English
language can be so tricky. Taking pride in a job well done is to feel good
about applying yourself and putting your skills to use to finish a project. Being
proud of your family and friends can be good. Being proud of being a Christian can
be good, when it means I am willing to stand up for my faith. But I can be
destructive when it causes you to look down on others.
The pride we are talking about here is the sinful pride,
that is an elevation of self and diminishing the glory of God.
As we continue our series in Daniel, we will see the truth
of this saying, that truly “pride comes before the fall.” But we will also see
the truth James 4:10, “humble yourself before the Lord and He will exult you.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s
Letter
Daniel chapter 4 is a unique chapter. It opens with the
claim that Neb is speaking/writing a testimony for all peoples, nations and
languages to hear. It is Nebuchadnezzar’s voice proclaiming the glories of God!
How does this come to be? We saw in chapter 2 that he gave
glory to Daniel’s God, but retained his polytheistic ways. I chapter 3, we see
he praises the name of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s God, yet he only sees
their God as greater than other gods.
Chapter 4 is his story of transformation, and it begins with
a dream.
Nebuchadnezzar’s 2nd
Dream
I am not going to comment much on the details of the dream. You
can read about it in Daniel 4.
Neb had another dream that disturbed him. This dream has
come some 30 years after the incident with the fiery furnace. It’s nearing the
end of Neb’s life and reign as a king and we see that Daniel is still a high
ranking official in Neb’s court. Not only has Daniel maintain a powerful
position in Babylon, but he has remained faithful to his God.
This time he is not hiding his dream, but openly tells it to
all the magicians, astrologers and Chaldeans, who cannot interpret it. Daniel
walks in and the king shares his dream. The king calls Daniel by the name he
gave to him, Belteshazzar, which points to the god that Nebuchadnezzar
worshiped: Bel, which is another name for Marduk. Neb believes that within Daniel
resides the power of the gods to interpret dreams.
The Interpretation
Daniel was upset by the dream and wishes it on the enemies
of Nebuchadnezzar. Neb encouraged Daniel to have no fear and tell him what it
means. Daniel walks through the dream, but what he ultimately says is, “Nebuchanezzar
your pride comes before the your fall, but you will fall unless you repent.”
Unless Nebuchadnezzar will recognize the one true God as the
ultimate authority, Neb will lose his mind for 7 years and live like a beast of
the field.
Now this is not the first time God has demonstrated His power
to Nebuchadnezzar. In Chapter 2 God empowered Daniel to retell a hidden dream
and the interpretation that laid out the timetable of nations yet to come. This
showed God’s sovereign hand over world powers.
Chapter 3, Neb built a statue made of all gold to represent
his kingdom will never end, in defiance of the dream. This led to Daniel’s 3
friends being thrown in the fiery furnace and Neb seeing the Son of God with
them. This demonstrated God’s power over fire and life itself.
Now God gives Daniel another interpretation with a specific
warning. Daniel concludes with this:
Daniel 4:27
“Therefore, O king,
let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing
righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that
there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Fall
I personally don’t think Neb dismissed the warning immediately.
Have you ever been convicted of sin and were reminded of the importance of
living a holy life? Did you start living correctly in zeal, only to fail later?
Or maybe a better example would be, have you ever been on fire
for God after camp or Breakout? You leave with a desire to “do better” and “keep
the fire” only for it to fade away over time without you realizing it?
I think that happened for Neb. However, a year later he had
dismissed Daniel’s warning. How could he? Because changing behavior is not
enough. The heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. Neb did not have
a transformed heart, therefore it is only a matter of time before the true
nature of the heart reveals itself.
We need to recognize that we are born dead in our sins, we
are beasts a part from Christ. We can do good things, but we cannot become good
on our own. There is no amount of good we can perform to earn our way to God.
We need a transformed heart.
Jesus Christ came to overcome our sin on the cross. Because
He rose from the dead, He has the power to transform our dead hearts and make
them alive unto God. Without the work of Christ, we are hopeless.
Nebuchadnezzar was caught up in himself and all that he had
accomplished. Instead of thanking God for life, for breath, for the position he
was given, for the mind he was given, for the skills that he was given, and so
on, Neb claimed all of it came from him.
In that moment, he lost his mind. He stopped thinking like a
human and thought like a cow. This wasn’t a species dysphoria or mythical lycanthropy.
He had no awareness of his humanness and he lived like a cow, eating grass,
sleeping in the fields for 7 years. No haircuts, no finger clippings, no
toenail clippings, no baths and so on. For 7 years!
Nebuchadnezzar’s
Restoration
The most powerful king in all of the world, was brought low
in a moment. Now God could have just killed him and proved a point to the world
that He was God and Neb was not. However, even in bring Neb humility, He also
displayed grace. Grace is favor that is undeserved. Neb was given opportunity
to acknowledge God numerous times throughout his interactions with Daniel, Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. They were part of his cabinet for approximately 35 years,
and they remained faithful to the one true God. Yet Neb kept pushing it off.
However, after 7 years of living like a beast, God restored
Nebuchadnezzar’s mind.
Daniel 4:34–37
“At the end of the
days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me,
and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from
generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as
nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay 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 majesty and splendor
returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in
my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 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.”
We see here for the first time Nebuchadnezzar owning his
praise for God. Not just the God of Daniel, or the God of Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego. But He recognizes Him as God personally.
The humbling experience put everything in the proper perspective,
brought genuine faith, restored his position and power, yet with a proper perspective
that God is God and he is not. Not only did God restore Neb’s greatness, but
more was added to him.
Restoration is an amazing grace God bestows on those who
seek after Him. Today we can find hope of forgiveness and a restored
relationship with our Creator by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. When we
come to God on His terms, we see that He has grace upon grace for us, and
blesses us in ways we cannot even understand.
Now Neb’s story is unique to him. Not everyone who struggles
with Zoanthropy will become king of the most powerful nation. Not every
prideful leader will be given the object lesson and opportunity of grace that
Neb got. But we can learn from this story.
Pride comes before the fall. If we think we are all that,
watch out, we will fall short time and again. It is better to humble ourselves
and recognize God, rather than being humbled by God.
Love.Care.Communicate.
A brief glance over this chapter and we can easily see Love
for God on display. Daniel, close to the age of 45 has continued to live a faithful
god-fearing life, even when he is surrounded by pagan power.
In interpreting the king’s dream, Daniel once again
Communicates God’s message to Nebuchadnezzar, a polytheist. There is a God in
Heaven, the Most High God, and He alone is God. Daniel’s faithful communication is used to
bring Nebuchadnezzar to a point of decisions, where he acknowledges the one
true God for himself.
Nebuchadnezzar proclaims his love for God as his mind is
restored, and he signs God’s praises. Nebuchadnezzar’s new found love for God
compelled him to communicate God’s message by writing a letter for all people
to read. A letter of his testimony from pride, to humiliation and now to faith
in the one true God.
Care is the hardest to see in this passage. I think it would
be safe to assume that Daniel still was friends with Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego, and that their lifelong friendships was instrumental in remaining
faithful to God. However, that is an argument from silence. A lot can happen in
30 years.
What we do see is that Daniel genuinely cared for
Nebuchadnezzar and was concerned for him when giving the interpretation. We
also see the fruit of Daniel’s ministry with Nebuchadnezzar and I think safely
assume that Daniel’s discipleship of Nebuchadnezzar after his conversion was
instrumental in Neb communicating his faith to others by writing this letter.
Again, an argument from silence, I only say that because Nebuchadnezzar has
been preserved in Daniel’s book for us.
What we do know from the testimony of the Scriptures is that
we need to start with a Love for God, that is to have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ (John 17:3). When we begin with loving God, Caring for others
should and will flow from our love for God. Loving God means we will love God’s
people. When we love God, what is important to Him becomes important to us. When
we love God and care for others we will communicate with others and invite them
to love God as well.
Daniel did this. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did this.
And now we see Nebuchadnezzar did this.
