Wednesday, January 29, 2020

L.C.C. – Daniel 4 – Dangerous Pride




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.


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