“A Remarkable Response” – FBC Morning Light (9/10/2024)

I want to get Tuesday morning to you today in our Bible reading we're starting off in the book of Daniel chapter four then we jump back to Ezekiel twenty nine and thirty and then we go back to second Kings twenty five then jump forward to Jeremiah chapter fifty two and then end back in Daniel chapter seven so we get quite a quite a survey of the prophets in today's reading.

None of the individual readings is all that incredibly long but we do jump around quite a bit. I just want to focus on Daniel chapter four because there's something as I read through this there's something that struck me that had never hit me before until I read it this most recent time.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream and the Coming Humbling

Here's the story. Nebuchadnezzar has another one of his dreams. Now this isn't the first time that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream back in chapter two he had another dream and in that particular dream you remember he wanted all of his wise men to you gather them all together and said tell me what my dream was and then tell me what it means.

None of them could do it. Finally Daniel comes on the scene and Daniel was able to both tell him the dream and tell me interpretation that led to Daniel's promotion. And then also Shadrach Meshach and Abednego and so forth all right.

So Nebuchadnezzar had a dream back in chapter two. Now he has another dream and in this particular dream well well I should back up and say that he also had this dream in chapter two about the image that he was going to set up.

This is important point to bear in mind. And this dream about an image that he'd seen and it had a head of gold and had different other components. And as you go down that particular image and Daniel interpreted the dream and said to the Nebuchadnezzar you are the head of gold as the king over the Babylonian Empire.

Other kingdoms are going to come after you. They won't be as powerful as you were. But they're going basically they're going to displace you. Well then in chapter 3 Nebuchadnezzar creates a large golden image that he demands everybody to bow down and worship to you.

Remember that of course that was what led to Shadrach Meshach and Abednego being thrown into the burning fiery furnace because they would not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's golden idol. Why did he make this huge image of gold.

Well you you get the sense that this was an act of pride on his part where he was basically saying yeah I I got what the dream was. But I'm not gonna let any other nation come after me. I'm the king of gold and I'm gonna keep it that way.

I'm the gold king and the gold king is gonna keep on ruling. Okay. So then there's this incident with fiery furnace. Daniel Shadrach Meshach and Abednego are delivered from that fiery furnace. And Nebuchadnezzar comes to a healthy respect of God at the end of chapter 3 when he says I make a decree that any people nation or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego they shall be cut in pieces.

Now Nebuchadnezzar didn't didn't name Yahweh the God of Israel as his God. He just refused or prohibited anybody from speaking against the God of Shadrach Meshach and Abednego. Well now we come to chapter 4 and he has this dream.

And in this dream he dreams about a tree in the midst of the earth. Its height was great. The tree grew became strong leaves were lovely and so on and so forth the beast of the field and found shade under it etc etc.

And he also saw in his dream that the tree was cut down its branches cut off stripped the leaves and so on and so forth the stump left. There was a stump and roots still stuck in the earth. And then also it said the stump and the roots in the earth were to be bound with a band of iron and bronze in the tender grass of the field.

Let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let him graze with the beasts on the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from that of a man. Let him be given the heart of a beast. So he's seeing an image of himself in this dream.

And the the dream sees him as as one who kind of loses his mind and gets sent out to pasture literally and has to eat grass with the beasts of the field. But he doesn't. Nebuchadnezzar doesn't get it.

He doesn't realize that this dream is about him. So he wants to know what is what is this. What is what does this thing mean. So he brings in Daniel or Balthasar as the Babylonians called him. And he says to Daniel you know you you can you can give me the interpretation of this dream.

And so he tells Daniel what the dream is. And then verse 19 says chapter 4. Daniel was astonished for a time and his thoughts troubled him. So the Lord has given him the interpretation of this dream. Nebuchadnezzar says Balthasar or Daniel do not let the dream or its interpretation trouble you.

Balthasar. And Balthasar answered and said my Lord may the dream concern those who hate you and its interpretation concern your enemies. Now that's the thing that struck me in this passage. I mean I want you to think about who Daniel is what Daniel has been through and has been through what he's been through because of the man who had this dream.

Nebuchadnezzar is the the king that was responsible for Daniel being taken into captivity as a young man and probably 13 14 years old. Maybe it's very likely that Daniel's parents were executed in that Babylonian captivity.

Nebuchadnezzar was responsible for the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple and all the rest of that took all the vessels of gold and precious metals and so forth the instruments of you used in the worship of God and brought brought all this back to the Babylon.

This is that Nebuchadnezzar. And yet when Daniel understands the interpretation of the dream which means that the dream means that Nebuchadnezzar is going to be removed from his power of his position of power he's gonna be thrust out into the field and as a madman eating grass and becoming like a wild man.

And yeah he's gonna be devastated. Nebuchadnezzar is now if you were Daniel how would you respond to that dream. And what Nebuchadnezzar was gonna get. I I thought about it and I thought boy you know I'm not as spiritual as Daniel.

I probably would have at least inwardly said yes about time how time he got it had it coming all these years. Finally he's gonna get it. That wasn't his attitude at all. His attitude was oh may this not be.

Why is that. Why did he have such an attitude. Well because I think it was the Prophet Jeremiah told the those who were going into exile in the Babylonian captivity to seek the peace of the of Babylon seek to be at peace.

And that you might know prosperity even in the land of captivity captivity. Daniel was wanting the best for Nebuchadnezzar wanting him to prosper to be in good health and to be successful in his reign.

Because it would be the best thing for the people of God. Well he gets this dream. And that's not the way it was going to turn out for Nebuchadnezzar at least in the short term. And so this challenges us.

Does it not with our attitudes toward those in authority over us perhaps whom we don't like for those who we we see end up getting theirs. How how do we respond in such situations. Do we respond with glee or does it grieve us.

I think Daniel's a challenge to me our Father and our God. I pray that you would challenge us from this experience of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar. And his response to it. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. All right.

Well listen. Have a good rest of your Tuesday. I trust the Lord. All bless you richly in it. Good day.