Nebuchadnezzar, the Proud King

James 4:6-7

“Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God.”

In verse 6 we read God opposes, resists, combats the proud, but gives grace to the humble. We find a perfect example of just how God opposes the proud in Daniel 4. Pride was the source of King Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation. Pride is the great Babylon defiantly proclaiming, “I am and there is no one besides me”. As King of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar had slowly let pride seep in to his life. Daniel 4 tells of a dream Nebuchadnezzar had about a beautiful tree that flourished and spread across the whole earth, and then a Holy One came down from heaven and decreed that the tree be cut down to its stump. The prophet Daniel interprets this dream to Nebuchadnezzar, explaining that this beautiful tree is, in fact, a representation of the king, himself, and he is to be humiliated for seven periods of time till he knows “that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” (Dan. 4:25) Immediately after Daniel interprets this dream, he encouraged the king to follow his counsel: “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.” (Daniel 4:27)

And, yet, we see from the following verses that the fulfillment of this dream did not come upon King Nebuchadnezzar for twelve long months! He said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” While he was still speaking these words a voice from heaven spoke to him and said that his kingdom had departed from him and he would be driven from among men to dwell with the beasts of the field. During these years of humiliation he ate grass like the ox and his body was wet with the dew of heaven and his hair grew long and his nails were like bird claws. After seven years Nebuchadnezzar was restored when he blessed the Most High and acknowledged that he ruled the kingdom of men and give it to whom he will. (Daniel 4:27-35 ESV)

Hidden Wisdom…Application for our Lives:

1. Rather than glorify God, Nebuchadnezzar exalted himself. Pray and ask God to search your heart for any areas where you are exalting self rather than God.

2. Heed Daniels advice! 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.

3. Bless the Most High and acknowledge that God rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.

The opposite of pride is submitting oneself to God. To submit to God means total surrender and denying all confidence in the flesh. It means complete resolve that God’s GRACE is sufficient and when we are weak, then we are strong! I have always pondered the meaning of Paul when he said, “I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength” or when God told Paul “when you are weak, then you are strong.” I have come to the conclusion that these verses go hand in hand with humility. The secret is to understand that our weakness represents our own inadequacy so we can rely completely on God to work. Then we can say from the bottom of our hearts, NOT I, but CHRIST. That is true humility.

Let us run the race, to win the prize….but whatever I considered gain, I now count as loss for the sake of Christ!--Phil. 3

You, Who are Sweeter than All Pleasure

Behind all other sinful dispositions lies self-determination and self-exaltation. At the root of these, lies the deepest sin: PRIDE.

So subtle is this great sin we seldom recognize its presence. Pride is a turning away from God to take satisfaction in self. As we prayerfully look at this deep-rooted sin, let us learn from the meekness of Jesus’ spirit. This lowly attitude was the very essence of Christ’s character as being God in nature he humbled himself and become obedient to death on a cross. As fellow bearers of the cross, we also, are called to follow Jesus’ extraordinary example of self-denial. By the grace of God let us strive with our whole being to emulate this Christ-like humility. Let us grasp the Greatness of Christ who is sweeter than all other self-gratifying pleasures. 

We have concluded that pride is a turning away from God to take pleasure in self. Sins we need to be AWARE that stem off of Pride:

· Unbelief: is a turning away from God in order to seek satisfaction in other things

· Covetousness: a turning away from God to find satisfaction in things.

· Impatience: turning away from God to find satisfaction in your own rapid plan of action.

· Lust: turning away from God to find satisfaction in sex.

· Bitterness: turning away from God to find satisfaction in revenge.

(John Piper)

Augustine tells of his account of finding pleasure in God, "How sweet it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose....You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not of flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves.... O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and My Salvation." (Confessions)

THE LORD PROMISES PEACE

Jeremiah 25
605 B.C.
This is perhaps one of the most depressing chapters in the whole of the Bible. It tells of the 70 years of captivity Judah endured under Babylon. Judah had rejected Jeremiah and all the prophets the LORD had persistently sent. They continued to horde after idols and provoked the LORD to anger. Jeremiah persistently spoke the Word of the LORD for 23 years, yet the people of Judah did not listen. The LORD’S wrath came upon Israel because they did not repent and turn from their evil ways.

“Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me [Jeremiah]: ‘Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.’”
(Jeremiah 25:15-18 ESV)

Jeremiah 33
588-587 B.C.
Seventeen years later, Babylon has come once again and besieged Jerusalem. They had already attacked Jerusalem twice, once in 605 B.C. as we read in Jeremiah 25 and again in 597 B.C. Judah had truly tasted the wrath of the LORD. “They were a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse.” In Jeremiah 33 the Babylonian army has come back a third time to completely destroy Jerusalem. After Babylon had besieged it for a whole year the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah who was imprisoned by the king of Judah because he had prophesied the destruction of the city. This weeping prophet had endured much suffering and after a year of siege, no hope was left, it was then that the Word of the LORD came to Jeremiah and spoke of peace:

“Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning…Judah…I have hidden my face from this city because of all their evil. Behold, I will bring to it health and healing…I will restore the fortunes of Judah…and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth…They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it.”

Are you going through a desolate time? Are you feeling like Jeremiah…shut up in prison of darkness, with a great horde army threatening to tear down and demolish your very foundation? Ye fearful saint, take courage, lift up your eyes to your Redeemer, for He says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” This promise was not only addressed to Jeremiah, but also has wider application to all the people of God, particularly as we call out for understanding of his Word and purpose for our life. God the Creator, who established the earth has made a promise that cannot fail. His promise is as firm as the earth! He says ever so softly, “call to me and I will answer you” with steadfast love and grace. Call out for understanding, I will answer you and show you “hidden things”, future things, “which you have not known”.

Take courage! Call to Him and he will show you His purpose for your life. God always keeps His promises; He cannot fail!

“Thus says the LORD: In this place of which you say, ‘It is a waste without man or beast’…there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD:

“‘Give thanks to the LORD of hosts,
for the LORD is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!’
For I will restore the fortunes of the land as at first, says the LORD.

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’
(Jeremiah 33 ESV)

ABOVE ALL ELSE……

What if you knew how to determine the course of your life???

Proverbs 4:23
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”-NLT

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”-ESV

Luke 6:43-45
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” ESV

Digging Deeper: The Hebrew word for heart (leb) refers to more than just our feelings; it is taken from a root word that is best translated "the inner man" - which embodies the mind, will and emotions.

Why should we guard our heart?
1. Out of the heart flow all the thoughts and words and choices of our life.

2. Our hearts are prone to misplaced affections. When the integrity of our inner being is breached, it threatens our emotional, mental and spiritual viability.

How can we guard our heart?

1. Loving God guards our heart. Guarding our heart does mean allowing no one access to that most central place of our affections but God. It means keeping the first commandment first—and loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deut. 6:5).
2. The Peace of God guards our heart. (Philippians 4:6-7) Taking our worries and needs to God gives us His peace, which guards our heart and minds…our inner man.

Guarding our heart does not mean protecting ourself from being hurt. There’s no way we can insulate ourselves from any possibility of pain. Pain is a regular part of relationships in this broken world.

These commands encourage internalizing wisdom. Heart in Proverbs regularly refers to the center of one's inner life and orientation to God, from which a person does all thinking, feeling, and choosing. Taking words of wisdom into the heart is vital (they are life) and wisdom's presence in the heart is worth guarding because out of the heart flow all the thoughts and words and choices of a person's life.

Set Your Mind On The Things That Are Above!!!

Colossians 3:1-4
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God..”

As Christians, we have been raised with Christ. We are called to set our minds on the things that are above rather than things that are on earth.

What does it mean to set our minds on things above?
1. We are to pursue a deeper knowledge of Christ and all that belongs to living with and for him.
2. We are to seek first his kingdom and live a life worthy of his name.
3. The battle is in the mind. We are to take captive our thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.

How do I set my mind on things above?
1. Have a set quiet time where you can pray and read God’s Word. (John 15:7)
2. Listen to worship music throughout the day. (Col. 3:16)
3. Memorize scripture. (Psalm 119:9-11)
4. Be on guard and aware that the battle is in the mind. (1 Peter 5:8; Eph. 6:10-18)

Lord, enable me to set my mind on the things above, not on earthly things for I have died and my life is hidden with Christ in God. Help me to read your Word everyday. Make me a mighty prayer warrior. Empower me to hide your Word in my heart and to be on guard against the attacks of the evil one.

“If we can be GREAT without prayer, our GREATNESS will be our ruin. If God means to bless us GREATLY, He will also make us PRAY GREATLY.” --Spurgeon

Josiah….the FAITHFUL KING

2 Kings 22:1-2
“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”

I want to draw your attention to the last part of verse two: “And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”

In Deuteronomy 17:20 it talks about the ideal king: “that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.”

From reading 2 Kings 22-23 we see that Josiah is this ideal king. He transcends even David and Hezekiah in his faithfulness. In Josiah’s eighteenth year of reign he commanded the people to keep the Passover and “no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah…Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.” 2 Kings 23:23-25

Let us strive to emulate King Josiah’s faithfulness!

Lord, I pray that today we would turn to you with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our might!

701 B.C.

"Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”
(2 Kings 19:14-19 ESV)

Hezekiah had been following the Lord...and the LORD was with him . Yet here, we read in the fourteenth year of his reign, "after these things and these acts of faithfulness,” Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah.

God often strengthens us through adversity. Romans 5:3 talks about how suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character. I believe that the Lord used the king of Assyria to refine and strengthen Hezekiah’s faith. We can find encouragement and guidance during difficult times in our life when we also are threatened with difficulties that rock our world.

Let us reflect on Hezekiah’s response to this great horde that besieged his city and threatened his very existence:

1. Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD: He did not seek help from others. He did not send messengers to Isaiah, asking the prophet to pray, but rather he went to God.

2. Hezekiah spread the letter before the LORD: He took his problem and literally spread it before the LORD.

3. Hezekiah acknowledged that God is God alone: He is not to be confused with the gods of the nations. The Assyrians claimed their great success was due to their gods, who are in fact mere cult images, made of wood and overlaid with metal and precious stones.

4. Hezekiah prayed for the glory of God: Hezekiah asked that Jerusalem be delivered for the glory of God himself: “that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”

When we are being attacked and our world seems to be crumbling before our very eyes; when our tormentors come against us and pick us apart piece by piece, let us strive to go to the LORD just as Hezekiah did! Let us lay our needs before him, acknowledge that He is God alone, and pray that we be delivered for the glory of His Name!

William Cowper

William Cowper often struggled with depression and doubt. One night he decided to commit suicide by drowning himself. He called a cab and told the driver to take him to the Thames River. However, thick fog came down and prevented them from finding the river. To Cowper’s surprise, he found himself on his own door step: God had sent the fog to keep him from killing himself. Even in our blackest moments, God watches over us.

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs
And works His sovereign will.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan His work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.

(Written in 1774)