Daniel 4 (Pt 1)

 Daniel 4:1-3 (ESV)

[1] King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! [2] It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

[3] How great are his signs,

how mighty his wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

 

We are always enamored with our own creations. We are intrigued by our own photographs. When we look at a group photo we always look for ourselves. We want to know what we look like. Let’s face it, we are a narcissistic people. The same is true in politics. Leaders from around the world brag, boast, threaten, and insinuate, jockeying for positions of power. All the time they are unaware of the truth Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way. They have no power but that which has been granted them by the Most High God.

 

Nebuchadnezzar was impressed with his own greatness. God took his mind from him for a period of time in order to show him that it is only God who is great. Anything Nebuchadnezzar accomplished was at the mercy of God. “(God’s) kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation” (Dan 4:3). Our present-day politicians, business leaders, and spiritual leaders would do well to remember that.

 

Whether or not we are in positions of power and influence, this is a truth we must never forget. We talk and act as though the President of the United States has some power to change the world. We talk and act as though terrorists and warmongers offer a real threat. We talk and act as though the economy is out of control, and business leaders have the ability to control the economic and political outcomes of nations and peoples. But the truth is, “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom 13:1).

Daniel 4:34b -35(ESV)

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?”

 

 

“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will” (Dan 4:35). What if we thought, talked, lived, and acted as though that is actually true?