URC Daily Devotion 23 August 2024

Daniel 4: 1 – 18

King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth: May you have abundant prosperity!  The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount.

How great are his signs,
    how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
    and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my home and prospering in my palace.  I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me.  So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, in order that they might tell me the interpretation of the dream.  Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me its interpretation.  At last Daniel came in before me — he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods — and I told him the dream:  ‘O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Hear the dream that I saw; tell me its interpretation.

Upon my bed this is what I saw;
    there was a tree at the centre of the earth,
    and its height was great.
The tree grew great and strong,
    its top reached to heaven,
    and it was visible to the ends of the whole earth.
Its foliage was beautiful,
    its fruit abundant,
    and it provided food for all.
The animals of the field found shade under it,
    the birds of the air nested in its branches,
    and from it all living beings were fed.

‘I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher, coming down from heaven. He cried aloud and said:

“Cut down the tree and chop off its branches,
    strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit.
Let the animals flee from beneath it
    and the birds from its branches.
But leave its stump and roots in the ground,
    with a band of iron and bronze,
    in the tender grass of the field.
Let him be bathed with the dew of heaven,
    and let his lot be with the animals of the field
    in the grass of the earth.
Let his mind be changed from that of a human,
    and let the mind of an animal be given to him.
    And let seven times pass over him.
The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers,
    the decision is given by order of the holy ones,
in order that all who live may know
    that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdom of mortals;
he gives it to whom he will
    and sets over it the lowliest of human beings.”

‘This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to tell me the interpretation. You are able, however, for you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.’

Reflection

The world seems to revolve around Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadnezzar thinks and acts as if he has absolute autonomy, that he is accountable to no-one but himself. Nebuchadnezzar is the tree, great and strong, the pinnacle of power reaching to the heavens, visible to the ends of the earth.  He is the tree that has luxurious and extravagant foliage, that provides food and shelter, and that has far-reaching sovereignty and influence.  Power, majesty, and glory are Nebuchadnezzar’s, or so he thinks. But God brings Nebuchadnezzar a new perspective.

At the end of Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar seemed to be converted to the reality of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s God. As we move into Daniel 5, we realise God has work to do in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. Nebuchadnezzar will be utterly humbled.

So often we live our lives as if we are sovereign. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we can make ourselves ‘number 1’, and we can ignore, forget or shun the reality of the Living God. Daniel 5 invites us to humble ourselves before God – a theme that runs throughout Scripture. As James writes, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (4:6,10).

I wonder where you and I may need to be humbled? Why not invite God to show you today?
 
Prayer

Great and glorious King,
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your sovereignty is from generation to generation.
Forgive us the times we attempt to put ourselves on your throne,
to sit in judgement over ourselves and others.
Open our eyes to our pride and help us to be humble.
May we learn from your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ,
and may we be shaped and transformed by your Holy Spirit.
Amen.