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Daniel 4:34-37

³⁴“After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever.

 His rule is everlasting,
   and his kingdom is eternal.
  ³⁵All the people of the earth
   are nothing compared to him.
 He does as he pleases
   among the angels of heaven
   and among the people of the earth.
  No one can stop him or say to him,
   ’What do you mean by doing these things?’

³⁶When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before.

³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”

Reflect

At the end of this chapter, we finally come full circle to King Nebuchadnezzar’s journey with God. In Chapter 2, he acknowledged that God revealed mysteries to Daniel. In Chapter 3, he praised the God who rescued the three Hebrews. Despite his recognition that God exists and does wonderful miracles, in Chapter 4 we see that he still did not acknowledge God as his Lord!

The story of Nebuchadnezzar is a lot like many people’s story today. They recognize that God exists and does wonderful miracles but still don’t believe. To be a child of God, we must invite Him to be Lord of our life! When we finally give our life over to God, we, like King Nebuchadnezzar, will be able to say, “I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal.”

Respond

1. What was one thing that kept King Nebuchadnezzar from acknowledging God as his Lord?
2. What can we learn from the story of Nebuchadnezzar about uncontrolled pride?
3. What can we do to keep our own pride in check?

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