July 8, 2024

After consulting the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers over another dream, Nebuchadnezzar finally remembered that Daniel could interpret his dream. He told him about his dream, and Daniel was stunned for an hour because he knew the implications. An angel, also called a watcher in the text, had come down, and the king had dreamed of a large tree that fed all the people, birds, and animals, and it was cut down with only the root remaining. His heart would change to a beast, he would eat grass, and seven years would pass until he proclaimed that God controls everything, including the kingdom of men and its rulers. Daniel knew the tree was the king and feared telling him. However, the king wanted to know whether good or bad, so Daniel interpreted the dream. A year passed, and Nebuchadnezzar forgot the dream and became arrogant, touting his power.

The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? While the word wasin the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. Daniel 4:30-31

God humbled him, and he lived as a beast in the pasture for seven years until he admitted that God was King of heaven. When he did, God restored his mind and his power, and he honored God.

This story serves as a stark warning against pride and the belief that our success is solely due to our own efforts. The truth is, no one succeeds unless God allows it. He will intervene, as he did with Nebuchadnezzar, to teach us a lesson if we fail to give Him the glory for our success. This inevitability of God's intervention should reassure us of His presence and control in our lives. We are nothing without God, and we must always humble ourselves before Him.