Deep spiritual lessons can be found throughout the entire Old Testament and throughout the book of Daniel. Here I want to focus on the second half of Daniel 4. This is the famous story of how the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar got too big for his britches and was greatly humbled by God.
More on that particular episode in a moment. But that story, and everything else found in this short prophetic book, offer a number of key spiritual truths and lessons which are fully relevant for God’s people today. Here are three of them:
God is in charge, but humans are still accountable
One set of truths found in all of Scripture is that God is in control, but humans are responsible for the choices they make. How these two tie together is admittedly mysterious, but we find it stated everywhere in the Bible. So we must affirm both, even if not always sure how they might go together.
Already in the first chapter of Daniel we see God’s sovereignty at work. Daniel 1:9 (in the ESV) says this: “And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs.” But the NIV makes it even more clear: “Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel.”
The good choices of Daniel and his friends, the often evil choices of the Babylonian king, and the overall purposes of God somehow all coalesce here. God somehow intervened or overruled things in such a way that he got his people in his desired place at the right time to achieve his desired outcomes.
And this is not a one-off. In my personal concordance I have recorded many hundreds of biblical passages where the sovereignty of God and the choices of humans are found to go together. And even more than that, oftentimes God is said to somehow cause or bring about his purposes through the free choices of men. Here are just two familiar examples of this out of the 150 passages I have jotted down:
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” (Genesis 50:20)
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:22-23)
Yes, it is all very mysterious to us mere mortals, but it is fully biblical. God can work in humans (in their hearts, minds and wills) to bring about his own good ends. So too Daniel and his friends were sovereignly placed in the position they found themselves in.
‘Seek the welfare of the city’
Some believers have a fully separatist view of the world they live in, wanting nothing to do with it – at least things like politics, government and the like. Thankfully most of God’s faithful people did not share such a few. Three obvious Old Testament characters fully make this case.
-Moses served in pagan Egypt and thus served the purposes of God.
-Joseph served in pagan Egypt and thus served the purposes of God.
-And here we find the same with Daniel. He served in pagan Babylon, along with his three friends, and God used them mightily to bring about his purposes and plans.
All this is borne out by the instructions God had given to Jeremiah: “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jer. 29:7). In this case it was also Babylon, and the prophet made this instruction to the exiles there in a letter he had sent them.
We can be thankful all four men were faithful and obedient in this regard. And lessons for today should be obvious. The modern Western political scene is often a cesspool of corruption and evil. One can understand why some believers want nothing to do with government, with politics, and with our ruling elites.
But God still calls people to be salt and light in such dark places. Thankfully someone like William Wilberforce did not accept this advice that believers should stay well away from any political involvement. He fully got into the thick of things in the English parliament, and his Christianity shone through, resulting in so much good, not least of which his abolition work.
So many other examples of believers who served in office and in high places having a godly influence and impact could be mentioned here. The truth is, ALL of the fallen world is polluted by sin and evil. Unless we decide to live in a cave somewhere, if we want to be the salt and light that Jesus commanded us to be, then in various ways we WILL have to engage with our culture, our society, and even our political institutions.
Arrogant rulers will be dealt with by God
One way or another, ALL human rulers come to an end. There is only one kingdom that will last forever, and that is God’s kingdom. All human kingdoms – no matter how evil, and no matter how long they seem to last – will eventually be no more.
And human wickedness and arrogance is not something God is unaware of. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, we read these ominous words about him in Daniel 4:28-33:
All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and 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 the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.
One would wish this sort of thing always happened to godless and wicked rulers, be they Kim Jong Un or Xi Jinping – or closer to home, Albanese, Macron or Starmer. Some seem to reign far too long. But some have and will come to a quick end – one way or another. Our timetable is not God’s timetable.
And my daily prayer for many of these rulers (‘God, improve them or remove them’) is worth emulating. I have seen many of them go over the years. And right now for example the Starmer government is going from bad to worse, and may not last much longer. We must keep praying about these rulers.
In the case of the Babylonian king, we read that in the end he came to his senses and gave glory to God (verses 34-37). That is the ideal outcome, but either way, God is not unaware of wicked rulers and evil governments, and in his good time he will fully deal with them. That should give us all real hope.
The Message of Daniel: His Kingdom Cannot Fail (The Bible Speaks Today Series)by Davis, Dale Ralph (Author)
Dale Ralph Davis offers two implications of this humbling of the pagan king:
First, there is a personal one: you must grasp the supremacy of Israel’s God and submit to his way. Walter Kaiser tells of the funeral of Louis XIV. He had requested that at that service in the cathedral of Notre Dame all would be darkened except the one candle on his casket at the front. But when the court preacher Masillon got up to give the funeral oration, he walked over to the casket, snuffed out the light, and began his message with the words: ‘Only God is great! Only God is great!’ And that is what we need to go around muttering to ourselves. Nebuchadnezzar II and Louis XIV are not the only ones who need this. For we are all a bunch of Nebuchadnezzar clones, wanting to call our own shots, to direct our own show (puny as it is) and seldom — except in a rare moment of sanity — stopping to consider how asinine our passion for self-deification is.
Then there is a ‘political’ implication. If verse 17 is true, you must not be overly impressed by human governments nor awed by human rulers. Human governments are interim arrangements that God appoints to fill space until the power and glory of Jesus’ kingdom. Human rulers, tyrannical or democratic, are God’s lackeys who have tenure only at his pleasure.
Keeping these various truths in mind as we endure ever more darkening times is how we can stand and keep on going for Christ and the Kingdom.
