Daniel #04: an exposition of Daniel 4:1-37. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, February 10, 2013.
Intro:
I was laying in my hospital bed the day after surgery. The doctor came in and explained what he had done the day before. “You know it took Dr. Fell 4 hours to chisel through your skull.” Really? He ended the explanation with, “We did not cover the hole with a plate, we stuffed it with fat and then closed.” I said, “So, you are telling me I’m thick-skulled and fat-headed?” He said, “Exactly.” The funny thing was I had teachers who had been telling me that for years! Some of us are slow leaners. I don’t mean we have learning disabilities that make it difficult for us to learn, I mean we are stubborn and often have to learn our lessons the hard way. More than once my dad would shake his head and say, “You’d think you would have learned your lesson last time but I guess you prefer to learn the hard way.” Of course I’m not alone in the “hard way club” our membership is quite large. I will have to admit the lessons learned the hard way are lessons not easily forgotten. In fact when the lesson is learned the response is generally – “I’m not going to do that again!” There is one member of our club who really stands out. In fact if the Hard Way Club ever builds a museum he ought to have his own wing. He was the most powerful man on earth. Nations trembled before him. His word was law. His glory was unsurpassed. He had been told that his power and glory was a gift from the God of Heaven and Earth. By grace he had been given world dominion. He was also told that his glory and power would fade. Another would take his place. He had been rocked by a troubling dream. He had seen a demonstration of power well beyond his own…yet he had not learned his lesson but he was about to. Boy, did he ever learn it the hard way. His story is recorded for us in Daniel chapter 4 and hopefully you can learn from his experience and not have to travel that same road.
Text: Daniel 4:1-37
- He had some profound religious experiences.
- God got his attention through that dream of the statue.
- But the experience soon worn off and there was no change.
- That was evidenced by his building of the image of gold in defiance of God’s message.
He demanded that all the people bow and worship at the foot of his image on the penalty of death. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused he was enraged. He again threatened them with death in the fiery furnace. He arrogantly boasted, “Who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?” He got his answer! Three men, bound, were cast into the fire but as he looked into the furnace there were 4 men unbound and dancing and the 4th appeared the be a son of the gods! He called for them to come out. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come out on harmed with not even the smell of smoke upon them. The king declared the greatness of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s god but there was still no change.
But note the beginning of chapter 4.
4:1-3 – now there is a change.
- “…the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me” (2).
- “…His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures from generation to generation” (3).
- Look at 4:37 – “…Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are right and His ways are just; and those who walk in pride He is able to humble.”
What brought about this change?
The key is in the last phrase – “…and those who walk in pride He is able to humble.”
As we explore what happened to the king we will see that…
Thesis: King Nebuchadnezzar’s experience vividly demonstrates the wonderful truth that God in love and kindness humbles the proud so that they can glory is God’s sovereign mercy and grace.
The chapter open’s with the king’s testimony of God’s sovereign work. A testimony to all peoples, nations, and languages (the same group order to bow before the image of gold in 3:4). As we work through this chapter I want to point out 4 things along the way.
- God, in love and kindness, disrupts the comfortable heart of the sinful. (4:4-18)
- God, in grace, warns of the wages of sin. (4:19-27)
- God, in righteousness, judges the proud and arrogant. (4:28-33)
- God, in mercy, restores the repentant. (4:34-37)