In Daniel chapter 4, we find an interesting story about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar was the king who had built the golden statue of himself and declared that at the sound of music everyone should bow down and worship his image. We know that three Hebrew young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, did not bow down and were cast into the furnace of fire, but God protected them. You can read that story also in the book of Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar was king for over 40 years, and conquered Judah and Jerusalem, and carried away the nation of Israel into slavery. He is also the king who had the great Hanging Gardens of Babylon created and built. However, Nebuchadnezzar got a little too powerful for his own good, and God had to teach him a hard lesson. That lesson is what we read about in Daniel 4.
We read in verses 29-32, “…he [Nebuchadnezzar] was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. The king reflected and said, ‘Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”
Nebuchadnezzar had seen God work in the furnace of fire event, and had even made a decree that anyone who spoke bad of the God of Israel would be put to death. But, he quickly forgot what God had done and went back to thinking more of himself than of God. And so, as God promised him, he lost his mind, and for seven years, lived out in the forest like a wild animal.
The chapter in the book of Daniel then goes on to describe his response to this lesson.
In verses 34-37 we read, “But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.”
Quite the hard lesson there. Seven years living as a beast of the field, out away from any other human beings, insane and without reasoning. And at the end of that time, he saw God for Who He really is – ALMIGHTY and ALL POWERFUL. Notice what he wrote about God – “He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?'”
Many of us have the same problem as Nebuchadnezzar had. We think WE are more important than God and God’s Word. We think we deserve more. We think we can do whatever we want and there will be no consequences to our actions. And we even get angry and mad at God for doing certain things or not doing certain things that we expect or even demand of Him. But in reality – GOD CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS!! He doesn’t owe us ANY justification or answer AT ALL! God created us. He has a plan for EACH of our lives and THE ONLY WAY we will EVER EVER EVER find true peace and joy in this life is when we recognize God for who He is and stop trying to force OUR PLAN into His will.
Isaiah 55:6-9 says, “Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. ‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.'”
God doesn’t owe us any explanation for what He does with our lives. HE IS GOD. I think we WAY TOO OFTEN forget how awesome, powerful, and almighty He is. He is the one who spoke and the heavens and earth were created. He has existed for ALL of eternity past and will for all of eternity future. Rather than getting upset and angry at Him for not doing what we want, we should humbly bow before Him and THANK Him from the bottom of our hearts for His amazing love and kindness towards us, and his great mercy and grace.
John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” We have no justification or reason whatsoever to ask Him “What have You done?”. He can destroy us in a moment’s notice and wipe us off the face of the earth. Jonathan Edwards in his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” said, “There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God.”
We should love Him so much that EVERYTHING ELSE in this life is MEANINGLESS – and our ONLY JOY should be to PLEASE HIM in ALL THAT WE DO! Rather than questioning Him, we should seek to have fellowship with Him and obey Him. There’s nothing wrong with having questions and seeking God’s answer to certain things, but we MUST realize He doesn’t owe us ANY answer. And we have NO EXCUSE for getting angry at Him or breaking our trust in Him because of what He does or doesn’t do. Yes, He loves us more than you or I could ever imagine, and wants only what is best for us. What is there to question about that?
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near…”
Give God Your Life – He Can Do MUCH MORE With It Than You Can!!