The Pursuit of the Proud for Praise

The Pursuit of the Proud for Praise

Daniel 4

On August 12, 1973, Chuck Colson, one of the top advisors to the President of the United States, finally understood the danger of his pride. He wrote,

As long as you are proud, you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people. And, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. Pride is spiritual cancer. It eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or ever common sense.

Pride is dangerous for the soul. If you walk in pride, you will be humbled. Charles Spurgeon wrote a century before,

The demon of pride was born with us, and it will not die one hour before us; it is so woven into the very warp and woof of our nature, that till we are wrapped in our winding sheets, we shall never hear the last of it.

The real danger of pride is that it is easy to see in others and hard to see in ourselves. 

During his lifetime, King Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful person in the world, but it wasn’t until he was humbled that he could look up and see the One who was above him. Daniel 4 begins with King Nebuchadnezzar remembering the kindness of God to humble him, Daniel 4:1–3,

King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you! It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

How great are his signs,

how mighty his wonders!

His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

He finally understood who God was. God is the only Sovereign, and He sets up kings and kingdoms. Only His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and only His dominion endures from generation to generation. My prayer for all of us is that we would become like Nebuchadnezzar and see our pride and be humbled so that we, like him, will look up and truly see the One who is above us. 

The Pursuit of the Proud

God is kind to pursue the proud. He will bring things into our lives to get our attention. God tries again to get Nebuchadnezzar’s attention with a dream. Daniel 4:4–5,

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 

The text does not reveal why the dream alarmed him, but this dream, like the last dream, uncovered his greatest fear. He was afraid he was going to lose his kingdom. I believe Nebuchadnezzar had a vague understanding of what each dream meant before he heard their interpretation. Deep down he knew the dreams were pointing to him losing the kingdom. In his pride, he could not come to grips with that reality. 

For Nebuchadanezzar, his greatest fear was losing his kingdom and his power, what is your greatest fear? Is it losing your health? Your reputation? Being alone? Financial insecurity? What we are afraid of losing,  is what is controlling us or mastering us. It reveals the idols of our hearts. We never want to see ourselves as the villain of the story. We want to see ourselves like Shadrach, Meshach and Abendego who stood up to the king with great courage, but the truth is we all have a little Nebuchadnezzar in all of us. We all have pride and God wants us to see our pride or else he humbles us. As this sermon continues, ask the Holy Spirit to show you your pride. 

God is pursuing Nebuchadnezzar yet again through dream and therefore he calls upon his wise men and eventually Daniel speaks for the Lord again, Daniel 4:6–18,

So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying, “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” 

The dream is not subtle. The watcher, or the angel, God’s messenger, reveals the point of the dream, “the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he wills and sets over it the lowliest of men.”  The High King of heaven rules over the world. He, and he alone, Daniel 2:21, “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” 

It is hard for him to think that Nebuchadnezzar really didn’t understand the dream. He may not have understood all its meaning, but the message is in the dream. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand it, it was that he didn't want to believe it. So, how are you like Nebuchadnezzar, what has God been trying to reveal to you but you have not wanted to listen to? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal that to you now. God is pursuing Nebuchadnezzar. God is pursuing you. God pursues the proud. 

Daniel offers the interpretation of the dream with grace and love. He tried to soften its blow so Nebuchadnezzar would hear and understand it. Daniel 4:19–26,

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, “Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered and said, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies! The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived—it is you, O king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time pass over him,’ this is the interpretation, O king: It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that Heaven rules.

Daniel did not want to share the dream with Nebuchadnezzar. He had a track record of extreme anger when he didn’t get his way. But because Daniel loved him and loved the truth, he shared the interpretation. It is interesting to note how there are clear allusions to Genesis 11. In Daniel 4:20, th tree is described with “its top reached to heaven,” Genesis 11:4, “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” Also in 4:23, “a holy one coming down from heaven,” and in Genesis 11:5, “And the Lord came down to see the city and tower, which the children of man had built.” Babylon has not changed. The city of man sets itself up against the city of God. The city of man and the human heart sets itself up against God robbing him of His glory and trying to reach the top of heaven on its own. 

God has a very specific purpose in the dream. He wants to break Nebuchadnezzar's prideful heart. Notice the purpose at the end of verse 25, “till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.” God will continue to pursue the Nebuchadnezzar’s proud heart until he confesses that God is the Most High and he rules the kingdom of men and gives the kingdom to whom he wills. 

The history of the world is a history of the proud. Adam chose to be wise in his own eyes, and all his descendants have followed in his steps. Until the new Adam came who was offered to follow the serpent voice in Luke 4:5–7,

And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 

Satan promised to give the kingdoms of this world to whom he wills, but we know it is only the Most High who rules the kingdom of men and gives the kingdom to whom He wills. And the new Adam, Jesus Christ, said, “It is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.” And that is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did. Daniel 4:17, “that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.” And who is the lowliest of men but the Lord Jesus, as Philippians 2:6–11 beautifully describes, Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

The humble will be exalted and the proud will be humbled. Jesus Christ, the lowliest of men, was given all the kingdoms of the world, because he humbled himself to the cross. He chose to die for everyone who would turn from their pride and humble themselves and trust in his sacrifice and his resurrection as their only hope for salvation. 

Daniel offered wise counsel to the King, but he was not only speaking to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel is speaking to us. Daniel 4:27, “Therefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” Friends, hear Daniel’s words, “Break off your sins by practicing righteousness.”  If you came into our gathering today walking in sin, break off from them. Turn from your sins and practice righteousness. Humble yourself, and follow God’s Word. If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you need to turn from your pride and your self-rule and let God rule over you. This is what Daniel was pleading for Necbuchadnezzar to do. And Daniel specifically addressed his sin of showing cruelty to the oppressed, forcing them to build his kingdom. Daniel is saying, “this is how you can show you have changed, by showing mercy instead of cruelty to those under your rule. Even though you are the king, you need to acknowledge there is a King over you.” This is what we all need to do. We need to acknowledge there is a King over us. We need to renounce our pride and our self-rule and practice righteousness by living for the High King of Heaven. What sins do you need to break off? What specific sins do you need to repent of?

The Price of the Proud

Nebuchadnezzar has seen Daniel tell him his dream and interpretation. He has seen Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saved from the fiery furnace. He has heard Daniel’s interpretation again. One would think he would finally listen, but he did not. Pride is irrational. It does not make sense. Friends, one day, God’s patience will run out. 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. 

He did not recognize God so he was made like one of the beasts. He lost his mind and his appearance even became like an animal. All because he would not humble himself. He needed to know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. We need to learn the same lesson, and if not we will experience humiliation, and possibly much worse than even Nebuchadnezzar. For if we live in pride and identify ourselves with the serpent, we will one day meet his end, and join him in the lake of fire where according to Revelation 20:10, they “will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” 

Friends, God is showing you patience today. Break off your sins and practice righteousness. Trust in Christ. Renounce Satan and all his ways. Make Jesus Christ the High King of your life. 

The Praise of the Proud 

God was gracious to Nebuchadnezzar for he finally realized the message the Lord had been trying to get through to him. 

Daniel 4:34–37

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to 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,

and he does according to his will among the host of heaven

and among the inhabitants of the earth;

and none can stay his hand

or say to him, “What have you done?”

At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. 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. 

My goal is for everyone here to leave this gathering with that confession, “I 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.” 

Beloved, Jesus is the High King of heaven. He was the lowliest of men and therefore was exalted to the highest place. If you want to exalt yourself to the highest place, and rule your own life, and walk in pride, God is able to humble you. But if you humble yourself under God’s mighty hand, and trust in Jesus Chris as your King, he will exalt you at the proper time. Two choices: Humble yourself and be exalted or walk in pride and be humbled. The choice is yours.