Do you ever find yourself repeating the same mistakes over and over again? Today on Truth for Life, Alastair Begg examines the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar's fickle attempts at faith in the one true God. Learn what it took for him and what it takes for us to break the destructive cycle. Daniel chapter 4, verse 1: 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. 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.
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 Beltashazzar, after the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told him the dream, saying, O Beltashazzar, 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 kingdoms of men and gives it to whom He will. and sets over at the lowliest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw it. 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. If we were choosing a key verse out of Daniel 4, it would be the 17th verse, I think. Query. We're told that the sentence Is by the decree of the watchers. That is the sentence of judgment on Nebuchadnezzar.
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, these angelic visitors, the divine visitants. to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men. and gives it to whom he will. and sets over it the lowliest of men. Father, we pray that as we just think briefly along these lines this evening.
that you will help us. that are that we might have the experience of which Isaiah speaks, that you will keep him. in perfect peace, whose mind has stayed on you. Because he trusts in you. And we pray that this God to whom we are introduced here in this Uh amazing chapter of Daniel.
may be the focus of our praise and of our devotion. as we gather around the table of his son. And as we prepare to enter into the responsibilities of the week that lies ahead. Help us to descend, we pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.
It's over forty years now since J. B. Phillips wrote a book which became relatively quickly something of a Christian classic. Many of you will have read it. It has the title, Your God is Too Small.
Your God is too small. And essentially, what he does in the book is explore, first of all. inadequate conceptions of God that he said are present amongst the people of God in a way that is not only a detriment to God, but also is has a negative impact on their ability to serve God and to follow Him. And then in the book, having explored the inadequate conceptions of God, he explains why it is necessary, obviously, to have adequate conceptions of God, an understanding of God, as He is revealed in Scripture. It's not uncommon for us to hear, on a fairly routine basis, somebody in conversation say, Well, I like to think of God as, and often it bears no resemblance whatsoever to God as He has revealed Himself to us.
First in creation and in his word, and finally and savingly in his Son. It bears no resemblance to the God of whom Paul writes when he ends 1 Timothy with a great flourish, as referring to God as the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light. whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. It's an amazing, immense statement of the magnitude of God.
And it just flows, as it were, from the pen of Paul because it emerges from the heart of Paul.
Now, as some of us saw this morning, Nebuchadnezzar had to come to this discovery by way of a hard road. He has, as we've read of him earlier in the book, had certain dramatic and exciting moments where he has, if you like, flirted with an understanding of this God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedneco. But he still, to this point in the chapter, remains what we would say unconverted. Calvin, commenting on the way in which God works in the life of a person. Not unlike Nebuchadnezzar, says this.
When God therefore wishes to lead us to repentance, He is compelled to repeat his blows continually.
So we we have mentioned the notion of being charmed by the gospel, but remaining unchanged by it. Or, if you like, what we saw last time as a spiritual diversion as distinct from a spiritual conversion. And so Calvin says: because God wants to lead to repentance, he is then compelled to keep hammering away at the individual. Either because he is not moved when he chastises us with his hand. or we seem roused for the time.
And then we return again to our former apathy. He is compelled, therefore, to redouble his blows. You think about this, it's a quite remarkable thought. Why would God even be bothered with Nebuchadnezzar? Such an arrogant rascal.
Such a big-headed character. completely fascinated by the gods of his own making and so on. What a gracious God What a merciful God That he who is worthy of all praise and adoration would come and rain his blows upon this character in order to lead him to repentance. Edwards, along the same lines, talking about the way in which many are brought to conversion, says conversion is often prefaced by quotes, a humiliation. Before the sovereign disposer of life and death, namely God.
Where he is wont to prepare his creatures for For his consolations.
So it's along the same lines, isn't it? And this is why we often go wrong when we're speaking to people about the Gospel by trying to attract them with all kinds of ideas and concepts and how super it's all going to be. When an actual fight, the law of God shows us how dreadful we really are. I once was lost in darkest night and thought I knew the way. That's the that's the testimony of the songwriter.
It's not that I was a little anxious and needed peace. I was a little lost and needed some direction in my life. I was a little poverty-stricken and needed some cash. No, I was blind and I was lost and I was going my own way. And I was convinced that the way I was going was the right way until God brings humiliation into my life.
The humiliation which causes me to bow down before his sovereignty. And as we said this morning, the overarching emphasis in these chapters is on the sovereignty of God. And here Daniel references it again and again, referring to God as the Most High. If you happen to have your Bible open, you'll see it in verse 17, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men. In verse 25, this is the judgment that will fall upon you, Nebuchadnezzar, he says, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men and gives it to whom he will, repeating what he has said in verse 17.
In verse 26, until the time that you come to understand that heaven rules. And then in verse 32, you will be driven from among men, and so on, until the periods of time have passed over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdoms of men and gives it to whom he will.
Now, let me say again what we said this morning, quoting Jonathan Edwards: in declaring God's sovereignty over everyone. We are simply declaring that God really is God. This is such a straightforward statement and yet so vitally important. But what do we mean when we say that God is God? Supposing one of your children were to ask you, what does it mean that God is God?
What would you say?
Someone asked when we had Q and A a couple of Sundays ago, well, who made God? And we had to respond and say that he is self-existent. And then some poor parent had to explain self-existent when you got home. That he is entirely other than ourselves.
Well, that was part of the task that was set to the Westminster divines, the doctors of divinity, as they sat down to take biblical theology and encapsulate it in a form, in a confession, that would stand the test of time. Listen carefully to two paragraphs written in the Westminster Confession by these men who were seeking to encapsulate this one truth. Listen carefully. There will be a test. All right.
There is only one living and true God. who is infinite in being. and perfection. He is a most pure spirit. Invisible.
with neither body Parts nor passive properties. He is unchangeable. Boundless. Eternal and incomprehensible. He is almighty.
most wise, most holy, most free. and most absolute. He works all things according to the counsel of his own unchangeable and most righteous will for his own glory. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering. abundant in goodness and truth.
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. And he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. He is also most just and terrifying in his judgments. hating all sin, and will by no means equip Yeah. That's paragraph one.
Here's paragraph two. You would think that they had exhausted themselves by that time, wouldn't you? How long do you think it would take a group of us sitting down to come up with a paragraph like that? God Has all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness. in and of himself.
He alone is all-sufficient. in and to himself. not standing in need of any creatures which he has made. nor deriving any glory from them. but rather manifesting his own glory.
In By Two And on them. He alone is the fountain of all being. Of whom through whom and to whom are all things. He has absolute sovereignty over them. To do by them.
For them? or upon them Whatever he pleases. In His sight all things are open and manifest. His knowledge is infinite, infallible, and independent of his creatures.
So that nothing to him is contingent or uncertain. He is most holy in all his counsels. in all his works and in all his commands. to him is due From angels and men and every other creature Whatever worship Service or obedience. He is pleased.
to require of them.
Now when you think about that for just a moment. Surely, we find ourselves kneeling down by our beds and echoing Paul's words at the end of Romans 11. Who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been his counsellor. Who has ever given to God?
that God should repay him. For from him and through him And to him are all things.
Now When you allow this to settle in your mind for a moment or two, you realize how radically different this is. To conceptions of God and divinity, and the kind of blasphemous things that are routinely trotted out in the media. and oftentimes in circles such as our own. Let's just be really clear tonight. God does not need us.
God does not owe us anything. When God was alone. before the creation of the universe, because before there was time and before there was anything, there was God. When God was alone before the creation of the universe, He was entirely self-sufficient. He was not in need of the creatures that he made.
He did not need them. Nor does he need them. to sustain his life. to increase his glory. to disclose his goodness.
or in any way to add His blessedness. That is why it is such a great wonder. That this God, that this sovereign God, Danes to disclose himself to us. And enables us in Jesus to call him Uh Our father. Who art in Heaven.
Now in this chapter here Nebuchadnezzar. had to be driven from society. And live like an animal. before he came to this realization. Before he came to understand that the Most High rules over the kingdom of man and gives it to whom he will.
In other words, it was going to take this in Nebuchadnezzar's life to discover that God reigns. And that he does just exactly this. 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.
Well, we can work that out, can't we? Just take for example the history of Israel itself. And when the kingdom is established and Samuel comes looking for a king. And all the big tough brothers are there and lined up for the interview. And he goes through them all and eventually he says, is this the whole group?
I said, we have another one. He's a little guy. He doesn't do much around here. He looks after sheep. And Samuel anoints David as king.
the lowliest of the brothers. He chooses the younger Solomon. Over Adonaijah. And Isaiah prophesies. The one who is to come, who will be the very king of kings and lord of lords, and we're introduced to him as one who is despised and rejected by men.
And yet, that same one who is despised and rejected by men is assigned a portion with the great. And we turn from the Old Testament into the New, and we encounter this Lord Jesus Christ, who is born to a slip of a girl in a backwater province in the Middle East, in a very forgettable little town. And when he is finally brought forth from the birth canal, he is laid in a trough, in a stable. And his father's not a senator. Joseph's not a senator, he's a carpenter.
And for thirty-three years He is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. The birds of nests and the foxes of holes in the ground, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He's finally betrayed and abandoned by those who had declared their love for him. He's mocked by his own creation. Save yourself.
Come down from the cross if you're such a great savior. And he dies. And he who is The Lord of glory is nailed up on a Roman gibbet. And the apostles tell us that there in that moment he's bearing. our sins in his own body.
On the tree. The humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar was nothing compared to the humiliation of the Lord Jesus Christ. And why was he humiliated? In order that we might have the privilege. of bowing before him.
declaring him the servant king. declaring him to be the God of the broken. declaring him to be the very epitome of humility. Acknowledging him. to be the one who is gentle and lowly in heart.
And who offers rest for our souls, realizing that He was the one who washed the feet of the disciples. and recognizing too that one day Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus My Saviour. to Bethlehem came He was born in a manger. to sorrow and shame.
I know it was wonderful. Blessed be his name. Seeking. For me. For me.
Down from his glory, Ever-living story. Our God and Saviour came, and Jesus was his name, born in a manger to his own a stranger. A man of sorrows. tears and agony. I think it's good for us as a church to consider Whether Phillips had actually put his hand on on something that is compellingly relevant to us as a church.
Namely. That At this point, our God It's too small. That we seek to meet him, as it were, on a horizontal plane. rather than to bow down before him. and to acknowledge that he is not in need of us.
He is vastly different from us. He is utterly unassailable by us. And the only reason that we would ever know him to call him Father is because he broke through. In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. who invites us to come.
and shared in the table. that he has provided for us. Is your view of God too small? You're listening to Truth for Life with Alastair Begg. At Truth for Life we want to tell the whole world about our great Almighty Sovereign God.
In fact, our mission is to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance so that unbelievers will be converted, believers will be established, and local churches will be strengthened. If you'd like to partner with us in this mission to make Christ known, reach out to us with a donation today. It's quick, it's easy to give through the mobile app or online at truthforlife.org/slash donate or Call us at 888-588-7884. When you do, we'll say thank you by inviting you to request Alistair's popular book and study guide, Brave by Faith. Reading the book is a great way to really dig into the Old Testament book of Daniel.
And when you use the study guide, you'll not only examine the similarities between the pagan culture of ancient Babylon and much of our world today, but you'll also learn from Daniel's experience. To live faithfully, even when those around you don't agree with your beliefs. Thanks for studying the Bible with us today. Are you someone who's able to learn from mistakes others make, or do you only learn things the hard way by making the mistakes yourself? Tomorrow we'll hear the tragic story of a new king who failed to learn from Nebuchadnezzar's mistakes.
The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
