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Again we read three absolutely amazing stories! But their not just stories that sound amazing, they're actually events that really happened. And they happened to three of the most powerful kings in the world. In the center of it all was Daniel, the man of God who prayed three times a day and shared his faith with those kings - two of which turned to believe in God, and one who was slain because of his pride.
All of these events should be revelations and reminders to all of us that God hates pride and that He's no respecter of persons. Chapter 4 is the story of King Nebuchadnezzar's amazing testimony of how he found God and spent the rest of his life serving him. However, it's a story that seems so bizarre, so wild that many people have wondered how it could possibly be true. But, it is true!
The king had a dream that disturbed him and needed Daniel to interpret it for him. Daniel was gifted by God with the interpretation of dreams. In fact, the king was so amazed at Daniel's ability that he was often described by the king as the man in whom "the spirit of the holy gods is in you."
Nebuchadnezzar's testimony was so bizarre and so unusual that he wanted the entire world to know about it, and about how the God of Daniel delivered him.
Like most kings, his heart was lifted up in pride. Even though king Nebuchadnezzar knew that it was God who granted his armies victory, he took the glory away from God and one day boasted of how he, by his own mighty power, had built the largest kingdom in the world. Daniel had warned him. He told the king to stop sinning or his dream of becoming insane and living like the animals for a period of seven years would come true. We could probably imagine that this interpretation of the dream shook king Nebuchadnezzar initially and probably encouraged him to be more humble at the time. But, sadly, after only 12 months Nebuchadnezzar had totally forgotten about the dream and its consequences. And when he boasted of his greatness, God struck him with insanity and gave him the mind of an animal.
Can you imagine that?
Fortunately, God only allowed the insanity to happen for a period of time. After that time, God restored Nebuchadnezzar back to the throne and put him back in charge of the largest kingdom in the world. However, this time the king knew "Who" should receive all the glory. And as we read in chapter 4, the king urged the world to follow and serve God!
If you're not giving God the glory for your successes, one day He may force you into a situation where you are required to realize that He's the One who's really in control and that only He deserves the glory!
In Chapter 5, we find that king Nebuchadnezzar's successor - King Belshazzar - was less fortunate. In spite of knowing all of this about king Nebuchadnezzar, King Belshazzar failed to bow before the God of Heaven. He, in defiance against God, took all the gold cups and plates that were used in the Temple in Jerusalem and made them into common plates and cups to be used by him and his guests for a dinner one night. This was a slap in the face of God. Daniel later reminded him of this.
In response, God causes a large hand to show up in front of King Belshazzar and all of his dinner guests writing a phrase on the plastered wall saying - Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. Not only was the king deeply afraid of the appearance of the hand, but confused by what was meant by the words. The Queen mother reminded him of Daniel, the interpreter of dreams and riddles, to come and provide an answer to him. When Daniel read the writing on the wall, and interpreted the dream as saying,
Mene means 'numbered' - "God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end."
27 Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.28
Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
the king grew deeply afraid! Daniel sternly warned the king saying, "For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!"
That night, Darius the Mede, killed King Belshazzar and thus began the Medo-Persian empire.
Daniel In The Lion's Den:
In chapter 6, we see a different attitude in King Darius. He knew about God's dealing with King Nebuchadnezzar. He also knew that Daniel was a servant of the most high God of Heaven and Earth. Darius loved Daniel and maintained respect for him and for the God he served. In fact, Darius was so impressed with Daniel that he was about to make him ruler of the entire empire.
However, his fellow wise men - the counselors to the king - grew jealous of Daniel. In an attempt to get rid of him, they devised a scheme using the king as their pawn. They knew that Daniel only worshipped God, and that he could be seen praying in the window of his home three times a day. So, they crafted the scheme to convince Darius to agree to a new, temporary law that would require everyone in the world to worship him, and if anyone disobeyed (no matter who they were) they would be thrown into the lion's den. This was their devious way to craft a plan that was sure to get rid of Daniel for good.
When Darius agreed to make it a law, Daniel's fellow counselors to the king purposely found Daniel praying and worshipping God while at home. They reported this to Darius, who was deeply disturbed by this since he loved Daniel so much. Nevertheless, it was the law. Regrettably, Darius made orders to have Daniel thrown into the den of lions, but spent all night fasting and praying that God would protect Daniel. God did! When Darius came to the den the next morning and found Daniel alive, they both rejoiced in the power of God's protection. As for Daniel's fellow counselors, Darius had them and their wives and children thrown into the lion's den instead. They entrapped themselves!
Remember...God protects His own! He is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. Are you being faithful to God?
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