How Perfectly God knows how to deal with us! Time and time again through my life this is shown to be true. We are weak, arrogant sinners and God knows it better than we do. Thankfully He faithfully deals with us and brings us along to maturity.
Joe Cornelius has the young adults starting up in Daniel and he told us to read it twice before tomorrow. Every time I go through the first few chapters I am always amazed at the way God deals with Nebuchadnezzar. He takes a pagan man, the most powerful person in the world, the ruler of the greatest kingdom this world has yet seen, and humbles that man to recognize that He, the God of Israel, is the Most High God who rules over the realm of mankind.
God began by making Himself known through Daniel revealing and interpreting Neb's first dream in a supernatural way, God told Daniel what was in Neb's mind!! Neb respond with,
Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.
Then, when Neb gets out of place and creates a huge golden statue (only the head was gold Neb…) and Hananiah Mishael and Azariah (why are children not taught the Hebrew names?) refuse to bow down. Neb gets furious, tells them, "…what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" and throws them into the furnace. When he sees ther're not burnt up, and in fact there are four men (didn't I throw three in?) Neb responds,
…there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.
Then my favorite, Neb has another dream, and of course the pagan magicians aren't worth anything, so Daniel interprets his dream. Neb is going to be turned into a beast for 7 years, until he recognizes that God is the one who sets up kings and can take the least of men and make them great. Daniel pleads with Neb to humble himself and repent so that this might not come upon him, but…. 1 year later Neb exalts himself and God immediately speaks to him and drives him away from men.
A peice of what God told him before,
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.
Neb's response after,
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?’
It is fascinating to look at how God dealt with Nebuchadnezzar, and it makes Proverbs 21:1 all the more vivid in my mind.
The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.
It is not a difficult thing for God, He is truly the Most High God, who does as He pleases
