I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason returned to me

Daniel 4 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound! ² It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me.

³ “How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴ “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. ⁵ I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. ⁶ So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. ⁷ Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. ⁸ But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him…

²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: ²⁵ that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; 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. ²⁶ And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules. ²⁷ Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’

²⁸ “All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. ²⁹ Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. ³⁰ 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?’ ³¹ 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, ³² 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.’ ³³ 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.

³⁴ “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. ³⁵ “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?’

³⁶ 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. ³⁷ 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.”

King Nebuchadnezzar was filled with self pride. God gave him a warning in the form of a dream, a dream interpreted by Daniel, who the king knew was given the gift of interpreting dreams from God. Still Nebuchadnezzar was not willing to repent. So God indeed humbled him. We are not told a lot about that period but it would seem that along with being physically removed from his position and residence he was also not in his right mind.

Modern psychology places little or no responsibility on people for their actions and behavior, seeking to justify and explain behaviors and attitudes based on experience, things that happened to them. I am not a medical or psychological expert and I do acknowledge that there are disorders and chemical imbalances which can and do effect people. But I also believe that for many people and many disorders and dysfunctions there is a root that begins with sin. What psychology calls O.D.D, oppositional defiance disorder, the Bible calls rebellion. Many things psychology calls choice, God calls sin. Psychology either calls it a choice or looks for something to blame for people’s behavior, thoughts and attitudes, rather than acknowledging God and holding people responsible for their behavior.

James 1:13-16 says:  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵ Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.   We are all tempted. The things which may be a great temptation to one person may hold nothing to another. When we give in to temptation though and begin to act on those desires, those lusts, whatever they may be, sin clouds our judgment. The more any individual engages in sinful actions and thinking, the more they justify and believe it to be who and what they are. Sin’s deception draws them more deeply into sin.

Modern psychology and psychiatry with their counseling and their medications, apart from acknowledging God, really only tend to try to make people comfortable with their problems, not overcome them. Again I want to be careful and can’t say enough that there are reasons for people to take medications and to receive counseling. Ultimately though each individual must take responsibility, to the extent they are able, for their actions.  

Today’s text says:  “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”     I can’t help but think of the similarities of this account and that of the parable Jesus told of the Prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32.

…the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. ¹⁴ Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. ¹⁵ So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶ And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. ¹⁷ But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ ²⁰ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; ²³ and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; ²⁴ for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found   

Nebuchadnezzar looked up and acknowledged God as being superior, acknowledged that God is the one who establishes men both great and common. Both his mind and his kingdom position were restored to him. The prodigal realized his error. He repented, turned away from the life and circumstances he had chosen and caused. His father was waiting and; while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him… this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.

God is a compassionate and loving God. All of scripture from Adam and Eve’s fall and sin in the garden to Revelation when all creation will be restored is about God’s plan to restore and reconcile people to the intended relationship with Him.

We can choose to live among the swine like the prodigal or out in the fields like Nebuchadnezzar. We can justify and rationalize our behavior, blaming other or blaming circumstances, or we can like Nebuchadnezzar and the prodigal look up acknowledge the sovereignty and the compassion of God and be restored.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, precious Holy Spirit; I am thankful that You, in Your great compassion brought me to the place where I recognized my need for You and my need to take responsibility for my actions and circumstances. I pray for those who are living apart from Your mercy and goodness, that You would give them a revelation of who You are. I pray that You would give them clarity where there is confusion, that they too might look up and acknowledge and praise You and be restored.    Amen.