Daniel 4:37 says, “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgement; and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”
When I was a boy of about nine, our family moved from California to Cheney, Washington. We lived in a rented farmhouse for a few months. I found a dog house big enough for a large dog. I crawled in—it was comfortable enough—and settled down for about twenty minutes, imagining what it must be like to be a dog. There was a nice view and the weather was pleasant—the smell was acceptable. I felt a sense of freedom from homework, chores, and responsibility in general. I finally crawled out realizing that a dog’s life was not for me.
Now the same Nebuchadnezzar who took Israel and Judah captive and conquered many other nations, threatened to kill all the wise man in Babylon, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and later threw three of them in the fiery furnace. That same Nebuchadnezzar made the godly statement found in our text. This came about after he spent seven years in the “dog house.” When he said, “…those that walk in pride he is able to abase,” he was talking about himself.
It is easy to see how he had a problem with pride. He was ordained of God as a servant to punish not only the Jews, but other nations as well. Jeremiah 27:6 states, “And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.” Nebuchadnezzar was to serve God and the beasts of the field were to serve Nebuchadnezzar. Just as Lucifer thought that he could be greater than God, Nebuchadnezzar became full of pride. After all, he was the head of gold in the vision of the great image (Daniel 2:38). Also in this verse, we see that he is given power over the wild beasts.
The day of reckoning came when Daniel interpreted the vision of the great tree to be cut down as being Nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel advised him to, “…break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquility” (Daniel 4:27). The king lasted twelve months before he bragged how he had built Babylon by his own power (V. 30). In the very same hour he was driven from his kingdom to live like a beast (V. 33), his understanding was taken away and he was given the heart of a beast (V. 16).
What can we learn from Nebuchadnezzar? God is king, not me. God is true, there are no errors in His ways. What He says will take place. We must always listen to “Thus saith the Lord.” Pride may be suppressed for 12 months, but it will finally raise its ugly head. The bigger you are, the harder you fall. God loves righteousness and the poor. Maybe you noticed some other lessons.
Nebuchadnezzar finally praised God. Let us praise Him now and stay out of the dog house!
