Acknowledge
That The Most High
Is Sovereign
All this happened to King
Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the
royal palace of Babylon, he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built
as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”
Even as the words were on
his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King
Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be
driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass
like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives
them to anyone he wishes.”
Immediately what had been
said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate
grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair
grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.
At the end of that time,
I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored.
Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified
him who lives forever.
His dominion is an
eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the
earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and
the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What
have you done?”
At
the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and
splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and
nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater
than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of
heaven, because everything he does is right and all
his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to
humble.
Daniel
4:28-37
Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, lost sight of who he was and where he had come from. His “amnesia,” though,
was spiritual. In taking credit for the kingdom he’d been given, he forgot that
God is the King of Kings, and everything he had was from Him.
God dramatized the king’s
state of mind by driving him into the fields, to live with wild animals and
graze like a cow. Finally, after seven years Nebuchadnezzar looked up to the skies,
and his memory of who he was and who had given him his kingdom returned. With his
senses restored, he declared, “I, Nebuchadnezzar ,
praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven.”
What about us? Who do we
think we are? Where did we come from? Since we are inclined to forget, who can
we count on to help us remember but the King of Kings?
When
we forget who we are, our Father cares.
Our
Daily Bread – April 25, 2018