How Not to Be a Nebuchadnezzar
Processional Way, Babylon, ca. 575 BCE, built by Nebuchadnezzar II, detail; Pergamon Museum, Berlin (4); image from Wikimedia Commons
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You may remember Nebuchadnezzar for capturing young men from Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (commonly known by their names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; see Dan. 1:7) and later throwing three of them into the fiery furnace (Dan. 3:20).
Yet, Nebuchadnezzar also was the Babylonian king who had a unique encounter with the power of God and shared his firsthand story with us. We can benefit from his story. Nebuchadnezzar was the king who had it all, but God took it all from him to teach him not only the danger of pride but also that humility is the posture we all should have before a good God who governs all things, all peoples, and all circumstances.
Nebuchadnezzar took all the credit.
Nebuchadnezzar had issues with pride. He had accomplished a lot in his lifetime—including conquering many nations, building a powerful and feared kingdom, accumulating much wealth, and being a feared king and ruler. He thought very highly of himself and couldn’t see that all these things had been permitted by God and that he was still only a man of God’s creation and subject to God, the great king of the universe.
Instead of giving thanks to God, Nebuchadnezzar, in his pride, took all the credit: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30, emphasis added).
We have issues with pride.
While we do not rule vast nations and hold impressive wealth, we too can be guilty of self-aggrandizing pride, thinking we have accomplished good things through our hard work and not seeing God as the one who has enabled, strengthened, and blessed our work is pride.
We may think that we made our kids successful and upright, gained wealth because of our work ethic, or are financially safe because we did x, y, and z. And in all this we do not give God the glory that is due to him. We do not recognize that only through God’s blessing did any of our efforts yield good results.
God humbled Nebuchadnezzar.
In Daniel 4 Nebuchadnezzar learned that God truly is the one in control. God took away the king’s mind to show him that God is king and everything we receive is from God, even the common blessing of a reasonable mind. Do we take our mental and physical health for granted? Do we act like God owes us a sound body and mind?
The book of Daniel shows us that God does not owe humankind anything, but that man must be humble before God. The lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned from his humiliation was that “all [God’s] works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Dan. 4:37b).
Do we walk in humility before God?
Do we see God’s work in this light, especially when our plans don’t go how we would like? Do we watch ourselves, being careful to walk in humility before God, recognizing his gifts and his plans are best for us, and that our plans are nothing without God’s blessing? In the words of James,
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)
We too can be tempted to find our security in the things of this world.
Before his divine lesson Nebuchadnezzar found his significance and security in what he believed he had accomplished and in his earthly possessions. We too can be tempted to find our security in the things of this world—even good things, like family, community, our homes, and a good job. Yet the Psalmist teaches us where we should find our security and joy.
Like Nebuchadnezzar, we must learn that God is the one who gives all blessings, including his favor.
Our good comes from the Lord’s face shining upon us (Ps. 4:6). The Lord’s favor gives more joy than earthly pleasures. The psalmist uses grain and wine as an example of earthly blessings that God’s favor surpasses in bringing joy to his heart. Just as Nebuchadnezzar discovered that material wealth and success were impermanently given by God, those of us who have a bounty of material blessings must also realize that God is the one who gives them.
Where is your good, your joy, and your certainty?
Only in God’s favor, in the love we find in Jesus Christ, do we find everlasting joy and peace and stability. With God as our Father, Jesus Christ as our brother, and the Holy Spirit as our comforter and seal, we can “lie down and sleep” (Ps. 4:7). By faith in Christ we are secure in God’s love and can therefore have joy in all our circumstances.
Let us live not as those puffed up with pride like Nebuchadnezzar, but as those who are aware of our great and powerful God, who is good and just and governs all things and loves us. Find your joy, peace, security, and significance in Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
