God Acts, Nebuchadnezzar Responds

By Words of Hope, Monday, December 18, 2006

Now I . . . praise and extol and honor the King of heaven. (v. 37) Daniel 4:28-37

Judgment may be delayed but it comes inevitably and always purposefully. Peter reminds us that "the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise . . . He is patient . . . not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, niv). Consider too Paul's words at Athens, "God . . . now . . . commands all people everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30, niv). Failure to repent when called to do so is continued and deliberate sin, as was King Nebuchadnezzar's determined pride (see verse 30). Just as the king is strolling along the walls, enjoying "this great Babylon that I have built . . . for the glory of my majesty," judgment strikes—insanity of some sort. Yet from a darkness we cannot understand, Nebuchadnezzar eventually emerges to a clear repentance and then on to forgiveness and restoration.

"How do you know that?" you ask. By Nebuchadnezzar's own testimony: "I . . . raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High" (v. 34, niv). Nebuchadnezzar follows this with a magnificent testimony to God's sovereign power—from someone who knew what power was! God had succeeded in making Nebuchadnezzar a changed man.