31While the word [was] in the
mouth of the king, a voice from the heavens fell: “To you ones saying,
Nebuchadnezzar the king, the kingdom has passed from you.”
This one little verse is so instructive, it’s hard to even put
into words its solemn enormity.
The Bible, from cover to cover, is full of the warning, “The
Day of the Lord will come.” Our Lord is a Rock and His truth is a Rock. We
humans seem to have no idea what squishy, soft, fragile beings we are until we
go splat against the Rock of God’s reality. “The Day of the Lord will
come.” He has His Day in the eschatological sense, when this world as we know
it will suddenly end, but He also has “His Day” at a million different times
throughout our lives and throughout history.
He allows us for a time to have “our day.” As with Adam
& Eve, He placed them in the Garden, gave them a literal paradise to live
in, then gave them the choice: “You may eat from any tree of the Garden, but
you must not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil.” It was their
choice. They got to have “their day.” Then the Lord came walking in the trees
of the Garden. And He had His Day. Satan told them they could be “as
gods.” They found out there’s only One.
What Nebuchadnezzar hadn’t yet learned (and few of us ever
do) is that, in reality, it is always God’s Day. It’s been twelve months since
Daniel clearly warned the king this very day was coming. From the minute the
words left Daniel’s mouth, the Lord
could have rained down this judgment on Nebuchadnezzar -- every single day for
the last 365.
We don’t know if, on this day, Nebuchadnezzar finally “crossed
the line.” It may very well be his pride and arrogance have offended the ears
of God every one of those last 365 days. The Lord may have allowed one year to
demonstrate His grace and mercy—it’s His
day, so He can choose when He wants to have it. But, regardless of all of that,
today is the day.
Is it not ominous to read, “While the words were still on
his lips…”? Nebuchadnezzar thinks he’s an independent actor – a god himself. He’s
standing there thinking he can say and do whatever he wants. He doesn’t answer
to anyone. And yet, “while the words were still on his lips…,” Someone
intervenes. Nebuchadnezzar, your goose is cooked.
I think it interesting that the Lord Himself speaks and
calls him “King Nebuchadnezzar.” Some people suggest the Lord is, in a sense,
mocking him – “So you think you’re a king, eh?” That may be true but I rather
think the Lord is actually treating him with respect. Even in judgment, I don’t
believe the Lord stoops to the kind of vindictive spirit we humans relish when
we think we’ve “won.” Remember He gave him the dream to warn him, a prophet to
speak directly to him, the promise that his kingdom would be restored to him,
and now twelve months to respond. I don’t think that kind, loving heart
suddenly ended today.
But, for all of that, it is still true that today’s the day.
Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t think he has to answer to God, but “while the words were
still on his lips” a voice from heaven fell. God was listening. God was
watching. “Your kingdom is taken from you.”
The very thing Nebuchadnezzar thought he could boast about –
his kingdom – is taken from him in a heartbeat.
I guess my big take away from all of this is that we all need
to be so careful to stay humble. The Bible isn’t kidding when it warns us, “God
resists the proud.” All that we have, all that we are, all that we accomplish
come to us from the hand of God. “What do you have that you did not receive?”
Our proper place is to acknowledge Him as God and be thankful.
May Nebuchadnezzar remind us all today that “the Most High
rules.” This is His Day. I get to live
in it. I get to enjoy great freedom in it. But I need to remember throughout it
that this is His world and the very life I enjoy is a gift from His hand.
Lord, help us all to be humble. May it not have to be true
of us that “while the words were still on his/her lips” we force Him to have to
take from us the very things we hold most dear. May we sincerely, humbly hold
His gifts in thankfulness and enjoy what He always intended to be our greatest
blessings!
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