Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: Now there are a few remarks that I have to make about chapter 4. I understand we finished verse 27. Apparently the last verse that we have covered in our last meeting together was verse 27, and I want to go into it a little bit. Let me read a few verses into chapter 4. Verse 28 of chapter 4 to verse 36:

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the 12 months, he walked in the palace of his kingdom, the kingdom of Babylon. And the king spoke and he said, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" While the words were in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee until thou shalt know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will."

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven and my understanding returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.

And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand or say unto Him, "What doest thou?" At the same time, my reason returned unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me. And my counselors and my lords sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth and His ways are judgment. And those that walk in pride, He is able to abase.

I want to pause here for a minute and just make a remark, and I am going to go back a little bit into chapter 4. Up until now, we have been studying the prophet Daniel. We have been occupied so far, if you remember, with chapter 1. We have dealt with the fact that Israel, our people, the Jewish people, had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar from Jerusalem, from the land of Israel. Because of disobedience, the nation of Israel had been taken captive to Babylon. They have been in Babylon, we know, for 70 years.

Now, of course, when we are studying the book of Daniel, in the period of time in which we are studying, we are still in the period of time of the history of the people of Israel under the Babylonian captivity. They are still, by the end of chapter 4, under the leadership and authority of King Nebuchadnezzar. We have studied chapter 2, and we have learned from chapter 2 that God had shown Nebuchadnezzar a special dream, the image if you remember.

It showed Nebuchadnezzar the history of the times of the Gentiles, which would begin with King Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian, then the Medo-Persian, then the Grecian, ultimately the Roman, and then the revived Roman Empire, which is eventually going to be devastated and ended by the second coming of the Messiah Himself. We have studied that in chapter 2.

Of course, when we went to chapter 3, we had the interesting story of this image that Nebuchadnezzar built of gold. He wanted everybody in the kingdom of Babylon to come and worship that particular image. But there were three Jewish boys who did not want to fall and worship this particular image. These boys are Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, normally known in the world and by those who read the scriptures usually by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

But those three Hebrew boys, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, would not bow to King Nebuchadnezzar and to the image that he made. He threw them into the furnace fire, and there in the midst of the fire, we find out that one like the Son of Man had been with them, and they did not burn at all. Nebuchadnezzar called them to come out, and surely they came out. There was nothing of any of their clothes or any of their body that had been burned. They had come out alive because God had preserved these Jewish boys because of their faithfulness to the God of Israel.

Then if you remember, we went to chapter 4, and because Nebuchadnezzar was such a proud man, God had to deal with Nebuchadnezzar. God did deal with him, if you remember the story of chapter 4, which we almost covered. We did not quite get to cover the ending of the chapter, and that is what I am going to do right now. You remember what happened? Nebuchadnezzar was so proud. He was walking in the palace in his kingdom in Babylon and he said, "Is not this Babylon, this great Babylon, which I have made, I have built with my own hand for my own self, for my own glory?"

Because of his pride, God had to punish Nebuchadnezzar, and He surely did. He punished him tremendously. If you just turn back to chapter 4 for a minute, notice what we read in verse 27. Apparently, that was the last portion that we have dealt with. In verse 27, Daniel said to the king, "Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee. 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 said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "Nebuchadnezzar, there is a solution to the problem." What was the solution to the problem? King Nebuchadnezzar, you have to confess your sins and you have to change your manner, to change your behavior. But Nebuchadnezzar did not change his behavior. Because he did not change his behavior, judgment came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. The fulfillment of the judgment that fell upon Nebuchadnezzar comes about. Notice that in verses 28 to 30.

First of all, notice the sin of Nebuchadnezzar. It says here, "All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of 12 months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. And the king spoke and he said, 'Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?' While the words were in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from thee.'"

So you see what we learn about King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar really did not listen to the voice and to the counsel of Daniel. You notice it says here in verse 29 that at the end of 12 months, he walked in the palace of his kingdom in Babylon. In other words, 12 months passed, one year passed, and King Nebuchadnezzar, instead of listening to the counsel of Daniel, he was lofty in pride. He was looking at his great kingdom that he had built, the kingdom of Babylon.

He was looking around and he says in verse 30, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?" You see the pride that was in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar. It really caused God to bring upon him a judgment that he deserved because of pride. One of the greatest problems that the human race has is pride.

Pride is that which oftentimes causes us to stumble, to fall, or to go astray. There are a lot of frictions and problems between individuals, between friends, between families, between brothers and sisters, and even between churches and those who belong to the Lord Jesus the Messiah because of pride. It brings about judgment and divisions. God will resist the proud, but He is going to give grace to the humble. Well, Nebuchadnezzar did not humble himself and he became extremely, extremely proud.

He was looking at the city of Babylon. The city of Babylon was about 15 miles square. It had walls so high, about 350 feet high. The width of the walls was about 87 feet wide. You look at this city and you say, "Nobody is going to be able to take over this city. This is what I have accomplished for myself, for my glory. Nobody is able to fight against this city. This monument here in this world is never going to end, and I have built it for my glory by my power."

Well, that pride, he could look at this and it was a great achievement. But instead of giving glory to God, instead of giving glory to the God who had given him all this, the God of Israel, Nebuchadnezzar was proud and he was occupied now with himself. Now notice what happens in verses 31 to 33, the judgment that fell upon King Nebuchadnezzar. While the words were in the king's mouth, while he was saying it, "Is not this great Babylon that I have built?" there fell a voice from heaven.

It says here in verse 31 that the voice came from heaven saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from thee." Nebuchadnezzar, you can speak about this, you can be proud about the position that you have or about this great city that you have built, but now God is saying to him, "This kingdom is departed from thee." Notice verse 32, "They shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven years shall pass over thee until thou shalt know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth it to whomsoever He will."

This is really the central verse of the book of Daniel. Verse 32 of chapter 4 is the central verse: that God is ruling in the kingdom of men and He giveth the kingdom to whomsoever He will. That is the theme of the book of Daniel. Everything that man has today had been given to him by God. We made allusion a couple of times and spoke about Saddam Hussein, which today, we do not know where he is found. He is running somewhere in Iraq. Maybe he is alive, maybe he is not alive.

But about a year and a half or two years ago, he was priding himself as the one that is in authority and in control over all the area. In fact, we had been told that he was going to emulate Nebuchadnezzar. He was going to take the rule of this world like Nebuchadnezzar was at that time. We find out very quickly that Saddam Hussein is not around anymore to have the same power that he had. He is running and hiding somewhere. Maybe he is not alive even today, we do not know.

The point that I am trying to say is that we all need to learn that everything that we have ultimately has been given to us by God. Everything that we possess ultimately has been given us by God. God resists pride and He gives grace to those who are humble. Also now the judgment came. First of all, the timing, verse 31, while he spoke. Secondly, notice the sentence being pronounced, verse 32. They are going to drive you from men. Your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.

They shall make thee to eat grass like oxen, and seven years shall pass over thee until you will know, King Nebuchadnezzar, that I am the one that is ruling over the affairs of men. The timing was while he spoke and the sentence was to be driven from men. His dwelling place would be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make him to eat grass like an ox. That was the punishment that Nebuchadnezzar was going to receive because of his pride. The very same king that had authority over so many people, right now the judgment of God was going to fall on him.

Notice quickly in verse 33: "The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar, and he was driven from men, and he did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws." I cannot even fathom what it meant for King Nebuchadnezzar to experience such a thing. Can you imagine? Everything had been fulfilled. He had been driven away from men. He was no longer enjoying the company of people.

He did eat grass like oxen. His body was wet with the dew of heaven. He did not have anymore an indoor place to stay. He ended up living an outdoor life for seven years. Finally it says his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. What we learn from this is that the judgment of God came upon Nebuchadnezzar and literally, he became like an animal living outdoors in the cold and in the wet for seven years. He literally lived like an animal for seven years.

Now quickly, notice what it says from verse 34 to verse 36. We see the restoration. First of all, notice Nebuchadnezzar, his eyes lifted up to God in verse 34. "And at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me. And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation."

Notice one thing that we find out immediately in the restoration. We find Nebuchadnezzar now does not look at himself, but he lifted up his eyes to heaven. He was no longer occupied with himself. He was occupied now with the God of heaven. His eyes were turned to heaven. He no longer lifted himself in pride after seven years of experience. His understanding returned to him. And what does he do? He blessed the Most High and he praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

He no longer speaks about his kingdom, but he is speaking about the kingdom of God. He is no longer elevating himself, but he is elevating God, the Most High God. This is the change that happened in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, many believe that by the time Nebuchadnezzar had experienced this seven-year experience, Nebuchadnezzar came to faith in the true and living God, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Daniel. He came to the end of himself. He came truly to acknowledge the God of Daniel.

So he blessed the Most High. He has honored and praised Him. He has said, "You live forever and ever. You are the one who possessed dominion. You are the one who have an everlasting dominion and You are the one that have a kingdom from generation to generation." Here there was a complete change in the life of King Nebuchadnezzar. In verse 35: "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing. And He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay His hand or say unto Him, 'What doest thou?'"

He by now completely changed and now he is acknowledging the God of Israel and giving Him the honor that belongs to Him. So God had restored Nebuchadnezzar. With this, we believe that here Nebuchadnezzar came to faith in the true and living God finally. Oh, he believed in the God of Daniel, but in other gods up to this point. He said to Daniel, "Daniel, your God is a great God and is a greater among many gods." But here we find out that he truly came to recognize that there is only one God and that is the God of Daniel.

Notice his kingdom returned to him in verse 36: "At the same time, my reason returned unto me, and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me. And my counselors and my lords sought unto me, and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me." Here is the final restoration. God had been so gracious to Nebuchadnezzar that after the seven years that he had gone and became like an animal living away from the human race, God had restored to him the kingdom.

He had given him everything. In fact, it says in verse 36 that excellent majesty was added unto him. In other words, he received much more than what he had lost because of his pride. There is a great, great lesson for us to learn from this chapter. God is going to deal with pride one way or another. The final verse of this chapter, in verse 37, the conclusion, the praise of the King of heaven is a threefold conclusion.

"Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven." Notice he is not occupied with himself as the king, but he is occupied with another King. And that King is the Lord from heaven, the God of heaven, the God of Daniel. "All whose works are truth and His ways are judgment, and those that walk in pride, He is able to abase." That is so real. Those that walk in pride, God is able to humble.

Now, what is the lesson for us here in this chapter? I am going to challenge you and I am going to challenge myself. How are we with our attitude on a day-to-day basis? Do we have pride in our own hearts? And if we do, the question is do we seek the Lord's help to confess our pride and to ask Him to give us humility and the proper attitude so we might be able to be used by the Lord as servants here in this world? I want to read two verses from the New Testament. Turn to the book of James chapter 4, verse 10. James was writing to Hebrew Christians in the early century. In Hebrew, we call him Ya'akov. Ya'akov was writing to first-century Hebrew believers in the Messiah and notice what he said to them.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0 or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com. You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.