Our scripture reading today is from Daniel chapter 4 as we continue to work our way through the book of Daniel. If you have your own Bibles, that's probably about two-thirds of the way through your book. If you're using the Bibles that are provided in the chairs, that's on page 879. And we will read the passage first before we get into it. So if you would stand with me for the reading of God's word. This is Daniel chapter 4. King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are His signs! How mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion endures from generation to generation. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed, the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. At last Daniel came in before me, he who was named Belteshazzar, after the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told him the dream, saying, O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw in their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these. I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant. In it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heaven lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a Watcher, a Holy One, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus, Chop down the tree and lop off its branches. Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him. And let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers and the decision by the word of the holy ones to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will and sets over it the lowliest of men. This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw, and you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation. But you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. Now you may sit, and I am going to continue reading. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream or its interpretation alarm you. Belteshazzar answered and said, my lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies. The tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived. It is you, O King, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze. in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field till seven periods of time pass over him. This is the interpretation, O King. It is a decree of the Most High, which has come upon my Lord the King. that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you till you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. And as it was commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules. Therefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of 12 months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, and the king answered and said, is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty? While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven. O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken, the kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will. Immediately, the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagle's feathers, and his nails were like bird claws. At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. And I blessed the most high and praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. And none can stay his hand or say to him, what have you done? At the same time, my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the king of heaven, for all his works are right, and his ways are just, and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. The grass withers, the flowers fade, and yet the word of the Lord remains forever. So when I was an assistant pastor in North Carolina, I was the worship leader, I was the youth director, I oversaw the small group ministries of the church, All of this while I was still in seminary, all of this because the pastor and the elders just took me in to mentor me and prepare me and give me opportunities really beyond my capabilities or training at the time. You would think that as a young man in a position like that, There really wouldn't be much room for pride in my heart. You would think that, wouldn't you? One afternoon I was in my office working and I got a call from the senior pastor, which was strange because he was at the church also working, but he was down in the main building meeting with a young woman. and asked me to come down and join them in their meeting. And she was a sweet woman, a young family. When she came, she really just immediately fell in love with Terry, our pastor, just as an excellent pastor and a person who cared well for her and her family. But she'd come to church that day to tell our pastor in tears that they were leaving the church. Now, this was nothing new. As, I mean, if you're in church for more than four Sundays in a row, you realize people leave the church. Maybe that might have been a little too cynical, maybe 12 Sundays in a row. But people leave the church all the time. Now, what was new was that she was leaving Redeemer Church because of me. There should have been more of a gasp. Yes, exactly, because of me. I had in my youthfulness, in my ignorance, maybe just in my fallen nature, I had said things, careless things, more than once, that had hurt her. And she was struggling to come to worship under a person who could lead worship on a Sunday and say such careless and hurtful things at other times. And so I walked away from this meeting in utter shock. People did not leave the church because of me. People left the church because of the pastor. People left the church because of the elders. People stayed at the church because of me. I was the hope that they could find in the dark, stodgy world of Presbyterianism. It sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn't it? I can remember having to have a long talk with the pastor, my best friend and mentor, and admit to him that was my opinion of the church, that people leave because of you, they stay because of me. And it was shocking. Now, in other arguments that Terry and I would have later, he would say to me, you know, I used to think that you were the most humble person I have ever met, and I have been so incorrect. And he would say, I think you might be the proudest, most stubborn person I've ever met. And I would just respond, well, who's more stubborn, the brick wall or the fool trying to knock down the brick wall? Which never went very far. It's interesting that the end, that last thing Nebuchadnezzar says is the lesson, isn't it? Those who walk in pride, God is able to humble. This chapter is fascinating because in many ways it's similar to everything else we've seen so far in Daniel. Like, it follows so similar the pattern that is set up. Like, there's a problem or a test The problem is faced positively. The people pass the test, and then the ones who pass the test are promoted. So, a problem, a test, pass the test, promotion. So, you know, the problem of, are we going to defile ourselves as young Hebrews being exiled here? And they choose not to. And in choosing not to, God blesses them, and then they're promoted. The problem of the who can interpret the dream for Nebuchadnezzar, and Daniel comes, and he says, well, it's not me, but it's God, but he interprets the dream. The test is passed, and he's promoted, or the test of who will you worship? Will you worship God alone, or will you worship God? And these other things that Nebuchadnezzar sets up, and the three friends, they face the test, they pass the test, and in the end, they're promoted. Also in all of these, Nebuchadnezzar is front and center, isn't he? He's involved in every chapter so far. This is the last chapter about Nebuchadnezzar. He'll be mentioned next week in chapter five, but this is it for Nebuchadnezzar. And also, at the end of every lesson, Especially chapters 2 and 3, Nebuchadnezzar has this statement about God that he makes. After the test is passed, Nebuchadnezzar seems to see some true things about God. So in chapter 2, verse 47, Nebuchadnezzar himself says, "'Truly your God is a God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries.'" And in chapter 3, verses 28 and 29, blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who delivered his servants who trusted in him. No other God is able to rescue in this way. And those are all what we would call theologically accurate statements. God is indeed the God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries. God is the only one able to rescue. But there's a difference between knowing theological truths about God and knowing the true God personally as your God. You know, they say that the hardest distance to travel is the 18 inches from your brain to your heart. Some of you have bigger heads than I do, so maybe yours is 20 inches, but I don't mean like figuratively, I mean literally. I mean figuratively, as clearly we have just seen in the opening illustration, nobody has a bigger head than your pastor. It's very sad. But notice what's missing in all of those theological statements about God, the direct object. God is the God of gods, but He's not the God of me. He is the Lord of kings, but He's not the Lord of me. He's Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's God, but He's not my God. In fact, He's able to rescue even those who trust in Him, which is good. for those people out there who need rescuing. I mean, it's nice that God is that kind and that generous and that compassionate because I know a lot of people that need God's compassion, and I pray for them regularly. Have you ever thought, maybe you're wise enough not to let the words work through your head truly, but I mean, it's good for other people that Jesus died on a cross, because they really need a Savior. I mean, I'm fine. I'm doing just fine, but that's nice that Jesus died on the cross for sinners, because I know a lot of sinners who need Jesus very badly. So what happened? Like this, in as much as this section is similar to other sections, there's some pretty glaring differences, aren't there? First of all, all those other tests and trials and troubles were for God's people. It's God's people who decide they won't be defiled. God watches over them. He protects them. They're promoted. It's God's people who are able to interpret the dreams. God cares for them, provides for them, and they're promoted. It's God's people who say no to worshiping the statue. I will only bow and worship God, and it's God who rescues and God who delivers. God's people. This entire chapter is not about God's people. but about the leader of the enemies of God's people, the king who had taken God's people into exile, the king who had destroyed Jerusalem, the city of God, burned down and destroyed the temple stolen the vessels that were used in the temple as an act and statement of, my God is bigger than your God. This man had just attempted to murder Daniel's three friends. He had taken the most noble and fittest of the men, of young men of Judah, even descendants of David himself, and had them castrated and brought in as servants to Nebuchadnezzar. This man is who the entire chapter is about. In fact, it's from his own words. It opens and ends with first person, Nebuchadnezzar. It seems Nebuchadnezzar's like, I gotta tell this story. Daniel, let me have some space in your scroll here, because people have got to hear this. Also, the passing of the test, not exactly what happens here, is it? Certainly there's a test. Nebuchadnezzar fails the test. Nebuchadnezzar realizes, and then Nebuchadnezzar is restored and even promoted. But there is a failure of the test that goes on in this section, in this chapter. And yet, even with the failure, Nebuchadnezzar's too eager for you to know the story. Another difference is that every chapter is sort of suspenseful in how it's laid out, isn't it? Like, are they gonna be killed for not eating the king's food? And then they're not, they're saved. We all breathe a sigh of relief. All the wise men are about to be beheaded. Is Daniel gonna know? And then he knows, and he finds out, and God reveals the mystery, and phew, the danger is averted. And then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they're about to be thrown into the fiery furnace. God is able, but even if He doesn't, what does that mean, even if He doesn't? Is He going to? And then He does, and the problem is averted. Nebuchadnezzar doesn't know how to build suspense. Most kings don't. They just blurt out the answer at the very beginning and he opens the entire section with this powerful doxology, this powerful statement of praise of God that if David had written it, we'd be like, what a beautiful psalm. Or if Isaiah had written it, we'd say, what a beautiful picture of what God is going to do in the future. Or if Moses had written it, we'd say, what a beautiful picture of how God redeems and rescues his people. And it's Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar says, "'It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.'" He's bearing testimony of what God has done for him. How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. His dominion endures from generation to generation. And we've been reading three chapters about Nebuchadnezzar and you have to at least be slightly curious, how did Nebuchadnezzar get here? How? This is so much different from what he says at the end of chapter two and what he says at the end of chapter three. This God out there has become Nebuchadnezzar's God. How did that happen? And Nebuchadnezzar says, I'm so glad you asked. I will tell you how this happened. And we have to see, first he wants to explain, first let me show you how exalted I was, or at least how self-important I was. Verse four, I was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace. To say that things were going well for Nebuchadnezzar might be an understatement. Like, he is the ruler of the civilized world right now. He is doing okay. But just like in chapter 2, he's a little nervous about his reign, a little nervous about his height in glory, and he has a dream. And the dream is disturbing. But not to be worried, Nebuchadnezzar's a powerful man, and so he calls for all of his assistants. He calls for his wise men, the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, the astrologers. He probably called for his pipe and his bowl and his fiddlers three. He probably called for all of his king's horses and all of his king's men. But none of them can put together what is going on in his dream. And so finally, Nebuchadnezzar calls for Daniel. Finally, Nebuchadnezzar calls for Daniel. It's not a huge point, but it is a picture of pride, isn't it? It's a subtle picture of pride. Do I turn to God at the beginning of a problem or at the end? Do I first exhaust all the possibilities? Like, I can figure this out. I got this. I'm gonna use some wisdom, use some worldly wisdom. I'll sprinkle it with some Bible verses. I can, you know, this is, I mean, God obviously trusts me to figure this out. That's why He gave me this trial, this trouble, this problem. And at the end, finally, you can't figure it out. All right, well, I guess we'll ask God. I guess I'll pray. I think there's an intentionality behind laying it out for us like this. He sought all the other gods, wise men first. And finally, you know, it's almost this, listen, I know God can do these things, but I'm sure, come on, guys, come on, Marduk, come on, Bel, do something. Let's show them that we're not just idiots, and none of them can do anything. I do wonder, because the dream does seem sort of obvious. I mean, certainly not like perfectly obvious, but it's hard not to read the dream and be like, dude, how do you not know that's about you? And how do these Chaldeans and astrologers and wise men, they're here in the dream and they're looking at each other and they're like, you tell him. I'm not gonna tell him, you tell him. We don't know. We don't know, King, what that tree is or why like halfway through he's referred to in like, as he, like, stumps or its, we all know that, but apparently he's gonna lose his mind and have a mind, I don't, you know, I think it might be about the candlestick maker. I don't, you know, it's hard to tell, really, these dreams are hard. Dreams are funny, Neb, they're just funny. But whether they really knew the dream or didn't know the dream, they do reveal that they don't love the king. Like if they don't, if they do know the interpretation, they don't care. They care about their own selves. They care about their own heads. And even if what appears that they just don't know, it's another sign that the gods of Babylon are not gods. They don't provide anything. They are sightless, mouthless, Earless they have nothing they can offer as far as wisdom or understanding But if they are hedging their bets, isn't it incredible the difference between how they respond to Nebuchadnezzar and how Daniel responds to Nebuchadnezzar It is hard to fathom a person more devoted to a caring for King Nebuchadnezzar than Daniel. First of all, we see that Daniel is not delighted by this dream at all, is he? Now, how would you and I approach this dream? You know, considering our last memory is of the king was going to burn your three best friends alive for simply only worshiping the one true God. He was intent on murdering them. You might even say that he did. It's not like he murdered them in his mind. It's not like he had bad feelings toward them. He put them in a fiery furnace. His actions were murderous. His thoughts were murderous. Everything about what he did was murderous. It's only because God intervened that they didn't die. And yet Daniel takes no delight in this dream. And he even has to be encouraged by Nebuchadnezzar, listen, whatever it is, just tell me. And you hear how he starts, he says, my Lord, may the dream be for those who hate you. May its interpretation not apply to you, but to your enemies. Daniel, we have seen already, Daniel and his three friends, they love and serve the Lord. Like there's no question about that. But Daniel loves and serves Nebuchadnezzar. Now if those two are ever in conflict, there's no question about who's going to win. Daniel will serve the Lord instead of Nebuchadnezzar. But when those things aren't in conflict, Daniel serves King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel desires good for the king of Babylon. The man responsible for all these things that we mentioned at the beginning. This man who has attempted to murder Daniel's three friends. If anyone has reason to hate Nebuchadnezzar, to desire his downfall, isn't it Daniel? And yet, look at how Daniel interprets the dream. First, he honors Nebuchadnezzar. He just begins by saying all these good things, this tree, this fruit, everything, all this good stuff about this tree, it's you, O king, you. You are the one who has grown. You are the one who's powerful. You have done great things, and all the nations look to you. He honors the king. He explains the hope that the dream includes. Like he doesn't leave out that this is only going to be for a season. He explains, listen, there's gonna be seven periods of time that pass until you finally come to your senses and acknowledge and honor God as the one true God. And then even beyond the dream, he's not asked for counsel, but he offers it, doesn't he? He cares enough about Nebuchadnezzar to call him from his sin. In verse 27. Therefore, O King, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by practicing righteousness and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed so that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. Daniel loves this pagan king so much that he treats him with honor and doesn't shade the truth. Like he speaks the truth to the king, what's needed, but he also honors and speaks to the king with compassion. We, even among brothers and sisters in Christ, Are we willing to do that for each other? The path you are on is dangerous. Turn around. Repent. Turn away from these choices. Turn away from these things. Either turn or know that the path you are on does not end well. I fear for you. Do we love each other even in the church, let alone a pagan neighbor? Do we love each other enough to speak truth when we see sin? Can we say to one another, I love you? Stop. Stop. Daniel loves King Nebuchadnezzar. He offers him counsel. Now, that's strange because it seems like the dream and its interpretation, he says, like, the fact that you saw a watcher, it's done. This is a done deal, Neb. There is no backing out of this. And yet, he says to him, so repent. In one sense, it's an admission maybe that maybe these seven periods, maybe nobody knows what these seven periods are, but it's clear that it's until you see your ways. Why would Daniel say, listen, if you repent, maybe God won't do the things He just said He would do? Well, wouldn't that make God a liar? Well, Daniel knew his God. He knew the heart of his God. Apparently, he knew passages of scripture that had perhaps not even dried on the parchments yet. He knew at least of a God who was spoken of in Jeremiah 18. If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, if that nation concerning which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. Perhaps he'd heard of a young prophet named Jonah, who went to Nineveh. And the only thing he said was, in 40 days, your entire town is gone. You're all sinners. God hates you. I hate you. I don't even know why I'm here. 40 days, you're dead. And what does Nineveh say? Well, maybe we should repent. And they do. And God relents. or in Ezekiel 33, listen to me, you son of man, say to the house of Israel, surely, those of you who have said, surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, we rot away because of them, how can we live? Well, say to them, as I live, declares the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live. So turn back, turn back from your evil ways. Why will you die, O house of Israel? And it seems that perhaps Nebuchadnezzar is perplexed by the dream and its interpretation. But isn't it incredible what comes next 12 months later? So first, see the patience of God. See the patience of God 12 months later. The warning came and yet God was patient. I wonder if you have heard God's warnings and are misunderstanding his patience. I wonder if we interpret God's patience as God doesn't see, God doesn't care, God doesn't know. Our call to worship from Psalm 50, there's a verse in it where God turns to the nations and he says, these things you have done and I have been silent and you thought that I was one like yourself. Sometimes we don't interpret God's silence as patience, but as favor. But in verses 29 to 30, at the end of 12 months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon and the king answered and said, is not this great Babylon which I have built with my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty? You know, we hear the parable, do you hear the parable, or Jesus speaking when he says, so there was this guy, he was wealthy, he was successful, and he says, look at what I have done, I have made so much money, I'm going to tear down my barns and build bigger barns and I will have my leisure and rest, and God comes to him and says, you fool. today your soul is going to be required of you and what will happen to all your stuff. You can hear it in Nebuchadnezzar. Now listen, Babylon was impressive. The city of Babylon itself was surrounded by a moat and then outside that moat were two walls, these double walls. One was like 25 feet thick and one was 23 feet thick, these walls. And each of them had towers and guard towers on them. And then outside of that was another wall that went 17 miles in perimeter. And those double walls were even more, even thicker and even more glorious. And here's Nebuchadnezzar standing on the top of his palace looking at all of this. And he's just impressed with what he has amassed. And he has not one shred of thought for what God has done for him. Aren't you glad that we are not like that? Like, I mean, we don't amass walls and moats. I mean, we're very good about the stuff that we have. I mean, certainly we don't have one refrigerator inside, and when it gets too full, we put another refrigerator in the garage, and when it gets too full, we put a freezer beside it. Like, we don't amass things for ourselves. I mean, we certainly don't fill our attics with things that we never, ever, ever, ever are going to look at again. Until that's so full that we make some storage space in the basement for some of those things that we're never, ever, ever, ever going to look at again. And then when that gets too full, we pay someone to take and store stuff. And if you think you're never going to look at the stuff in your basement again, pay someone to store your stuff and tell me how frequently you go over there and rummage through the memories. And, oh, do you remember this? No. No. And do we in any of those moments think, man, God has been ridiculously, overwhelmingly, probably too good to me. Or do we look at these things and say, look, I can't get rid of this stuff. I mean, I did this. I did, like I remember when I, like this was our first this, and this was our first this, and look how far we've come, and I can't let go of that. You know, there's a reality of the idea that everyone in the world, in all of history, will one day be humbled. Either you will recognize your humble estate and be willingly humbled, or God will humble you. For some, that humbling will come in this life, as it does for Nebuchadnezzar. For some, that humbling will not come until Christ establishes His full reign on earth. And then, as Paul says in Philippians, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It's not a question of whether you bow, but when. and if it will be too late. Nebuchadnezzar comes face to face with the sovereignty of God. And he said that when you face the full sovereignty of God, the only two possible responses to it are that you will either be humbled or you will be hardened. You will either be humbled by the sovereignty of God when you face it, or you will hate the sovereignty of God. Neb refused to humble himself, and therefore it is left to God to humble him. While the words were still in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven." Maybe you hear this passage and think, see, this is why I can't believe the Bible. Like, what in the world? What happened to Nebuchadnezzar? Dude like suddenly goes out and is wandering the earth like a cow? He's eating grass, he's sleeping under the dew. Like, this is not even believable. But it's actually not unheard of. And you can Google it. Boanthropy is a It is a psychotic, it is a mental disorder in which a person thinks they are a cow. It's a specific category of what's called zoanthropy, which is just any general animal. It really happens. There are modern-day occurrences of it. Often it's associated with schizophrenia. or with psychotic levels of depression, or with just severe bipolar, but it is real. And so I'm not telling you that we just figured out that Nebuchadnezzar is the first recorded case of schizophrenia. I'm not even saying that that's what happened to him. I'm just saying it's not unreasonable, and looking for reasons to not believe the Bible, this ain't one of them, because this stuff happens, and so we can just move on from that. but he's humbled. We don't really know what the seven periods of time are. It could just be until the perfection, till you come to your senses, you know, seven is completion, till the completion of the periods of time. Might be seven years. Some say it is seven years. It doesn't need to be. It's at least long enough that he needs a haircut and a trim really badly. Like his hair is as long as eagle feathers. His fingernails are as long as bird claws, claws, excuse me. It may simply mean until Nebuchadnezzar learned what God was teaching him because in verse 34 it says, at the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. Isn't it something, twice in this, in Nebuchadnezzar's statement, twice he refers to his reason returning to him, and the result of his reason returning to him is praising and worshiping God. And the world will tell you that worshiping God, that Christianity, that this is probably the most unreasonable thing you could do. And if you would just think reasonably, you would see that. And yet, here is Nebuchadnezzar saying, it was when my reason returned. When you are faced with the sovereignty and glory of God and the creatureliness of yourself, The only reasonable response is bowing in worship. And Nebuchadnezzar recognizes this. Especially if you and I consider that that sovereign God of the universe is also the savior of sinners. I mean, the whole point of giving Nebuchadnezzar the dream was that a sovereign God had compassion on a sinner. To bring a warning to him, this is what's coming. So turn from your sin. The reality that it even came, the whole purpose of the humbling, the whole purpose of his losing his place was so that he would find God, that he would learn that the one who dwells in the highest of heavens is near to the contrite, to those who are broken by their sins. I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven. My reason returned to me. I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. Some read this and analyze Nebuchadnezzar's statements here and notice that there's still a lot of I and me at the end of the chapter and think, you know, I don't know how sincere he was. I mean, after all, it is Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The only thing I'd ask about that is, Have all of your times of repentance been perfectly sincere? Like, have all the times that you have worshipped and praised God and recognized who He is and who you're not, have they all been just absolutely perfect stellar moments of, I get it now, I am, I will never do that again? Like, maybe, maybe instead of worrying about, wonder if this was real for Nebuchadnezzar, maybe, I don't know, maybe, ask yourself, Is it real? Am I being sincere when I repent, when I return to God? Is there sincerity in my heart? Or is it just easier to judge a heart that's 2,000 years dead, 4,000 years dead? Some people have called Nebuchadnezzar the Babylonian Job. And so if you're familiar with the book of Job, it's about a very godly man who loses everything, but he doesn't sin, he doesn't give up, even though he's in despair. And in the end, God restores him. That's part of the key, though, that he's not really the Babylonian Job, because Nebuchadnezzar Lost everything because he was, because of his sin. Like, that wasn't Job's problem. That was Job's friend's problem, and assuming that was Job's problem, I wonder though, maybe, maybe Nebuchadnezzar is the Babylonian prodigal son who refuses to humble himself. who despises his father, wants nothing to do with him, and runs off, and it's only when he's humbled, it's only when he's lost everything, that he realizes the folly of his choices. And even in his imperfect return to his father, I'm gonna fix this. I'll earn it back, I'll earn it back. And even as he comes back with that faulty repentance, the father sees him and runs to him and embraces him and says, we have to celebrate. This, my son, was lost and he's found. He was dead and he's alive. Rather than arguing over whether Nebuchadnezzar's heart was truly humbled, wouldn't it be more reasonable for us to all look inward and say, is my heart truly humbled? Do I have the reasonableness to recognize that God is sovereign over both the great matters of earth and over the matters of my own heart and life? What pride is keeping you from Jesus today? Let's pray.