In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar finally comes to his senses after being humbled by his own pride. He had become so convinced of his own power and greatness that he forgot the most important truth: God is God, and we are not. In this reflection, we look briefly at the historical questions surrounding Nebuchadnezzar’s period of madness, but more importantly, we consider the spiritual truth at the heart of the story. Pride can convince us that we are in control, that we don’t need God or anyone else, and that we can manage life on our own. But Nebuchadnezzar discovers that humility brings him back to himself. We don’t have to control everything, have everything figured out, or carry everything alone. When we recognize our dependence on God, release our need for control, and live with humility, we can begin to find peace, purpose, and sanity again.
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Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this Wednesday morning. I hope you’re well and that your week is going well.
I’m looking forward to today. Wednesdays are always fun, especially now that we’re getting back into our regular rhythms with school starting. We have Bible study at 10:00 this morning and another Bible study tonight at 6:00 after our meal here at Historical First. So if you’re around the Starkville area and you’re looking for a good Bible study to be part of on Wednesdays, we’d love to have you.
Wednesday morning at 10:00, we’re studying James. Then tonight at 6:00, we’re studying Matthew. Either way, we’d love to have you as we dig a little deeper into God’s Word.
Today we’re going to finish Daniel chapter 4. Yesterday we read about Nebuchadnezzar’s arrogance and how that arrogance brought judgment upon him. Today we get to see his response to what happened to him.
Let’s read Daniel 4:34–37:
“When that period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. I blessed the Most High and praised and honored the one who lives forever. For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does what he wills with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
At that time my reason returned to me, and my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom. My counselors and my lords sought me out, I was reestablished over 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 truth and his ways are justice; and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride.”
I want to begin by talking a little bit about Nebuchadnezzar and where this story fits into the historical record.
One of the things I think is fascinating when we study Scripture is biblical archaeology. I’ve talked about this before in Bible studies, and I’ve probably mentioned it here, but I think it’s worth remembering how much historical evidence we have for the people, places, nations, and events that appear in Scripture.
Daniel is an Old Testament book connected to the period of the Babylonian exile. We have ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, that give us tremendous evidence for the reliability of the biblical text.
And Nebuchadnezzar himself is not a fictional character. He was a real Babylonian king. We have extensive historical evidence for his reign and for Babylon.
But what about this particular story? Do we have a historical record outside of the Bible that says Nebuchadnezzar went through this period of madness?
Well, not definitively.
There are some ancient sources that describe Nebuchadnezzar as being unwell or behaving strangely, and there is also an ancient account of a Babylonian king whose story has some similarities to what we find here in Daniel. But we don’t have a historical document that says, “Nebuchadnezzar went mad for seven years and lived like an animal,” exactly as Daniel describes it.
So I think it’s important to be honest about that.
We can’t definitively prove this particular episode from outside historical sources. But neither can we disprove it. There is enough historical context around Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon, and this period of history that we certainly don’t have to dismiss the account as historically impossible.
But here’s the thing: history is not faith.
And I think sometimes we can get so bogged down in proving every historical detail that we miss the greater point of the story.
The greater point is this:
Nebuchadnezzar’s pride had made him lose touch with reality.
His pride unmoored him.
His pride cost him.
His pride embarrassed him.
His pride ultimately brought him down.
And it wasn’t until he humbled himself and acknowledged God’s goodness and God’s sovereignty that his reason returned to him.
I think there is something incredibly important for us in that.
One of the bedrocks of addiction recovery and twelve-step programs is the recognition that we need help. We need God. We need other people. We cannot do this by ourselves.
And I think that’s a pretty good bedrock for faith and for life, too.
Our pride can destroy us.
It can make fools of us.
It can convince us that we have everything under control when we really don’t.
It can make us think that we are self-sufficient when we are actually deeply dependent upon God and upon other people.
There’s that old saying that competition is the thief of joy. Well, I think pride can be the thief of peace.
Because pride tells us, “I’ve got this.”
“I can handle it.”
“I don’t need anybody.”
“I’m in control.”
But eventually life reminds us that we aren’t.
Nebuchadnezzar had to learn that lesson in a pretty dramatic way. Maybe you haven’t been driven out of your kingdom. Maybe you haven’t grown hair like eagle feathers or fingernails like bird claws. Hopefully you haven’t spent your mornings covered in dew eating grass!
But I imagine that most of us, at some point in our lives, have had our pride cause us to act in ways that made the people who love us worry about us.
I know I have.
And I’m guessing you probably have, too.
Nebuchadnezzar shows us a way out of the trap that pride creates.
It’s simply this:
Admit that you are not God.
That sounds simple, but it can be incredibly difficult.
We want control.
I want control.
I want to know what’s going to happen. I want to know how things are going to work out. I want to be able to fix things. I want to be able to make things right.
And sometimes it isn’t until we finally release that control that we begin to find sanity.
We begin to find peace.
We begin to find purpose.
Nebuchadnezzar thought he was God.
And in that misunderstanding—in that arrogance and pride—he lost himself.
But when he finally understood who God was, he found himself again.
And maybe that’s the word somebody needs today.
You don’t have to be God.
You don’t have to control everything.
You don’t have to have everything figured out.
You don’t have to carry everything by yourself.
You can let go.
You can ask for help.
You can trust God.
You can admit that you are not God.
Friends, you’re awesome. You’re great. I love you, and I’m thankful for you. I’m thankful that you spend some of your morning with us in Scripture, and I hope these reflections are a blessing to you.
But you’re not God.
And neither am I.
None of us are God.
And if we think we are in control of everything, we’re wrong.
It is only when we humble ourselves and recognize that God is God and we are not that we can begin to find peace.
Our pride can drive us mad.
But humility can show us the way home.
So today, let’s lean not on our own understanding. Let’s acknowledge God, trust God, and allow God to make our paths straight.
Let’s live today in the power of grace and humility.
Thanks for being with us. Have a great rest of your day, and I’ll see you tomorrow.