Good Morning! 2009.02.27 - Dan 4:26-27 - Quit Your Sinning!

And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be alengthening of thy tranquillity (Dan 4:26-27).

Daniel's Counsel: Quit Your Sinning! "This one verse (27) stands uniquely alone from the rest of the thirty-six verses in our chapter. What a pity that most commentators have passed it by with little or no comment at all! Daniel offered what he had not been asked to give—sound spiritual counsel. It takes moral courage for a preacher to apply the truth and admonish his hearers as did Daniel."(Strauss-written 1967-68)

We don't know what Nebuchadnezzar's reaction was to such forthright advice from Daniel. The king had run short on reliable advisors in this dream crisis. His soul was in a bind. You would think he would take it to heart. But when you mess with a man's ego and habit, it takes some doing to get him to see that he's strolling through a mine field. It's hard to believe that the upset king would ignore the advice of the preacher who knew so much about him, but that's exactly what he did.

It's always risky to urge a man to quit his sinning. We tend to protect our pet sins like we protect our pet dogs and cats. They are family. And even if a man knows he ought to quit his sinning, it can be done later at a more convenient time. On the other hand, finding a preacher or Bible teacher who will lay it on the line is getting to be as scarce as hen's teeth. It's a lonely job. If we read about confrontation in the Bible it's hard to see that it was difficult to do. It's easy for us to dismiss it as an easy thing to do back then but hard to do in these days.

Paul admonished young Timothy: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables (2Ti 4:2-4).

Paul gives a lengthy defense of his faith to King Agrippa until the king said: … Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian (Act 26:28).

Peter gave a lengthy testimony with this conclusion: Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? (Act 2:36-37)

Peter also preached like this on the day of Pentecost. But although three thousand people turned to the Lord, most of the people who heard him paid no attention. One writer laments: "The heart of man has not changed since that historic seventh century. With all the courageous and compassionate preaching of God's Word, men will not turn from their pride and passions to Jesus Christ."

God is being merciful to Nebuchadnezzar but one day soon, God's mercy will be exhausted and there will be no more patience for this wicked man. Is there something that needs to be dealt with in your life? Has the Lord been chasing you about something? Today is always the right day to settle things with the Lord.

Good Morning! 2009.02.26 - Dan 4:24-26 - Neb's Nightmare

This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule (Dan 4:24-26).

Nebuchadnezzar's nightmare is explained to him. There are nine parts to the explanation of the dream. First, it's not just a silly old dream from too much partying. It's a message straight from the most High God. God's patience with him has run out and the message is a decree of God's judgment. It would be comforting to think "too much wine" but this is not the case. We would do well to remember God has said to us today: …it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Heb 9:27)

He is in big trouble with God. He has had much information from God beginning twenty five years ago. There was contact with four God-fearing Hebrew slaves who milled about him daily.

There was the scary dream about the awesome image that appeared and was destroyed when a stone hewed out without hands struck the image on the feet, toppled it and the wind took the dust of it away The stone became a huge mountain that filled the whole earth (Dan 2:31-35). That was 25 years earlier. Then he witnessed God's power in preserving the three Hebrew youth in his overheated fiery furnace (Dan 3:16-30).

And now after the Dream Image and the Fiery Furnace, there is this Dream Tree and the tree is….him! Bad news— good news. The bad news is that he is going to be alone for seven years, 100% crazy and walking on all-fours eating grass like an ox. In hot weather he will get as hot as the cows. In rainy weather he will get as wet as the cows of which he is part of the herd. The good news is that after he learns that the most High rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomsoever he will, he will get his right mind back and regain his throne.

Why would his kingdom Cabinet want him back as a ruler after watching him eat with those smelly cows for seven years? The Bible doesn't say this, but I believe the Palace Guards took turns staying with him to keep him from hurting himself. He stayed with the cows and picked with the cows. When they lay down to chew their cud, he lay down with them and burped. When they all went to the pond or stream to drink, he went with them and drank out of the pond or polluted stream.

It was awfully hot there (Iraq-ask American soldiers) and the cows would have stood in water and let nature take its course, polluting the water. So did he. When the flies covered the cows, they covered him but he had no tail with which to swat flies so he had to swat with his hands or get up real close to a cow and let her switch him with her tail. No doubt he grunted, snorted and smelled just like the cows. Getting back your throne after that is a miracle! Kings do not usually come from a herd of cows but our God is a God of infinite variety and power. He can do things like that.

Why did God prompt Nebuchadnezzar to write his testimony down for us to read today? I believe God tells us why He writes down His dealings with certain people in the past. Make no mistake about it, we are on center stage today as much as Nebuchadnezzar was on stage in his day. We should pay attention to what God writes down for us to study. Consider these three passages.

And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an example unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (2Pe 2:6-7)

But with many of them God was not well pleased [Jews coming out of Egypt]: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. (1Co 10:5-6)

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. (1Co 10:11-12).

1Co 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them,.... All these punishments came upon them in various ways, not by chance, but by the will of God, and as their sins deserved: (Gill) They were griping and complaining in the wilderness and on one occasion God sent fiery serpents that bit them and killed many. There were other times and other punishments for complaining and rebelling. Jesus warns us to: Remember Lot's wife. (Luk 17:32)

The story of Nebuchadnezzar is up to date for us today. Same living God…same principles….same giving an account. Let's walk with the King today!

Good Morning! 2009.02.25 - Dan 4:20-22 - The Tree King

The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. (Dan 4:20-22)

The Tree King. Nebuchadnezzar is a world ruler and his kingdom has filled the then-civilized world. Daniel begins his sad message to the king by rehearsing in detail what has just been told him by the king. This reminds us that the Bible often uses this style of communication. The Bible repeats and repeats and repeats because God designed it that way. God is the great communicator. In our day of hurry we work hard to achieve economy of words for speeding up communication. Say it one time and move on! Parents are so stressed out that they want to tell their children a thing but once. If they don't get it, the parent is frustrated and goes into orbit. It may not be the child's fault.

If advertisers did that, they would never sell anything. People who want to sell stuff on TV and radio know that they have to repeat the same message over and over again and exercise their simple message through our full range of moods and mental states until at last something sticks to the wall. I have read statements by "experts" that many things have to be repeated at least seven times to get through a dazed mind. Some say that we must repeat a new thing twenty eight times before it is remembered. Who knows!? But we do know that saying something one time is not going to get the job done if we really want to communicate.

God is the great communicator. If you read the Law of Moses you will see God repeating passages many times. The prophets and the psalms repeat God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt—many times. Read Stephen's great rehearsal of Jewish history in Acts 7 before they stoned him to death. The Lord generously and repeatedly sends out His message because He wants people to understand what He is saying.

Not only does the Lord repeat His message many times, He alters the way He says it slightly so that if we don't understand it with one set of words, we will get it with another set of similar words. This pattern is very pronounced throughout the Bible. For example, have you ever wondered why there are four gospels and not just one? They are all slightly different in their emphasis so as to complement each other.

Allow me to take a passage out of the context of the future kingdom age to illustrate God's interest and ability at communicating to us. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein (Isa 35:8).

God wants us to know His will, so He often repeats and repeats and repeats. If you are a Bible reader this is easy for you to understand and accept. If you are not a Bible reader you may think I have gone off my rocker on a minor point. But, it is NOT minor point!

God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to understand, so Daniel repeats the message and carefully explains to him what God is doing. He also wants us to understand this story today because several things about the story are essential to our understanding of God's will and God's program.

Things are not out of control today. God is still in charge and in His own time and using His own methods, He is going to bring an end to this world-wide mess of sudden population growth and the intense struggle the human race is making for energy to fuel its industrial and economic efforts. Every nation wants its share of the good-life pie. Every nation wants to grow and become more powerful just like Nebuchadnezzar succeeded in doing. It ought to be very comforting to know that God has a plan that is going to override every effort of nations to be the top dog.

In reading Nebuhadnezzar's own biography of himself in chapter four, let's remember the central verse he gives us that we may understand his purpose in writing this down: …to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men (Dan 4:17).

It may be very frustrating at times but that's exactly the way it is and God wants us to know it. Let's be patient as we go through this chapter verse by verse and let it soak in. Walk with the King today!

Good Morning! 2009.02.24 - Dan 4:18-19 - Daniel's Thoughts Trouble Him

Good Morning!

 

This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O

 

Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the

 

wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the

 

interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in

 

thee. Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for

 

one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke, and said,

 

Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar

 

answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof

 

to thine enemies (Dan 4:18-19).

 

This is one of my favorite Bible chapters. I love to read chapters 1-3 because I know what's coming in chapter 4.

Part of the fascination of this is that Nebuchadnezzar was such a tough hombre presiding over the most powerful nation in the world and God took him on.

 

If you want to defy the Lord, or ignore Him, or outsmart Him, just keep this in mind: He has all the time in the world and all the energy and resources and you don't. I am amazed at how dumb bank robbers can be and I am amazed at how we mortals do not want to think it through in dealing with an all-powerful God. I see all of us in Nebuchadnezzar.

 

In recounting his personal story in chapter 4, he is again talking to Daniel his chief wise man that he may not have seen in years. "Here's the dream Belteshazzar (Daniel). I'm telling you because I'm really in a fix and my official wizards are useless to me. They're all clowns. But you are different." "The spirit of the holy gods is in thee." Nebuchadnezzar was not a Bible scholar. He only knew about the religious trappings he had seen all of his life. He didn't know about the real Spirit of God or how to address Him. So let's give him a break as he stumbles toward finding the one true God.

 

He reminds me of a man who attended a Right to Life banquet I was speaking at in Raleigh, NC. As I moved from the speaker's podium to take my seat, a man grabbed my hand like a dock worker and said loud enough for everyone around him to hear: "That was a d___ good sermon, Reverend!" What do you say to a man like that? He was not mocking and meant no harm. I said "Thank you sir!" and shook his hand as hard as he gave and sat down and smiled into my tea. 

 

Daniel's thoughts troubled him. I'm speculating here but I believe Daniel knew right away what the message meant but he dreaded telling the monarch what he had to say to him from God. Daniel had been working for him since he was a teenager and he may have been fond of him personally. He had a servant's heart and he wished him no tragedy, certainly nothing like he was about to tell him.

 

Nebuchadnezzar urged him on, impatient to know the riddle in the dream. Daniel hedged his opening remarks with "I sure wish this was about your enemies instead of you. I'm really sad in heart to have to tell you what's coming." Surely that's the way we have to approach people God is judging. Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: (Pro 24:17).

 

We have read the testimony of people who insisted on watching the execution of someone who had murdered a family member. How often they tell how unsatisfying it was to watch the execution. They were disappointed that it did not fix their rage.  The prophet Daniel was a smart man in this regard. He knew better than to rejoice when this wicked man was being judged of the Lord. If that is a problem, we would do well to work on it because it's as bad as a cancer.

 

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord (Rom 12:19). It's awful easy to want to help God judge and bash those wretched sinners "who are not as righteous as I." Hmmmmm.

 

 

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Good Morning! 2009.02.23 - Dan 4:15-17 - Leave the Stump!

 Good Morning!

 

Nevertheless leave the stump of his roots in the earth, even with a

 

band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it

 

be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the

 

beasts in the grass of the earth: Let his heart be changed from

 

man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. This matter

 

is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that

 

the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to

 

whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men (Dan 4:15-17).

 

Leave the stump. How good to hear God say "leave the stump."  We have seen stumps sprout and grow another tree or several trees from one stump.  For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease (Job 14:7).  God is not through with Nebuchadnezzar. I believe we will see him in Heaven. It took God at least 25 years to get anywhere with this stubborn man.

 

 

With a band of iron and brass. The band of iron and brass was not a means of preserving the stump but was symbolic of God's restraining power upon him. It was customary for many centuries to restrain wild and insane men with chains to prevent them from hurting people around them. In Jesus' day we find this scene:

 

And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him (Mar 5:2-4).

 

Nebuchadnezzar was a man who would not submit to be ruled by God.  In Job, Elihu attempts to instruct Job: For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed; (Job 33:14-15). Elihu's preaching wasn't the greatest, but he got this one right.

 

God had shown Nebuchadnezzar the huge image and its destruction. Then, He showed him his power in the fiery furnace that did not consume His servants.  The king continued in his pride and rebellion. And now in the cutting down of the beautiful and powerful tree, the king has had his third and final warning. Judgment has come. God is going to humiliate this proud and stubborn monarch for seven years. Strauss reminds us: "There is a stern and solemn warning here to any and all who pervert the ways of God, for at times God uses drastic means to humble the proud heart."

 

That the living may know. We come to the underlying reason for the cutting down of the tree and leaving the stump. We are told: There is no fear of God before their eyes (Rom 3:18). This is the reason this ancient story is up-to-date today. Do you see much fear of God in entertainment, education, and government today?

 

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) leaves us an interesting word about Napoleon on the battle of Waterloo. Strauss reports it: "On the morning of the battle, the little dictator stood gazing upon the field of battle as he described to his commanding officer his strategy for that day's campaign. 'We will put our infantry here, the cavalry there, the artillery here. At the end of the day England will be at the feet of France and Wellington will be prisoner to Napoleon.' After a pause the commanding officer said, 'But we must not forget that man proposes but God disposes.'

 

"With arrogant pride the little dictator stretched his little body to full height and replied, "I want you to understand, sir, that Napoleon proposes and Napoleon disposes."

 

"Victor Hugo went on to write, 'From that moment Waterloo was lost, for God sent rain and hail so that the troops of Napoleon could not maneuver as he had planned, and on the night of battle it was Napoleon who was prisoner of Wellington, and France was at the feet of England.'"

 

God's timeless word to us is:  …and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: (1Pe 5:5-6).

 

The most High ruleth in the kingdom of men.  This comes as a real surprise to most rulers. Not only so, but he setteth up over it the basest of men. The barnyard rooster that thinks his crowing makes the sun come up has missed it somewhere.  It is the living God that rules in the kingdoms of men.

 

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