Daniel 4:1-37 Insomnia, Insanity and God!
Intro:
One of my favorite nights of the year is coming up in a few weeks – November 26th
– Thanks. Eve
A) Great night of music and
worship – but the highlight is – testimonies
B) God has done to change a
life – bring hope – help thru a trial – great time of refreshing and blessing
C) Well tonight we get to
hear a great testimony
1) Maybe one of the most
remarkable ever uttered
D) Testimony of a Powerful
King – who was brought low stripped of all – but found God in the process!
Story
of
A) I fully agree with Chuck
Swindol’s take – that this is a looking back Testimony
B) V.1-3 and V.37 are in the
present tense – intro and close –
1) V.4-36 He is looking back
on what happened to him!
C) He starts off like many
testimonies do giving praise to God for what He has done!
RD V.1-7
note The Dream v.4-18
V.4 No
internal problems/ external opposition
Now
this sounds like Déjà vu from
A) This time around he just
wants the interpretation
B) But once again he goes to
the Wise men of
1) Why does he keep going to
these guys?
C)
BUY AMERICAN – BUY BABYLONIAN
1) Looks bad on their DEITIES if Daniel’s God is always the one
Shinning!
D)
E) But notice the wise men
don’t have an answer
1) Scared of being wrong!
RD V.8 -9
Phrase:
In him is the Spirit of the Holy God –
A) That was
B) Holy = set apart – or
different –
C) But he is not yet sold on
that he is the Most High God – at this point
RDV 10-18
Now
does this mean that we shouldn’t vote or care about who is president?
A) No voting is a right and privilege
that we have in this country.
B) Voting ALSO reveals the heart of a nation – Vote – Pocketbook
Or Principles Of Bible?
1) Popular Opinion Or Biblical
Standard? {
C) How we vote reveals our
hearts – and God Knows our hearts!
D) This doesn’t mean that we
shouldn’t vote – but it reminds us – that no matter
what the outcome – we need to trust that God is in control.
E) He always has a greater
plan and purpose!
The
So
Daniel gives the interpretation – that a time is coming
A) Going to go insane – be like
a beast – for 7yrs
B) Until you realize that
the Most High God rules in the earth! {He is the ONE TRUE GOD!
C) Interesting Psychology
has a name for this type of behavior – Anthropology
is the study of all things human.
Lycanthropy – Lycan = wolf –
anthropology = man
Lycanthropy- Wolf man!
Avianthropy – Bird man.
Zooanthropy – animal man.
Boanthropy – Cowman { Cross
with Bird man
The
biblical scholar R.K. Harrison recounted this personal experience:
"A
great many doctors spend an entire, busy professional career without once
encountering an instance of the kind of thing described in the book of Daniel.
The present writer, therefore, considers himself particularly fortunate to have
actually observed a clinical case of [Boanthropy] in a British mental
institution in 1946. The patient was in his early 20's, who reportedly had been
hospitalized for about five years.
His
symptoms were well developed on admission, and diagnosis was immediate and
conclusive.
He
was of average height and weight with good physique, and was in excellent
bodily health. His mental symptoms included pronounced anti-social tendencies,
and because of this he spent the entire day from dawn to dusk outdoors, in the
grounds of the institution....
"His
daily routine consisted of wandering around the magnificent lawns with which
the otherwise dingy hospital situation was graced, and it was his custom to
pluck up and eat handfuls of the grass as he went along.
On
observation he was seen to discriminate carefully between grass and weeds, and
on inquiry from the attendant, the writer was told the diet of this patient
consisted exclusively of grass from hospital lawns. He never ate institutional
food with other inmates, and his only drink was water....
"The
writer was able to examine him cursorily, and the only physical abnormality
noted consisted of a lengthening of the hair and a coarse, thickened condition
of the finger-nails. Without institutional care, the patient would have
manifested precisely the same physical conditions as those mentioned in
This
is what happened to
A) But in the midst of the
Divine Judgment God also displayed an array or Grace!
26 "And
inasmuch as they gave the command to leave the stump and roots of the tree,
your kingdom shall be assured to you, after you come to know that Heaven rules.
B) Daniel says – 7yrs of
living like this – God is going to preserve your Kingdom –
1)
No one is going to usurp your authority – over throw
C) I am sure that those in his kingdom kept
thinking any day he is going to snap out of it!
D)
God was after
V.27 Daniel
offers a timely word of advice!
27
Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by
being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps
there may be a lengthening of your prosperity."
REPENT
Now you would
think that everything that
A) He doesn’t do that – NO
RESPONSE AT ALL IS RECORDED!
Aa)
“I am sure he was thinking – hey Daniel’s first interpretation hasn’t happened”
B)”I
haven’t been overthrown – my Kingdom’s power and prosperity and property – places
I rule has only grown.” {Which actually was a fulfillment – head of gold
C) “I will worry about this
later!”
Nebuchadnezzar
Is Put Out To Pasture. V.28-36
28 All this
came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of the twelve months he was walking
about the royal
God gives
RD V.30-36
Amazing
that after his reason had returned that he not only gained his former glory but
he surpassed it as well!
A) His counselors were once
again coming and seeking his wisdom and counsel on matters
B) So that is how
C) End of his testimony –
V.37 – speaking back in the present tense
37 Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose
works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able
to put down.
Insight from Ray
Pritchard
“Before this experience
Nebuchadnezzar would have said that the greatest moment of his life was some
great military achievement or some massive construction project. But afterwards
he would look back and say the greatest moment was when he came to his senses
and began to give God glory. In his mind the seven years wouldn’t matter
because they would seem a small price to pay in order to see God truly and
clearly.”
Good
test for whether or not you have grown through the disciplines of life.
A) Can you look back without
regret and thank God for what you have learned even though the cost to you was
very great?
B) I don’t think
Nebuchadnezzar felt embarrassed about his seven years of insanity.
1)
If he had, he wouldn’t have written the story down for the whole world to know.
C)
You can know that you have made a spiritual breakthrough when you can tell your
own story without feeling a need either to embellish or to cover up the
negative aspects.
Lessons of this Story:
1.
Those who exalt themselves will be humbled.
"God
resists the proud,
But
gives grace to the humble."
“Therefore
humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time.”
A) Pride is a kind of
plagiarism. It attempts to grasp for ourselves the glory which belongs to
another.
B)
Nebuchadnezzar took all the glory for the greatness of his kingdom; he did not
give glory to God.
C)
In effect, he began to set himself in the seat of God, reminiscent of other
glory-seeking creatures, including Satan himself (see Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28).
Taking
glory which does not belong to us causes us to see ourselves as better than
others.
A)
Pride ignores and denies the truth that prosperity comes from God, as a gift of
His grace, and not the reward for our greatness.
B) Pride also interprets
others’ poverty as proof of inferiority and the penalty for inferiority
2.
Reminds us that God is AFTER man’s heart!
A)
All that happens to the king will be done not for his ultimate destruction, but
for his Salvation & restoration.
B) Jonah it was a Whale –
C) God’s judgment is painful
because he is cutting away the sin that pulls us away from him.
Let’s
suppose you feel strange pains in your body so you decide to see a doctor. He
runs a few tests and says, "I’m sorry you’ve got cancer.
But
we can do surgery to remove the cancer." So you say, "I don’t want
the surgery. – Hurt too much!
"If we don’t do the surgery, you’ll die,"
replies the doctor. Only way to live is
to endure the pain!
So too God’s
disciplinary judgment is rarely easy and never painless.
A) In Nebuchadnezzar’s case,
it was utterly devastating and totally humiliating.
B) Sometimes God has to prune
the tree down in order to save it.
1)
But that cutting process may go on for many months and it may be done in a most
public fashion.
C) But ultimately God’s
heart is to save / to bless / to restore -
3.
God’s discipline lasts until we learn the lessons He wants to teach us.
A) I am sure some of you feel
as if God is shaking their tree right now.
B) And you want to know how
long it will last. The only possible answer is, I don’t know.
C)
The trials of life are ordained by the Lord for our benefit. -He alone knows
when they will begin and end.
D) But of this much I am
sure. God will never shake your tree one moment longer than necessary.
1)
And he will never stop one second before his divine purpose in your life has
been accomplished.
So if you find yourself in a hard and
uncertain place, and if you long for days of contentment and peace, be patient.
A) Wait on the Lord. Don’t
run ahead of God.
B)
And don’t waste time telling him how to do his Job!
Humble yourself under the mighty hand
of God and in due time he will lift you up.
4.
Worship is man’s highest calling, setting him apart from the beasts of the
field and giving him the basis for sanity.
A) If the king’s
self-congratulations were the cause of his humiliation,
B) His worship was the
turning point for the return of his sanity and his restoration to power.
C) Worship is man’s highest calling. It sets men apart from the
beasts.
D) Worship sees God for who
He is and man for who he is, and thus life as it truly is.
Worship is the foundation
for sanity.
A)
Romans 12:1 Paul called it our REASONABLE SERVICE.
B) When men
failed to worship God, they began their fall and became no better than the
beasts.
C)
Worship is the way to wisdom, because it humbles us and exalts God.
5. Authority is not a position of status but a
place of service.
A) Men seek to rise to
positions of power and authority so that others under them might serve them.
B) So it was with
Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar failed to
grasp the purpose for his kingdom in the divine economy.
C)
He looked at his kingdom in terms of how well it promoted and displayed his own
power and glory, not in terms of the purpose for which God had ordained it.
D) God places men in
authority so that they may serve those under them.
Leadership is not
characterized by status but by service and self-sacrifice.
Our
Lord exercised authority in this way, and it should be the way of his
followers:
A) Power is a gift of grace, not a reward for merit.
It is given to make men strong so they may serve the weak. Power is never given to inflate the ego of one
who is divinely strengthened or enabled
A)
Every Christian is divinely empowered with a spiritual gift or gifts or
responsibility to serve others,
B) And by serving others we
are ultimately serving our Lord.
None
should be prideful and glory in his gift because of the abilities God has
given.
C) Rather, we should be
grateful, humble, and alert for opportunities to use our strengths to minister
to those who are weak.
6.
Our worship is directly related to our witness.
A) Nebuchadnezzar’s personal
testimony was given to give glory to God!
B) Witnessing should be to
the praise and glory of God.
1)
It should be an act of worship
C) Too many people share their faith only as a duty and not as a
delight.
1) Their
witness is not the overflow of a grateful heart, done as to the Lord, but a
painful duty.
D) We should learn how to
worship and witness from this Babylonian king.
7. Sooner
or later, all mankind will be humbled before God and acknowledge His
sovereignty. A) Nebuchadnezzar bowed before
God after seven years of humiliation.
B)
He became a worshipper of the One true God. He will continue to worship and
serve God for all eternity.
C) What Nebuchadnezzar did
many years ago, every man and woman will do in the future.
D) All mankind will acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.