Tag Archives: Nebuchadnezzar

God places people in power (Daniel 4:19-37), September 12, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Daniel 4:19-37

Set – Daniel 4; Psalms 81

Go! – Daniel 3-4; Psalms 81; Revelation 17

Daniel 4:19-37
19 As the interpretation of the king’s dream became clear, Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar) became visibly upset for a while. His thoughts troubled him. The king noticed, and he spoke to Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar: Belteshazzar, don’t let my dream or its meaning alarm you. Tell me what you know.
Belteshazzar: My lord, I wish the dream described those who hate you and its meaning concerned the fate of your enemies! 20 The tree you saw in your vision, the one which grew tall and strong so that its top reached up to the sky and could be seen from one end of the earth to the other, 21 the tree whose leaves were beautiful and fruit plentiful and provided sustenance for everyone, the tree under which the wild animals came to rest in the cool shade and in which the birds built their nests on its sturdy branches— 22 that tree is you, O king! You have become great and strong. Your greatness has grown tall and reached the sky; your authority and power extend to the end of the earth. 23 But that is just one part of your dream. The king saw the messenger, the holy watcher of heaven come down from heaven and declare, “Cut down the tree, and destroy it, but leave its stump intact, its roots in the ground, strapped down with iron and bronze, surrounded by the tender grass of the field; let the dew of heaven fall heavy on it every night and make it wet, and let him live among the wild animals off the plants of the earth, until seven times have come and gone.” 24 Here is the interpretation, O king. It is a decree the Most High God has issued against you, my lord and king. 25 You will be driven away from all that is human and live in the company of wild animals; you will be forced to eat grass like oxen, and night after night the dew of heaven will fall on you and make you soaking wet. Seven times will pass until you learn your lesson and acknowledge that it is the Most High God, and no other, who is the true sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, and He grants authority to anyone He wishes. 26 The watcher’s order to leave the stump and roots of the tree intact means that your kingdom will be restored to you when, and only when, you acknowledge that Heaven alone is sovereign over the earth. 27 So, O king, please accept my advice to you. Make a clean break with your sins and invest in what is right. Bring an end to your wicked deeds and show mercy to those you have beaten down. If you do, perhaps your future will be different and your prosperity will continue.
28 But King Nebuchadnezzar forgot Daniel’s advice, so everything Daniel had predicted happened. 29 Twelve months later, as the king was strolling across the roof of his royal palace in Babylon, 30 the king uttered foolish words:
Nebuchadnezzar: Isn’t Babylon a great city? I have built this royal residence from the ground up with my own might and ingenuity to honor my own majesty.
31 The words had scarcely left his lips when another voice thundered from heaven.
Voice: King Nebuchadnezzar, these solemn words are for you. The kingdom has been taken away from you. 32 You will be driven away from all that is human, and you will live in the company of wild animals. You will be forced to eat grass like oxen. Seven times will pass until you learn your lesson and acknowledge that it is the Most High God, and no other, who is the true sovereign over all kingdoms on earth, and He grants authority to anyone He wishes.
33 Instantly the heavenly decree against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from all that is human and began to eat grass as oxen do. The dew of heaven fell and drenched his body. In time his hair grew as long as the feathers on an eagle and his nails grew long and curved back on his hand like the claws of a bird.
Message: 34 When these days of exile came to an end, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven and came to my senses. I blessed the Most High God and praised and gave glory to the One who lives eternally:
“His reign will endure forever;
His kingdom will last from generation to generation.
35 Among all the people of the earth,
there are none who compare.
He does as He wishes with the armies of heaven
and those who live on earth.
No one can stop His hand from acting;
no one dares to ask, ‘What have You done?’”
36 It was in that moment that I came to my senses. Soon my honor and splendor were restored as Daniel predicted, and the former glory of my kingdom returned. Those who had served me before, my advisors and officials, sought me and returned me to the throne of Babylon. In time my kingdom and power grew even greater than it was before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, acknowledge the true King of heaven. I praise, lift up, and glorify Him because all He does is true, all His ways are just, and He is able to cut down those who strut about in their pride.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Many like Nebuchadnezzar assume their power and position comes because of their own greatness. They couldn’t be further from the truth. Every leader has their place only because I allow it. I give promotions and I take them. I put people into power and I can remove them. Nebuchadnezzar forgot that most important piece of information even after Daniel reminded him as an interpretation of the dream I gave him.

Nebuchadnezzar found out quickly how dangerous taking credit for my work can become. He found himself living in the wild, eating grass, acting and looking more like an animal than a man. Those who refuse to acknowledge My handiwork in their lives often appear the same to Me because I look at your heart, not at your outward appearance. All of the rhetoric about giving in to your natural instincts and succumbing to your base desires makes you no better than Nebuchadnezzar when I banished him to the fields.

I made you to rise above the other animals of the fields, though. I made you with a moral choice. You do not need to lower yourself to the level of the animals of the field. You are human. My highest creation. You can live the way I want you to live…with My help. Choose to be the human I made you to be. Rise above the base wickedness Satan would pull you into with his lies.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

God never fails (Daniel 2:24-44) September 11, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Daniel 2:24-44

Set -Daniel 2; Revelation 16

Go! – Daniel 1-2; Revelation 16

Daniel 2:24-44
24 So Daniel went back to Arioch, the officer charged with rounding up and executing all the wise men in Babylon, and tried to stop him.
Daniel: Stop what you are doing. It is not necessary to execute the wise men of Babylon. Instead, take me to the king, and I will tell him what the dream means.
25 Arioch did not waste any time in bringing Daniel before the king.
Arioch (to Nebuchadnezzar): Mighty king, I have found a man from among the exiles from Judah who says he is able to tell the king what the dream means.
26 The king turned to Daniel, who you remember had been given the Babylonian name, Belteshazzar.
Nebuchadnezzar: So, Belteshazzar, are you able to tell me what I dreamed and what it all means?
Daniel: 27 The Chaldeans were correct. There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or sorcerers in all the world who are able to reveal the mystery the king requested. 28 But there is a God in heaven who can reveal such mysteries. The dream you dreamed and the visions you saw, King Nebuchadnezzar, unveil the future and disclose what will happen at the end of the age. Now I will tell you what you dreamed and the visions you saw as you slept in your bed.
29 Good king, as you lay in your bed that night, thoughts about the future sprang up in your mind, and the revealer of all mysteries unveiled to you what is going to happen. 30 I am here today, not because I have greater wisdom than any other in the land, but because God in His wisdom has revealed this mystery to me. It is God’s plan that the king knows the meaning of this dream and understands the thoughts that raced through your mind.
Daniel: 31 In your dream, you were looking, O king, and suddenly a great statue of what appeared to be a man stood before you. It was enormous in size, shining bright as the sun at midday. Its appearance was frightening. 32 The head of the statue was fashioned of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its trunk and thighs of bronze, 33 its calves of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you were watching, a special stone was quarried and cut, but not by human hands. The divinely hewn stone began to move; it struck the statue on its iron and clay feet and smashed them to pieces. 35 Suddenly the entire statue collapsed—its iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were all broken into pieces and turned to dust, like the chaff carried away by the wind from the threshing floors in summer. Soon not a trace of the statue was left. But the divinely hewn stone that struck the statue became a mountain that filled the whole earth. 36 That, good king, was your dream.
If you allow, we will now tell you what it all means. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has conferred upon you the kingdom you now rule, along with the power and strength and glory to subdue it. 38 He has placed all people everywhere and all the beasts that roam the fields and all the birds that fly in the sky under your control. He has made you ruler over them all: you are the head of gold. 39 After your reign is over, another kingdom will rise, but its glory will never match yours. This lesser kingdom is the chest and arms of silver. When that kingdom has come and gone, a third and even less majestic empire will rise, which will rule over the whole earth. This kingdom is the trunk and thighs of bronze. 40 Then, when those days are past, a fourth kingdom will come to power with the strength of iron, though lacking in grandeur. Just as iron breaks and shatters everything, so this kingdom will break and shatter all these former realms. 41-42 But as you saw in your vision, this kingdom will be divided, with feet and toes made of both clay and iron. The strength of iron runs through it, but as the toes are made partly of iron and partly of clay, the kingdom, too, will be partly strong and partly fragile. 43 Your dream envisions that this kingdom of iron mixed with clay will be of peoples mixed but not united, the kingdoms joined in the bonds of marriage but not true allies, for iron and clay form no alloy.
44 In the days when these kings of iron and clay reign, the God of heaven will set up another kingdom, a kingdom that can never be destroyed, a kingdom that will never be ruled by others. It will crush all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end. This kingdom will last forever.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. I gave it to him to tell him what the future held for him and his descendants. I also used it to let him know wisdom doesn’t lie within the hearts and heads of men, but within Me. When Daniel came to Nebuchadnezzar with the knowledge of the dream and its interpretation, Nebuchadnezzar assumed the knowledge came from within Daniel. Daniel set him straight.

He said, “There is a God in heaven…” Daniel knew Me and knew My wisdom. He had relied on Me before. Daniel knew I wouldn’t fail him. I won’t fail you either if you will tune your ears and your mind to Mine. Get into My word and listen to My voice. Then obey My commands and you will find I won’t fail you when you need Me. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Be careful how you treat God’s children (Jeremiah 51:1-19), August 26, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Jeremiah 51:1-19

Set – Jeremiah 51; 3 John

Go! – Jeremiah 50-51; 3 John

Jeremiah 51:1-19
1The Eternal has this to say regarding Babylon:
Eternal One: Watch as I stir up a destroying wind
against Babylon and the people of Chaldea.
2 I will send outsiders to sift through this nation,
separating the wheat from the chaff, laying waste this land.
They will fight her from every side
on that fateful day of Babylon’s reckoning.
3 Do not let the archers draw back their bows.
Do not let them put on their armor!
Do not spare the life of one young soldier.
Destroy her army completely.
4 They will all fall dead in the land of the Chaldeans;
her streets will be full of the dead and dying.
5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken
by their God, the Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies,
Even though their land is awash with the guilt of their sins
against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Get out of Babylon! Escape with your lives!
Do not be caught up in Babylon’s punishment,
For this is the time for the Eternal to avenge His people.
He will pay Babylon what she deserves.
7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the Eternal’s hand,
intoxicating the whole earth.
Yes, the nations drank her wine,
which is why they went mad.
8 But now Babylon—cup of God’s wrath—has fallen and shattered.
Weep for her, if you can!
Give her something for her pain;
perhaps she may still be healed.
9 Exiles: We would like to have healed Babylon,
but she was beyond our help.
It is time to leave her and go home before it is too late,
before we get caught in her coming judgment.
Look, even now it fills the skies, rising up to the clouds.
10 The Eternal has vindicated us;
come, we must tell those in Jerusalem
What the Eternal our God has done!
11 Enemies of Babylon, sharpen your arrows
and fill your quivers. Get ready to attack!
For the Eternal has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes
to accomplish His purpose against Babylon.
He will exact His vengeance for what the Chaldeans did to His temple.
12 Raise up the battle flags around the walls of Babylon!
Reinforce the guard. Station watchmen along the way.
Prepare to make a surprise attack, for the Eternal will see His plan carried through
against the people of Babylon.
13 You who live by the great river
with the comforts of your abundant treasure,
The end has come, and you will lose it all.
Your time has run out.
14 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has sworn by Himself.
Eternal One: I will cover your land with enemy troops
the way a swarm of locusts covers a field.
And they will shout victory over you.
15 God alone is powerful enough to create the earth.
He alone is wise enough to put the world together.
He alone understands enough to stretch out the heavens.
16 His voice thunders through the heavens, and the waters gush from the sky.
He summons the clouds to build up over the earth.
As the rain falls, the lightning flashes at His command;
the wind rushes in from where He alone can store it.
17 All of humanity is stupid and bankrupt of knowledge.
Those who make idols are shamed by their creations.
What they fashion out of gold are imposters—breathless, lifeless frauds.
18 Their idols are worthless, the work of their hands an embarrassing mockery.
They are doomed to perish under God’s judgment.
19 The portion of Jacob is not like any of these.
He was not fashioned by human hands.
Instead, it was He who made all things and appointed Israel to inherit it all.
His name is the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

I used Babylon to punish the nations who turned against Me. I enabled them to conquer every nation they came against. Judah was one of those nations because My people forgot Me. They turned to idols instead of worshiping Me, so I used Babylon to destroy the kingdom they thought so mighty and important. Babylon came in and crushed Judah and their capital city of Jerusalem in short order.

Babylon became arrogant, though. They became drunk with their power and thought their power came from their hand instead of Mine. Nebuchadnezzar thought himself king of creation because of his exploits. So I had Jeremiah remind him that I was still in charge. I reminded him I would rule over creation and all the nations of the world as I see fit. The Babylonians would find themselves defeated and destroyed the same way they destroyed others.

The great cities would fall. Nebuchadnezzar’s enemies would trample his great wonders into dust. Just as he carried off prize possessions and the healthiest and wisest into captivity, so would the Medes and Persians carry away all the spoils they chose and put into chains anyone they decided. Because Babylon and its leaders thought themselves more important than Me, they would feel the brunt of My wrath.

So you might ask, “What’s the point of this story for us today? Why include these verses for our study?” My answer is, be careful how you treat My children. Who are My children? All My creation. Everyone I breathe life into has a living soul I long to answer My call for salvation. I know that not all will, but you don’t know who will and who will not. Be careful how you treat My children. All of them are Mine. I don’t want you to end up like the Babylonians. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.