Let Us Humble Ourselves
God's overarching goal is that He be glorified in ALL the earth. The only way to do that in this world is through broken men and women. He says He will do it, and He will.
To our spoiled Western mindset, we might think that God humbling Nebuchadnezzar and causing him to go insane and eat grass like a cow for seven years was cruel and unusual punishment (though his kingdom was restored to him even greater than it was) - Daniel 4.
We might think in our spoiled western mindset better horrific tragedies that Job went through were cruel and unusual punishment (though what he went through was only a couple years of his life, if that) - Job.
No discipline for the moment is pleasant! But afterward, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Heb 12). With God's discipline, the end result is a changed life & the proclamation of HIS GOSPEL in ALL THE EARTH (Dan 4:1-3,34-37)! “He does as He pleases!” He lifts up one and puts down another. And He can lift up AGAIN the one He put down! (Could it be? YES!)
Nebuchadnezzar had it all, but God humbled Him because God resists the proud! It is amazing how God chose Nebuchadnezzar, who has a complete pagan, and worked with him even after he made a golden image of himself for others to worship instead of the true living GOD and even after GOD revealed himself again in the events of the fiery furnace… the Lord takes us where and how we are and forms the character of Christ in us… The best thing that we can do is humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and allow Him to lift us up! Even when we see Him place absurd fools in positions of authority, we must walk in humble obedience to the Lord God - even if we have to be disobedient to the ungodly degrees of the wicked ruling. God has a reason in it all; the end of it all will be that GOD IS GLORIFIED. Therefore, let us TRUST HIM, showing it by walking in obedience to Him and His ways. O God, help us to do so when we see such wicked people even usurping positions of authority in our land! Humble the proud. Lord, you are the One who inspired Paul to write Romans 12:19: “…never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, ‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back,’ says the LORD.” DO IT, O GOD, and give us the GRACE to walk in Your peace by truly TRUSTING you!
In Daniel 4:24,27 it is very instructive how Daniel interprets the prophetic dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s great humbling to come but then gives his advice for Nebuchadnezzar to stop sinning, in order that the prophecy of judgment will not occur. Just because there is a prophecy, does not mean that it is necessarily going to take place… Our response CAN result in God changing his mind... In this case, Nebuchadnezzar did not repent of pride or neglecting the poor (Daniel 4:27; Galatians 2:10; Ezezial 16:49-50; Matthew 25:40,45; James 2:1-10). Let us not close our hearts to the poor. There are plenty “working the system,” but there are also those who need a hand up…ESPECIALLY in developing nations!
BUT, in the case of Hezekiah, when Isaiah prophesied for him to get his things in order, that he was going to die, that he would not recover from his illness (2 Kings 20:1), Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, and the Lord added 15 years to his life (2 Kings 1-7)! God is Sovereign, but He is not a fatalist. He is a God of cause and effect, and yet, He will see that His will does come to pass!
Since He IS going to resist the proud, let us HUMBLE OURSELVES. We CAN do that, for He tells us so… And RESIST the devil, and he will FLEE from you (James 4:7)!