Daniel 4:2-3
2 It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3 How great are his signs,
how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
his dominion endures from generation to generation.
Nebuchadnezzar teaches us a great lesson. In the verses before us today he could hardly be less restrained in his praise of the Lord. He acknowledges the greatness of God and praises him as the one with dominion for eternity.
This serves as an introduction to a chapter which tells of Nebuchadnezzar proudly boasting of his own greatness and pompously declaring how amazing his achievements were. God’s response was to humble him so that he would see that he owed all to the blessing of the Lord.
Our lesson is three-fold. Firstly, it is very appropriate for us all to offer the same praise we read in this section from Daniel. Secondly, we need to be very aware that we all have the same weakness as Nebuchadnezzar. We can praise God and then forget him and live an ego driven life. Thirdly, Nebuchadnezzar was forced to acknowledge, but we can save ourselves a lot of trouble and voluntarily acknowledge that all we have and all we are able to do are gifts from God. As we read in the Bible, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” This applies to the whole of life, but we can reserve special praise to God that he has saved us for all eternity through Jesus Christ. There is no boast for us, it is all the work of Jesus.
David Johnston
