“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” – James 4:6
The problem for Nebuchadnezzar begins with pride. It’s where Satan’s problem also began. James 4:6 says God “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Nebuchadnezzar started out proud, and now he’s eating his yard. That’s God opposing the proud. As long as you’re looking down, you can’t see things that are above you, so Nebuchadnezzar doesn’t see God above him. Circumstances can humiliate you, but only you can humble yourself. If you humble yourself, you’ll see you’re under God’s authority.
Can you imagine this? After seven years of God allowing him to go crazy because he opposed God, he got his job back. What if in our day, every day for seven years, the news story is that the president is still sleeping in the White House yard, eating the roses? Then he stops and is like, “I’m better now,” and they’re like, “Welcome back; here’s your job.” It’d be tough to even get your job back at Walmart if you did this in the parking lot. God has been very gracious to him and poured out even more grace on him.
This is the last time we see Nebuchadnezzar in the book, and the question is: did he convert? In verse 34, he says, “At the end of my days [seven years] I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven.” He stops looking down on the people and looks up to God. It says he “blessed the Most High God.” Did he get saved? It’s hard to tell. He might just be one of those reversible jersey guys who runs to God only when in crisis but never repents of sin and bends his knee in full surrender to the Lord.
Here’s what I would say:
- Don’t worry about other people’s salvation; worry about your own.
- If you look at him and think God can’t save a guy like that, you don’t understand God or salvation.
Through it all, we can continue to learn from Daniel’s example. He doesn’t try to take over the kingdom. He just faithfully serves until the king comes back, which is what we need to be doing until King Jesus comes back. He’s humble enough to know his place and we too need to be humble enough to know our place.
Have you ever had a party crasher? Babylon certainly has. Tomorrow’s devotional will look at what happens when God shows up to the party.
What has surprised you the most about God’s interactions with King Nebuchadnezzar?
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