Daniel 4:1-3 King’s Proclamation

The king’s proclamation goes out to ALL the people under his authority. It praises God as the MOST HIGH GOD. And speaks of His works in Nebuchadnezzar’s own life.

This is AMAZING praise from a pagan king! If it weren’t for Judah being in exile, Nebuchadnezzar would have never personally encountered The God of Creation. The ONLY God of the universe. Our Lord and King. My Lord and Savior.

Nebuchadnezzar is opening the story of how he came to believe in God. It is the final proclamation we will see from him (or so I believe at this point). This story is written at the conclusion of a great ‘learning period’ in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. It rightly opens with praise to God for His dominion and power.

The fingerprints of God are FINALLY obvious to Nebuchadnezzar. If only he had listened earlier, he wouldn’t have had to go through the intense lesson that inspired this proclamation. But, then again, he wouldn’t have had such a deep awakening.

EVERY STEP of our journey makes us who we are. Nebuchadnezzar’s first lesson with the dream, the statue afterwards and the fiery furnace set him up for the next lesson. I can’t say for sure, but I think that first lesson would have been enough for me; IF I were in his shoes. Then again, I’ve never ruled an empire and had to be strong enough to command it. I HAVE had to go through my own lessons, sometimes more than once. So, I suppose I shouldn’t judge Nebuchadnezzar for taking so long to come to the conclusion of Who God REALLY is.

THANK YOU Father God for NOT making me ‘king’ over all. THANK YOU for the place YOU put me in for my life. I DO NOT want the responsibility of being a national ruler. Being the leader of a family is enough responsibility for me! I wish I could say that I was great at that role but I KNOW of my own failings. THANK YOU for carrying me through them and working on me to repair them.

THANK YOU for making Yourself REAL in my life! I cannot imagine my life without You. THANK YOU for introducing Yourself to me when I was a young child. I didn’t have to wait until I had already established a lifelong dependence on my own ‘strengths’ before learning of Yours.