Daniel 4
“There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which every one in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people ever imagine that they are guilty themselves… There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves… The vice I am talking of is
The Cycle of Pride:
1. Success
2. Warning
3. Deception
4. Downfall
1. SUCCESS
Daniel 4:4 = I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace.
- How you handle
2. WARNING
Daniel 4:5-8
5 I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed the fancies and the visions of my head alarmed me. 6 So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation. 8 At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream, saying,…”
- I love verse 8… “finally, Daniel came…”
- God in is wisdom can and will one day give the people of God an “at last” or “finally” moment
Daniel 4:10-17
10 The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it. 13 “I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. 14 He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. 15 But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”“
- The dream was sent to teach a very important lesson (v17)
- “Pride is essentially competitive… pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having
How long will it last?
Daniel 4:25 = “until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.”
Daniel finishes his interpretation urging the king to turn from his sins and
Daniel 4:27 = “Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.”
3. DECEPTION
Nebuchadnezzar ends up ignoring God’s message and ignoring Daniel’s advice…
James 1:22 = “Do not merely listen to the word, and so
Jesus famously said, “I am the way and the truth and the life.”
John Mark Comer = ”It’s far more likely he was saying that the marriage of his truth (his teaching) and his way (his lifestyle) is how to get to the with-God life he offers.”
4. DOWNFALL
Daniel 4:29 = “At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, 30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
- I have built
- My mighty power
- My majesty
When “I”, “me” and “my” consume your thoughts, pride turns your success into a
King Neb ends up leaving the palace, becomes like an animal, living in the soil without clearness of thought.
Application: How to break the cycle of pride? LOOK UP!
Daniel 4:34-37 =
34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;
35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth;
and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
36 At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.
37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.
Isaiah 45:22 = “
“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is
Psalm 139:23–24 = “Search me, God, and know my