Daniel 4:28-37

Babylon was probably the most famous city in the ancient world. Its huge walls were 387 feet high and 85 feet wide - so wide that four chariots could be driven side by side along the top of them. The city itself was a perfect square, 15 miles on each side. The most powerful city of antiquity boasted wide streets, many public buildings, and a population of 1.2 million inhabitants. The mighty Euphrates flowed through it, and gardens, palm groves, orchards, and farmland dotted the countryside, providing enough food to feed the entire city. Gigantic shrines to the Babylonian deities were everywhere. The pinnacle of beauty, however, had to be the marvelous, naturally air-conditioned hanging gardens Nebuchadnezzar built for his wife.

Remembered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Nebuchadnezzar had these gardens planted in earth-filled terraces at considerable height. Water pumped from the Euphrates River irrigated the lush vegetation. Nebuchadnezzar had such great pride in Babylon that as he walked along the palace terrace and viewed the magnificent cityscape, he was overcome with pride. His arrogance would be his downfall.

4:28-33 | Nebuchadnezzar had been reminded of the source of his success, but his own words betray his overwhelming pride: Is not this great Babylon, that I have built by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty? As Nebuchadnezzar’s experience would prove, the pathway of pride is the fastest road to self-destruction.