Even Nebuchadnezzar is able to proclaim God’s goodness and might (verses 1-3). He was crazy! And ruthless! So taking the wild leap and assuming that we are probably not that crazy nor that ruthless, why is it so difficult for us to bear witness and speak God’s praises publicly?
In verses 4-9, Nebuchadnezzar still hangs on to his own god, even though he knows the real God’s power. We do this all the time with things of this world that we turn into our idols. How does this hold Nebuchadnezzar back later? How does it hold us back?
Nebuchadnezzar still doesn’t get it. He says some of the right words about God, but he doesn’t really understand. This is also an easy trap into which to fall.
In verse 18, what sets Daniel apart isn’t his God-given ability to interpret because it wasn’t even a hard dream to figure out. The symbolism would have been rather obvious to all of those interpreters. It never says the don’t know what the dream means, just that the won’t make it known. What set Daniel apart was his strength and courage to be honest with the king. Also in this verse, the king can recognize the things and people of god, but he still hasn’t become a person of God himself.
I love the idea that sometimes we need to be humbled by our own senseless, animalistic behavior before we can really learn. That’s me 100%.
In Daniel 27, when Daniel says “Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you: break off your sins by gpracticing righteousness, hand your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, ithat there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” It reminds me that understanding what God’s message is is not enough. We can know about him and quote scriptures all day long, but it doesn’t matter unless we actually practice righteousness and break off our sins. Knowing is the easy part. Doing (or not doing) is the hard part. Nebuchadnezzar once again gets part of what he needs to do, but he’s not all the way there. Daniel basically says “JUST. STOP.” Why is it so hard to just stop our sinful ways when we know it’s what we have to do and when it’s what we want to do?
Maybe it's because, like Nebuchadnezzar,
we need to mess up
so we can be brought low
so we can be exalted in knowledge and understanding of God.
Looking at verses 28-33, I keep thinking about the fact that God gave Nebuchadnezzar twelve months to stop being a butt. God knows that it’s not easy for us to change our lives, but it seems like a year is a reasonable amount of time to expect us to make some progress. In all my psychology and marriage repair reading this summer, I ran into that over and over again. That a year in counseling should be enough time to see substantial change and if that’s not happening, then… some kind of drastic next steps are warranted. The type-A planner in me appreciates some kind of timeline, even though I know, logically, that we’re all different and this isn’t some kind of God-given statute about change. The type B free spirit in me appreciates that latter part.
Also related to this, God gives Nebuchadnezzar a year to figure himself out and change, but when that time is up, God acts “That very hour” to fulfill his word
Nebuchadnezzar being turned into an ox fits his progress through this story so far: slow, strong, stubborn, powerful. So I wonder if God had to reduce me to an animal that fits my flaws so I could learn a necessary lesson, what animal I would be. My gut response was a squirrel. They’re hungry, chattering, busy, skittish, and indecisive. Sometimes they are reckless as they leap from branch to branch (but that recklessness overlaps with their bravery and skill, too). Yeah, quite possibly a squirrel. Oh, and they’re leettle. I’m leeeeeettle too.
Throughout Daniel, the importance of recognizing God’s power and then honoring him are important. Doing so restores power and honor to those who do it. I also noticed that we see how God’s power works on different parts of us: minds (through the dreams), bodies (nourishing Daniel and company when they were on their vegetarian diet), nature (keeping the men safe in the fire), and dispositions (Nebby as Ox-man! -- don’t you just totally want to draw a picture of a great king behaving like an ox? Just me? Fair enough).
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