kings and kingdoms

Reading through Daniel it has been fascinating to consider the story of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.  He was, perhaps, the greatest king of the greatest empire that had ruled on earth to that point.  His palace with its hanging gardens was one of the great wonders of the ancient world.  His city of Babylon had walls that were made of stone and thicker than any modern fortress.  There were bridges and tunnels, gates of brass, wide moats and many temples to Ishtar.  It was the Washington D.C. or the Moscow or the Beijing of its day (perhaps even grander) and Nebuchadnezzar was the architect of its greatness.  He ruled 45 of the empire's brief 70 year period.  He had absolute power over every subject in Babylon.  If he said to kill, people were killed.  If he said to spare, people were spared.  Daniel and his three friends in captivity refused to bow the knee to Nebuchadnezzar in preference to the true God.  But Daniel also revealed the power of God to show the future through dreams and interpretations.  God crowned their faithfulness, not only with miraculous survival but with the amazing conversion of Nebuchadnezzar, himself.  God told the king of Babylon that he would go insane and live like a wild animal for 7 years, until he acknowledged the reality and sovereigny of the true God.  And that is exactly what happened.  The one true God showed the greatest earthly king that there really was only one everlasting Kingdom and one King.  It occurs to me that we tend to think of ourselves as the kings of our lives.  If we say that we will do something we think we can do it.  If we say that will not do something we think that we don't have to do it.  We can really believe that we rule the empire of our lives and that we have built walls thick enough to block any intrusion and tunnels to escape any danger.   But the kingdom of our lives and the kingdoms that men build are all subject to the Heavenly Kingdom and the great King of eternity.  Here are the words of Nebuchadnezzar after he'd come to his eternal senses from Daniel, chapter 4: ³⁴ And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding 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 is from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;  He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth.  No one can restrain His hand  Or say to Him, "What have You done?"

 

blessings,

Rob Smith

p.s. come to MiniBible class tomorrow at the Chapel to hear more from Daniel!