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Episode 679:In this episode, we dive into the biblical narrative of King Nebuchadnezzar, found in Daniel chapter 4. We recount Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great tree that symbolizes his own power and the subsequent divine judgment he faces for his pride. Daniel's interpretation of the dream serves as a warning to the king about the consequences of his arrogance and the importance of recognizing God's sovereignty over all kingdoms.
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You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Good morning, good morning, we talk good good morning, Hey, good morning everybody. Good job Chris. Welcome to the Bible Guys. Good job Chris. It is Thursday, and I just realized I had not sung good morning. All week long. A lot of times. You bring it in on Wednesday. Yeah, well this so and weaved this week in surprise. Today was the jingle of happy Days. Yeah. It was so good. Yeah. I couldn't even get the tune. I couldn't get that key. I was like, I was stumbling around. Should have listened to it and started it and you know, practice it and rehearsed it and all that. Anyway, Hey, today we have a great segment because Desiree is committed to making sure that our listeners get just the best news available. Yes, and so our trusted source is the Babylon. Bee, absolutely only the finest news yes for our people. And today we are reading uh one. It's a warning to some some you need to be warned, yeah, Others it's a testimony about how difficult life can be if you're going through let. Me just read it. You can testify afterwards. If you're going through a tough. Time today, I could have written this. Just know that you are not alone. Yes, right, here's the article. Devastating. This man is wearing socks and he just stepped in a little wet spot on the kitchen floor. Yes, you hate that, don't you know? It's one of my worst pet peas in the world. Milwaukee, Wisconsin local man Aiden Jackson suffered a devastating blow earlier today after he stepped in a little wet spot on the kitchen floor while wearing socks. Sources to say the event has ruined his day and perhaps his life. You my feet are squishy and damp now, said the man helplessly. Is the cruel liquid soaked into his side? Why would a good God allow such a thing to happen? That's about as bad as it gets, honestly, said Stacy Jackson, Aiden's wife. I wear slippers in the kitchen myself to avoid just such a sort of thing. Experts say that the emotional damage of stepping in a puddle of water while wearing socks is even worse than that of treading barefoot on a pile of legos, and about the same is having a piece of popcorn stuck between your teeth with no way to get it out. Wow, this is devastating for it, said Bradley Nelson, an expert. He'll have to go change his socks now, so annoying. At publishing time, Jackson's day had gotten even worse after realizing the wet spot in the kitchen was caty. Oh no, oh, no, that really Yeah, there you go, But being wet is one of your least favorite things on the planet. Yeah, so I have to clarify. So, wet socks are the worst, like nothing worse than like wearing wet clothes, like wet underwear. Are you kidding me? It's the worst. It's the worst. However, the only caveat is this, I'm out in the rain, I can't stand it. But if I have a hat on, I'm actually fine with getting wet because it's actually it's actually the feeling of water running down my scalp and the hair getting wet and everything else. If I have a. Ball cap on and I'm running in the rain and I'm like, well, it is what it is, I'm actually not that irritated. I'm irritated that I'm wet, but nothing nearly like if I don't have a hat on, not even close. The other things are just like a really big irritation. And the socks thing, buddy, that I'll get you in a bad mood real quick. You're walking into the kitchen, you step where like a thing of ice was, and all of a sudden, it's like I literally have to stop all things, and I'm like, I'll be back, and I have to go upstairs and immediately change my socks. There's no way I'm going to let it dry. It'll just ruin your day. It'll put me in a bad mood for like the next half an hour. Wow. Yeah, I hate it. Okay, it's really bad. So people make fun. Of me, Yes, sometimes because I basically have one wardrobe. It always looks like I'm either going on a fishing trip or that's it, all of it. The only alternative is that I have genes sometimes. But I buy all clothes that drive very quickly. Yes, and they're all travel stuff right. So one, I'm not very fashion forward. I don't know if you've noticed that. So, so fashion is not a thing for me. So I buy I buy based on practicalities. And I travel so much. I'm gone so often that I just want something that's going to be comfortable on a plane. That is, I can take the layers on and take the I'm wearing a vest right now, take the layers on, take the layers off, roll up the sleeves, and everything dries really fast, So even my socks. I try to buy socks that dry quickly. Yeah, yeah, all that kind of stuff. So in other words, all that means if you step in a little puddle of water. That everything drives quick. So well, it's just and this came to pass. Yeah, not me, buddy, I am with this guy. There's an article. There's a picture of a guy holding his face like this. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, he looks like he's he's. Devastated. His whole life has been turned upside out. The best part about those article is he said, why would a good God allow such a thing to happen? It's so great, Well, talking about a devastated man whose whole life has been turned upside down. We're about to read Where's head. And the God square off? Right? Yeah, so remember yesterday we read about he builds an idol. Yes, kind of represents him. He wants everybody to bow down to it. Ninety feet tall. We never talked about that ninety nine story building. Yeah, that is a heck of a statue of gold. Yeah. It must have been well built because there's only nine feet wide ninety feet tall, nine feet wide. That's really impressive construction. Yeah. But yeah, wow, nine feet wide. I wonder if it had like a prep roud or something. It must have must have had something in there. Wow, or maybe wires are for something. Yeah. So he was kind of thinking of himself pretty highly, and he sees God do this miracle for shadrag me shack in a bed and to go. And then he says, okay, from now on, nobody gets to make fun of chadreck me shack in a bed and goes God. It's the same as what he did for Daniel, right, right. And he doesn't embrace the God. He just acknowledges their God. Right, that's what happens. He doesn't embrace their God, but he does say, okay, nobody's allowed to say anything bad about shadwick me shacking to bed and goes God because no god rescues like like their God. So he kind of adds the god of the universe to his pantheon of God's right is what he does. So here's what it says. You just turn the page again, because these are opportunities for Nebu Canezar to just change his life and encounter the true and living God. You turn the page in chapter four and it says King Nebu Kinnezer sent this message to the people of every race in national language the world, Peace and prosperity to you. I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders of the most High God has performed for me. How great are his signs and how powerful his wonders. His kingdom will last forever, and his rule through all generations. I, Nebue Canezar, was living in my palace and comfort and prosperity. But one night I had a dream that frightened me, and I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. So I iss an order calling all the wise men of Babylon so they could tell me what my dream meant. When all the magicians and enchanters and astrologers and fortune tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. At last, Daniel came in before me, and I told him the dream. He was named Belta Shazar, after my God, and the spirit of Holy Gods is in him. I said to him, belt the Shazar, chief of the magicians. I know that the spirit of the Holy Gods is in you, and that no mystery is too great for you to solve. Now tell me what my dream means. While I was laying in my bed, this is what I dreamed. I saw a large tree in the middle of the earth. And the tree grew very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves, and it was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. All the world was fed from this tree. Then, as I lay there dreaming, I saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted, cut down the tree and lop off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit, chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its branches. Believe the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field for seven periods of time. Let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. For this has been decreed by the messengers. It is commanded by the Holy ones, so that everyone may know that the most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives him to anyone he chooses, even to the lowliest of people. Belt the Chazar that was the dream that I, King Nebukenzer had, Now tell me what it means. For none of the wise men of my kingdom can do so, but you can tell me, because the spirit of the Holy Gods is in you. Upon hearing this, Daniel, also known as bent Belta Shazar, was overcome for a time frightened by the meaning of the dream. When the king said to him, Belta Shazar, don't be alarmed by the dream and what it means, Belta Shazzar replied, I wish the events foreshadowed this dream. What happened to your enemies, my lord, and not to you. The tree you saw was growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see. It had fresh green leaves and was loaded with fruit for all to eat. Wild animals lived in its shade, and birds nested in its branches. That tree, your Majesty is you, for you have grown strong and great. Your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth. And then you saw a messenger, a holy one, coming down from heaven, saying, cut down the tree and destroy it, But leave the stump and the roots of the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze, and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched by the udou of the heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven periods of time. This is what the dream means, Your majesty, what the Most High has declared will happen to my Lord, the King. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with dew of heaven. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses, but the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you've learned the heaven rules. King Nebukenzer, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you'll continue to prosper. But all these things did happen to King nebuken aes. Twelve months later, he was taking a walk on the flat roof the Royal Palace and Babylon. As he looked out across the city, he said, look at this great city of Babylon. By my own mighty. Power, I've built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor. And while these words were still in his mouth, a voice called down from heaven, Oh King Nebukenez, Sure this message is for you. You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields of the wild animals, and you eat grass like a cow. Seven periods of time will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the most high rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. In that same hour, the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebu Canezer was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles feathers, and his nails were like bird's claws. After this time he had passed, I Nebu Canezar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven, among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, what do you mean by these things? Doing these things? When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out. I was restored as head of my kingdom with even greater honor than before. Now I Nebe can praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and pure, and he is able to humble the proud man. What a story, dude. I love the way that is written, don't you. Oh yeah, it's it's it's it's Nebukednezzar who is telling a story of the past. It's his own testimony. It's his own testimony. But then he brings you into it as if it's happening real time, because he says, and then this is what happened, and then this is and and and then he goes back to reminding us that this is something of the past, because he says, then my standard, my sandy was restored. And uh, man, what an unbelievable, wild and obscure story. I've never heard this in a sermon. By the way, have you ever heard this particular chapter in a su Yeah you have. Really wow, I heard uh one of the old leaders of our of our. Previous movement reach on it. Oh phenomenally yeah, yeah, Oh wow. It's a great message. Yeah yeah. And so this is a wonderful and yet horrific thing to even imagine. Right. The wonderful part of it is is that man, God can God can choose whenever he wants to demonstrate his power, and it's not held back by any power. So nebukid Nezzar, I mean, he walks around on his flat roof and says, is there anybody greater than me? And then all of a sudden a voice comes down for a voice. By the way, that's crazy because there's not too many times in the entire Bible that that happens. And then the voice, almost word for word, repeats what Daniel said. A year earlier. And so can you imagine A year goes by. You're probably scared at first if you're nebright, and all of a sudden, a year you know, you've forgotten about it. You're walking around in your own little you know power, look what I've done, and all of a sudden this voice comes down and you're like, oh, yeah, Daniel did tell me that. A year until you learn. That the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them that anyone he chooses, anyone he chooses. So I can remember. When I was young, probably a teenager, maybe in my early twenties, and you know, I like archaeology, I like history, I like all that stuff. And Nibie Kenezer is one of the greatest kings in all of history, so even outside the Bible, there's a ton about him, right, And and was the one of the first after the Egyptians. Like the Assyrians were big and tough, but they weren't like on the same scale as the Egyptians. And then Nebu Kenezer comes in and takes you know, he's the first, one of the first great world conquerors, took over all the world that he knew of at the time and defeated just about everybody. So historically he's just so powerful. I thought, surely seven years, right, that he's out of his mind, and then he's restored back to his throne. That has that have been in history somewhere, So I started digging around looking to see if it was. And there's no direct thing in history that says he lost his ever. Love and mind for seven years, right. But there are a couple things I had to relok it, I had to look it back up again. But I remember these as soon as I saw them. I remembered. So one thing, ancient. Historical records are extraordinarily selective about what they say about kings, right, But there is the in the the Prayer of Nabonitis, which was in the Dead Sea Scrolls. There's this description of King Nabonitis, which is the last king of Babylon, not nebue Canezer, but it was Nebuner's kids and nephews that wind up taking over the kingdom, and while he was out, and then he gets restored, and then after that his nephew takes back over and then king his the Babylonian kingdom gets wiped out by Meets and Persians. So it could have been highlighting he was the last great king of Babylon, and it mentions in the prayer Nabonitis, it mentions that this king was struck with a skin disease by God for seven years until he humbled himself and prayed and was healed. So it may have been that it was recognizing he had some kind of disease for seven years and he had to repent from God in order to be healed. So there's that It could have just been that it was wrong, you know, because this isn't a Bible thing, it's just a historical thing. It could have been wrong on the facts. But seven years the last great king of Babylon given a disease by God until he repented. That's all in the prayer and Nabinidis that was found in the Dead Sea scrolls. Then there's Barasis there in the third century BC, so three hundred years before Jesus, this Babylonian priest rites in Greek that nebu Kenezer became ill towards the end of his life and left his son to govern. So we do know that there. Was this illness at the end of his life, and though it's vague and brief, it does echo some kind of a thing. So you have the prayer and Nabonitis recognizes there was this seven year period in Nebukenezer's life that he was under judgment from God with some kind of disease. And then Borosis, a Babylonian priest in three hundred BC. Says, yeah, he had he was so. Sick he had to hand off some of the leadership for a while. Well, we know that he comes back and he only rules for a short amount of time after this time, and then it's the end of it. So I think it's kind of interesting that even historically there seems to be a hint that something bad happened in Nebucinezer and it lasted for like a seven year period. So this is what actually happened in a neat Yeah. Oh, it's very neat. I love that stuff. Yeah. Well, when the Bible was able to be verified outside of it outside of itself, right, and so it's verified with every new discovery with archaeology in the estricially in the Middle East, and then. Well, you know, almost primarily in the Middle. East, and then also with every single historical record that you know, there's nothing that can flis right, there's nothing. Think about all. The writings of history that exist in the world, right. And then and the things that you know, the Scripture talk about are able to be coupled with history and their timelines. They match up. Everything matches up, which is amazing. And some things match up, uh, and we've only discovered them in our lifetime, right, Some things that you're like, uh, you know, I can't remember off the top of my head. But was it, man, it wasn't something just discovered and it was like no way to get it verified what the Bible said. I can't remember what it was. Maybe I'll look it up and share with it. Yeah. Sure. I follow archaeology a lot, and every few months. Stuff comes out of Israel in particular that highlights particularly they're digging around the city of David right now, there's a lot of things that have come up that seem to point towards the ancient fathers and the ancient Israel and all that kind of stuff. It comes up all the time. So, yeah, I'm curious to see what it is that you just recently read. Yeah, so so you know, where are the sermons in here? So the sermons in here are there's. A God in heaven that appoints kings and takes away their power. That's right, that's right, Well, it's it's it's also it's also recognizing that, yes, if you're the provider of your family, or you're the builder of your business, or you know, you're the one that accomplishes, you're the one that earns a paycheck. Yes, of course that is that is you who does it. But you have to understand that it is God who allows you to do it, and God alone. So God's the one who gives you the ability. He gives you your health, he gives you your intelligence, he gives you your you know, capabilities, all that your giftedness, and uh and so and so God allows you to do all those things. And so so many times when we talk about, you know, recognizing that everything is God's. Uh, you know, we are to give back to God. God's God is the giver of all things. People sometimes, you know, pop out their chest like Nebuked Nezzer and they walk around on their flat roofs and they say, what are you talking about? This was me. I've worked hard, Nobody gave me a hand up right, I'm the one. I'm self built, I'm self made. I'm the one that has done this. And so stop asking me to recognize that it's somebody other than me. Stop asking me to give back to God, you know, whether financially would earn service or volunteerism, because I'm the one and uh, and God's reminding Nebuke and us that it's actually him. Yeah, we just came through. We're recording the weekend in the week right after Easter right now, so this will play in another week or two and we will have had a staff meeting by then with the whole staff coming up and after any big week. We just had over fourteen thousand people participate live with us in twenty two services. We solve a thousand professions of faith. It was just it was an unbelievable week, like a high water mark. Right. And so in all of those staff meetings after the after big days, big baptism days, big Salvation days, big attendance days, I'll usually give very similar speech that God is doing these amazing things among us. Of course he's using us, right, we give him the very best we have. We work hard, we plan well, we do all the things we can do. But then God chooses to send the increase. Right. God does these things, and so we have to stay humble because God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble, and we. Have to stay holy. God opposes those who choose to compromise with the world, but he gives grace and power to those who choose to be holy people walk away from the world. He said, I'll be like a father to you. You'd be like children to me, right when He comes out from among them, and be separate. And then we need to be helpful, building others up, encouraging others. Right, those three things all the time. And so as God is blessing us, one of the things you and I are constantly working out with our team is we got to stay holy, humble and helpful, Holy, humble and helpful. Yep. And I've mentioned we just had celebrated our twenty fifth anniversary, and I wanted one of the last songs on that big celebration night to be a song that I listened to. I never told him by this before the twenty fifth anniversary that there's a song from Charles Billingsley back in two thousand that he wrote and it just says the church is empty, but I just can't go home, so I linger for a moment in the dark all alone. I'm so overwhelmed how your spirit moved, and I'm just glad I was in the room right, and I just think about how incredible it is that God does things. We did the work that we could do, but then God shows up and it's just good to be a. Part of it. And that's the different I think between a king like King Nebu Chancery sens was look what I did, and we're trying to be godly leaders and say, look God, we did everything we could do, but look what God did with it, right, And so it's not that we're just blowing it off and being humble. Oh look, we didn't do anything. We did a lot, right, right, Yeah, we did everything we could do for God. We gave him the best sacrifice we could give him. But then look what God did with it, right right, Wow, it's all God. It's not us. We did our part, but God. And so a lot of times I'll pray when I'm praying with the staff and I'll just say, God, it's amazing to see what you're doing, and we're so glad we get to be a part of it. Yeah. Right. And by the way, just so, a lot of our listeners do it in our church, and a lot of them don't, of course, But for those who do, you listen to that song? Is it after every big day? Yeah? I listened to it after every big day, after every big baptism, after anything really good. It just kind of it's my when I'm driving home by myself, it's usually kind of my recentering it always talking about we made jokes about you crying all the time. This is almost every time. It still brings tears to my eyes. That. Yeah, it's just good that to be in the room God, that's something special. Yeah, this is what makes Cheff cry. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly is Charles Billy. Well, it's it's just reminded myself. God did amazing things. I understand. So that's awesome. So wait, what a great chapter. And here's all I know is a little kid from Youngstown and a little kid from Elba, Michigan. Yeah, we normally don't show. Up in places like this and see these kinds of things. Apart from God doing amazing things. That's a great statement right there. So and we still would have fought that's so funny. That was so great. All right, Hey, that is our time, and so hopefully we will see you tomorrow on the Bible. Gosh,