Humbled to the Dew
I once read a story about someone who could not recognize their weakness until they were literally made to crawl in a field like an ox, eating grass with hair like eagle feathers, and nails like the claws of birds. This is the story of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in the book of Daniel. I’ve always considered myself good at spelling and will proudly tell you I got second place in my second grade spelling bee, but one sure way I would lose a spelling bee today and that is if I was asked to spell ‘Nebuchadnezzar’. I’ve been reading through Daniel the past few mornings and learned a lot about the reign of king Nebuchadnezzar (let’s call him Neb for short). Neb was drastically humbled by the Lord in the first few chapters of this book, and it reminded me of the times I tend to put my confidence in myself, especially when things are going my way.
Neb had a dream he wanted interpreted so he gathered all the sorcerers, magicians, Chaldeans, and enchanters to interpret it or they would be torn limb from limb (a little dramatic in my opinion but I wasn’t around in 600 B.C.). When Daniel, a man after the Lord’s heart, heard what was going to happen to the failed interpreters, he prayed that God would reveal to him the meaning of this dream, and his complete trust in the Lord resulted in an accurate interpretation and a significant realization for Neb. Neb praises Daniel’s God for revealing this mystery, a hopeful display of humility. Not too fast though, in the very next chapter we see this same king demanding everyone in the province of Babylon bow to the golden image he set up at the sound of the trumpets lest they be thrown into a fiery furnace. He immediately goes from praising Daniel’s God for doing what man could not, to demanding worship of a graven image. When three God-fearing men refuse to bow, Neb has the furnace heated up 7 times hotter, and the men thrown in. The men who cast them in were killed by the flame, faithful men were seen walking around with a fourth figure, “like a son of the gods.” The men come out without a singed hair, unharmed, and lacking any smell of fire. At the sight of this miracle, Neb praises God in front of all the people! All this praise is a weak display of faith when we see him seek sorcerers again to interpret his dream, and we hear him sing praises to himself for the great Babylon he has built by his mighty power.
It was not until he ate grass like an ox in a field for 7 periods of time (who knows how long that is), that he fully recognized who the glory belonged to. It can be so easy for us to fall into similar cycles of praising and neglecting God. When things appear to be steadily going our way, why would we need to lean on God? We find ourselves only calling on the Lord or praising His name when He is our last resort, when we’ve done everything we could in our own power to control our lives, and nothing seems to be working. Over and over again we see the evidence of God’s hand in our lives as constant reminders that we cannot do this alone. How often do you take matters into your own hands without wise counsel and prayer, and those plans crumble in front of you? It is only a matter of time until we are utterly humbled as this king was, and realize putting our confidence in ourselves will fail us every single time, but putting our confidence in the Lord could not possibly fail us. When Neb is restored to humanity these are the words he proclaims, “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” (Daniel 4:37).
In what ways are you attempting to rule your own life instead of leaning on the Creator of life? In what ways is the Lord displaying His power to you that you continue to ignore? How long will you ride the rollercoaster of praising and neglecting the Lord before you submit to His strength and your weakness. I think if Nebuchadnezzar could hear these words of Paul he would sing them loud for us to hear. “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10). Nebuchadnezzar reigned a powerful kingdom for about 43 years, but the strongest moment of his life was when he submitted to God in the dew of the field.