I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored the one who lives forever. For his sovereignty is an everlasting
sovereignty, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted
as nothing, and he does what he wills with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can
stay his hand or say to him, “What are you doing?” Daniel 4:34 - 35 (NRSVA)
1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those
authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1 (NRSVA)
________________________________________
The election results are in, and I can finally turn off the news and get some sleep…or can I? Whenever the vote is tallied
you can either begin to relax or really worry; this generally depends on whether or not your candidate won.
Either way, win or lose, there are considerations. Those who “lost” start thinking about 2012; those who “won” wonder
what in the world they’ve gotten themselves in-for. Bill Clinton talked about that; after an improbable victory in 1991.
On inauguration day in January 1992 he is said to have been walking in the parade to the White House thinking, “O-my-
gosh….I’m the President….what do I do now?” It’s a feeling my dog Annie the pit bull once had – She was only a year and
a half old, and after chasing 500 cars she finally caught one….uh, what do I do with this thing?
One thing is certain about the winners and losers in politics – and in every other form of leadership – there is one
besetting sin that eventually grabs them all – pride! It is so easy to start believing your “press reports.” In Presidential
elections there are thousands of people at rallies screaming your name, or your slogan; it is a narcotic!
Even preachers at small churches can begin to believe the things people say when they exit on a Sunday – oh, you’re such
a great preacher. (Actually I very rarely hear that, so while I’m not exactly immune to pride, I do seem to be sheltered
from it!)
The addictive quality of men’s praise and our own pride is enough to turn you into something you aren’t. There was once
a ruler who became a lycanthrope.
Lycanthropy, a psychosis in which the patient has delusions of being a wild animal (usually a wolf), has been recorded
since antiquity. The Book of Daniel describes King Nebuchadnezzar as suffering from depression that deteriorated over a
seven-year period into a frank psychosis at which time he imagined himself a wolf. [1]
Nebuchadnezzar’s story is recorded in the fourth chapter of Daniel. He wasn’t just the leader of the world’s most
powerful nation; he was the leader of the world. The world spread out from its center, Babylon – modern day Iraq. This
man Nebuchadnezzar was an ancestor of Iraq’s deposed president, Sadaam Hussein, and he had an ego that would’ve
made Sadaam look like Mother Teresa!
Leadership and ego have always had a “hand-in-glove” relationship. Some of the greatest leaders have fallen because of
it. Visions come to mind of some recent ones;
Sadaam, of course,
Richard Nixon declaring that he was “not a crook”
Bill Clinton pointing his finger into the cameras and defending his honor about what he didn’t do with that woman.
From whence cometh power? Does power originate in the heart of man, or his hand that grabs it? Is it from deals cut in
smoke-filled back rooms on the seedy side of town? Does power come from the electoral process? Nebuchadnezzar
learned (the hard way) that power comes only from God…and that God can take it away just as quickly and easily!
THE KING’S SELF-IMPORTANCE
4I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my home and prospering in my palace. 5I saw a dream that frightened me; my
fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me. 6So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be
brought before me, in order that they might tell me the interpretation of the dream. 7Then the magicians, the
enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me its
interpretation. 8At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god, and who
is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods—and I told him the dream: 9“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know
that you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Hear the dream that I
saw; tell me its interpretation. 10Upon my bed this is what I saw; there was a tree at the center of the earth, and its
height was great. 11The tree grew great and strong, its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the ends of the whole
earth. 12Its foliage was beautiful, its fruit abundant, and it provided food for all. The animals of the field found shade
under it, the birds of the air nested in its branches, and from it all living beings were fed.13 Daniel 4: 4 - 13 (NRSV)
The king was at ease in his palace. This was the same formula that got King David in trouble – a king “chillin-back” at the
castle when he should’ve been hard at work. Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom was over the entire world. It is said that when
Alexander the Great realized he had conquered the entire known world, he wept bitterly because there was nothing left
to conquer! That’s the narcotic of conquest and power – there is never enough to satisfy he who has tasted it!
Nebuchadnezzar ruled his empire from the splendor of his city, Babylon; it was a city of unparalleled magnitude, beauty
and strength! There were two sets of inner and outer walls…like a child’s toy of boxes placed inside boxes, making the
city impregnable to attack. Those walls were 45-feet high and over 20-feet thick…four walls, each that impressive. War
chariots could drive back and forth passing each other on tops of the walls. There were guard and sentry towers every
60-feet.
Everywhere Nebuchadnezzar looked there was beauty. The hanging gardens of Babylon are still called one of the Seven
Wonders of the World. To please his wife the king had built a mountain inside the city and decorated it with every
beautiful plant and shrub to remind her of her homeland.
The prosperity of the Babylonian empire was like a fruitful tree spread over the land providing for every possible need
and desire; that was the splendor the king saw in his dream…Babylon’s self-important ruler, the tree. But
Nebuchadnezzar began believing the press reports of his own glory and power;
30and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my
glorious majesty?” Daniel 4:30 (NRSV)
Did you hear all the personal pronouns…I have built, my mighty power, my glorious majesty? We would say that
Nebuchadnezzar the king was absolutely brim-full of himself…and running over! Self-importance is actually a kind of
humorous event when it is done in front of God, the real ruler of Heaven and earth!
Nebuchadnezzar’s self-importance led to:
THE KING’S SCHOOLING
“I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher, coming down from heaven.
14He cried aloud and said: ‘Cut down the tree and chop off its branches, strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the
animals flee from beneath it and the birds from its branches.15 But leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band
of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the
animals of the field in the grass of the earth.16 Let his mind be changed from that of a human, and let the mind of an
animal be given to him. And let seven times pass over him.17 The sentence is rendered by decree of the watchers, the
decision is given by order of the holy ones, in order that all who live may know that the Most High is sovereign over the
kingdom of mortals; he gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of human beings.’18 “This is the dream that
I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom
are unable to tell me the interpretation. You are able, however, for you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.”
19Then Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar, was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. The king
said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation terrify you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the
dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies! 20The tree that you saw, which grew great
and strong, so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the end of the whole earth, 21whose foliage was
beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived, and in whose
branches the birds of the air had nests — 22it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has
increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth. 23And whereas the king saw a holy
watcher coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the
ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field; and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let
his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him’ — 24this is the interpretation, O king, and it is a
decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: 25You shall be driven away from human society, and your
dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, you shall be bathed with the dew of
heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the
kingdom of mortals, and gives it to whom he will. 26As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your
kingdom shall be re-established for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign. 27Therefore, O king, may
my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the
oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”
28All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal
palace of Babylon, 30and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty
power and for my glorious majesty?” 31While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “O
King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: The kingdom has departed from you! 32You shall be driven away from
human society, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and
seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals
and gives it to whom he will.”
33Immediately the sentence was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from human society, ate grass
like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails
became like birds’ claws. Daniel 4: 13 - 33 (NRSV)
The “holy watcher” is an angel of God pronouncing the madness that would come upon Nebuchadnezzar…he would
become the original wolf-man. The old Baptist radio preacher J. Vernon McGee, described the king this way: “…
Nebuchadnezzar, was a lunatic. He had bats in his belfry…. Nations rise and fall to teach men that God rules and
overrules the kingdoms of this world.” [2]
I have this nagging thought in my mind that because of the self-importance we have assigned to ourselves as “America
the Great”, it may be that God is taking us to school to learn that these “uncharted waters” of financial lycanthropy (Bull
and Bear markets) are going to be with us until WE learn that the dollar isn’t so “almighty”!
The Remedy
In the middle of Daniel’s interpretation he gives the king a way out. Daniel tells the king to repent of his self-
importance…learn the lessons of the schooling…and perhaps see God’s judgment forestalled. This was offered before to
Nineveh by the preaching of Jonah. The people repented and God let up on judgment.
We are no different; as Daniel encouraged Nebuchadnezzar to respond to God’s decree with acts of mercy to the poor
and oppressed, we also must change our greedy ways in America! Like the king, we are blessed with wealth of which the
rest of the world can only dream. And we hoard and build bigger barns for ourselves. We stockpile blessings God meant
for us to use to feed the world.
We must start with our neighbors here in Randolph County, in North Carolina where we live. There are needs that will
keep us busy the rest of our lives. Self-importance always leads to self-indulgence; it is not God’s way. If we are people
who belong to God, we must be different!
Sad apathy
Sadly, for Nebuchadnezzar (and for the people over which he ruled), in verse 31 we see Nebuchadnezzar’s pride kick-in.
He ignored God’s warning through Daniel’s interpretation of the dream. A year later he is admiring once again his
glorious city, and imagining out loud his incredible power; while the words were still in his mouth the madness fell!
It is hard to mistake the timing of the judgment. At the highest moment of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride the hammer fell.
Notice what God has said about who truly holds the reins of power:
By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; by me rulers rule, and nobles, all who govern rightly.
Proverbs 8:15, 16 (NRSV)
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18 (NRSV)
First pride, then the crash—the bigger the ego, the harder the fall. Proverbs 16:18 (TMSG)
When Pilate told Jesus that he had power to set free or to crucify, he was reminded that he would have no power at all if
it had not been given to him from above (John 19:11). [3]
With the hammer of judgment falling on the king his schooling in the fields of Babylon was about to begin. For the next
seven years he ate grass in the fields on all fours and howled at the moon. Quite a splendid sight for the monarch of the
Babylonian Empire! But it was necessary for:
THE KING’S SURRENDER
34When that period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me. I blessed
the Most High, and praised and honored the one who lives forever. For his sovereignty is an everlasting sovereignty, and
his kingdom endures from generation to generation.35 All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he
does what he wills with the host of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. There is no one who can stay his hand or say
to him, “What are you doing?”36 At that time my reason returned to me; and my majesty and splendor were restored to
me for the glory of my kingdom. My counselors and my lords sought me out, I was re-established over my kingdom, and
still more greatness was added to me. 37Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all
his works are truth, and his ways are justice; and he is able to bring low those who walk in pride. Daniel 4: 34 - 37
(NRSV)
Nebuchadnezzar changed the tune he’d been singing! In these verses he acknowledges his pride and self-important
boasting. Where once he praised himself to whomever would listen, and listened to no one else but the sound of his own
voice, now he praises God like a Pentecostal preacher!
The king realized his kingdom and life were limited – and in God’s hands. At the same time he understood that God’s rule
and existence are eternal and omnipotent, all powerful. His repentance is a re-focusing of his life on the true and living
God.
We have a new President-elect who will take office in January. I have listened several times over the days since last
Tuesday’s election to his “Victory Speech” in Grant Park, Chicago. In the speech he talked about the hard work ahead.
But he allowed that “we can do it together”. He’s right about the hard work. Repentance is extremely hard work for self-
important people. We have a lot of repenting to do in America. And I dare say if the man this country’s electoral process
chose to lead us will lead us in the way we should go, he will lead on his knees as an example for the rest of us.
THE NEW "KING’S" SUBJECTS and THEIR DUTY
There is always a lot of rallying-behind a new leader. I agree with that. We need to give Mr. Obama a healthy dose of
respect and honor; it is due his office, and we must be respectful and helpful citizens. Paul the Apostle reminded us:
1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those
authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1 (NRSVA)
Our respect and honor begins with praying for him. But there is a further obligation to which we’re bound as citizens of
Heaven, and subjects of a higher King than resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; we are bound to remind the President
of Who is really in charge!
In listening to the “Victory Speech” I noticed a strange absence of leaning of God’s mercy and will (for someone who is an
avowed believer and follower of Jesus Christ).
I heard Mr. Obama give thanks to his Grandma, sisters and brothers, campaign manager and strategists
I heard him give thanks to the American people.
But I heard no thanks to God.
I heard him talk about what we can do to fix our problems, return the glory to the American economy
But I heard no plea to God for direction.
I heard him say that the “…true strength of our nation is not from the might of our arms or scale of our wealth, but from
the enduring power of our ideals, democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.” I heard him say those fine
inspiring words as if they were gods themselves.
But I heard no bow towards the king of Glory from Whom all those things flow.
I heard him say that because of “…what WE did change has come to America”.
But will he lead us in the direction of God?
I heard him say that he wants to work with Senator McCain and Governor Palin.
But does he want to bring God into the strategy session?
I heard him say “Yes WE can”
But does he know WE CAN’T without God?
At the end of the speech I heard him say “God bless you, and may God bless America” as if we had all sneezed and it was
the right thing to say. But I heard no humble acknowledgement of God’s authority like Nebuchadnezzar confessed. What
I heard was much more like a predecessor of his by the name of King Nimrod who built the first big building in Babylon.
It was called “The Tower of Babel”. Nimrod wanted to build the glory of reaching up to the heavens. And God confused
them by causing them to speak languages they couldn’t understand; he brought them down and scattered them!
God forbid that we build a monument to American spirit, ingenuity, pride and strength, and become a shambles of
Nimrod’s folly.
We were not founded as a Christian nation, per se, with the church and preachers in charge. God knows, and so did our
founders that the country needs its preachers in church, not Washington. But those Christian principles, values and
direction are all over our founding documents. However, those principles are now in the rear view mirror of our national
consciousness, and we refuse to look in that mirror and see God, and turn around towards God; we have forgotten Him!
I invite you to join me in respecting our new President-elect. And I also invite you to help hold his feet to the fire to be
what he claims to be – a Christian follower of Jesus Christ who will honor God in everything he does. Repentance and
honoring God is the real leading we need!
There is good reason why the world’s great civilizations didn’t last – Babylon, Greece, Rome…and now America….all
raised up by the hand of God from Heaven for the possibility and responsibility to serve Him; instead we have all become
self-important and proud, turning to wickedness and unbelief.
If we do not turn, we will perish as certainly as they all did. We will not be America the beautiful; we will be a stench in
the nostrils of Almighty God…and rightly so!
There is something bigger than you and I going on in this universe. There is something also much bigger than elections, a
new president and Congress; there is much more than the economy. We must remember that there is someONE bigger
and He demands we must be accountable to Him…not our own agenda.
God gave Nebuchadnezzar a year to repent; will He give us that long?
--------------
ENDNOTES
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[1] A Case of Lycanthropy, Harvey Rostenstock, M.D. and Kenneth R. Vincent, Ed.D., The American Journal of Psychiatry
Vol. 134, No. 10. October 1977
[2] J. Vernon McGee, Through The Bible With J. Vernon McGee, Vol 3, (Pasadena, Through the Bible Radio, 1982), 551,
552
[3] Robert H. Mounce, The New American Commentary, (Nashville, Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 243.
Genesis 10, 11
