Text: Daniel 4:37 “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.”
If any man had reason to be proud, it was Nebuchadnezzar. And if any man is a proof that God can humble the proudest heart and restore the most broken man, it is also Nebuchadnezzar.
Our text today is not written by a prophet, a priest, or an apostle. It is written by a pagan king, a Gentile emperor, the most powerful man in the known world at that time. Daniel chapter 4 is the only chapter in the Bible written by a heathen monarch, and it ends with this verse, a doxology, a praise song from the mouth that once boasted against God.
This verse is the end of a seven-year journey from the throne to the field, from sanity to insanity, from pride to praise. It teaches us the central lesson of life: God is God, and we are not. Until we acknowledge Him, we will never be truly sane, truly secure, or truly restored.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE PROUDEST MAN ON EARTH
If any man had reason to be proud, it was Nebuchadnezzar. And if any man is a proof that God can humble the proudest heart and restore the most broken man, it is also Nebuchadnezzar.
Our text today is not written by a prophet, a priest, or an apostle. It is written by a pagan king, a Gentile emperor, the most powerful man in the known world at that time. Daniel chapter 4 is the only chapter in the Bible written by a heathen monarch, and it ends with this verse, a doxology, a praise song from the mouth that once boasted against God.
This verse is the end of a seven-year journey from the throne to the field, from sanity to insanity, from pride to praise. It teaches us the central lesson of life: God is God, and we are not. Until we acknowledge Him, we will never be truly sane, truly secure, or truly restored.
THE HEIGHT OF PRIDE: “IS NOT THIS GREAT BABYLON THAT I HAVE BUILT?”
To appreciate verse 37, we must go back to verse 30.
Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his royal palace in Babylon. Under him was the wonder of the world. The city of Babylon was 14 miles square, with walls 350 feet high and 87 feet thick, wide enough for four chariots to ride side by side. It had the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders. It had the golden temples, the Ishtar Gate, the Euphrates River flowing through it. It was invincible.
And as he looked, his heart swelled. The Bible says:
“He said, ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30)
Notice the pronouns: I, my, my. Three times in one sentence. This is the language of pride. He forgot that 20 years earlier, God had given him that empire in a dream (Daniel 2). He forgot that Daniel had told him, “You are that head of gold” not because you earned it, but because God placed you there. He forgot that just a few chapters earlier, after being humbled before, he had confessed that God’s kingdom endures forever.
Success makes us forget. That is its greatest danger.
This is the same pride we see today:
The officer who says, “I built this command by my strategy.”
The businessman who says, “I built this business by my wisdom.”
The minister who says, “I built this church by my anointing.”
The student who says, “I passed by my own intelligence.”
We build a small Babylon and we walk on its roof and we boast. And like Nebuchadnezzar, we fail to realize that every breath we take, every opportunity we have, is a gift from the King of heaven.
The Bible says, “While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven” (Daniel 4:31). Judgment did not wait. God does not share His glory. In Isaiah 42:8, He says, “My glory I will not give to another.” When we try to wear a crown that belongs only to God, God will remove it.
THE DEPTH OF HUMILIATION: SEVEN YEARS IN THE FIELD
God had warned Nebuchadnezzar a year before through a terrifying dream. Daniel had interpreted it and pleaded with him: “Break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity.” (Daniel 4:27). God gave him 12 months of grace to repent.
He did not. So God humbled him.
“He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers, and his nails were like birds’ claws.” (Daniel 4:33)
This was a condition called boanthropy, a form of insanity where a man believes he is an animal. The greatest king on earth became like a beast. The man who lived in a palace now lived in the open field. The man who ate from golden plates now ate grass. The hands that signed decrees that ruled nations now had nails like claws.
Why such a severe punishment? Because God had to teach him a lesson pride could never learn on a throne: That man without God is not better than a beast.
Psalm 49:20 says, “Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” When we remove God from our lives, we may have money, cars, ranks, and titles, but we lose our true humanity.
This period lasted “seven times”, seven years. Seven is the number of completeness. God took him through a complete cycle of humbling until the lesson was finished.
Many of us are going through a humbling season right now. Your business has collapsed. Your health has failed. Your promotion was denied. Your reputation has been stained. And you are asking, “Why, Lord?”
Perhaps God is not punishing you; He is restoring you. He is taking you from the roof of your Babylon to the field where you can finally look up. Discipline is not the opposite of God’s love; it is proof of it. Hebrews 12:6 says, “The Lord disciplines the one he loves.”
If Nebuchadnezzar had died in his pride, he would have been lost forever. But God loved him enough to make him a beast for seven years so that he could become a worshipper forever.
THE TURNING POINT: “I LIFTED MY EYES TO HEAVEN”
The most beautiful phrase in the entire chapter is in verse 34:
“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me.”
He did not lift his eyes to Babylon. He did not lift his eyes to his counselors. He did not lift his eyes to his army. He lifted his eyes to heaven.
This is genuine repentance. For seven years his eyes were on the grass, on the earth, like an animal. But one day, by the grace of God, he looked up. The moment a man acknowledges God, his sanity returns.
Reason returns when we acknowledge God. As long as we are proud, we are insane. We think we are self-made, self-sufficient, self-sustaining. That is madness. True wisdom begins when we lift our eyes to heaven and say, “God, You are in control, I am not.”
What does it mean to acknowledge God?
It means three things that Nebuchadnezzar learned:
- To Acknowledge His Sovereignty: “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35)
Nebuchadnezzar finally understood: God does what He wants. No UN can veto Him. No general can overthrow Him. No enemy can question Him. He is not an adviser; He is the King.
We must acknowledge God’s sovereignty in our family, our posting, our finances, our health. To acknowledge God is to stop fighting His will and start surrendering to it.
- To Acknowledge His Righteousness: “...for all his works are right and his ways are just...” (v.37)
For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar might have thought God was unfair. But after restoration, he declared, “Everything God did was right. The humiliation was right. The discipline was just.”
When you are in the field, God’s ways feel painful. When you are restored, you will see they were perfect. Every discipline was needed. Every delay was purposeful.
- To Acknowledge His Power to Humble: “...and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
This is a personal testimony. He did not say, “Those who walk in pride, God might humble.” He said, “He is ABLE to humble.” He experienced it.
God has a special way of dealing with pride. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6).
THE RESTORATION: PRAISE, HONOR, AND GREATER GLORY
What happened when Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God? The Bible says:
“At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my lords sought me, and I was established in my kingdom, and still more greatness was added to me.” (Daniel 4:36)
God did not just restore him; He increased him. This is the principle of God: Humility does not reduce you; it enlarges you. When God humbles you, He is not trying to make you small; He is trying to make you fit for greater greatness that will not destroy you.
Nebuchadnezzar got his throne back, but he was a different man on that throne. Before, he sat on the throne as a proud king. Now, he sat on it as a worshipper. Before, Babylon was for his glory. Now, his kingdom was for God’s glory.
His final words are not about Babylon, but about God: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven.”
The word “praise” means to make famous. “Extol” means to lift high. “Honor” means to give weight and glory. He spent his whole life making Babylon famous; now he spends his final breath making God famous.
This is genuine restoration. Your restoration is not complete when you get your job back, your health back, your money back. It is complete when you get your worship back.
APPLICATION FOR THE SOLDIER AND BELIEVER TODAY
How do we acknowledge God today, especially in the military context and in daily life?
1. In Your Success, Give God the Glory Immediately: When you are commended, when you pass out, when you win, before you post on Facebook or tell your friends, tell God: “This is by Your grace.” Develop the habit of immediate thanksgiving. That habit kills pride before it grows.
2. In Your Failure, Give God the Trust: When you are humbled, do not complain. Do not become bitter. Lift your eyes to heaven. Say like Nebuchadnezzar, “Your works are right and Your ways are just.” God is not against you; He is working for you, even through pain.
3. In Your Daily Duty, Walk Humbly: Micah 6:8 says, “What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Humility is not thinking low of yourself; it is not thinking of yourself at all, but thinking of God in all things.
Acknowledge God before you make a decision: “Lord, is this Your will?”
Acknowledge God in your resources: “Lord, this money is Yours, how do You want me to use it?”
Acknowledge God in your family: “Lord, this family is Yours, help me lead them for You.”
4. Play Your Role in Restoration: God initiated Nebuchadnezzar’s restoration, but Nebuchadnezzar had to lift his eyes. God will not humble Himself for you. You must humble yourself. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.”
If you are in a season of humbling, do not waste it. Lift your eyes. Acknowledge God. Pray. Repent. Worship. Your reason, your peace, your joy, your kingdom will return — and still more greatness will be added to you.
THE KING OF HEAVEN IS STILL ON THE THRONE
Babylon is gone. Its walls have fallen. Its gardens have withered. Nebuchadnezzar is gone. His empire is dust. But the King of heaven that he praised still reigns. His dominion is everlasting. His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
Today, God is calling you off the roof of your little Babylon. He is calling you to stop saying, “I built this by my might.” He is calling you to acknowledge Him.
Pride blinds, but humility restores clarity to see God’s greatness.
Do not wait for seven years in the field. Humble yourself today. Acknowledge God now, and you will discover what Nebuchadnezzar discovered: The moment you make God big, you become truly great.
Prayer:Almighty God, forgive my pride. I have often walked in my own strength and boasted of my own achievements. Today I acknowledge that You are the King of heaven, Your works are right and Your ways are just. Every good thing in my life came from Your hand. I humble myself before You. I lift my eyes to heaven. Restore my heart, restore my reason, restore my worship. Help me to walk humbly before You all the days of my life, and to make Your name famous, not my own. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.
Insight:Pride blinds, but humility restores clarity to see God’s greatness.
Operation Cover to Cover:Zechariah 4 – 6
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