Daniel 5:20-24
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
God speaks but when He knows they won't listen, He writes it down as His decree. King Nebuchadnezzar thought that no one could oppose or overthrow him now. He did not know that God opposes the proud and overthrows the wicked. In God's eyes, you are considered proud and arrogant when you do not acknowledge Him to be the Most High God who is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. When you start thinking that you own everything in this world and no one can terminate your service or replace you, that is when you have become proud and arrogant.Nebuchadnezzar had thought that no one could challenge his authority for he had at one time taken captive of even God's own people. He became proud and arrogant.Little did he know that God was watching him closely. He thought he could do just anything he wanted and get away with it.Not for long though!
As proud as Nebuchadnezzar was, he was abased to the position of the lowest of all animals- a grass eating cattle. His mind was transformed into the mind of a grass eating cattle. Was this possible? Why not! He ate grass like cattle and lived with donkeys.This tells us that nothing is impossible with God. He can change anyone to be anything, if one's heart becomes proud and arrogant when he or she will start doing things as though they were soveriegn over the kingdoms of men. Until he learned that God alone is sovereign over the kingdoms of men, he was so lowly abased before men. He was once living like an emperor and now the lowest of all animals, not even better than the lowliest of all men. This should remind you of Lucifer, who was once the highest of all God's angels and how he was turned into the lowliest, a dust eating serpent. You have to pay a heavy penalty if your heart becomes proud and arrogant towards God which translates into evil actions before man. You will show no respect towards God and His things when you are proud and arrogant in heart and mind.
What about his son, Belshazzar? Do you think he learnt any thing from his father? No, 'like father, like son'. Belshazzar, like his father was proud and arrogant too. He knew what had happenend to his father but he never learned anything from it. Probabaly the pride came from the capture of God's own people. He thought that their God was as the people he had taken into captivity. No it was God who had willed this for His people so that they would turn from their sinful living. Belshazzar dared to challenge the great God who had created heaven and earth and the whole universe. He did not honour the God who had willed all these. Instead, he gave the praises to images he had made to be his god. In his drunkeness, he did not respect God. He was slain on the same day he had received this rebuke from God's prophet Daniel, after he had described the inscription on the wall to Belshazzar. God is to be feared.
Even if you are the next great Pharoah, you ought to rever the God who is sovereign over the kingdoms of men. Exercise some fear for Him because we know what had happenened to the great Pharoah in the end.
Isaiah 61:11
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.
