And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to

heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the

Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,

And His kingdom is from generation to generation.

All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;

He does according to His will in the army of heaven

And among the inhabitants of the earth.

No one can restrain His hand

Or say to Him, “What have You done?”

—Daniel 4:34–35

How long had Nebuchadnezzar been in this desolate place? Had it been days? Months? Years?

He didn’t remember the taste of food. Or the feeling of his luxurious robes enveloping him. The sound of laughter.

All he knew was darkness and despair.

The pampered and polished king of a world power, sitting high and regal on his throne, had been transformed into a haggard man whose curved, filthy fingernails and scraggly hair rendered him unrecognizable. A man who tore up handfuls of grass to feast on, his body perpetually damp with dew.

This would remain King Nebuchadnezzar’s reality, until he humbled himself before the Lord.

A Pagan King as God’s Servant?

Over a century earlier, the Assyrians had demolished Israel’s Northern Kingdom, as numerous prophets had warned would happen (for example, see Isaiah 10:5–6 and Hosea 11:5). Similar prophecies were also made about Judah, particularly by Jeremiah. In one such prophecy, Jeremiah declared: “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations’” (Jeremiah 25:8–9).

In God’s mercy—and because Judah was periodically blessed with kings who served Him—He allowed that kingdom to persist much longer than its northern counterpart. Nevertheless, the judgment had been pronounced, and since the Judahites refused to repent, they, too, were exiled.

Did you notice how the Lord referred to Nebuchadnezzar in the Jeremiah passage? He called him “My servant.” That notion might conflict with our ideas of who can be a servant of the Lord. How could such a thing be said of a pagan king, especially by our holy, loving God?

God’s purposes are always fulfilled, and periodically, He uses the ungodly to bring them about. Throughout Scripture, we have several examples of pagan rulers whom God used both to execute judgment on His people—such as Nebuchadnezzar—and to bless His people—such as Cyrus, king of Persia. The ultimate goal of these punishments is always to lead people back to Him, if only they repent.

Exile from Worship—and the Lord

In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, he destroyed the kingdom of Judah and ransacked Jerusalem: “And all the articles from the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions. And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah” (2 Chronicles 36:18–21).

For the Israelites, nothing was more devastating than having their house of worship destroyed. They could no longer go before the Lord to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of their sins. But the truth is that their unrepentant sin had already separated them from God (see also Romans 1:18–32). The destruction of the temple was merely the physical manifestation of a spiritual reality.

Pride Goes Before the Fall

God explicitly referred to Nebuchadnezzar as His servant and could have raised up any ruler to overtake Judah and Jerusalem, yet the king of Babylon was arrogant and prideful, believing that he’d achieved his power and prestige on his own.

One night, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he summoned Daniel, the wise and faithful prophet of the Lord. God had given Daniel—known in Babylon as Belteshazzar—the gift of interpreting dreams, much like Joseph, who’d interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams during the time of the patriarchs.

Daniel not only interpreted the dream but also issued a stern warning for the king: If he didn’t give glory to God for his strength and greatness, then “they shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.… Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable to you; break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity” (Daniel 4:25, 27).

Just as the Lord had been patient in not punishing Judah, he gave Nebuchadnezzar a year to repent. Twelve months later, the king was strolling around his palace and said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30).

We’re told that while the words were coming out of his mouth, a voice from heaven spoke, reminding him of the prophecy, and “that very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar” (Daniel 4:33).

Everything Nebuchadnezzar had, from his palace and kingdom to the hair on his head and the breath in his lungs, was his solely because of the Lord’s grace and mercy. His refusal to acknowledge this led to him being driven into the wilderness.

Yet the Lord was even there, waiting.

Repentance Leads to Restoration

We’re never told how long the king dwelled in the wilderness, but one day, he lifted his eyes to heaven, and he blessed, honored, and praised the Most High, speaking the confession in today’s verses from Daniel 4:34–35.

In one of the Apostle Peter’s Epistles, he admonished the believers: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). This is guidance Nebuchadnezzar needed to hear and heed—and it’s the same thing our leaders need to hear today. We need to hear it too.

We might look at our leaders and think they’re beyond hope. But if the Lord can move the heart of a powerful, prideful, pagan king like Nebuchadnezzar, then no one is beyond His reach.

Let us always remember that “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:8–9). And let us pray for humble, repentant leaders who lift their eyes to heaven and praise God.

Prayer

Lord of all creation, as we look at rulers like Nebuchadnezzar or our leaders today, it can be easy to judge them as being prideful and arrogant, deserving of any punishment they receive. However, we’re all sinful and fall short of Your glory (Romans 3:23–25). May we all be granted repentant hearts that seek Your face, that You may be glorified, and all whom You’ve called may be saved. Amen.

For Further Reflection

• In any area of your life, do you feel that the Lord has been “longsuffering” with you? If the situation was in the past, how was God faithful to you during that season? If it’s in the present, what would it look like for you to lift your eyes to heaven and repent?
• Have you ever prayed for your governmental authorities by name? If not, give it a try. You can make a list of local, state, and federal officials (councilmen, mayors, sheriffs, district attorneys, governors, congressmen, senators, the president, and so forth), committing to pray for them during their time of service to you, your community, and the nation.

Excerpt taken from One Nation Under God: 40 Devotions for Patriotic Women by Amanda C. Bauch.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version^®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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