Restoration: The King's Deliverance (Dan. 4:1-3; 34-37)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/9/2013 8:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                     Focus:  Restoration:  The king’s deliverance

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Daniel 4:34-37, 1-3

            Message of the verses:  “1 Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples, nations, and men of every language that live in all the earth: "May your peace abound! 2 “It has seemed good to me to declare the signs and wonders which the Most High God has done for me. 3 “How great are His signs And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom And His dominion is from generation to generation.”

            34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason 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 endures from generation to generation. 35  "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ’What have You done?’ 36 “At that time my reason returned to me. And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me. 37  "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.’”

            The first thing the king did was praise the Lord (Daniel 4:34-35):  34 "But at the end of that period, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven and my reason 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 endures from generation to generation. 35 "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ’What have You done?’

            The first thing that the king did when he was done with the disciplines of the Lord was to lift up his eyes to the Lord, something that we see in Scripture in places like Psalm 121:1 where the psalmist writes “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, form where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.”  Again the psalmist writes in Psalm 123:1 “I lift up my eyes to You, to You whose throne is in heaven.” 

            Compendium is a word that means “A short comprehensive account, a comprehensive but brief account of a subject, especially in book form.”  According to Warren Wiersbe what we find in verses 34-35 is “a short concise compendium of biblical theology, and what an exciting expression of worship!  Theology and doxology belong together (Rom. 11:33-36), for spiritual experience that isn’t based on truth is only superstition.”

            What the king needed to learn was that he was not in control, which is what he thought he was, “’Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’” (Dan. 4:30)  Now we see in these verses that the king believes now that the Lord is in charge and that people are not as important as he once though they were, especially himself. 

            In verse 4:35b we read “But He does according to His will in the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ’What have You done?”  Nebuchadnezzar was referring to the sovereignty of God, a subject that Dr. Wiersbe speaks of briefly that we need to hear and understand:  “It’s too bad that this wonderful Bible doctrine has been so maligned and misinterpreted by amateur Bible students, because an understanding of God’s sovereignty brings the believer assurance, strength, comfort, and the kind of surrender that produces faith and freedom.  The Bible teaches both divine sovereignty and human responsibility, and when you accept both, there is no contradiction of conflict.  No person is freer than the believer who surrenders to the sovereign will of God.  To ignore God’s sovereignty is to exalt human responsibility and make man his own savior, but to deny responsibility is to make man a robot without accountability.  The Bible preserves a beautiful balance that exalts God and enables His people to live joyously and victoriously no matter what the circumstances might be (Acts 4:23-31; Rom. 8:31-39).

            “Because God is sovereign, He can do as He pleases and nobody can hinder Him or call Him to account (Rom. 9:14-23).  The heart of sinful man rebels at the very idea of a sovereign God for the human heart wants to be ‘free’ or all outside control (Ps. 2:1-6).  Sinners think they are ‘free’ and don’t realize how much they are in bondage to their fallen nature and to the forces of Satan and the world.  Charles Spurgeon was very balanced in his theology, and he said:  ‘Most men quarrel with this [the sovereignty of God].  But mark, the thing that you complain of in God is the very thing that you live in yourselves.  Every man likes to feel that he has a right to do with his own as he pleases.  We all like to be little sovereigns.  Oh, for a spirit that bows always before the sovereignty of God.’

            “The Most High God is so wise and powerful that He can ordain that His creatures have the freedom to make decisions and even disobey His revealed will, and yet He can accomplish His divine purposes on this earth.  ‘Man’s will is free because God is sovereign,’ said A. W. Tozer, who was not a confessed Calvinist.  ‘A God less than sovereign could not bestow moral freedom upon His creatures.  He would be afraid to do so.’ (From A. W. Tozer’s “The knowledge of the Holy.)  Submitting to God’s sovereign will didn’t make Nebuchadnezzar any less of a man; in fact, this commitment transformed him from living like a beast to living like a man.”

            We had promised to look at verses 1-3 at this part of Daniel because it is connected to when he had committed his life to the Lord after the seven years of acting like a beast.  What we see is that Nebuchadnezzar was doing what all believers are to do and that is to tell others about their experience in meeting God.  We would call it “giving our testimony.” 

            In the end, God’s Word was fulfilled in the life of Nebuchadnezzar as he was restored to his throne, and the leadership of the people of Babylon.  We won’t hear from him again in the book of Daniel except when Daniel is much older and Nebuchadnezzar has died, for in the next chapter of Daniel we will see the destruction of Babylon and Daniel will speak to Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson about this incident that just happened.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  What can I learn from this chapter of Daniel?  I can learn that God truly hates pride, for pride was the first sin ever sinned by Lucifer who is now known as Satan.  Whenever I am proud I suppose that I am acting like him and I surely don’t want to do that.

            I can also learn that God is in control, even for those who don’t know He is in control, for Nebuchadnezzar found this out.  God is in control of my life and it is my desire to bring glory to Him in all that I do. 

            I can also learn from this chapter that I am to love others as Daniel loved Nebuchadnezzar, for Daniel was surely talking to him about the One True God.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I desire to be content, to not be proud, and to give support to those who are in need of it.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 46:1

            1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Down to hell” (2 Peter 2:4)

Today’s Bible Question:  “What king married a daughter of Pharaoh?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

6/9/2013 9:17 AM

           

           

Nebuchadnezzar's Problem "Lycanthropy" (Dan. 4:28-33)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/8/2013 9:22 AM

My Worship Time:                                                    Focus:  Humiliation:  The king’s discipline

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 4:28-33

            Message of the verses:  “28 "All this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king. 29 “Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. 30 “The king reflected and said, ’Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’ 31 “While the word was in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, ’King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, 32 and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes.’ 33 "Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”

            I have wanted to put into one of these Spiritual Diaries on the fourth chapter of Daniel a quote from John MacArthur’s sermon on this chapter but have had a difficult time locating it.  Now that I have found it I wish to add it to this SD.  It has to do with the name of the problem that Nebuchadnezzar had:  “And his mind is literally to become that of an animal. This is a monstrous psychological affliction known as lycanthropy, from lucas wolf, anthropos man. The wolf man. The werewolf concept comes from this. The guy who thinks he's an animal.

            “Raymond Harrison recites a personal experience with a modern case similar to that of

Nebuchadnezzar that was observed in a mental hospital in 1946. And Harrison wrote this and I

thought it was interesting. He said, "A great many doctors spend an entire busy professional career without once encountering an instance of the kind of monomania described in the book of Daniel. The present writer, therefore, considers himself particularly fortunate to have actually observed a clinical case of boanthropy.’

            “And by the way, boanthropy is the word boa, which means bull or cow. And that is a form of lycanthropy where a person thinks they're a cow or a bull. Now this sounds kind of funny to us, but it wasn't too funny, I'm sure, to the people who go around eating grass and acting silly like that.

            “Anyways, "they observed," he says, "a clinical case of boanthropy in a British mental institution in 1946. The patient was in his early 20s. He reportedly had been hospitalized for about five years. His symptoms were well developed on admission and diagnosis was immediate and conclusive. He was of average height and weight with a good physique and excellent bodily health.’

            “’His mental symptoms included pronounced antisocial tendencies. And because of this, he spent the entire day from dawn to dusk outdoors on the grounds of the institution. His daily routine consisted of wandering around the magnificent lawns in which the otherwise dingy hospital situation was graced.  And it was his custom to pluck up and eat handfuls of the grass as he went along. On observation, he was seen to discriminate between grass and weeds. And on inquiry from the attendant, the writer was told the diet of this patient consisted exclusively of grass from hospital lawns. He never ate institutional food with other inmates and his only drink was water.’”

            “"The writer was able to examine him cursorily and the only physical abnormality noted consisted of a lengthening of the hair and a coarse, thickened condition of the fingernails.

Without institutional care, the patient would have manifested precisely the identical physical conditions as those mentioned in Daniel 4.’”

            Now we will go back to the verses from Daniel chapter four that we are looking at today.  The first thing we can look at from verse twenty-eight is that the writer is changed, and likely to Daniel for there is no more first person used, but the third person “the king” is used.  We also can see that God’s Word was fulfilled even though it took twelve months, for we can see the longsuffering of God to give Nebuchadnezzar those twelve months to repent, but since he did not and since he began to again boast of the things that he did instead of giving glory to God he was changed into the likeness of an animal for the next seven years. 

           

            ““The king reflected and said, ’Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?’” These were the fatal words that Nebuchadnezzar spoke that was actually the straw that broke the camel’s back and then God would speak to him from heaven.  The sin he was committing was pride and we looked at the different times pride and proud were used in the Psalms and Proverbs in an earlier SD.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “We never know when God’s voice will speak or never know when God’s voice will speak or His hand touch our lives.  Whether it’s the call of Moses in Midian (Ex. 3), the drafting of Gideon to lead the army (Jud. 6), the opportunity of David to kill a giant (1 Sam. 17), the summons of the four fishermen to leave all and follow Christ (Matt. 4:18-22), or the warning that life has come to an end (Luke 12:16-21), God has every right to break into our lives and speak to us.  What the king had learned from Daniel’s interpretation of the dream, he now heard from heaven!  ‘No man knows when his hour will come’ (Ecc. 9:12, NIV).”

           

            It is not sure where Nebuchadnezzar was located when he began to act like a beast, but we do know that his kingdom would not be ended for God had promised through Daniel that he would return to lead Babylon, and God had a purpose for him to return, for Nebuchadnezzar would write most of this chapter and send it out to those in his kingdom which would bring glory to God and for that matter is still bringing glory to God.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is not good to be proud for after all it was God who created all of us, and we can do nothing for the cause of Christ when we are proud, which is the first thing that we are to do, bring glory to God.  Selfishness is another thing we are not to be, and both selfishness and pride are two sins that we can easily fall into if we are not watching and praying as Jesus spoke of in Mark 14:38 “"Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’”

My Steps of Faith for Today: Trust the Lord to guide my steps today that I may bring glory to His name.

Memory verses for the week:  2Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, s though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Christ” (Mark 15:34).

Today’s Bible Question:  “Where did God cast the angels that sinned?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

6/8/2013 10:58 AM

"Exhortation: The King's Decision" (Dan. 4:27)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/7/2013 10:35 AM

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  Exhortation:  The king’s Decision

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Daniel 4:27

            Message of the verses:  “27 ’Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you: break away now from your sins by doing righteousness and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, in case there may be a prolonging of your prosperity.’”

            As mentioned in yesterday’s SD we can see the love that Daniel has for Nebuchadnezzar in this verse that we are looking at today.  We will also see that the Lord is longsuffering and patient with Nebuchadnezzar.

            27 “So, king, take my advice: Make a clean break with your sins and start living for others. Quit your wicked life and look after the needs of the down-and-out. Then you will continue to have a good life.’”  (The Message)   We may be able to see better from the way the Message has this verse written, that Daniel is pleading with Nebuchadnezzar to repent so that there would be a chance that he would not have to go through the awful seven years that were prophesied in the dream that he had.  Daniel knew of the longsuffering of God for he even prays about it in the ninth chapter of Daniel, so he must have believed that if the king would stop being so proud, begin to show mercy to those who were down and out that God would now bring about the consequences of the dream.  There is another way that we can look at what will happen to Nebuchadnezzar when this dream is fulfilled and that is that God loved him so much that He would not leave him to be such a proud person.

            Love has to be tough at times and because of his love for Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel exhorts him to repent and that can be seen with the first word in verse 27 (NASB), “therefore.”  Daniel is saying that because of the consequences that could happen to him that he must confess his wrong doing and turn to the One True God for forgiveness.  There are some and perhaps many preachers today that would not speak this truth to their congregation, and this would be a great sin on their part.  I have been trying to memorize verses in 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 for the last six or seven weeks, and those verses speak of the ministry of reconciliation, of which all true believers have been a part of, and also should be part of it so to pass it on to others so that they too can be reconciled with God.  Daniel was telling Nebuchadnezzar about this ministry, but part of it has to do with repentance and confession for God hates sin so much, yet loved the world so much that He had to send His Son to become sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God in Christ.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21).”

            Now that Daniel has given the word to Nebuchadnezzar, he was responsible to the Word that Daniel had given to him, he was without excuse.

            Dr. Wiersbe quotes William Culbertson who was the late president of the Moody Bible Institute:  “We can speak so glibly about the coming of our Lord and about the judgment seat of Christ.  You do not truly hold the truth of the doctrine of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ until that doctrine holds you and influences your manner of living as the Bible says it should.”  “11   Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12  looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. 14  Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, 15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, 16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Peter 3:11-18).”  It is interesting that this would be the very last words that Peter would write that are recorded in our New Testament.  Peter was speaking about the eventual destruction of not only planet earth, but the entire universe that God had created as seen in the first chapter of Genesis.  As believers we are responsible to tell others of what will happen in the future.

            Daniel’s exhortation to Nebuchadnezzar to repent of his sinful ways reminds me of what the prophet Nathan said to King David after his sin with Bathsheba.  I can just see Nathan with a boney little finger pointing to David saying “You are the man.”  Daniel was saying this to Nebuchadnezzar that he was the man who treated people badly by killing those who he had no use for and by treating the poor and downcast as if they did not deserve to live.  This again is what tough love does as we speak the truth in love.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When you know the truth you need to live like you know the truth, and then share that truth with others like Daniel did in this verse.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to bring others into my life that need to know the truth of salvation.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “The sun became dark for three hours and there was an earthquake.”  (Matthew 27:45-51)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me.”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

6/7/2013 11:22 AM

Interpretation: The Kings Danger (Dan. 4:19-26)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/6/2013 12:48 PM

My Worship Time                                                          Focus:  Interpretation:  The king’s danger

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 4:19-26

            Message of the verses:  I thought that because this fourth chapter of Daniel has a lot to do with the pride of king Nebuchadnezzar that I would quote some of the times that the word “pride” is found in the book of Proverbs.

“Pr 8:13 “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Pr 11:2 When pride comes, then comes dishonor, But with the humble is wisdom. Pr 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. Pr 21:24 “Proud," "Haughty," "Scoffer," are his names, Who acts with insolent pride. Pr 29:23 A man’s pride will bring him low, But a humble spirit will obtain honor.

Pr 15:25 The LORD will tear down the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow. Pr 16:5 Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished. Pr 16:19 It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly Than to divide the spoil with the proud. Pr 21:4 Haughty eyes and a proud heart, The lamp of the wicked, is sin. Pr 21:24 “Proud," "Haughty," "Scoffer," are his names, Who acts with insolent pride.”

Daniel 4:19-26 “19 “Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts alarmed him. The king responded and said, ’Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar replied, ’My lord, if only the dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries! 20 ’The tree that you saw, which became large and grew strong, whose height reached to the sky and was visible to all the earth 21  and whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all, under which the beasts of the field dwelt and in whose branches the birds of the sky lodged- 22  it is you, O king; for you have become great and grown strong, and your majesty has become great and reached to the sky and your dominion to the end of the earth. 23  ’In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, "Chop down the tree and destroy it; yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him share with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him," 24  this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the Most High, which has come upon my lord the king: 25  that you be driven away from mankind and your dwelling place be with the beasts of the field, and you be given grass to eat like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven; and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. 26 ’And in that it was commanded to leave the stump with the roots of the tree, your kingdom will be assured to you after you recognize that it is Heaven that rules.”

            I want to begin by saying that there are some commentators who would say that Nebuchadnezzar was not really talking about the God of heaven, but there are also  many who say that is who he is talking about.  I have to agree with those who say that he was talking about the One True God who made the heavens and the earth.  Next I want to say that the warning that is seen in this chapter is speaking to all future rulers who think that they are the one who is in charge.  I think it was Warren Wiersbe who stated that a good leader always knows that he is second in command.  Nebuchadnezzar had to learn that he was second in charge the hard way as we will see in the interpretation of his dream that was given to him by Daniel.  This message is not only for all rulers, but for all people, and especially for believers.  It becomes a battle from many people as they think that they are completely in control of their lives.  We, as believers can take comfort that God is indeed in charge of our lives, for even when things are not going as we want them to go we can rest assured that our God is faithful and He will work all things out for good for those who love Him and it will also be worked out for His glory.

            When we begin to look at this section we see that Daniel was perplexed when he received the interpretation of the dream from the Lord, and I believe that the reason that he was so upset was because he had a genuine love for the king.  Daniel was a great man who had a great deal of faith in the Lord as can be seen by the writings of his book.  We have stated in the last SD the events in chapter four probably took place some 25-30 years after the events in chapter three so that would make Daniel close to fifty years old and he must have spent a lot of time in the presence of the king and therefore had a great desire for the king to know the One True God.  Another reason for me to think of the greatness of this man Daniel is that it was Nebuchadnezzar the one who had destroyed Daniel’s nation and the temple of God, and yet when we get to chapter nine and his very long prayer we will see that Daniel knew that it was the sin of the nation of Israel that caused God to destroy their nation and He only used Nebuchadnezzar to destroy Judah.  I believe that Daniel had a great love for Nebuchadnezzar and that is the main reason that he was so very upset about what this dream meant.

            Here is a list of different times when Scripture speaks of trees as leaders and political authority: (Ezekiel 17; 31; Hosea 14; Zech. 11:1-2; Luke 23:31).  Once Israel was destroyed then we moved into the times of the Gentiles and as we remember Daniel chapter two we see that Babylon, and king Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold in Gentile nations that would rule the world or known world.  The metals became less precious, but their strength became stronger.  The problem with Nebuchadnezzar was that he thought that he was the one who did all of this, but as stated before he was about to find out different.

            The promise of when the tree was cut down was that the stump and the roots would remain, which meant that God promised that Nebuchadnezzar would return to rule Babylon.  This was the promise that God gave to him and when one thinks about it we would have to conclude that the only reason that Nebuchadnezzar would return to rule was because that is what God said would happen.  Other nations would hear about this, but they would not be able to conquer Babylon because of the promise that God had given to Nebuchadnezzar that he would return to his rule, but after this he would realize that he was second in command.  When we see that the stump was banded we believe that this was the protection that God had given to Nebuchadnezzar.  There is a passage in Isaiah that tells of the future Messiah.  God would allow the “tree” of Israel to be cut down however from the stump would come the Messiah:  Isaiah 10:33-11:5 “33 Behold, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash; Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down And those who are lofty will be abased. 34 He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe, And Lebanon will fall by the Mighty One.

    “1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. 3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. 5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “The grand lesson God wanted the king to learn-and that we must learn today—is that God alone is sovereign and will not permit mortals to usurp His throne or take credit for His works.  We are but creatures, and God is the Creator; we are only subjects, but He is the King of Kings.  When men and women refuse to submit themselves to God as creatures made in His image, they are in grave danger of descending to the level of animals.  It’s worth noting that God used animals when He wanted to describe the great empires of history (Daniel 7), and that the last great world dictator is called ‘the beast.’ (Rev. 11:7; 13:1ff; 14:9, 11; etc).

            “Men and women are made in the image of God, but when they leave God out of their lives and resist His will, they can descend to the level of animals.  ‘Do not be like the horse or like the mule,’ warns King David, who was guilty of acting like both (Ps. 32:9, NKJV).  Like the impulsive horse, he rushed into sin when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then life the stubborn mule, he delayed confessing his sins and repenting (2Sam. 11:12_.  When the Lord arrested Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road, He compared the pious rabbi to a stubborn ox when He said, ‘It is hard for you to kick against the goads’ (Acts 9:5).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I don’t want to kick against the goads.  I don’t want to be proud.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Servants” (Titus 2:9-10).

Today’s Bible Question:  “What happened in nature when Jesus was crucified?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

6/6/2013 5:00 PM

Agitation: The king's Dream (Dan. 4:4-18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/5/2013 10:37 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Agitation:  The king’s dream

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 4:4-18

            Message of the verses:  In order to set the stage for this chapter I wish to begin with a couple of end notes from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary.  1. “Verses 28-33 were written by another hand, but Nebuchadnezzar picks up the narrative in verse 34.  Daniel himself may have written verses 28-33 and inserted them in the official royal document.  Luke followed a similar approach in Acts 23:25-30.  Neither the Babylonian king nor the Roman officer was inspired by the Spirit when they wrote, but Daniel and Luke were led by the Spirit to include their writings in what we know as Holy Scripture.  2. Since verses 1-2 were written after the kings recovery, we’ll consider them when we study verses 34-37.”

            Daniel was one of the first books that I looked at after being saved; in fact the Lord used parts of Daniel’s prophecies to bring me to the Lord.  With this said I have to admit that I had never heard that this chapter, chapter four, was a written document that sent out to all of the providences in Babylon.  It is hard to believe that this proud king would do this unless he came to believe in the one true God, which is what many commentators believe, happened to him as evidenced in this chapter.  King Nebuchadnezzar learned a very difficult truth that Solomon wrote about in Proverbs 16:18:  “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “There are five ‘acts’ in this extraordinary drama,” we will consider the first act in this SD.

            4  "I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at ease in my house and flourishing in my palace. 5  "I saw a dream and it made me fearful; and these fantasies as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me. 6  "So I gave orders to bring into my presence all the wise men of Babylon, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 7 “Then the magicians, the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners came in and I related the dream to them, but they could not make its interpretation known to me. 8 “But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name is Belteshazzar according to the name of my god, and in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and I related the dream to him, saying, 9 ’O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, since I know that a spirit of the holy gods is in you and no mystery baffles you, tell me the visions of my dream which I have seen, along with its interpretation. 10 ’Now these were the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed: I was looking, and behold, there was a tree in the midst of the earth and its height was great. 11 ’The tree grew large and became strong And its height reached to the sky, And it was visible to the end of the whole earth. 12 ’Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, And in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, And the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches, And all living creatures fed themselves from it. 13 ’I was looking in the visions in my mind as I lay on my bed, and behold, an angelic watcher, a holy one, descended from heaven. 14 ’He shouted out and spoke as follows: "Chop down the tree and cut off its branches, Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit; Let the beasts flee from under it And the birds from its branches. 15 “Yet leave the stump with its roots in the ground, But with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field; And let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, And let him share with the beasts in the grass of the earth. 16 “Let his mind be changed from that of a man And let a beast’s mind be given to him, And let seven periods of time pass over him. 17  "This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men." 18 ’This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.’”

            As I read through this section it seems to me that I have seen some of the things that are in this chapter that were in previous chapters.  Now first of all we need to learn that it was probably some twenty to thirty years since the last chapter of Daniel had occurred, the chapter about the fiery furnace.  King Nebuchadnezzar had concurred all of his enemies and was not living in a time of peace, a time when he could begin to build things in his city.  Babylon was noted for many wonderful buildings and gardens.  The city was build so that a river flowed through it and the walls around the city were very high and very wide so those who lived in the city were safe, at least they thought they were safe as we will see in the next chapter of Daniel.  Nebuchadnezzar was a very proud man who believed that all of his kingdom was made by him and did not think about the God of heaven who was really the one who was behind all of his success. 

            The Old Testament shows that God is in charge and that after sin came into the world that God would send His Messiah into the world to care for the biggest problem that faced man, and that is the problem of sin.  From reading how the children of Israel had sinned and the result of that sin was being captured by Babylon and living in that country we may think that this was a failure, but it was all in the plan of God, and would bring glory to Him.

            One would think that Nebuchadnezzar would have just sent for Daniel right away to show him what his dream was about, but he sent for his own people first and just like the other times they failed him and so he had to send for Daniel.  The first time that we read about this the magicians told him that if they knew the dream that they could tell him the meaning of it.  This time he tells them the dream and they still can’t interpret it.

            Nebuchadnezzar was afraid in chapter two of Daniel, but he was terrified from the dream that he had here.  I think that the key verse in this section is verse seventeen as it gives the reason for the dream and gives glory to the Lord.   "This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes And sets over it the lowliest of men."

6/5/2013 11:44 AM

6/5/2013 5:10 PM

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that one of the most important things that believers can learn from their reading and studying of the Scriptures is how they see God in the passages that they read and study.  I have seen an all knowing God along with a God who is completely in charge in the passages that I have looked at today.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to see the Lord in what happens in my life each day, trusting him to guide my paths and teach me from His Word.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-21

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “To kill Jacob” (Genesis 27:41).”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who was Paul entreating to show good fidelity?”  This is a hard question so I will give you a hint:  See Titus 2:9-10.

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

6/5/2013 5:24 PM

             

True Faith Confirms the Promises (Dan. 3:26-30)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/11/2013 8:26 AM

My Worship Time                                                         Focus:  True Faith Confirms the Promises

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                Reference:  Daniel 3:26-30

            Message of the verses:  26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire. 27  The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.  28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God. 29  "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." 30  Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.”

            Before I get started on this section of Scripture I want to insert a quote from John Macarthur that he gave in one of his two messages on the third chapter of Daniel and then I want to also insert his outline for this third chapter.  “Our decisions, our attitudes and our behaviors are determined by one of two things:  external pressure or internal principle.  And the battle is going on all the time in our lives between these two conflicting items.  And we’re very good at self-justification so a lot of times when we succumb to external pressure we define it as internal principle.  But basically we have to come down to that bottom line.  Do we do what we do, say what we say and act the way we act because we have convictions about it or because we feel the pressure coming from the outside?  And are our convictions somewhat altered by whatever pressures are brought to bear upon us?  There are times when I’m in a situation where it I say what I believe I’ll alienate a lot of people and I face that same bottom line.  Do I say what I believe based on internal principle or do I succumb to the external pressure and let them hear what they’d rather hear?”

            The following is the outline that is given by John MacArthur:  “The flow of the text is a narrative text and it flows from the ceremony to the command to the conspiracy to the coercion to the courage, the consequences, the companion and the commendation.”  As this outline goes we are in the last section in today’s SD, “the commendation.”

            Dr. Wiersbe poses a question as to why this story was included in the OT Scriptures.  Romans 15:4 does give an answer to this question:  “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”  Stories like this will also increase our faith as we go against the world the flesh and the devil.

            Encouragement in Daniel’s Day:  As we look at the prophets from the OT we can read that the captivity by Babylon was going to happen, and this was a great discouragement to the Jewish people.  As they begin to hear of how the Lord had saved these three young men from the fiery furnace then it would bring hope to them, hope that their God was still on the throne and in spite of their disobedience to the Lord, He was still working in their lives as seen through this great miracle.

            Encouragement in our day:  Dr. Wiersbe writes on the coming persecution during the end times:  “As we move toward the end of the age, the furnace of opposition will be heated seven times hotter and the pressure to conform will become stronger and stronger.  It will take a great deal of grace, prayer, courage, and faith for God’s people to stand tall for Christ while others are bowing the knee to the gods of this world.  The book of Daniel is a great source of encouragement, because it reminds us that God cares for His people and honors them when they are true to Him.  ‘Them that honor me I will honor’ (1 Samuel. 2:30).”

            Encouragement for the future:  If we fast-forward to the future and look at what will happen during the tribulation period, especially in Revelations chapters 13-14 we will see that there will arise a man who the Bible calls Antichrist, and he will make a statue and cause all peoples to worship it or they will be persecuted.  Many will worship the statue and also the beast as recorded in Revelations, and those who follow this will receive a number on their foreheads or on the back of their hand, and that number is 666.  Many believe that it will be a small microchip that will be inserted under the skin and that chip will be used to track the people who have it and also they will use it to buy and sell things as it will be somehow hooked up to the banks of that day.  Dr. Wiersbe has an interesting footnote tying in the statute of Nebuchadnezzar with that of the number given in Revelations. “The ‘number’ of this world leader, the Beast, is 666 (Rev. 13:18), and Nebuchadnezzar’s image was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide.  Six different musical instruments are also named (Dan. 3:5, 7, 10).”

            The really good news as far as what will happen during this “tribulation” period is that those who are true believers in Jesus Christ will not have to go through this time:  “’Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.’”  (Rev. 3:10)  Jesus spoke these words to the church at Philadelphia, the faithful church that was suffering persecution, and I believe that this is a picture of what will happen to the entire Church, as it will be taken out of the world before the tribulation begins.  “13 ¶  But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14  For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15  For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18  Therefore comfort one another with these words (1Thes. 4:13-18) “51 ¶  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52  in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. 55  "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" 56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57  but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:51-57).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I realize that I have used many quotes in this SD today, but I wish to make one more, and it also comes from John MacArthur’s sermon on this chapter and has to do with courage.  The following story is about Studdart Kennedy who was a poet and also an army chaplain during WWI.  He writes “The fist prayer I want my son to learn to say for me is not – God, make Daddy brave and if he has hard times to do, make him strong to do them.  Life and death don’t matter, my son, right and wrong do.  Daddy dead is Daddy still.  But Daddy dishonored before God is something too awful for words.  I suppose you’d like to put in a bit about safety too and Mother would.  Well, put it in afterwards, always afterwards for it doesn’t matter nearly as much.”  Daddy dead is Daddy still!

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I pray for strength to have the courage to accomplish what the Lord has for me to accomplish today for Him.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-18

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, the new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible Question:  “Darius” (Daniel 6:16)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Of what country was Hezekiah king?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

5/11/2013 10:08 AM

 

True Faith Confounds the Enemy (Dan. 3:19-25)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/10/2013 12:41 PM

My Worship Time                                                      Focus:  True Faith Confounds the Enemy

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Daniel 3:19-25

            Message of the verses:  “19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire. 21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. 22 For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. 23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king." 25 He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!’”

            Just a reminder that we are looking at Daniel Chapter three through the eyes of faith and how faith in God was what was used by the three young men from Israel as they went through this fiery trial.

            We saw how angry the king can get in the last SD, but now he seems to be getting even angrier as proud men do not like to be disobeyed and so the order is given to put these three men into a fiery furnace.  I have always wondered what this furnace was like and how hot it could get, and the reason that I wonder about this is because I worked in a very large foundry for thirty-five years and was use to being around molten cast iron all of those years.  We melted cast iron in what is called a Cupola and the temperatures could reach over three thousands degrees at times.  I don’t imagine that the furnace that is talked about here would get that hot, and I don’t suppose that it looked like what I was use to looking at, but we do know that the king could look into it and that it would get very hot, hot enough to kill those who were to deliver the three young men to it.  Dr. Wiersbe gives this description of the furnace:  “The furnace was used for smelting ore.  It had a large opening at the top through which fuel and vessels full of ore could be placed into the fire, and there was a door at the bottom through which the metal was taken out.  An opening in a wall enabled the smelters to check on the progress of their work, and through holes in the wall they could use bellows to make the fire blaze even more.  The unit was large enough for at least four persons to walk around in it.  It was into this furnace that Nebuchadnezzar cast the three faithful Jews, fully clothed and bound.  It seemed like certain death for the men who refused to obey the king.”

            If the king would have been thinking right and not affected by his rage he would not have heated the furnace so hot for this would have brought more punishment to the young men, but when your anger was hot like the furnace you did do not think clearly.  As the king looked into the furnace he must have had a great surprise for he not only saw these three men walking around, unhurt in the furnace, but he also saw a fourth person in the furnace, and this person had a different look than the three men.  Some think that this was the preincarnate Jesus Christ who is seen on the earth in OT times like when He came to speak to Abraham before Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in Genesis 19.  It is not known for certain that this was Christ, but the main point is that God had sent someone to rescue these three men who had a great deal of faith and courage.  When we look at the fourth chapter of Daniel next month we will see what some think is the salvation of Nebuchadnezzar, and perhaps this was one of the steps that the Lord was using to draw him to Himself.  We know that the king had again seen the work of the Lord in his life and he then told the people that it was now against the law to speak out against the Lord, the God of these three young men who were full of faith and courage.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can see the sovereign hand of the Lord in this story as He chose to save these three men from certain death and brought glory to His name in doing this, and also another witness to the king.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the sovereign hand of the Lord in my life to do things in my life that will bring glory to Himself.

Memory verses for the week:  2 Cor. 5:17-18

            17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,

Answer to yesterday’s SD:  “To shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem, by angels.” (Luke 2:8-20)

Today’s Bible Question:  “Who said “Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver you?”

Answer in tomorrow’s SD.

5/10/2013 1:26 PM