Title: God's Rule
God's reign
Daniel 4
Introduction
Man is a 'creature'. It is an undeniable fact. Therefore, it can be said that the first duty of man is to remember the Creator in front of the reality of 'creation'. 'Creation before the Creator'...! So, what is the difference from other creatures? When we read the report that the number of genes in humans is only twice that of fruit flies, and think about why our existence value is different from that of animals, we have no other thoughts than the fact that humans are 'spiritual beings'.
'Spiritual Being'...! In front of the word spiritual being, we step up the 'lineage of existence' beyond the lineage of the body. Then you will re-confirm that God is there, and your life will start to look different from that point on.
So what does it mean to know God? People who have met God often say that they need the experience of meeting God. The reason the word 'experience' makes you feel nauseous or puts a stone on it is probably because you have suffered from the arduous 'activities' of life. It's another 'experience' to see such a tired face, how can the burden not be engraved in your heart? But God says: "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). God is a 'knower' before he is a 'knower'.
Then why hasn't God been 'known' to me? What must I do to be 'open' to God who is trying to reveal to me?
1. There must be genuine conversion, not religious conviction.
King Nebuchadnezzar had experienced God’s existence earlier through Daniel’s interpretation of dreams (chapter 2), and when he threw Daniel’s three friends into a boiling furnace, he saw their survival and confessed that there was no other god but God who could save people (chapter 3). . But he was only a religious spectator.
He lived centered on 'my house' and 'my palace' (verse 4). I was living a life that never left me. He also lacked spiritual discernment. Although God revealed it in a dream, he lacked the spiritual wisdom to interpret life. He had a dream and told the interpretation of it, so he called the applause, the magician, the Chaldean magician, and the fortune teller to come (v. Although it was not he who did not know Daniel's God, he gathered all those who foretold the 'future'. The modern version of Nebuchadnezzar is to believe in God and listen to all kinds of horoscopes and strategies when in a hurry.
A life in which nothing was 'forsaken' while following God... That life was the life of Nebuchadnezzar. A person who has not thrown away anything from his life after meeting God is just a religious spectator.
2. Don't exalt yourself, but become God's builders.
What is a human being before God? Humanism puts human beings at the center of their highest values. It is modern people who are deeply immersed in this idea. 'How precious is a human being'... I am moved by this thought myself. However, only those who realize that they are 'the most humble in the sight of God' (verse 17) can understand the true meaning of why they are noble. What do you mean? It means that your true self cannot be seen in the mirror of pride.
God humbled Jesus to show his existence to man (Philippians 2:8). In order to meet the humbled Jesus, human beings must also humble themselves. Because human existence exists in Jesus, existence is invisible to those who are not humbled.
In the humbled eyes of Jesus, God's decree (verses 24, 25), that is, the will God commanded and ordained was seen. The Lord who came to serve did not live a life outside of His will for a moment. If you know God's will for your life and live according to His will, you must have the eyes of a servant (verse 17). Until we realize that what God has ordained governs our lives, God continues to humble our lives. But those who are truly humbled before God become the honorable ones God has established (verse 17). Selfish ambition leaves the heart of such a person, and God's ambition, that is, the ambition to seek the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and the ambition to establish order with God and with humans properly.
3. Instead of becoming an animal that has departed from God's rule, we must become a 'life' living under God's rule.
The characteristic of the beast is that there is no wisdom to count the days of life. How do you know this lack of wisdom? We know through the absence of repentance, that is, the absence of RETURN to God. Nebuchadnezzar was given twelve months of repentance (vv. 27, 29). It's never a small time. However, he wasted his time on strengthening his castle. One of the Seven Wonders of the World is the Hanging Garden, built by Nebuchadnezzar to comfort his wife, Amitis, from Mede. It is a garden cultivated by pulling water from the Euphrates River and pulling it up onto a ziggurat built several tens of meters above the ground. It was truly an amazing piece of history. But if you think about it, what do you mean? So what are we talking about? Are you saying that you should be surprised by what you have built by trampling on thousands of people (verse 27)? Another characteristic of the beast is that it does not know the secret of the harvest (Galatians 6:7-10).
The day will come when you will be put to shame if you sow the things of the flesh. The day will come when you will leave Where is Ziggurat now, and where is Nebuchadnezzar? Even today, many people are running towards something better, higher, and a little more, and they seem to be asking for something, but in God's eyes, it's rude. Those who scramble to leave behind things that will all go underground in a few years, or those who open their mouths and envy them are all beasts. When you fear the Lord, the life of an animal becomes 'life'. Nebuchadnezzar also 'looked up to heaven' and recovered from the life of the beast, and his understanding returned (verse 34). Understanding is none other than to know God, to understand eternity, and to know His will (verse 35). And to know what to eat for life. The way of life is to do the will of the one who sent me to this earth, as Jesus said, and to complete his work.
conclusion
One must cast away pride and seek grace (verse 37). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5). Here is the solidity of life. Daniel's conclusion, saying, 'Your kingdom will be established only after you know that God reigns' (verse 26) is a message to all men.
A life under God's rule has plenty of room and real rest. Wouldn't it be better to take a break and be faithful to the tasks of life rather than die from exhaustion from playing castle building for the rest of your life? That night, when he regained his intelligence, Nebuchadnezzar must have slept soundly for the first time in his life. Pray that we may be blessed to work and to rest under God's rule: "Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain; unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman's watch is in vain. It is in vain to lie down late and eat the bread of toil; therefore the LORD gives sleep to those he loves” (Psalm 127:1-2).