Daniel Week 4

Chapter 4 of my study of Daniel has been intense.  This week focused on King Nebuchadnezzar's second dream and his season of senility. The overall theme of the week might best be summed up this way:  "The choice is yours -- humble yourself or be humbled by God."  It's not a lesson that sounds inspiring to study for a week, but I have been blessed and challenged as I've explored the passage.

As I looked at the discipline God sent to Nebuchadnezzar, I was initially excited.  I saw King Neb's sinfulness and thought "This is going to be great!  Let's revel for a while in watching God root out some wickedness!"  As I continued the study, I quickly had to come to terms with my own sinfulness; the lesson to be learned was not for someone else, but for me.

First, I was encouraged by observing that repentance was a way to avoid God's chastisement.  In Daniel 4:27, Daniel tells the King that there may be a way to avoid the coming disaster:  "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed."  Isn't it a relief to know that God's desire is not to destroy us?  He wants to bring us to repentance that results in restored fellowship with Him.  Needless to say, Nebuchadnezzar refused to repent and suffered the consequences.

Even when we are disciplined, God's hope is to restore us and not to destroy us.  In the dream God sent the King, the tree was cut down and stripped of its leaves and fruit.  In the midst of all the devastation, notice the glimmer of hope:  "But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field." (Daniel 4:15)  Daniel later points out the significance of this statement to the King.  "The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules."  (Daniel 4:26)  In the midst of discipline, God includes a loving plan for full restoration.

Do you remember the last time you received correction from God?  I certainly do.  Believe me, it's not a memory I like to dwell on.  When I do think back on it, I see how God protected me from total destruction, allowing the painful pruning of only what was sinful in my life.  As soon as I renounced my sinfulness and declared His Lordship, the loving process of restoration began.  As a result of this week's study, my view of this time of Godly correction has changed.  No longer do I remember God's anger and wrath;  rather, I see His discipline as an example of His eternal faithfulness to work all things for my ultimate good!  What a tough lesson it was to learn, but I'm so glad I did.