“…mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:34
Concerning several of the great kings of antiquity, God specifically dealt with them in such a way that they grasped certain truths about Him. First, Nebuchadnezzar, probably the greatest Babylonian king, when he was at the pinnacle of his personal glory, was brought by God, precipitously down from his lofty, and proud estimation of himself and all that he accomplished, to be driven out into the wilderness, to live as a beast, with a beast’s heart. For seven years, he would live separated from mankind, eating grass as oxen, and drenched with the dew of heaven. Only after that period of seven years was his right mind restored to him. It was then by the testimony of his own words, he would declare: “I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever, whose dominon is everlasting…” (v.34) To this one, who had come to believe that all of his success and power as king of the greatest nation on earth at that time, was given to see the deception that he had come to believe. At the same time, by the grace and mercy of God, the truth of Who truly possessed heaven and earth, was revealed to him. Specifically, Nebuchadnezzar saw ever so clearly that the eternal God alone possessed all power and authority, and that He ruled absolutely and sovereignly in His kingdom. Nothing and no one could be compared to God. As such, He alone was to be worshipped as the only true and living God.
After Nebuchadnezzar died, and his godless son succeeded him, Darius the Mede came to power. Though this “son” understood that, “…the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appointeth over it whomsoever he will,” (Dan. 5:21) he would not honor, acknowledge, or glorify God. Because of his defiance and provocation of God, God’s judgment was passed upon him. It was at this point that Darius became king. Daniel served Darius faithfully, being blessed greatly by God to the point that even Darius would declare of him, “…thy God whom thou servest continually…” (Danl 6:16) Daniel’s experience of being delivered from his enemies, and miraculously from the lion’s den, brought Darius to declare: “I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.” (v. 26) Through different circumstances, God brought both Nebuchadnezzar and Darius to the same conclusion, that the eternal God possessed “all” the power, and dominion, in the realm of the kingdoms of men. He reigned supremely, with the power and authority to accomplish all of His will for His unique glory and honor. For this reason He was to be worshipped and served.
When Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, would take the throne, we find that the Lord stirred up his spirit, and that he would make a proclamation both verbal and written: “All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; and He hath charged me to build Him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.” (2 Chronicles 36:22,23) From the days when the Spirit of God spoke through Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar that he should repent, to the days of Darius, who recognized that the God of Daniel was the sovereigh, almighty and sovereign God, to the days when God stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, and convinced him that he was His instrument for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, God remained the sovereign God of histroy, who would always do His will by His power, and in such a way that men would see that He alone is God. The God of history, in Christ, is the same today.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to worship. In Jesus’ name, Amen.