Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Nebuchadnezzar's Fall (part 4 of 4)
Moving on to the thirty-fourth verse of the fourth chapter of Daniel, we find God’s words to Nebuchadnezzar ringing true. There we read, “But at the end of the appointed time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me” (4:34a). Remember, he had been driven from human society. He had lost his sanity. He had become, for a specified and appointed time, something less than human. This takes us right back to Adam, as we recall his being driven out, and his loss of sanity, as he became (along with all those that followed in his wake) something less than human. We say this, of course, as we continually bear in mind that man was made in God’s image, so as to be the reflection of His glory in the world. The failure to bear the divine image---the failure to be truly human---is a falling short of the glory of God.
What
was involved in Nebuchadnezzar’s return to sanity? We have already seen
a precursor to it, in that God said that he would live like an animal
until he understood “that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and
gives them to whomever He wishes” (4:32e). This is fulfilled when we
hear Nebuchadnezzar, sanity returned, saying “I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the One Who lives forever” (4:34b). Now,
with real conviction, Nebuchadnezzar points to Israel’s God and says,
“His authority is an everlasting authority, and His kingdom extends from
one generation to the next” (4:34c). In humility, he adds, “All the
inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He wishes
with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth” (4:35a).
With a flourish of self-introspection concerning his previous
demonstration of high-mindedness, this king adds, “No one slaps His hand
and says to Him, ‘What have You done?’” (4:35b)
As
Nebuchadnezzar’s fall has mirrored Adam’s fall (the fall of man), would
it not be appropriate to say that his restoration will be mirrored by
mankind’s restoration as well? This seems like a reasonable proposition.
If it is true that Nebuchadnezzar’s sanity returned, and he was
returned to human society, and his time living like an animal was ended
upon his acknowledgment of the Most High, is it not reasonable for us to
make the same, wider application? Nebuchadnezzar’s time of being
sub-human began with his self-exaltation. As it was for him, so it was
for Adam. His period of time spent living a sub-human existence ended
when he confessed that it was the Most High God that ruled. It is the
same for all of mankind. Until there is an acknowledgment of the Creator
God, of His rights, and of our own failings, we remain in a sub-human
condition, not being what God intends, not bearing the divine image, and
not being truly human. It is a state of insanity. With such
acknowledgment, we are freed from that sub-human state, regain our
long-lost sanity, and are restored and re-purposed, bearing the divine
image, so as to reflect God’s glory into this world, no longer falling
short of the glory of God.
This
restoration occurs through a believing union with the Lord Jesus. It is
by the gift of faith, in recognition of God’s covenant faithfulness
through Christ, that we come to the place of a trusting allegiance in
the One that perfectly bore the divine image in every way. According to
the Gospel of John, in Jesus, we saw the glory of God (1:14). From Paul,
we learn that Jesus was the second Adam, perfectly fulfilling the role
that God had intended to be performed by the first Adam. By the first
Adam, death entered the world (Romans 5:12). Life came, as the gift of
grace, because of God’s covenant faithfulness (Romans 5:18), through the
second Adam. Why? So that those that call Jesus “Lord,” by the Spirit
and by faith, might be the embodiment of God’s righteousness---the
embodiment of His faithfulness in and for the world, which was His
original purpose for the ones with which He crowned His creation. The
Hebrews author, in speaking of Jesus, tells us that He was the radiance
of the glory of God and the representation of His essence (1:3). Yes,
Jesus’ bearing of the divine image was carried out in a consummate
perfection. Because of that, life reigned through Him (unlike the death
engendered by the first Adam), as had been God’s intention for His
creation.
Nebuchadnezzar
goes on to say, “At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored
to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me” (Daniel
4:36a). In union with our Lord Jesus, we are able to say this as well.
Mankind was made to have dominion over this world, and as kings and
priests to the Most High God, we are restored to the honor of that
kingdom, with the return of the splendor of God’s glory upon us, as we
reign with Jesus (though in submission to Him) in the kingdom of God
that was established at His Resurrection. In Christ, as we are empowered
by the Spirit to a faithful and worshipful trust in the God that
created all things, we are made to finally grasp on to that glory for
which we were intended. By a faithing trust in the Gospel of Jesus, and
in preaching the Gospel of Jesus (the crucified and Resurrected Messiah
is Lord of all) the power of God is made manifest and we become the
embodiment of the righteousness (covenant faithfulness) of God, as was
Jesus. In union with Him we become the second Adam along with Him, and
we no longer fall short of God’s glory. In Christ, our dominion over and
responsibilities toward God’s creation are returned, and we are made to
be servants of the Most High, being lights into the world, reflecting
His glory.
In
humble submission to the claims of our Lord, confessing ourselves as
slaves to Him so that He might make us to rule with Him, we cast away
all pride in self and say, along with Nebuchadnezzar, “I was reinstated
over my kingdom…I became even greater than before” (4:36b). With a
continued reflection on the grand narrative of the Scriptures, from
creation to fall, and from Resurrection to restoration, as we are
enabled to learn about a faithful and powerful God, we lift up our
hearts to “praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, for all His
deeds are right and His ways are just. He is able to bring down those
who live in pride” (4:37b).
Labels: Bible/Scripture Commentary
Taken from: http://pisteosdaily.blogspot.com/2010/04/nebuchadnezzars-fall-part-4-of-4.html
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