God Humbles the Proud Heart of Nebuchadnezzar

God Humbles the Proud Heart of Nebuchadnezzar Daniel 4

For seven years, God gave Nebuchadnezzar a heart like a beast's instead of a man's ONE NIGHT WHILE Nebuchadnezzar lay asleep in his palace, God caused him to have another strange dream. This time when he awoke in the morning he remembered what the dream had been, and he wondered about its meaning. So he sent again for the wise Chaldeans, and told them about the dream that was troubling his mind. The Chaldeans were glad because Nebuchadnezzar had remembered his dream; but when they listened to it they could not tell its meaning. So the King sent them away and called for Daniel. He believed that the spirit of Daniel's God dwelt in Daniel and caused him to understand the deepest mysteries. And he called Daniel the master of all his wise men. Daniel listened while Nebuchadnezzar told the dream that was troubling him. And God caused Daniel to understand what the dream meant. But at first he was afraid to tell the King. For a whole hour he sat quietly, wondering that he should do. Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Do not be afraid, nor let the dream or its meaning trouble you." So Daniel took courage and spoke to the great ruler. Now, the dream had been this: Nebuchadnezzar had seen a tree grow up in the earth and become so great that the top of it reached to the sky. Underneath its branches all the beasts of the field found shelter, and in its leafy boughs all the bird of the air made their nests. And the people of the earth from the near and far came to eat of its fruit. Then Nebuchadnezzar had seen the Lord come down from heaven and cry out: "Cut down the great tree; cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from under the shadow of it, and let the dew come upon it for seven years. But let the stump of the great tree remain with its roots in the ground until the seven years be passed. Let this be, that all who live may know there is a God in heaven who rules over all the kingdoms of earth." Daniel knew the dream was sent as a warning from God to the proud King. He knew Nebuchadnezzar was not willing to believe in the great God, who is over all. But he spoke bravely and said, "This great tree which you have seen means you, for you have become a great king and you are known in every part of the land. And the meaning of that voice which you heard crying out that the great tree should be cut down is that you shall lose your kingdom for seven years and go out from men to live among the beasts of the field. You shall eat grass like an ox, and the dew of heaven shall be upon you. But when you humble yourself and believe that the Most High God rules in the kingdoms of earth, giving them to whomever he pleases, then you shall return again to live among men and be restored to your kingdom." Daniel knew that God is very merciful, and he believed that God would save the King from such severe punishment if only the King would quit his sins and do right. So he urged Nebuchadnezzar to turn away from his wicked doings and begin to live differently. Then he went back to his own house. One year passed by, and nothing unusual happened. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar almost forgot the strange dream, at least he did not try to do as Daniel had urged him to do. He saw about him all the splendors of his kingdom and all the beauties of his palace grounds. He saw the famous city of Babylon, which he had helped to beautify, and his heart grew more proud and haughty. Then one day as he walked about in his kingly palace, admiring the grandeur of his surroundings, he said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for my own royal house by my own power and for my glory?" And while he spoke the words a voice called him from heaven, saying, "O King Nebuchadnezzar to you it is spoken: The Kingdom is taken from you.!" In that very hour the great king lost his mind and became like a wild beast. And the people were afraid of him, and they drove him out of the city. There he lived in the fields and ate grass like the oxen. And his hair grew like eagle's feathers and his nails grew like claws. For seven years he roamed about in the fields, with a heart like a beast's instead of a man's. Then God allowed his mind to return again, and his heart to become like a man's heart, and Nebuchadnezzar rose up like a man and thanked God for his mercies, and praised him for his greatness. When the people of Babylon saw that their King had returned again to their city with the mind of a well man, they welcomed him back. And they honored him as their king just as they had done before. But Nebuchadnezzar did not forget the lesson that God taught him, and he no longer believed that his greatness and his glory had come by his own strength. Tomorrow: The Strange Handwriting on the Wall of the Palace

Jesus Tells Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven

Jesus Tells Parables of the Kingdom of Heaven Matt. 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34

Jesus told His disciples a parable of a Sower who went out to scatter seeds in his field. ONE DAY JESUS went out of Capernaum with his disciples and walked by the seaside. Great crowds followed along the beach; for they thought he might be going away from their city again, and they wished to go with him. They pressed so close behind that Jesus stepped into a boat at the water's edge and sat down to teach them, while they stood listening on the shore. Jesus began to teach them by parables. These parables were short stories which he told to show them truths of the gospel. While he sat in the boat he told them four parables. The first one was about the man who went out to scatter seeds in his field. Jesus called him a sower. And here is the story: "One day a sower went out to the field with a bag of grain and began to scatter the seeds upon the ground. The breeze caught each handful he threw while walking to and fro, and helped to scatter the grain. But some of the seeds blew upon the roadside. The birds flying overhead saw them lying uncovered on the ground, so they flew down and ate the seeds. Other seeds fell upon stony places, where the soil was so shallow they could take no deep root, and soon they withered after they had sprouted and begun to grow. Still other seeds fell in thorny places, and the thorns grew so fast that they choke out the good seed and it died. "But not all the seed was wasted; for some of it fell into good ground, and there it sprouted and sent its roots down deep into the rich soil. By and by it grew up into stalks of grain that yielded many times more seeds than were first scattered on the ground." The disciples wondered what this story might mean. They did not know why Jesus was telling stories instead of preaching sermons that people could understand. So they came to Jesus in the boat and asked, "Why are you teaching the people with these parables?" Jesus answered, "Because I know you will seek to understand the meaning of them, for it is given to you to know the meaning of the deep truths of the kingdom of heaven. Others who hear the stories will not seek to understand the meaning of them, for they are not careful to prepare their hearts to receive the forgiveness of their sins. The prophet Isaiah spoke of them when he said, 'By hearing ye shall hear and not understand; and seeing ye shall see and not know.' Their eyes are closed, so they can not see the salvation God has sent into the world; and their ears are stopped, so they can not hear the good news of salvation and receive it into their hearts. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and blessed are your ears, for they hear." Then Jesus explained to the disciples the meaning of the story about the sower and his seed. "The sower," he said, "is the one who speaks the word of God, and the different kinds of soil are the different conditions of the hearts of people who hear the word of God spoken. Those who hear the word but do not seek to understand it, are like the roadside by which the seeds fell. Just as the birds flew down and ate those seeds, so the evil one comes by and causes those people to forget the truths they have heard from God's word. "Those who gladly hear the word of God, but do not continue to obey it, are like the stony places, where the seeds fell but could not grow because they could not take deep roots in the stony soil. "Those who hear and receive the word of God into their hearts, but afterwards allow cares and troubles or riches and pleasures to crowd out the good truths, are like the soil where thorns sprang up and choked out the good seed. "But those who hear and who obey the word of God are like the good ground, where some of the seeds fell and sprouted and grew into stalks that bore much grain." Afterwards Jesus told another story to the people. This time he said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seeds in his field; but while men slept an enemy came to the field and scattered bad seeds everywhere. These bad seeds are called tares. By and by the good seeds and the bad seeds both began to grow. And after they became stalks, and heads of grain appeared, the servants of the man came to him and asked, 'Did you not sow good seeds in your field? How then are these tares growing everywhere beside the stalks of wheat?' The man answered, 'An enemy has sown the tares.' Then the servants asked, 'Shall we gather out the tares?' but the master said, 'Wait until the time for harvest, lest while you pull up the tares you also pull up stalks of wheat. When all are ripened together, I will send reapers to first gather out the tares and tie them into bundles to be thrown into the fire. Then they will gather the wheat and put it into my barn.'" The third story Jesus told was about a grain of mustard seed. He said the kingdom of heaven is like such a tiny grain, which, after it was sown quickly grew into a bush so large that even the birds could sit in the branches of it. Then he said, "The kingdom of heaven is also like leaven, or yeast, which a woman put into her dough when she was mixing bread. The yeast soon worked through all the dough and caused it to rise light and make good bread." Perhaps the women who heard this story wondered how the kingdom of heaven could really be like yeast. When Jesus finished all his stories he sent the people away, and afterwards he left the boat and also returned to the city. Then the disciples asked him to explain the meaning of the story about the tares. Jesus said: "The good seed are the people of God; the field is the world; and the man who sowed the good seed is the Son of man. The bad seed, or tares, are the people of the wicked one, and the enemy is Satan. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. Just as the tares are gathered in bundles and thrown into the fire, so the wicked people will be separated from the good people at the end of the world. Then the good people will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of God, their Father."