Deeper Reflection
Nebuchadnezzar’s egotism, “I myself have built…by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty” (v.30), is expressed in various forms of humanistic arrogance: Human sovereignty – “I do whatever I want.” Human omnipotence – “‘Cannot’ is not in my life vocabulary.” Human supremacy – “Everything is in my control.” Human security – “No crisis can knock me down.” Human glory – “I am the best of all!” Such a spirit like Nebuchadnezzar’s will inevitably meet the God who rules.God rules with sudden prevention: “While the word was in the king’s mouth” – before he could fully enjoy and savour his great achievements, God interrupted – “a voice came from heaven…” (v.31). In life, it can be “While I have become most successful…”, “While I have gotten what I want in life…” that comes the divine sudden prevention: It “has been removed from you” (v.31). God has forewarned this kind of divine act in His Word, but there is no warning when God actually acts.God rules with supreme power: “the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth” (Dan 4:17, 25, 32, NIV). We can be secure in this theological reality in an unstable world of geopolitical conflicts and global economic crises. This transcendent theological reality is also “the gospel of the kingdom of God” that gives the hope of salvation (Lk 16:16).God rules with sovereign prerogative: “[He] bestows it on whomever He wishes” (Dan 4:17, 25, 32). We must learn and live by this theological truth – that God is God – when God does not meet our expectations or God seems to be unfair to us.