Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

There are multiple Biblical passages where God refers to earthly kings or rulers by name (such as Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (in Jeremiah 27:6) and Cyrus of Persia (in Isaiah 44:28-45:4) as His servant, His shepherd, or even His anointed, although they were not Israelites -- and, in fact, may have been hostile to Israel.

This clearly demonstrates God's sovereignty over the entire earth. God used these Gentile rulers as instruments not only for carrying out His judgment against Israel for its sin and idolatry by conquering Israel and sending its people into exile, but also for later acts of mercy toward Israel, such as Cyrus giving the command that the Jewish exiles in his kingdom were to return to Israel and rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4).

However, this does not mean that God approved of their rule, since the Bible also foretells the future conquest of those same kings or their descendants (as in Jeremiah 27:7).

In the same way, God later used the Roman emperor Caesar Augustus as His instrument to fulfill prophecy through Augustus' decree that Israelites were to travel to their ancestral cities for taxation purposes, leading directly to Jesus being born in Bethlehem (as had been prophesied hundreds of years earlier in Micah 5:2), rather than in Nazareth (Luke 2:1-7).

September 15 2017 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Danny Hickman Supporter Believer in The Gospel Of Jesus Christ

God is in a class by Himself. He is the one and only "One And Only." Nothing and no one else can honestly make that claim of itself. God is... God always has been... God always will be... He just is. God doesn't need to receive acknowledgment from anyone in order to retain His glory. That isn't true of anyone or anything else. Everyone else and everything else receives its status of importance, fame, honor, admiration or pride from someone or something other than itself. 

Nebuchadnezzar was recognized as a king... until he lost his mind and was recognized as a beast of the field. This was the result of his prideful statement that Babylon was 'A royal residence, built by the might of his power, and for the glory of his majesty.' (Daniel 4:30). He actually thought that was how he attained his power and influence. Lucky for him, it was only for a short time. (seven periods of time). By vs 34, he raised his eyes toward heaven and his reason returned to him. (Please notice that Daniel 4:34 -37 is written in the voice of King Nebuchadnezzar). He says, "My reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation." (I don't think you can sound more like a servant than he does. He's learned his lesson. I totally identify with king Nebby!) 

Paul, in 1 Cor 11:7 says, 'Man is the glory of God and the woman is the glory of man.' He says that man isn't independent of God because he originated from God. The woman originated from man, so the woman isn't independent of man. But the fact that man has his birth through the woman, makes the dependence reciprocal, because all things originate from God.

All things... Daniel not only told Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of a dream he had, he told him the content of the dream. The dream was from God. "You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory" (Dan 2:37). Daniel tells him the dream and its interpretation, and tells him "God has made known to the king what will take place in the future. (vs 45)

Why..? What purpose of God was served by giving Nebuchadnezzar, a king who carried Judah and Jerusalem away into exile, the coming attractions of the future? Maybe I should say purposes (plural). Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar nothing that had to do with anything that would affect Nebuchadnezzar's reign. He told him about kingdoms that would arise after his time was over. (The whole thing looks like a setup to me).

Daniel and his friends were promoted to positions of prominence as a result of Daniel's interpretation of the dream. God's power, ultimate authority and sovereignty were just suiting up for an introduction. 

In this life we are all servants of God, because everything originates with God. There are people who serve God's purpose for having life and know it, and the people whose lives are lived in ultimate service to God, and they don't realize it. Not knowing doesn't nullify anything. Nebuchadnezzar didn't know starting out, but he found himself to be in "real school" for not knowing. His graduation from "real school" took place out in the field, grazing like a farm animal. Thank God He's a God of restoration! 

There's only one opening in the kingdom of God that anyone can fill or apply for: servant..

September 11 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report