“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).
By John David Hicks
If any mortal man could glory in his earthly splendor, Nebuchadnezzar certainly could. He ruled over one of the world’s mightiest empires. He was a tyrant dictator, even manipulating the Babylonian gods to his end. He had fought, scratched, and kicked his way to power. He conquered, took captives, and killed anyone who got in his way. Babylon stood as a monument to his creative genius as a warrior, statesman, and administrator. The city’s hanging gardens were one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. No greater city has ever been seen on the face of the earth. Daniel called him “king of kings” for good reason.
God himself had connected Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom with the majestic head of gold in the dream that Daniel interpreted for him: “You, O king, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds of the air. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold” (Daniel 2:37-38).
He was impressive. But Nebuchadnezzar seemed to have missed the important part of Daniel’s statement. God is the one who had given him the dominion, power, might, and glory. All his success ultimately flowed from God.
Yet, in his pride he makes no mention of the help and assistance he received from God or from other people that made him successful and prosperous, master of the great Babylonian Empire. When his prideful words reached the ears of God, judgment fell:
“As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?’ The words were still on his lips when a voice came from heaven. ‘This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like cattle. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes’” (Daniel 4:29-32).
Nothing is as evil, vile, and repulsive to God as pride. The dictionary defines pride as an excessive opinion of one’s own importance or worth. It says, “Look at me. Be impressed by who I am, what I’ve done, what I know, and whom I am associated with. I am here!” Pride overflows with vanity, conceit, self-glorification, smugness, pomp, pretension, and arrogance.
Nothing is more dangerous or hazardous to a Christian’s spiritual life as pride. Pride is incompatible with faith, since pride is centered on itself rather than on God. It seeks its own glorification rather than God’s. It tears down your relationship with God and destroys your faith. Yet it is one of the major failings among Christians and one of the most unrecognized. We catch a glimpse of it in the leader who always talks about himself, using himself as the example and model for faith. His teaching is full of “personal illustrations” that are egotistical.
The apostle John states that boasting of what a man has or does is a mark of worldliness. And, indeed, the world elevates pride almost to the status of a virtue. We deserve whatever it is that’s being advertised in television commercials. We need to make sure we get the recognition for the good things we have done. In our flesh, this makes us feel really good, but this lifestyle is not acceptable to God.
First of all, pride wants to look good. Our culture places an overwhelming emphasis on physical attractiveness. There is an entire medical specialty devoted to tummy tucks, face lifts, and nose jobs. And those doctors are getting very rich.
But, in addition, we want to look good psychologically. Pride is a manifestation of our craving for human approval. We do not want our weaknesses exposed. Many people will do almost anything to look good—or as the Chinese say, to save face. They will tell “little white lies” and sometimes “big black lies” to avoid embarrassment.
Pride wants to look good regardless of the reality of the situation. “My new job is going great”—although I’m running scared every day. “My small group is really growing spiritually”—they fight and quarrel every week. This is pretense, rooted in unreality. You fear that you will look bad and not present the right image. People may not be as impressed with you and your accomplishments as you think they should be. Your self-importance may be offended. The desire for the approval of man will defeat the approval of God and faith.
Second, pride desires to feel good. If you feel like it, if it’s fun, if you think it will give you pleasure and make you feel good, you will do it. This is just another form of self-centeredness. What matters are my pleasure and my feelings. Duties and responsibilities can be ignored if something more fun comes along. Even in the church, there has been a trend toward telling people what they want to hear and letting them feel good and have fun. The hard truths of the gospel and the lordship claims of Christ are watered down, so people won’t be offended. The church may grow numerically, but it is headed toward disaster.
Third, pride desires to be right. There is a problem accepting the fact that someone else may have a valid argument that doesn’t agree with your thoughts on the matter. Some people will do almost anything not to have to back down and admit someone else is right. They lie, twist the truth, and exaggerate to be right. This pride will drive people out of the church and away from God because of petty disagreements. You can be right—so right—and end up losing the battle with God and men.
Then, pride desires to be in control—to have power over others. This is rooted in the desire to “be like God,” i.e., in control. Control is the heart of pride. All its other manifestations spin off this one. This is not the same as leadership. Leadership is helping people achieve their goals; control is forcing them to achieve your goals. The modern term “control freak” is quite apt, because when these people sense their control slipping, they freak out. Sometimes they will just leave and find another group they can try to control.
The lordship of Christ means giving God the controls. There are some today who will sail into a church or into a fellowship group with the flag of the “Lord Jesus Christ” flying from their mast, and they are welcomed as a true brother. When accepted, they will pull down the flag of Jesus and put up the “Jolly Roger”—the skull and crossbones—the pirate flag of control. They have come as pirates with self-seeking motives—they will “use you,” rape, pillage, and plunder the group. If God took them to heaven, they would try to “use” Him too. They would want to rip off the pearly gates, embezzle the streets of gold, and dominate Michael the Archangel.
Pride has a hidden agenda. People will claim one thing, but secretly have a different motive and agenda to accomplish. The hidden agenda of pride is rooted in deceit and guile. This is the person who is cunning in achieving his goals and full of falsehood. It is the opposite of Nathaniel in the New Testament—the man Jesus said had no guile. There was nothing false in him. He was completely true to himself and to others.
Pride wants to have a personal advantage. The world revolves around me. Whatever I want is the most important thing, and everything must give way to that. Many church fights spring from the desire for personal advantage. This desire to be first causes you to become a predator, getting rid of everything that gets in your way, or you become a parasite sucking the “goods” out of anyone you can get your hands on, using everyone to keep your lifestyle.
A leader of medieval Christianity, Bernard of Clairvaux, commented on this type of behavior: “He must have the first place in gatherings, be the first to speak in council. He comes without being called. He interferes without being asked. He must rearrange everything, re-do whatever has been done. What he himself did not do or arrange is not rightly done or properly arranged.”
Pride has a desire to be left alone. It is centered in self, rather than in God or others. The needs of hurting people are of no concern. In Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, the sin of the priest and Levite is that they did not want to be disturbed. They had other plans; they were going to prayer meeting and would not help. This sin of pride is rooted in “my rights.”
Finally, pride judges a person’s worth by position, connections or background, wealth or possessions, gender or race, or other irrelevant distinctions. It elevates itself by what it has, what it does, and its accomplishments and thus believes it is better than most other people. It does not look at others through God’s eyes, but through the eyes of the fallen world.
This is an insidious temptation in the church of today. All too often, the church has adopted the values of the world. Do we not judge people’s worth by their position in the community, their wealth, and their family connections? Are not the business leaders of the congregation the ones chosen to lead the church of God? Do we really treat equally the visiting pastor from out of town and the shabbily dressed visitor with unwashed children?
But, getting back to Nebuchadnezzar, what is the rest of the story? God heard his boasting and decided to humble him. God’s decree fell on the king just as Daniel said. The vile nature of pride was revealed for all to see. He was driven from his palace and lived like a beast of the field, eating grass like the oxen. God had confronted the king on other occasions, but his heart had never been truly humbled. So God used personal calamity to strike home the lesson. This experience made Nebuchadnezzar a new man. After seven years, Nebuchadnezzar told of his conversion.
Nebuchadnezzar came to his senses and recognized his need: “I lifted my eyes to heaven.” He looked to God for the answer to his need and was changed by faith in the Lord of heaven and earth. God had to bring King Nebuchadnezzar to the understanding that the Most High ruled over the affairs of men.
Notice what Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged: God is everything and he was nothing. The most high God is eternal, His kingdom is everlasting, His government has no end. God has no need for the nations or greatest of men—they are less than nothing. God exalts one and puts down another. Angels, demons, and men are all accountable to Him. All the inhabitants of heaven and earth are His subjects and are under His control. God’s power is irresistible, and His sovereignty uncontrollable, for He does according to His design and purpose. Whatever He pleases that He does, and none can resist His will or stay His hand.
King Nebuchadnezzar repented of his sin and addressed all the people of the world, sending them peace. This was out of character for this proud ruler, a cruel man of war and a dictator. But in this official document, he gave his personal testimony as to what God had done for him.
When the seven years were complete, the nobles of the kingdom were ready to receive him; he did not need to seek them. His honor and intellect returned to him. He was now fit to rule. His kingdom was firmly established. The talk at court was of his conversion and what God had done. This blasphemer and persecutor found mercy and grace. His declaration of faith in God is affirmed in Daniel 4:37: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
Through Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar learned that God is in charge of human history, sovereign of the universe. He saw that he didn’t deserve to be king, but that God had allowed him to reign.
He gave all the glory and honor to God, ascribing greatness to the Lord. Remember what Nebuchadnezzar had said before: “Is not this great Babylon that I have built?” He was boasting about his majesty. Now, all that had changed: “I praise and extol and honor”—not Nebuchadnezzar but—“the King of heaven” and “those that walk in pride God is able to abase.” This foreshadows what will happen to all the nations of the earth in the last days, when all boasting that touches God’s glory will be judged and “every knee will bow” (Philippians 2:10-11) in humility. Like King Nebuchadnezzar, all will be delivered from their pride.
It wasn’t long after this that Nebuchadnezzar’s reign and life ended. The historian Eusebius reports, from the tradition of the Chaldeans, that on his deathbed King Nebuchadnezzar foretold the taking of Babylon by Cyrus. He believed God’s word. There is nothing in history that would contradict his testimony. His faith was uncomplicated, sincere, and honest. His arrogance was gone.
Did you catch the main lesson God is teaching Nebuchadnezzar? It’s repeated in chapter 4: “that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever he wishes” (verses 17, 25 NASB). Simply put, “Heaven rules!” Comprehending this will help set you free from pride. When you see God’s sovereign control, it humbles you to realize that any strengths or abilities you have are gifts from Him. You cannot take any credit for them. Recognize that all you are and have has been given to you by God. It is for His glory, not yours.
Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar how to overcome pride: “Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue” (4:27). When the Most High rules, you will “do what is right” by obeying the word of God. Your lifestyle will put others before yourself. You will “help the oppressed” by showing compassion and by humbling yourself to help the hurting and rejected. This is the opposite of pride.
Jesus, the Son of the living God, demonstrated this lifestyle. God created the universe through Jesus, and through Him it is held together. Nevertheless, Jesus humbled Himself in the incarnation as the unique God-man. He experienced life as a man, except for sin. He died for our sins on the cross, and God raised Him and seated Him at His right hand with all power and authority in heaven and earth. Yet, even Jesus said that of Himself, He could do nothing. All His power came from His dependence on the Father. He said to “come and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.”
What is humility? We know it is the opposite of pride, but it isn’t self-abasement either. Rather it seems to have two defining characteristics: total honesty and simple dependence.
In total honesty, I see myself realistically—a redeemed child of God with no merit of my own. Nothing in my life commends me to God. Everything good in my life is a gift from Him for which I can take no credit, any more than I can take credit for the color of my eyes.
Realizing this, the only sensible reaction is simple dependence on Him from whom all goodness flows. Humility drives me straight into God’s arms of grace, mercy, blessing, and holy courage.
This realization has a profound impact on dealings with other people. Instead of looking down on them from a high perch of self-righteousness, we realize that they have worth and value because they are loved by God and Christ died for them too. All humans—every man, woman, and child—are beloved of God.
Humility shows itself in a willingness to learn from others, combined with an unwillingness to stand in judgment of others. Rather than dwelling on our own virtues and accomplishments, we view our neighbor as we view ourselves—through the prism of God’s grace. Through humility, we can find our place in relation to both God and neighbor.
The story that Jesus told of the last judgment is very instructive along these lines. Both the righteous (the sheep) and the unrighteous (the goats) are brought before the judgment seat of God. The sheep were allowed to enter God’s kingdom because they had ministered to Jesus here on earth. The goats were condemned because they had not. It is interesting that both groups asked exactly the same question: “Lord, when did we see you…?”
The goats would have been sure to help Jesus if they had seen Him. All they had ever seen were dirty street beggars, people who were beneath them. Individuals were judged on their worthiness—circumstances of birth, education, possessions, positions of power. Now if it had been someone worthy, that is one of their friends, they would have been more than willing to help. The Lord moved among them, unseen to their blinded eyes.
But the sheep, who asked the same question, expected no special treatment for what they had done. Every needy person who came across their path was aided; no one was judged. They did not see the Lord specifically because they ministered to everyone unselfconsciously. Thus, they ministered to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Humility really is the result of radical honesty in our lives. We face the truth about ourselves and are willing to embrace and act on that truth. It is looking at ourselves without exaggerated approval or exaggerated denigration. It is the realization that the little we have is what gives us our claim on God. Humility is the anchor for our relationship with God. It provides an avenue for us to connect with others, to accept ourselves, and to use material possessions. We live our lives without arrogance, without judging, without scorn, without dominating, without put-downs, without disdain, and without self-centeredness.
As the Old Testament prophet Micah said centuries ago:
He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.