Daniel had made known and interpreted to Nebuchadnezzar the dream he had forgotten. The great king was outwardly impressed by it—but not inwardly changed; he had not yet broken with his sins; his conscience had not been reached. This can be seen from the fact that he honors Daniel before the great God, and also from the fact that he granted Daniel a completely inappropriate act of homage.
But not only his spontaneous reaction, but also his further conduct testifies that he was still full of pride and cruelty. He had a golden statue erected in his honor. He also had Daniel’s three friends, whom he had promoted at Daniel’s request, thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel 3). He had not yet understood that heaven rules and that what matters is righteousness and mercy (Daniel 4:23.24).
And as changeable as Nebuchadnezzar is, so people generally prove to be. Let us think of Paul and Barnabas in Lystra. After Paul had healed a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb, the priest of Zeus and the crowd wanted to sacrifice to them (Acts 14:13.14). But only a short time later, under the influence of the jealous Jews, this crowd stoned that very Paul, whom it had just regarded as one of the gods.
Note: The exaggerated favor of the world has no value, and it can very quickly turn into hatred.
Comments (0)
No comments yet.