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Dan. 4:17-18

Lesson # Dan. 4:17-18 Study Material - Dan. 4:17-18 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Dan. 4:17-18 17 'This sentence is by the decree of the angelic watchers, And the decision is a command of the holy ones, In order that the living may know That the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, And bestows it on whom He wishes, And sets over it the lowliest of men.' 18 'This is the dream which I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, inasmuch as none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.' Here we need to go to a couple of other verses to draw the complete picture of the hearing, decision and judgment of Nebuchadnezzar. God could very well do all that is necessary without drawing counsel from anyone, but he does not out of courtesy to all living creatures, both man and angel. In Ex. 22:27, God hears the groans of those who are oppressed. In 1 Kings 17:1, Elijah, was used to make intercession against Israel. In Isa. 6:8, the question is posed, '...whom will be sent?' And finally here in Daniel chapter 4 and earlier chapters, we see Daniel as well as his three friends presenting the gospel as well as doctrine to Nebuchadnezzar. Angels observe the policies and actions of Nebuchadnezzar. Angels courier this information back to the angelic hierarchy in heaven. Prayers of the saints (mature believers) are received in heaven. This combined accumulation of evidence results in the indictment of Nebuchadnezzar. His decisions and actions on earth are his own free will testimony in his own behalf. The prayers of those harmed, the information gathered by the watcher angels is presented as well and the decision is rendered by whom? By God? No. By the angelic body that hears the cases in the highest court in existence. The devil or his representative is on the one hand and Jesus Christ is on the other. The decision against Nebuchadnezzar is rendered and given to God who issues the order of judgment. There is one more item of interest in this case, and that is the revelation by God of all of these events before they occur. Even Nebuchadnezzar is warned and given adequate time to avoid the decision of judgment against himself, but of course he ignores the warning as we will see. So we not only have the picture of the events that will occur with regard to Nebuchadnezzar - his rejection of God, his mental collapse, his animalistic behavior and the potential of his recovery. Emphasize 'potential'. He could have changed his mind at any time, but he will resist for seven years. He aspired to be great and in command of his destiny and the destiny of the world, but he was arrogant and all those years of mental attitude sinning finally took their toll resulting in his deteriorated mental condition. He could have avoided it all. He is told that God is the sovereign over all of creation, over all of history. That what God wills will be completed despite mans acceptance of that fact of not. History is set by the decrees of God. In eternity past God looked down the corridors of time and selected the best combination of possible histories. He did this by evaluating all of the possible combinations of interactions of peoples thoughts, decisions, actions, and in any and all time frames that they could be born in history. God could have brought you into history a thousand years ago, but he brought you into history in this current time. Why? Because this is the best possible time for you which will result in the best outcome for your life. Who are we to judge or second guess? Were we there when the universe was created? Were we there to consult as to the ingredients of the universe? Of course not. God demonstrates repeatedly, as we have seen in these first four chapters in Daniel, that His knowledge is superior, His wisdom is superior, His decisions are fair and correct and proper. God is the supreme ruler over all of mankind, over all of creation. God is able to place the best or the worst of people in any position he so chooses. God can demonstrate that His will and purpose will continue despite the thoughts, decisions, and actions of all creatures. What God wills, no one can change. What God does not will, no one can force to occur. Man is useless, hopeless, and helpless in this world. Man is a living soul. And we cannot even function unless we have some type of body in which to function. Kind of like a spaceman floating in outer space. Without gravity, without handholds, or even foot folds we are totally helpless. And that is our life here in this world - totally hopeless and helpless. Whether we like it or not, we are all dependent on God. To accept this and learn more in the spiritual life means that you will enter into the greatest life possible for yourself and for those who are around you (you are a more pleasant person to be with). To reject God means that you decide on your own that you want to be even more helpless in life, that you wish to be a part of the jungle where the rules are never in your favor, where misery is your chosen destiny. So, just as Nebuchadnezzar had been given the dream, the conveyance of Bible doctrine, and its interpretation is about to be given to him, so too, you are given that same opportunity to get your life straight. Do you read all of this and then go back to your news stand rags, your TV sitcoms, your other activities in life that keep you in the pit of eventual doom? Do you read and hear Bible instruction and really not pay any attention to it as Nebuchadnezzar did? Do you wait for that disaster in your life that will cause you great pain, or embarrassment, or loss before you finally wake up? Nebuchadnezzar had some information and some understanding. 'Daniel give me the interpretation, because you have the Spirit of God in you.' He knew, that Daniel had the Holy Spirit, and the indument power of the Holy Spirit, in him (in Daniel). Nebuchadnezzar knew this and understood it. Nebuchadnezzar made his conscious decisions over and over against God with full knowledge. This is clear. So with you too. Do you make your decisions, pretending to not know? But God knows. The angels know. You are only fooling yourself. The truth is that negative people are stupid, and arrogant, and lazy. When the hurt comes and it will with certainty, then do not cry for your self. No one will hear you. No one can help you in your spiritual deficiencies. Just remember Nebuchadnezzar and recover quickly. Don't hold out just because now nothing seems to be happening to you. Change and get your life in order now or remain in your Bible study and advance with aggressive action in your spiritual life. Study, learn, grow. Remain in fellowship (most important). Then let God do the driving and you just enjoy the ride as Royalty should! End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.

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