20 “But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. 21 “Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.”
5:20
“But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
God called Nebuchadnezzar “my servant.” God used him to work out His purposes. He used Nebuchadnezzar to rule and reign for His own purposes.
Je 25:8-9, “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Because you have not heard My words, 9 ‘behold, I will send and take all the families of the north (Israel),’ says the Lord, ‘and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against these nations all around, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations.”
Je 27:6, “And now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant; and the beasts of the field I have also given him to serve him.”
Je 43:10, “…and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will send and bring Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden. And he will spread his royal pavilion over them.’”
5:21
“Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
Nebuchadnezzar’s downfall was due to pride. He learned his lesson through divine discipline.
PRINCIPLE:
Nothing can interdict God’s purposes.
APPLICATION:
God knows and rules the kingdoms of men. He also knows the future. God is never surprised about any event in history because He knows all events simultaneously. He is not a sequential being. Neither is He a time or space being. God transcends time and space.
Is 39:5-8, “Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 6 ‘Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,’ says the Lord. 7 ‘And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’ 8 So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!’ For he said, ‘At least there will be peace and truth in my days.’”
Ro 11:25-29, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.”
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”
When God purposes a thing, nothing can interdict it. To rebel against Nebuchadnezzar was to rebel against God’s will, for it was God’s will to send nations into captivity (Je 2:2-11; Is 20:2; Ezek 12:5-7; Ac 21:11).
