He will do what he said he will do
The book of Daniel is full of History that shows how God is a ruler of all nations and how he is sovereign over all. Following the Babylonian invasion in Jerusalem, the king had dreams that he could not ignore as they were not just ordinary dreams. In Chapter 4 of Daniel King Nebuchednezzar just had another distressing dream.
“I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thought upon my bed and the visions of my dream troubled me” (Daniel 4:5)
The king then called all the wise men of Babylon to make known to him the interpretation of his dream, but they could not. Imagine the king’s disappointment, from having such a troubling dream and not getting an interpretation from your ‘wise’ men.
“But at last Daniel came in before me… Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My Lord, the dream be to them that hate you, and the interpretation thereof to your enemies.” (Daniel 4:8 & 19)
Daniel’s response is in line with how the king was troubled, something told the king that this was not just a vision or a dream that could be ignored, and worse, it could be about him and his splendored kingdom as per the previous king’s dream. This clearly was not an ordinary dream. Now, what was this dream about? Seeing that it even astonished Daniel for an hour, probably puzzled and in deep thought. Maybe thinking about the way to bring it to the king.
It turned out the dream was about the king indeed (Daniel 9:22), and its interpretation, “They shall drive you from men, you shall dwell with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the most high rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he chooses” (Daniel 4:25). The sovereignty of God was about to be in display and mightily so in this powerful king. It appears after the dream and its interpretation, the king continued like he would, going about business, and for some time as verse 28 and 29 of chapter 4 tells us. It is also amazing to see that Daniel had counselled the king on verse 27 regarding a proper response to this dream. However, did the king take heed to the godly man’s counsel?
It was the same with the children of Israel when he said they will face captivity if they disobeyed in the Promised Land. They were made aware by Moses of what would happen to them if they disobeyed the Lord their God. They ended up in captivity because of their idolatry and turning away from God. He did the same with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, telling them that the day they eat the fruit, they will surely die. In the days of Noah, when the Ark was built, the Lord provided a grace period for the people to repent and find refuge in him. However, they chose to continue in their sins until judgment by the flood. What the Lord has said, always comes to pass and what he says he will do, will be done. As He has given a grace period of repentance for people to turn to him. it is today, The Lord is calling people into repentance by heralds and preachers of the gospel The Lord does not slack in terms of executing his just judgment. We (believers) know that what he said will come to pass, and that is exactly what we see displayed in this king and this event.
What the Lord has said will surely come to pass and we are wise to take heed of the council of his word because we do not know when the grace period will stop. King Nebuchadnezzar was looking at the splendour of his temple when suddenly, what he had said came to pass. He was humbled by God and brought down to the level of an animal until he lifted his eyes to heaven and blessed the most high and honoured him who lives forever. May we not think that the grace period nullifies what God had said. May we seek God while he can be found, find refuge in him and call others into the refuge while it is still today. We need to warn them about the judgment that is coming, doing so with urgency and with the understanding of his sure promises and judgments.
