“Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king said to Daniel, ‘Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.’ Then the king gave Daniel high honors and great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon…
“King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in Babylon. Then [he] sent to gather the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, justices, magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image. They… gathered for the dedication… The herald proclaimed, ‘You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of… every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace…’
“Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought… Nebuchadnezzar… said to them, ‘Is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?.. If you do not, you shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?’
“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace… But if not, be it known that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image you have set up.” Daniel 2:46-48; 3:1-6,13-14,16-18
King Nebuchadnezzar had a confused sense of supremacy. Irrational and fickle, he wielded his authority carelessly. When Daniel revealed God’s interpretation of his dream, he spontaneously honored Daniel like royalty and declared his God as Lord of kings, yet proceeded to erect a huge gold image he demanded people worship. For him, the only true sovereign was Self, and all underlings would suffer if they did not concede. Only after God humbled him did he acknowledge the true God as God. (Daniel 2:12-23,26-28; 3:19-22,26-30; 4:28-37)
Capricious and arrogant, man tends to crafting God in his own image. We give lip service as expected or convenient, but resist yielding our throne. We might credit Him with obvious miracles, but then reduce or disparage Him when things don’t go our way. When God isn’t really God to us, life gets disordered, and we make foolish decisions. Only the truth can set us free to see, fear, and adore Him for who He is. (John 8:31-32)
In truth, God is always God, but He sometimes has to go to great lengths to convince us of that. What misconceptions about God’s sovereignty do we hold with no biblical basis? Where are we taking His place in setting direction and managing our affairs? What little lords do we follow astray? What attitudes need to be adjusted, what preferences and choices reordered, so we submit to the Lord on His rightful throne?
Lord, may I ever praise, extol, and honor You as King of kings.
