G'day, Dave here.

Welcome to Stories of a Faithful God for Kids.

What's something that you're really good at? Everyone has different sorts of things that

they're good at.

Maybe it's being really creative with your

hands.

You like making things.

Maybe it's singing, maybe it's sport.

Maybe you like to cook, or you're excellent at board games, or you're great at certain school

subjects.

You could be great at tying up other people's

shoelaces, or archery, or you have a really great sense of humour.

What are you great at?

Here's an even more important question.

Why are you great at it? What makes you so great at it?

How did you end up being great at it? In today's episode, King Nebuchadnezzar thinks

he's the greatest in all the world.

He's about to learn a really important lesson, though, about where that greatness has come

from.

About who that greatness has come from.

Get ready for our next episode of Stories of a Faithful God for Kids.

At the end of our last episode, King Nebuchadnezzar was amazed by God.

The king had thought that he was so powerful, there was no God who could save anyone from

him.

But that's because he didn't know the one true God.

God saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the king and his blazing furnace.

And the king had to back down.

He was so amazed, he ordered that nothing bad

could be said about this God.

But that doesn't mean that he trusted God yet.

Daniel chapter four starts with a letter from King Nebuchadnezzar.

It's sent to all the different peoples and languages and countries in his empire.

Surprisingly, it's a letter where he wants to tell people about how great God is.

He says in verse two, the most high God has done miracles and wonderful things for me.

I am happy to tell you about these things.

The things he has done are great.

His miracles are mighty.

His kingdom continues forever.

His rule will continue for all time.

Isn't that interesting?

Back in chapter two, we heard about how God's kingdom will last forever and how

Nebuchadnezzar's won't.

Nebuchadnezzar didn't seem to believe it then, though now he does.

What's happened? What's changed?

Well, that's what this letter is all about.

He wants everyone to know how God taught him

about God's greatness.

And it starts just like back in chapter two, with a dream.

The dream comes at a time when everything seems Great for the kingdom.

Everything's going well.

The empire is thriving.

He says in verse four, I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at my palace.

I was happy and successful.

I had a dream that made me afraid.

As I was lying on my bed, I saw pictures and visions in my mind.

Those things made me very afraid.

So I gave an order.

All the wise men of Babylon were to be brought to me.

I wanted them to tell me what my dream meant.

The fortune tellers, magicians and wise men

came.

I told them about the dream, but those men

could not tell me what it meant.

This is sounding more and more like the last dream, isn't it?

It terrifies him.

None of the wise men can tell him what it

means.

Although at least this time he seems to have

told them what the dream actually was.

Finally, Daniel comes in, the one who God's used before to help the king.

Nebuchadnezzar doesn't call him Daniel, though.

He calls him Belteshazzar, the Babylonian name that was given to him.

It's a name that comes from a Babylonian God, Bel.

That isn't the God who Daniel serves, though.

And the king understands that there's

something special about Daniel.

He says in verse eight, belteshazzar, you are

the most important of all the fortune tellers.

I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

I know there is no secret that is too hard for you to understand.

He still doesn't get that it all comes from the one true God.

But at least he gets that Daniel has a special connection to God or the gods, as he thinks.

And then he describes the dream in verse 10.

He says, I looked, and there in front of me

was a tree.

It was standing in the middle of the earth.

The tree was very tall.

The tree grew large and strong.

The top of the tree touched the sky.

It could be seen from anywhere on earth.

The leaves of the tree were beautiful.

It had plenty of good fruit on it.

On the tree was food for everyone.

The wild animals found shelter under the tree and the birds lived in its branches.

Every animal ate from it.

That's a really lovely picture, don't you think?

This massive tree can be seen from anywhere on the earth.

It's providing cool shade, protection from danger, food for all the animals.

I'd love to be under a tree like that.

But then something shocking happens to the tree.

Nebuchadnezzar says, and then I saw a holy angel coming down from heaven.

He spoke very loudly.

He said, cut down the tree and cut off its

branches.

Strip off Its leaves scatter the fruit around.

Let the animals that are under the tree run away.

Let the birds that were in its branches fly away.

But let the stump and its roots stay in the ground.

Put a band of iron and bronze around it.

Let it stay in the field with the grass around

it.

This beautiful, massive, wonderful tree is destroyed, although because the stump is left

in the ground, there is hope that it can grow again.

But for now, it's pretty bad.

Then something really strange happens.

The angel starts talking about the tree, not

as a tree, but as a person.

A person that's gone from being really great, from having lots of power and money and stuff,

to having to live like an animal.

The angel says, let the man become wet with

dew.

Let him live among the animals and plants of the earth.

Let him not think like a man any longer.

Let him have the mind of an animal.

And he says, this is going to go on for seven times.

Who knows how long that is? Seven days, seven months, seven years.

God's decided not to tell us.

It's the perfect amount of time, though.

The perfect amount of time to achieve what?

What's supposed to happen to this person who loses their mind and starts living like an

animal? What's it all for?

Thankfully, we don't have to guess.

We're told it's so that people will know that God's in charge.

Kings like to think that they're in charge of kingdoms, but it's God who put them in charge

in the first place.

He decides who gets to rule.

We're told in verse 17.

This is so that all the people may know that the most high God rules over the kingdoms of

men.

God gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants, and he chooses people to rule them who are not

proud.

Then the king says to Daniel, this is what I, King Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed.

Now, Daniel, called Belteshazzar, tell me what the dream means.

None of the wise men in my kingdom can explain it to me, but you can, because the spirit of

the holy gods is in you.

Daniel is so shocked by the dream that for a moment he can't even speak.

Have you ever had that? When someone says something so unexpected and

so shocking that you just can't think of anything to say?

And the king's like, don't be afraid, Daniel.

Just tell me what it all means?

And Daniel says, in verse 19, my master, I wish the dream were about your enemies, and I

wish its meaning were for those who are against you.

That can't be good news for Nebuchadnezzar can it.

He continues, you saw a tree in your dream.

The tree grew large and strong.

Its top touched the sky.

It could be seen from all over the earth.

Its leaves were beautiful and it had plenty of fruit.

The fruit gave food for everyone.

It was a home for the wild animals, and its

branches were nesting places for the birds.

That is the tree you saw, my king.

You are that tree.

In a sense, that sounds pretty good for the king.

Daniel says, you've become great and powerful.

You're like the tall tree that touched the

sky, and your power reaches to the far parts of the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar is the king of a massive kingdom with lots and lots of other countries

in it and lots of people speaking lots of languages.

It's like they've all come under his branches.

Nebuchadnezzar is really great.

But remember what happens to the tree in the dream.

In verse 24, Daniel says, this is the meaning of the dream.

My king, the most holy God has commanded these things to happen to my master, the king.

You will be forced away from people.

You will live among the wild animals.

People will feed you grass like an ox, and dew

from the sky will make you wet.

Seven years or seven times, however long that is, will pass.

And then you'll learn this lesson.

The most high God is ruler over the kingdom of

men, and the most high God gives those kingdoms to anyone he wants.

This is what Nebuchadnezzar needs to learn.

He needs to learn that everything he has, all the power, all the greatness, being able to

rule this great kingdom, it isn't because he's great.

It's because God's great.

God's decided to give it to him, and God can just as easily take it away from him.

Daniel warns Nebuchadnezzar.

He's like, don't wait to learn the lesson.

Turn away from evil right now.

Start treating people the way God wants you to

treat them.

Start treat God properly.

And that's really good advice.

But everything happens just like God said it would.

Twelve months later, King Nebuchadnezzar is walking on the roof of his palace.

It's a flat roof.

He's looking out over his beautiful city, the

beating heart of his magnificent empire.

He's happy, calm, and he thinks he's pretty awesome.

He doesn't look out and think, wow, I can't believe God's given me all this.

No, he just thinks he's really great.

In verse 30, he says to himself, look at Babylon.

I built this great city.

It is my palace.

I built this great place by my power to show how great I am.

Nebuchadnezzar has not learned his lesson yet.

And so God's going to teach him who's really in charge, who's really the one who makes

people great and gives them kingdoms.

Verse 31 says the words were still in his

mouth when a voice came from heaven.

The voice said, king Nebuchadnezzar, these things will happen to you.

Your royal power has been taken away from you.

You will be forced away from people.

You will live with the wild animals.

You will be fed grass like an ox.

Seven times will pass before you learn this

lesson.

The most high God rules over the kingdoms of

men.

And the most high God gives those kingdoms to

anyone he wants.

And that's exactly what happens.

All of Nebuchadnezzar's power, all his money, all his fame, gets ripped away.

He never had it because he was great.

He only had it because God's great.

We're told in verse 33, those things happened quickly.

Nebuchadnezzar was forced to go away from people.

He began eating grass like an ox.

He became wet from dew.

His hair grew long like the feathers of an eagle.

And his nails grew long like the claws of a bird.

He's become a wild man living out in the fields.

His mind is gone, so he can't even think straight.

He used to eat luxurious meals, now he eats grass.

He used to have the perfect hairstyle.

Now it's wild and long.

He can't even take care of his fingernails.

How different is that to being the ruler of one of the most powerful kingdoms in the

world? It's like a massive, glorious tree.

The sort of tree that you could imagine living forever, suddenly being chopped down and used

as firewood.

God gave him the kingdom and God took it away.

All the power is in God's hands.

You might not have realised this, but God's actually being really kind to Nebuchadnezzar

here.

God's shown him a few things in the past, and

Nebuchadnezzar's just kind of ignored him or forgotten about him.

God could easily just chuck him out and get rid of him forever, have him killed.

But instead, God's being really kind and teaching him a lesson.

And so, at just the right time, as Nebuchadnezzar, sitting in a field covered in

dew, chomping away on some grass, he looks up to the sky and God gives him his mind back

again.

Suddenly, it all comes flooding back.

The memory of his kingdom of his life before

all this, of his dream and the God who gave it to him.

And immediately he understands who's really in charge, who's really great.

It certainly isn't him.

If it was him, he'd have been able to hold

onto his kingdom.

But it's not him, it's God.

And it always has been.

So he starts praising God.

He tells us in verse 34, I gave honour and glory to him who lives forever.

God's rule is forever.

His kingdom continues for all time.

People on earth are not truly important.

God does what he wants with the powers of

heaven and the peoples on earth.

No one can stop his powerful hand.

No one can question the things he does.

And then, just like God said he would, because he's faithful, remember, he gives it all back

to Nebuchadnezzar.

Everything.

Some people come looking for him in the field and they make him king again.

In fact, he says, he became even greater and more powerful than before.

Something's changed, though.

Nebuchadnezzar's changed.

Now when he has all this power and money and greatness and glory, he doesn't think to

himself, how awesome am I?

He thinks, how awesome is God.

Because he knows that it's all come from God.

And he wants his entire empire to know that as

well.

That's why he's writing this letter to people

of every nation and language and culture.

He finishes off his letter in verse 37 with these.

Now, I, Nebuchadnezzar, give praise and honour and glory to the King of Heaven.

Everything he does is right.

He is always fair, and he is able to make

proud people humble.

You know, if we could hear from everyone who's listening to this podcast about all the

different things you're great at, it would be amazing.

There'd be so much skill and fun and abilities and knowledge.

It'd be great.

But where does that greatness come from?

Did you get it yourself?

No.

God's given it to you.

God's given you the abilities and knowledge

and opportunities and time.

It's all from him.

It doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy it, but even more, enjoy the God who gave it to you.

Give him the glory.

Tell people how great he is.

Say thanks to him for everything he's given to you back in Babylon.

After a while, a new king's going to come to power.

A new king who knows all about Nebuchadnezzar, which means he should know all about God.

Will he understand what Nebuchadnezzar had to learn about God though.

Well, that's a story for Hi again, a couple of quick announcements before we finish.

Firstly, the Stories of a Faithful God.

Kids Club is about to start a new Christmas

series.

It starts tomorrow.

I've even put a little trailer for it in the

show notes.

It would be great to have you join.

Episodes will come out over the next three Fridays and then on Christmas Day.

Go check it out.

Ask for it as an early Christmas present.

It's lots of fun.

Secondly, a while ago I mentioned a song playlist on Spotify.

It's called SFG for Kids.

Like Stories of a Faithful God.

SFG for Kids.

I haven't talked about it for a while, but

it's got lots of songs on there that link to what we've been learning.

I've just put a new song on there called Idol Worship Blues by Ben Pekula.

It's a fun song About Daniel Chapter 3 with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

There's a link in the show notes to the playlist.

For now, keep trusting Jesus and we'll talk again soon.