King Nebuchadnezzar

"33Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird."
-Daniel 4:33


Vitals
Focuses on : Daniel 1- 4
Job Description : King of Babylon

Significant events in worldly position :

• Had dreams interpreted by Daniel
• Attempted to have Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego thrown into a furnace
• Driven away from people and lived with wild animals for seven years
• Praised God 

Aftermath: Was returned back to his throne now with sanity and the state of mind to glorify God


Is he one with desirable traits of a Christian?
-

-

          In the book of Daniel 1-4, King Nebuchadnezzar is featured greatly. The king of Babylon certainly encountered a series of unexpected events in his life. He would live a majority of his life in a pretty corrupt manner. In chapter 2, he has a dream and cannot understand what it means. He calls for magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to help him  grab a sense of what his dream means. When the astrologers told him that a task like that is impossible, Nebuchadnezzar became furious and ordered all of the wise men in Babylon to be executed. Daniel would eventually help the king interpret his dream. In chapter 3, he built a gold statue of 90 feet high. He made a decree that whenever the people would hear music, they were to bow down and worship the image that Nebuchadnezzar has made. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (the three men who Daniel trained with in chapter one) refused to bow to the golden image. King Nebuchadnezzar would have these three men thrown into a blazing hot furnace. Needless to say, they would come out of the furnace with no scent of fire on them for an angel came down to rescue their bodies. 

          Probably the most important event for Nebuchadnezzar came during chapter four. The king would have another dream to be interpreted by Daniel. Daniel would tell him that dream's meaning is that he will be "driven away from his people and live with wild animals". He would "eat grass like cattle and be drenched with the dew of heaven". Daniel tells of how he will be in that state for seven years until he acknowledges God. The prophet than proceeds to advice the king to "renounce his sins" so that his current life may continue. Evidently, King Nebuchadnezzar wouldn't take Daniel's advice as 12 months later, Daniel's prediction would come true. At the end, Nebuchadnezzar would recognize God and glorify him which in turn would give him back his sanity. He was returned back to his throne and became better than ever. 

          Most of the descriptions regarding the king of Babylon would show that he wasn't exactly a man of moral perfection. King Nebuchadnezzar is the featured "Servant of the Weak" because he is a good example that you shouldn't choose to take the path of exalting God only when you're in a rather sticky situation.

          King Nebuchadnezzar was able to enjoy many luxurious things because he was the guy in charge. He did anything as he pleased ranging from summoning the services of any specialized professional to building a golden statue that's bigger than my house. He had the power to get his hands on just about everything.

          However, despite how comfortable his living conditions were, he was not a good man. All the actions that he did in the book of Daniel shows that Nebuchadnezzar was not a pure individual at all. Too be honest, the stuff that he did in this book shows that he's a complete wretch. Just think about the things he does in order to get his way, whenever somebody fails to follow his orders, he executes them. The manner in which he approached others show that he basically has no heart. Not a single sign of humanity was shown during his rule before he turned absolutely insane for seven years.

          Nebuchadnezzar is pretty much a typical king of any nation. He only really loved three things, luxury, people serving him, himself. All king Nebuchadnezzar cared for and did was based on his own appeal. Everything that happened was all about himself. He didn't give a rat's tail about others because he went about life with the mentality that he was the center of everything. It's shown by his deeds, he would resort to death penalties in order for him to have his way.

          King Nebuchadnezzar would only improve his kindness after seven years of wildlife. It took him that long before he finally gave notice to God and worshiped him! It took torment of such immense degrees to wake him up. 

          Even though Nebuchadnezzar would eventually be guided to the holy path, it shouldn't be that difficult. This is why Nebuchadnezzar lacks ideal characteristics of a firm believer in God. The sovereign  Lord should always be on your mind no matter what happens. Whether it's before, during, or after a drastic situation. It's a lifestyle to have God in your life, it shouldn't be a method to get out of a problem. His whole life prior to his turning point was scornful to say the least and that shouldn't happen. A mentality to be loving and God-fearing is supposed to be the outline of your entire mind.        

          It's great that Nebuchadnezzar was able to renounce his sins and realize what is truly important. But it's a problem when you acknowledge God only when you are in deep trouble. God should be in your mind 24/7 and not as a ticket to get out of a stressful situation. God should be in you all the time. He should be your everything.