Really, Really Smart

Sermon manuscript for Green Lake Church

Sabbath, February 1, 2014

Synopsis: Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was the most successful man of his era. Bill Gates, President Obama, Vladimir Putin, and Pope Francis all rolled into one. Naturally, he was impressed with himself. Then he had a dream. Then he lost his mind. Then he lost everything. Then he became wise.

Based on Daniel 4.

King Nebuchadnezzar was really, really smart. He just wasn't quite smart enough.

His armies were unstoppable. They conquered the entire region of Mesopotamia and Palestine. Nebuchadnezzar filled his capital city, Babylon, with gold and grand architecture.

He funded the arts and philosophy and math and science.

He imported the royalty of every nation and tribe in the region and gave them significant jobs in his government. This worked both to unite the empire and to bring into its very heart the unique strengths of all these various cultures.

Nebuchadnezzar was really, really smart.

As if all these achievements weren't evidence enough, there's this: Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon wrote an entire chapter in the Bible. Can you believe that?

In the Bible, the King of Babylon is usually pictured as the ultimate bad guy. The prophet Isaiah paints such a diabolical picture of the King of Babylon that Christian commentators have long used it as a description of the devil himself. In the book of Revelation, Babylon stands for the forces of evil that attempt to obliterate God's people.

When I pastored in Babylon, New York, back in the 80s, the largest church in town was a Presbyterian Church. It was a grand, classic building with a towering white steeple on Main Street. Members there told me they had a hard recruiting quality pastoral candidates, because no self-respecting Presbyterian minister wanted to pastor in Babylon!

Still, in spite of all this, the prophet Daniel features a document written by Nebuchadnezzar as chapter four of his book.

(This fact should be a sufficient rebuke to those who imagine that God speaks only through “approved channels.” The current president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Elder Ted Wilson, once said publicly that Adventists should read only Adventist books. It was a profoundly wrong statement. He appears to have moved away from that kind of thinking or at least he no longer repeats it in his sermons. God speaks through all kinds of people including the good people of Babylon!)

Daniel Four begins:

King Nebuchadnezzar to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: "Peace and prosperity to you! I want you all to know about the miraculous signs and wonders the Most High God has performed for me.

In this document Nebuchadnezzar speaks from personal experience. He is not writing mere theological theory.

It's easy for Christians to get caught up in theoretical discussions. The older I get the less I care about the debates that roil theological circles. I am keenly interested in hearing how spiritual life is working for you. Last week when I talked to you about contemplative prayer, I drew on my own experience. There is a book making its rounds among Adventists which is severely critical of contemplative prayer. It's a silly book. The author knows nothing about contemplative prayer. Not directly. He has read a few books. It's like a monk writing about romance, someone who has never had kids writing a parenting book, a tone deaf person writing music criticism.

Nebuchadnezzar was really, really smart. In addition he had immediate access to the smartest, most highly educate people of his day. But still he wasn't quite smart enough. So God decided to complete his education.

Here's what happened:

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living in my palace in comfort and prosperity. But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed. So I issued an order calling in all the wise men of Babylon, so they could tell me what my dream meant.

That would have been standard operating procedure in that society. Dreams were considered significant. There was an entire industry of dream interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar continues:

When all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers came in, I told them the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant.

If you're familiar with the stories in the Book of Daniel, this sounds familiar. Once before, the wise men, astrologers and soothsayers had been stumped and Daniel had to be called in. That first time Nebuchadnezzar could not even remember the details of his dream. He demanded that these experts come up with both the dream and its interpretation—an obvious impossibility. At the last minute, just before Nebuchadnezzar has the entire corp of astrologers and soothsayers executed, Daniel finds out about the situation and saves the day.

This time, the king tells the wise men the details of his dream. And this time, it's those very details that render Nebuchadnezzar's wise men mute. The dream is unmistakably bad news. And you did not give Nebuchadnezzar bad news. And live to tell about it. So the kings wise men mumbled their apologies. They could not interpret the dream.

So finally Daniel is called in. Again, Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream. He saw a massive, spreading tree. Animals and people found shelter in its shade. Its fruit fed the entire world. The top of the tree scraped against heaven. The branches spread across the entire world. It was a grand, munificent scene.

So far, so good. But the dream is not finished.

Next, as I lay there dreaming, I saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven. The messenger shouted, "Cut down the tree and lop off its branches! Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit! Chase the wild animals from its shade and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Now let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the wild animals among the plants of the field. For seven periods of time, let him have the mind of a wild animal instead of the mind of a human. For this has been decreed by the watchers and the holy ones, so that everyone may know that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world. He gives them to anyone he chooses--even to nobodies.

You don't have to be an expert in dream interpretation to see that this dream is bad news. The wise men listened in dumbfounded silence. When the king pressed them for an interpretation, they hung their heads. They muttered excuses. They cannot tell the king what it means. So Nebuchadnezzar summons Daniel. He repeats the dream and Daniel goes pale. He is stunned, speechless. The king sees it and encourages him, using his Babylonian name,

'Belteshazzar, don't be alarmed by the dream and what it means.'

Finally, Daniel pulls himself together.

I wish this dream applied to your enemies, my lord!

The tree you saw growing very tall and strong, reaching high into the heavens for all the world to see, that tree with fresh green leaves and fruit for all to eat, that tree which sheltered animals and provided nesting sites for birds, that tree, Your Majesty, is you. For you have grown strong and great; your greatness reaches up to heaven, and your rule to the ends of the earth.

This sounds good, but you know the dream doesn't stop there.

You saw a watcher and a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, "Cut down the tree and destroy it. But leave the stump and the roots in the ground, bound with a band of iron and bronze and surrounded by tender grass. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven. Let him live with the animals of the field for seven times.

Here is what the dream means, Your Majesty: You will be driven from human society, and you will live in the fields with the wild animals. You will eat grass like a cow, and you will be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass while you live this way, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses. But the stump and roots of the tree were left in the ground. This means that you will receive your kingdom back again when you have learned that heaven rules.

No wonder Daniel went pale when he heard the dream. Can you imagine telling an absolute, divine-right king, “You are going to go crazy. You will be deposed from your throne!” Men were commonly killed for far less than that.

Daniel does stop there. He offered the king some advice. The king was smart. Really, really smart. But not smart enough. Daniel provides the missing insight:

Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.'

One of the vital missions of the church is to speak to those in power and urge them to stop sinning and do right, especially for the weak and lowly ones.

I was troubled to read this week a characterization the farm bill that was passed this week in the House. The bill cut food stamp benefits and left in place the massive farm subsidies which go principally to wealthy corporations. That is wrong. Christians should speak forcefully against the use of government to redistribute wealth to the wealthy. That is a misuse of government.

To his credit, Nebuchadnezzar did not have Daniel executed. But neither did he take Daniel's advice.

Nebuchadnezzar continues with his story.

Twelve months later I was taking a walk on the flat roof of the royal palace in Babylon. As I looked out across the city, I said, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?”

While these words were still in my mouth, a voice called down from heaven, 'O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you! You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be driven from human society. You will live in the fields with the wild animals, and you will eat grass like a cow. Seven times will pass over you, until you learn that the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world and gives them to anyone he chooses.'

"That very same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and I was driven from human society. I ate grass like a cow and was drenched with the dew of heaven. I lived this way until my hair was as long as eagles' feathers and my nails were like birds' claws.

For seven years Nebuchadnezzar was literally out to pasture. I imagine it was a walled area, the best asylum that could be provided. Still, it was a prison. For seven years, Nebuchadnezzar lived as a ward of the state. No authority. No freedom. Did he realize he was crazy? I don't know.

After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'

When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud."

There are two morals I take from this story.

The first is that we are to use our powers—our intellect, our social connections, our good luck, our charm, our education to serve. God calls us to act as partners in his work to suffuse the world with grace and peace. Economists, engineers, caterers, attorneys, dishwashers, grandmothers—God needs the work and gifts of us all to do the work of his kingdom. Daniel urged Nebuchadnezzar to avoid doom by turning his energy toward service instead of self-congratulation.

You think you're smart? How are you using your gifts? Are you serving the poor? Really smart people are not infatuated with themselves. They do not limit their largesse to their friends.

The second lesson is to remember all we have is a gift. Money, brains, good looks, social charm, an American passport, health, faith, moral background—however hard you worked, you would be nothing apart from gifts.

When we allow success to call us into stewardship and gratitude, then we are really, really smart.

God will be pleased and we will know ultimate satisfaction.