Morning Manna | Daniel 4:37 | Pride & Humility

Daniel 4:37

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

The word that stands out in this verse is “Now.” It wasn’t always the case that Nebuchadnezzar praised God, but now he does. Just a few verses earlier, he walked out onto his balcony, looked over all he had accomplished, and boasted of his power and kingdom. In the previous chapter, he had even erected an image of himself and forced the people to worship it. Success had filled him with pride. Everything he wanted had been given to him, and all he endeavored to do was successful. Such a life, or season of life, can deceive us into thinking we were responsible for it. When we reach that level of pride, God has a way of humbling us, as He did with Nebuchadnezzar, until we too must say, "Now I praise and extol the King of heaven."

What brought Nebuchadnezzar back to his senses? A season of humiliation. For seven years, he lost his sanity. The "watchers"—those who govern the affairs of men—drove him from human society. The Bible gives only brief details about this period, but it’s clear he lost his mind. His hair grew long, his nails became like claws, and he spent his days and nights in the fields rather than in the palace. His condition was so severe that no one, not even his royal servants or family, could control him. He had fallen from the mightiest of men to the lowliest.

When Nebuchadnezzar says "Now," he means, "Now that I’ve learned my lesson, now that I am back in my right mind, now I know that all I have is from the Lord." He realized that in comparison to God, we are nothing. His power, life, strength, and kingdom all came from God, and in a moment, God could take it all away.

Dear reader, take heed of this verse and apply it to your heart, lest you be tempted to walk in pride. Pride is dangerous, not only because it invites the judgment of God, but because even a small taste of it can intoxicate you, making you forget warnings, as Nebuchadnezzar did. At the beginning of the chapter, God warned him in a dream that he would be cut down, and Daniel gave him the interpretation. Daniel even urged him to repent, saying, "Break off your sins by righteousness," in the hope that his tranquility would be prolonged. But twelve months later, Nebuchadnezzar stood boasting of his greatness, and while he was speaking, the judgment fell. Pride had not only brought judgment but blinded him to the warning and created a false sense of reality.

Beware: pride only needs a small foothold before it takes full control of your thinking, and it always precedes a fall. And when that fall comes, you, like Nebuchadnezzar, will find yourself saying, “Now I ___________, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”