Verse for the Week

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble. ~ Daniel 4:37

Ol' King Neb had to learn a hard lesson. Though he had been warned in a dream that he would be brought low, he didn't listen or change his arrogant ways. While standing on the roof of his palace he looked out and asked, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?" The rhetorical question had hardly been uttered when a voice from heaven declared "The kingdom has departed from you".

Neb lost his mind and lived like an ox, eating grass and sleeping out in the open. It took some time, but Neb eventually regained his right mind. How? When he finally lifted his eyes to heaven and knew that Heaven rules.

God values humility. He opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And everyone will acknowledge His rule, in this life or the next. Jesus told his disciples, "Whoever who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." We don't want to be found exalting ourselves on the Day of the Lord, when he returns to judge the earth. Let us listen to Neb and learn from his mistake and humble ourselves now.