Bible Text: Daniel 4:1-37 | Preacher: Pastor Joe Ricchuiti | Series: Daniel, The Oldest Sin

1.  Chapters 4 and 5 of Daniel both deal with the sin of pride.  Each one had different ways it was exhibited, but in both cases God dealt with it to humble King Nebuchadnezzar and King Belshazzar.

2.  God was demonstrating to the nation of Israel that, though they were exiled to Babylon, He was still sovereign over the Kings and Kingdoms of the Earth, no matter their greatness or their victories, and that He would one day deliver them.

3.  Nebuchadnezzar’s praise for God bookends chapter four.  It begins with his proclamation that the God of Heaven was indeed sovereign over all men, proceeds to explain how he came to that conclusion, and ends with his acknowledgment of God.

4.  Verse 17 is the heart of the passage in which it is explained that mankind must learn (especially Nebuchadnezzar) that God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomever He wishes.

5.  Daniel interprets the dream which troubled Nebuchadnezzar and identifies him as a tree which filled the whole earth, whose fruit fed the people of the earth, and whose branches sheltered them.  The tree then is cut down, with only the stump left.  Nebuchadnezzar himself would be given the mind of an animal and for seven years live as a beast of the field.  After that time, when he acknowledged God’s sovereignty, he would be restored to power.