Chapter 42—True Greatness
This chapter is based on
Daniel 4
.
Exalted to the pinnacle of worldly honor, and acknowledged even
by Inspiration as “a king of kings” (
Ezekiel 26:7
). Nebuchadnezzar
nevertheless at times had ascribed to the favor of Jehovah the glory of
his kingdom and the splendor of his reign. Such had been the case after
his dream of the great image. His mind had been profoundly influenced
by this vision and by the thought that the Babylonian Empire, universal
though it was, was finally to fall, and other kingdoms were to bear sway,
until at last all earthly powers were to be superseded by a kingdom set
up by the God of heaven, which kingdom was never to be destroyed.
Nebuchadnezzar’s noble conception of God’s purpose concerning
the nations was lost sight of later in his experience; yet when his
proud spirit was humbled before the multitude on the plain of Dura, he
once more had acknowledged that God’s kingdom is “an everlasting
kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation.” An
idolater by birth and training, and at the head of an idolatrous people,
[515]
he had nevertheless an innate sense of justice and right, and God was
able to use him as an instrument for the punishment of the rebellious
and for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. “The terrible of the
nations” (
Ezekiel 28:7
), it was given Nebuchadnezzar, after years of
patient and wearing labor, to conquer Tyre; Egypt also fell a prey
to his victorious armies; and as he added nation after nation to the
Babylonian realm, he added more and more to his fame as the greatest
ruler of the age.
It is not surprising that the successful monarch, so ambitious and
so proud-spirited, should be tempted to turn aside from the path of
humility, which alone leads to true greatness. In the intervals between
his wars of conquest he gave much thought to the strengthening and
beautifying of his capital, until at length the city of Babylon became
the chief glory of his kingdom, “the golden city,” “the praise of the
whole earth.” His passion as a builder, and his signal success in making
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