v.
30b: “…which I myself have built…”
o
Perhaps
an overstatement, in the sense that many other kings over the expanse of
centuries had served as builders of the city.
o
Nonetheless,
the city in its present form was the result of Nebuchadnezzar’s great building
project.
o
For
many years, the Bible stood as a minority witness testifying as to
Nebuchadnezzar’s enormous prowess as a builder. Once again, modern
archeological excavation has confirmed the accuracy of the Word! Modern liberal
critics who ascribe Daniel unto Maccabean times are once again thoroughly
dumbfounded by the mysterious advanced knowledge of their pseudonymous “Daniel”
of the 2nd century BC.
Robert H. Pfeiffer of Harvard University,
a leading representative of the liberal wing of Old Testament scholarship in
America a generation ago, frankly admitted: “We shall presumably never know how
our author learned that the new Babylon was the creation of Nebuchadnezzar, as
the excavations have proved.”—Whitcomb, Daniel, 4:30.
o
The
statement underscores Nebuchadnezzar’s insufferable pride, taking full credit
unto himself, excluding all means and instrumentality, and most shamefully, ascribing
absolutely nothing to God!
Ps. 127:1: Unless the LORD builds the house,
they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman
keeps awake in vain.
Ps. 10:4: The wicked, in the haughtiness of
his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "There is no
God."
v.
30c: “…as a royal residence by the might…”
o
He
speaks in terms of the entire city functioning as a kind of personal royal
palace for his own glory and usage.
o
Babylon
is literally designated as the great “House of the Kingdom” (KJV). But properly
it is Jerusalem, the future seat of Messiah’s Millennial Kingdom and the
place where God abides with His people, that is “the city of the Great King”
(cf., Ps. 48:2, Matt. 5:35)—not demonic Babylon! Once again, we see Nebuchadnezzar’s
inability to accept the message of Dan. 2:35, 44-45.
v.
30d: “…of my power…”
o The King usurps credit
that is due to God alone. Whatever attributes, strength, abilities, talents, or
wealth that we possess comes from the good hand of God. Note how Jeremiah
focuses upon the three things that men most boast in: wisdom, power, and
wealth:
Jer 9:23-24: Thus says the
LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast
in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts
boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who
practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these
things I delight, declares the LORD.”
The King forgets Daniel’s prior instruction in
this matter!
Dan. 2:37: "You, O
king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom,
the power, the strength and the glory…”
o Further, it is nothing
but the mighty hand of Christ that presently sustains the substance our very
being, moment-by-moment, upon the face of the earth (Col. 1:17, Heb. 1:3).
Col. 1:17: “And He is
before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
Heb. 1:3: “…and he upholds
the universe by the word of his power.”
o And it is only by God’s
continued grace and forbearance that sinful men are presently upheld from falling
headlong into the Lake of Fire. But only for a time! Jonathan Edwards, in
preaching “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” (1741) employed Deut. 32:35 as
his central text. While the immediate context applies unto unbelieving Israel,
Edwards saw a more universal application:
Deut. 32:35: “Vengeance is
Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their
calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.”
v.
30e: “…and for the glory of my majesty?”
o
Note
the ludicrous self-centeredness of it all; he nakedly states that he has
engaged in all these labors for his own glory and aggrandizement—as opposed to
the welfare of the city or its inhabitants!
o Archeology bears
witness to this attitude: most of the bricks found in the ruins of Babylon bear
the King’s name and inscription: “Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, supporter
of Esagila and Ezida, exalted first-born son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon.”
