as I have been reading through the old testament for the last year or so, the name Nebuchadnezzar keeps coming up. I guess he could be classified as a villain of the old testament. after all, he worships a pagan god, he marches on jerusalem and takes all of the sacred gold objects out of the temple. Nebuchadnezzar was the king that sent israel into exile, he took the best of her sons and daughters, changed their names and made them learn his own language. not only that, nebuchadnezzar knows a thing or two about torture. when king zedekiah rebelled against him, Nebuchadnezzar had the king’s children and wife killed in front of him, and then had the king’s eyes gouged out- just so that it would be the last thing he ever saw. this is the same guy who makes sure that they put in a fiery furnace when they did a remodel. this is the same guy who built a giant gold statue of himself and made sure that everyone in his kingdom worshipped it every day- and if they didn't, they were killed on the spot.
this guy kind of reminds me of an ancient version of a recent dictator in Babylon. after all, that guy had statues of himself set up around the city, he lived in a beautiful palace, he wasn’t opposed to marching on another country, and that guy knew a thing or two about torture as well. with both of these leaders, to disagree with them could mean an instant death.
even with all of his faults, I get the sense that God loved Nebuchadnezzar and had a divine plan for his life. God made Nebuchadnezzar the king of the entire world at one point. three times in the book of jeremiah, God calls Nebuchadnezzar “my servant.” when God speaks of him marching on other nations, you almost get the sense that God is proud of how good nebuchadnezzar is at destroying nations. its clear from the book of jeremiah that when Nebuchadnezzar marched on jerusalem, he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do.
God loved nebuchanezzar and gave him a friend named daniel. Nebuchadnezzar renamed him belteshazzar, but daniel didn’t like that name, so Nebuchadnezzar apparently started calling him daniel again. Nebuchadnezzar had a dream where God showed him the future of world empires- and daniel was the only one who could interpret the dream. Nebuchadnezzar was so grateful that he turned his heart toward the Lord.
when shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walk out of the fiery furnace alive, he shouts out, “praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
again, how wild is it to hear the king of the world, and the ruler from the middle east speak like this?
God loved Nebuchadnezzar enough to discipline him when he was wrong. at the end of his life, Nebuchadnezzar had grown proud of his accomplishments and power. this is the same king who constructed the hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the seven wonders of the world. God gave him another dream- of a tree that would be cut down. nebuchadnezzar was the tree.
for seven years, he went insane and lived outside like an animal. in daniel 4, nebuchadnezzar says, “now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”there are still villains in these days-
and we know that God loves them, has a plan for their lives, disciplines them, and may even be using them for His purposes.
or do we?
so- is nebuchadnezzar in heaven?
I think so.
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