“It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:2-3
Nebuchadnezzar begins his testimony which will take all of chapter 4. Before he gets into the specifics of how God touched the heart of a proud arrogant king, he first introduces and exalts the living and true God. This is a great example of that first love a new believer has for God after He saved him. It isthe first love we are reminded to never leave in Revelation 2.
It has seemed good to me Nebuchadnezzar is saying before I share
with you how God found me I thought it would be good or pleasing (to God) to introduce you to the one true God who saved me .
To show the signs and wonders Nebuchadnezzar tells the people that he wants them to know what God has done. (The words signs and wonders are always used in conjunction with God.) This is significant. First, it reminds us that salvation is always a miracle. What happened to the king is from God and is a miracle performed in heaven. (Is it any wonder the angels rejoice when a soul is saved?) Second, Nebuchadnezzar tells us what has happened to him is no accident. God is sovereign and in control. Perhaps he looked back over the years and saw how God called to him so often and how He never quit striving with him when his proud arrogant heart resisted God’s call.
That the Most High God has done for me We see Nebuchadnezzar’s humility. First he exalts God with the title he uses. The phrase the Most High God is used repeatedly in this chapter as King Nebuchadnezzar now directs others to the one he knows is the only true and living God. The phrase “has done for me” is the
seed out of which praise and thankfulness grow. It is the natural result of true salvation.
How great are his signs The king marvels at what has happened to him. The word great means dominant or overwhelming. It is used later in Daniel to describe the great beasts that came out of the sea and the boastful words of the Antichrist. The word signs is only used once and is linked to the works of God. What others speak about and pretend to be, God alone is and is able to do.
How mighty his wonders! Again Nebuchadnezzar repeats what he just says. This is no accident. He cannot get over what God had done for him. He is beginning to understand God’s sovereignty, and that leads him to praise the greatness of God. He see God’s hand in his life and he simply cannot get over God’s goodness and mercy..
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom We see another indication of the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar’s heart. He no longer boasts of his greatness, his kingdom, his power. He shows us the truth of the verse, “God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ”. Remember Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar he was the head of gold but his kingdom would not last. With this declaration Nebuchadnezzar proclaims that God is infinitely greater than he is and God’s kingdom is above every earthly kingdom – it alone is eternal.
And his dominion endures from generation to generation The word dominion refers to sovereignty or rule. God’s rule will last age upon age, without end. Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:21, “Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end”. This can also be translated, “To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
forever and ever”. Nebuchadnezzar exalts God for what He does that no earthly king, even the head of gold, can do.
What can we learn? In Daniel 4:1-3 we see the heart of a man humbled from his great pride. He has met the living and trueGod face to face. In the rest of this chapter Nebuchadnezzar will describe how God broke through his pride and humbled him to bring him to saving faith – the most important thing that ever happened to him. Just as Nebuchadnezzar said, “It seemed good to me” so should it be good for us to share what God has done in our lives.