Nebuchadnezzar: A Character Study

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men in Babylon.

Daniel 2:12

What kind of man would kill you for telling the truth?

Nebuchadnezzar wanted his astrologers killed because they told him that only the gods could interpret his dream.  My word of wisdom for today is stability.  Choose people who are emotionally stable.  Stay away from people who go from sweetness to rage as quickly as you flick a light switch on and off.

In a previous post, I mentioned having contact with abuse survivors.  When dealing with abusive folks, I learned that there’s something called a “cycle of violence”.  A woman gets beaten by her husband, who then apologizes and buys her flowers and/or gifts.  After a brief “honeymoon” period, the mood changes again.  The wife & kids are soon tiptoeing around the house, afraid to make daddy angry.  One day, she gets beaten up again; often worse than before.  Then more flowers and apologies.  Unfortunately, some women stay until they get killed.  They believe the apologies, not realizing they’re involved with someone fundamentally unstable.  (If you’re in this situation, log onto www.safehorizon.org to get some help for yourself.)

Proverbs 22:24 tells us not to associate with one easily angered.  Sometimes, for me, the Proverbs are just words on a page.  Proverbs comes to life when I read about Nebuchadnezzar, because I get a chance to see what people who are easily angered really look like.  Daniel 3:19 reports that Nebuchadnezzar is so angry with Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego that he “ordered the furnace seven times hot”.  A few verses later (v. 28-30), the same king is praising their God, giving them a promotion – and ordering that anyone who says “anything against the God of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble .  . . “.  Seriously!?

Daddy, when your daughter is old enough to date, you might want to spend some devotional time reading through Daniel with her.

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The purpose of If I Knew Then What I Know Now is to share some insights that I wish someone had told me about when I was younger.  There’s a fuller explanation on my first post, written on May 14, 2012.