The King Who Was Too Proud of Himself | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: The King Who Was Too Proud of Himself | Previous Challenge Entry
By Pam Novak
01/26/08
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Long ago, there was a mighty king named Nebuchadnezzar. That’s quite a long name, isn’t it? Surely he would have had a nickname, like “Buck” or Nezz” or something, but people only have nicknames when they have friends, and King Nebuchadnezzar was too proud to have any friends. So most people simply called him, “Your Majesty.”

King Nebuchadnezzar was the mightiest king in the whole world. He and his armies won every battle they fought, so he ended up with lots of treasure from the people he had conquered. He used much of that treasure to make his city, Babylon, the most beautiful and amazing city the world had ever seen. The palace was huge, and it shone like a diamond in the sun. The city was also very large and very prosperous. King Nebuchadnezzar designed some special “hanging gardens” for his wife, the queen, and people said these gardens were among the great wonders of the world. He was very proud of them. (We don’t know what his wife thought of them because it doesn’t seem that anyone asked her opinion.)

Only one man had enough courage to talk honestly with the king. His name was Daniel, and he had been taken captive years ago when Nebuchadnezzar’s army conquered the city of Jerusalem. Ever since Daniel was a young man, God had spoken to him through dreams and visions, and the king usually listened to Daniel because his predictions always came true. One day Daniel warned the king that he was too proud of himself, and that if he didn’t remember that God was the one who made him so mighty, God might just take all Nebuchadnezzar’s power away. The king thought about that and tried afterwards not to be so proud of himself.

But one fine morning, King Nebuchadnezzar was standing on a balcony high above Babylon. It was indeed a beautiful, prosperous city. He was so proud, he exclaimed, “Behold this great Babylon, which I have built!” In an instant, Daniel’s prediction came true: the king forgot he was a man at all. He thought he was an ox! He went out on all fours from the palace to a nearby field and started munching on grass. He couldn’t talk or understand what people said to him. For seven years, he lived like an ox in the field, and his hair grew long and matted.

At the end of the seven years he looked up to heaven, and God had mercy on him. Suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar’s mind was restored to him! His people were happy. Babylon had remained safe and prosperous for those seven years, but they missed their mighty king. As Nebuchadnezzar returned to the palace, he knew he’d learned an important lesson. God, and God alone, had made him a great king. Without that, Nebuchadnezzar’s own strength and intelligence would have done him no good. And, to prove it, God had kept his kingdom safe and prosperous for seven years without him! What God gives, He can take away, but He can also return it. King Nebuchadnezzar finally realized that he wasn’t the mightiest king after all. Before, that would have made him angry, but instead he was very thankful that God cared so much for him in spite of everything he had done wrong. Nebuchadnezzar also knew he’d better listen to Daniel’s warnings from now on, so he’d never become too proud of himself again.

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