Daily Bread 3-17-17
Acts 12:21-24
21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
23 And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.
24 But the word of God grew and multiplied.
ref. - Ju 16 - These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
Dan 4:30-37 - The king spake, and said, is this the great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagle's feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
Dt 28:58,59 - If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of my seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
Isa 55:11 - So shall my word be that goeth forth out of thy mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Ac 6:7 - And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
This scripture is very long but it is necessary for us to read it all. It represents two stories that went different ways. Both men were overtaken in their own pride and began to take credit for things that belonged to God. Herod, allowed the people to call him a god and did not correct them or rebuke them, but rather accepted their praise when the praise belonged to God. He was eaten by worms and gave up the ghost. He died. Nebuchadnezzar was cast out and caused to live like a scavenger and separated from all that he was king over. But when Nebuchadnezzar began to worship God and give him the honor and glory his countenance and his kingdom was returned unto him. It was not only given to him but increased. Our problem today is that not many truly believe that any of this really happened. We do not see these stories as truth and therefore we do not feel any fear towards God in our souls. Sure, we say we have faith and we say that we fear God, but if that fear was in us, we would not step out on our own in the first place. But, truthfully, in Herods case and Nebuchadnezzar, they were once faithful but when they were given kingdoms and the rule over many they began to become too filled with pride. As we know, pride cometh before the fall, it happened to both of these great men. But only one recovered. The lesson that we must all take from this is that when we are caught up in a fault and we see things falling apart and our lives beginning to unravel, we must then give God the honor, and glory, and power all the more. We must realize that he is our only help and our only hope. Men could not help Herod or Nebuchadnezzar because men do not have that kind of power, but God, who is in all control, can change the direction in an instant. Now we see the direction or results of these stories happened completely opposite of the other. Herod perished, Nebuchadnezzar survived and flourished. Which will you be? Have a great day!!!