Daniel 4:35 “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?” “Reputed” is an Old English way of saying “considered” or “reckoned.” Nebuchadnezzar’s point it this. “Man thinks he is quite something. But, in comparison to His Sovereign Creator, he might as well be nothing.”
1. All of humanity, in comparison to God, can be reckoned as nothing.
2. God does according to His own will in the army of Heaven.
3. God also does according to His own will among the earth-dwellers.
4. No one can stop God’s hand.
Nebuchadnezzar, one of the greatest kings of the Empire of Babylon, discovered the One True, Living God. And he learned that God is a sovereign God Who is in charge of all the armies in both the spiritual as well as the physical realm.
So,when it comes to war, no one has the right or the privilege to stand in judgment of his Creator. He is The Invisible, Sovereign, Eternal God. When it comes to these large ethical dilemmas in life, please calm your soul with the truth of Who and what God really is. Don’t give yourself the luxury of creating a god in your own image. He is LORD and He is Sovereign. He is our Creator and Sustainer. We live in His world. And all of history is HIS STORY.
Now, go with me to II Samuel 5:6. Let me clarify a term here in this passage; verse six. II Samuel 5:6 “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.” In essence, the Jebusites were taunting David and his army by saying that even the blind and lame, the weakest of the Jebusites, could hold the city against the Jews. But, when David and his army attacked the city, David conquered it. Here’s verse seven. (7) “Nevertheless David took the strong hold [fortress] of Zion: the same is the city of David.”
Then we read this in verse eight. (8) “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”
It wasn’t that David hated everybody who was blind or lame. Instead, here’s what this means. David’s army ascended the hill leading into Jerusalem. And the Jebusites had been so effective in fending off all attackers over many, many years. They proceeded to mock the Jews as they advanced on the city by saying they couldn’t even defeat the weakest among them. Yet, once David and the Israeli army took Jerusalem, he, in essence, decreed that none of the Jebusites could live in Jerusalem anymore.
You see, when David speaks about the attack, he refers to the Jebusite army in the same language they had used when they were mocking his soldiers. He says “”Whoever gets up to the waterway (gutter) and defeats the Jebusites, he’ll be my new General.” So, it was said that “the blind and the lame,” referring to “the Jebusites,” would never be allowed in David’s house, Jerusalem, again.
David and the Israeli army proceed with the attack and take control of the city. Here’s what we read in verse nine. (9) “So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.” Millo, by the way, was one of the stone structures that served as a lookout post and was used to protect the city from intruders coming up the hill to the city. Then the Bible says that David made great strides militarily by the blessing of the LORD. (10) “And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.”
One of the greatest needs today is for a child of God to know he can depend upon the blessing and power of the LORD. We all want to know that the LORD is with us. We all want to know Him better and to walk with Him.
But how does that work? How do we learn to live in the power of the LORD?
1. All of humanity, in comparison to God, can be reckoned as nothing.
2. God does according to His own will in the army of Heaven.
3. God also does according to His own will among the earth-dwellers.
4. No one can stop God’s hand.
Nebuchadnezzar, one of the greatest kings of the Empire of Babylon, discovered the One True, Living God. And he learned that God is a sovereign God Who is in charge of all the armies in both the spiritual as well as the physical realm.
So,when it comes to war, no one has the right or the privilege to stand in judgment of his Creator. He is The Invisible, Sovereign, Eternal God. When it comes to these large ethical dilemmas in life, please calm your soul with the truth of Who and what God really is. Don’t give yourself the luxury of creating a god in your own image. He is LORD and He is Sovereign. He is our Creator and Sustainer. We live in His world. And all of history is HIS STORY.
Now, go with me to II Samuel 5:6. Let me clarify a term here in this passage; verse six. II Samuel 5:6 “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem unto the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land: which spake unto David, saying, Except thou take away the blind and the lame, thou shalt not come in hither: thinking, David cannot come in hither.” In essence, the Jebusites were taunting David and his army by saying that even the blind and lame, the weakest of the Jebusites, could hold the city against the Jews. But, when David and his army attacked the city, David conquered it. Here’s verse seven. (7) “Nevertheless David took the strong hold [fortress] of Zion: the same is the city of David.”
Then we read this in verse eight. (8) “And David said on that day, Whosoever getteth up to the gutter, and smiteth the Jebusites, and the lame and the blind, that are hated of David's soul, he shall be chief and captain. Wherefore they said, The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.”
It wasn’t that David hated everybody who was blind or lame. Instead, here’s what this means. David’s army ascended the hill leading into Jerusalem. And the Jebusites had been so effective in fending off all attackers over many, many years. They proceeded to mock the Jews as they advanced on the city by saying they couldn’t even defeat the weakest among them. Yet, once David and the Israeli army took Jerusalem, he, in essence, decreed that none of the Jebusites could live in Jerusalem anymore.
You see, when David speaks about the attack, he refers to the Jebusite army in the same language they had used when they were mocking his soldiers. He says “”Whoever gets up to the waterway (gutter) and defeats the Jebusites, he’ll be my new General.” So, it was said that “the blind and the lame,” referring to “the Jebusites,” would never be allowed in David’s house, Jerusalem, again.
David and the Israeli army proceed with the attack and take control of the city. Here’s what we read in verse nine. (9) “So David dwelt in the fort, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward.” Millo, by the way, was one of the stone structures that served as a lookout post and was used to protect the city from intruders coming up the hill to the city. Then the Bible says that David made great strides militarily by the blessing of the LORD. (10) “And David went on, and grew great, and the LORD God of hosts was with him.”
One of the greatest needs today is for a child of God to know he can depend upon the blessing and power of the LORD. We all want to know that the LORD is with us. We all want to know Him better and to walk with Him.
But how does that work? How do we learn to live in the power of the LORD?
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