A Tale of Two Kings

 “The Tale of Two Kings”

Text: Daniel 4  // Series: Counterfeit gods

Message @ JRCC – Sunday, Dec 19, 2010

Ladies and gentlemen, Kids @ the Ridge Christmas 2010 program.  Let’s give all of our classes a round of applause for their hard work.  I want to acknowledge all of the small group leaders who faithfully invest into the children’s lives week after week and I also want to say Thank You to Ruth Ellen, our Kids @ the Ridge director.  She and her team do an amazing job of pulling together all of the various elements that you have seen here this morning.  And it is no small task to pronounce Nebuchadnezzar or to sing and do actions at the same time while on stage with blinding lights and camera flashes going…  So thanks to all who participated this morning. 

Well, I’m not sure what your thoughts and expectations were when you came in this morning but you certainly didn’t experience what in some ways is a typical kids Christmas program with cutesy shepherds, kids with those tinsel halo thingy’s…  So you might rightly be wondering what in the world does the story of Herod and the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from Daniel chapter 4 have to with the story of Christmas?  And it’s a good question. 

This November and December, we’ve been going through a teaching series entitled Counterfeit gods, where we’ve been looking at various things in our lives that are good, but when turned into ultimate things, they become unhealthy and idolatrous.  And so as we are moving now ever closer to Christmas, we have one last one of those items that the kids named for us in these stories of our two kings, and that is the unhealthy place that control can come to occupy in our lives.  The title says that this is a story of two kings, but really it is a story of three kings – Herod, Nebuchadnezzar and the king of Kings, Jesus. 

And part of the story of Christmas is that things are not always as they appear.  I can remember growing up one Christmas, begging my parents for a Casio F-91W digital watch.  I was desperate.  And so as presents began to appear under the tree, I began to assess the size and shape of the boxes to figure out which one was my F-91W.  And there was a box that I thought to be about the right shape, but when I picked it up and shook it, it shook like a box of Lego.  So the big day came and I opened all of my presents and no Casio.  Finally, I came to my “Lego box” and begrudgingly opened it up.  And inside, nestled amongst random pieces of Lego which my parents had borrowed from my room to throw me off the scent, I found my F-91W digital watch!  I thought it was a box of Lego, but at Christmas, things are not always as they appear. 

And the same is true for the story of our 3 kings today.  If you were to rank these men in order of historical importance as measured by the sphere of control that they exercised, you undoubtedly rank Nebuchadnezzar at number 1.  In his day and time, he was the most powerful person in the ancient world.  He ruled over a kingdom that stretched from Turkey to North Africa to Iraq & Iran.  He controlled all of the major trade routes, all of the wealth of the Middle East and all of the people groups were under his control.  And yet his incredible pride, his selfish desire to be acknowledged as number 1 results in God giving him a powerful dream and a powerful wake-up call.  The kids read the story from Daniel chapter 4 where he is forced out of his palace and eats grass like a cow!  From hero to zero – he goes from being the most powerful person on the planet to ‘you are no longer ruler of this kingdom’.  He might have looked successful, powerful on the outside, but in his heart, he had issues that God called him to account for.  It’s a bit of a crazy story…  So that’s king #1.

King #2 is Herod.  Now, history records a little phrase after his name to distinguish him from the other Herod’s, because it was a really popular name.  So he wanted us to know him as Herod “the great”.  But really, if you stack him up against Nebby, he doesn’t even come close to having the sphere of control!  First of all, he is a puppet king – his authority isn’t even earned, it is derived from Rome.  And then there’s the aspect of his kingdom…  It’s big, but it really not that big.  In the scope of historical importance, Herod built some stuff, but nothing like Nebuchadnezzar.  But Herod, too, had control issues.  You heard the story of his interaction with the magi who came from the east – he hears them use the term ‘King of the Jews’ and he freaks out!  He is so insecure that his desire for control motivates him to deceive foreign dignitaries, to manipulate religious and civic leaders, and, in the end, results in him ordering a brutal atrocity.  Herod may think he’s a king with authority but can you imagine being threatened by a 22 month old baby?  Herod was.  So he’s king #2.

But as I mentioned earlier, that very baby lying in a manger is the third king in our story…  And this is what makes Herod’s response so pathetically comical.  If you were to have stood there that day in Bethlehem and you had been asked by Ipsos-Reid to complete a comparative analysis survey on kingship between Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and baby Jesus you too would rank them Nebby 1, Herod 2 and this thing number 3 at best.  I mean, if you were to look at any traditional, external measure of kingship – authority and power; duration and influence of reign; scope of projects completed; number of followers…  The ranking would always be be: Nebby #1, Herod #2, the baby #3.  I love the way Isaiah puts this when hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth he prophesies: ““There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.”    

There was nothing kingly about the baby in the manger.    That is, unless you change the focal length of the lens you are using to assess kingship with.  Some of you are photography and camera buffs and so of you are really hoping for a camera or new lens for Christmas. (Don’t ignore the boxes that seem to have Lego in them, I’m telling you!). One of the key considerations in good photography is asking the question what are you focused on?  I you get too closely zoomed in on an object, you miss other things in your field of vision.  And so one of the lessons For Reflection and Application that we can learn from the stories of these three kings is the question Zoom out: What if you changed the lens with which you look at your life?

–     Beyond the next 6 days;

Sometimes we get so focused on the 25^th day of Dec, that we miss the wonder and joy and peace of the days and weeks leading up to it.  Our focus is on the day instead of the season - or the people or the possibilities for generous living.  One of the specific things that Daniel says to Nebby is chapter 4 is that he has not been merciful to the poor.  One of the ways to break the hold of Christmas materialism on your life is generosity to those who cannot repay you.  One of the best ways to break the hold your need for control has on your life is to spend time with those who have no control.  Volunteer with UGM, Mercy House, as counselors, advocates…  Our youth are going to be helping with kettle campaign.  Look beyond Christmas day to the development of a spirit of generosity all year long.  Part of the call that the kids extended to us was to change our focus.  

–     Beyond the next 6 months;

Some of us are like Herod – we get so amped up and our lives and priorities get twisted so that anything that threatens our master plan has to be dealt with.  Like immediately and at all costs.  We are so consumed by running the playbook exactly as we envision it that any divine interruption is squashed.  We think we know which school is best for us or for our kids.  We think we know when is the right time to have kids and how many.  We think we know what job to take or pursue.  Because we have our airtight master plan.  But where is God in your planning?  What if, in the next 6 months, God totally interrupted you – would you even permit it?  If not, change your focus.   

–     Beyond the next 6 years…

Some of us have a pretty good long range plan.  We have aspirations about what kind of house we might live in, what kind of friends we might have, vacations we might take, care we might drive, pant size we might wear.  But what if you pulled the zoom waaaaaaay out…  Beyond even the next 6 years or even 66 years or even 666 years…  What would your life look like in the scope of eternity?  And that’s part of the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned:

For Nebuchadnezzar, it took 7 years of living in the fields as a wild animal for him to acknowledge that God is “the King of heaven, all His acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud” (Daniel 4:37)…

What might it take for you?

If you step back from the manger scene and reflect on your life from the vantage point of eternity, the infant born in Bethlehem some 2,000 years ago grows larger and larger and larger until he is rightly understood to be the king of heaven. God himself, come to earth in human form to do for us that which we could not do for ourselves – by the offering of his life, to deliver us from the control of twisted and short-sighted priorities and character deficiencies that so often consume us and to call us again to acknowledge Him as the King of all kings and the lord of all lords.

God elevated [Jesus] to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should       bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:9-11)

Our hope and prayer in presenting you with these stories and songs today is that you also would grow in your understanding of the implications of Christmas.  And in the words of Nebuchadnezzar, you too would come to see and to say “now I know that God is in control.  How great are His signs, how powerful are His wonders.  His kingdom will last forever.”  And friends, what a joy and privilege that you are invited to be a participant in it  

Let’s pray together as we sing a song of response in closing. 

Response Song: O Come Let Us Adore Him