Walk Humbly with Your God
by: Dr Laurence Turner
MICAH 6. 8
A nervous theology student stands outside the Pastoral Resource Centre at Newbold College.
A nervous theology student stands outside the Pastoral Resource Centre at Newbold College.
He raises his hand to knock on the door, then has second thoughts. For he knows what awaits him inside. Just a few days before he’d preached his heart out, in the Homiletics class, to a room full of his class mates. And to a video camera. And now, on the other side of that door, judgement will be passed. For beyond that door is a monitor. And a video player.
And me. Even the most self-confident knocks timidly at the door. Once seated in front of the monitor, I run the tape for a few minutes, and invite the student’s self-assessment. Some have gripped the arms of their chair as if they are being executed. One held his head in his hands. One actually asked – ‘Is that me?’ Another asked, ‘Do I have to watch it?’ Such occasions produce almost universal humility.
But one day a young student, full of the joy of the Lord, sat down to engage in self- assessment. He sat there, experiencing his own sermon on the monitor, nodding his head. He responded with several ‘Amens’ to his own preaching. He was clearly blessed. Then I asked: ‘So how would you assess that?’ He turned to me, beaming, and said, ‘Excellent! Absolutely excellent!’
So, from one intemperate self-assessment to another. King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon is once again at his favourite spot. On the roof garden of his sumptuous palace, just beside the phenomenal Hanging Gardens of Babylon. And as he stands there his eye scans the horizon. The double outer wall of the city runs for 27 kms around his capital. From the palace his eye wanders down the sacred processional way, 1 km long, its walls covered in high-glaze reflective blue tiles, decorated with 575 mythological beasts. And then on to the great citadel of Esagila, the temple of the high god Marduk, the ziggurat of Etemenanki, rising 90 metres into the air. A bridge 130 metres long spanning the Euphrates. Not to mention another three palaces and fifty-three temples. ‘Just look at it!’, he said. ‘Excellent! Absolutely excellent!’ Or, as the Bible quotes him: DAN 4:30.
And surely, you might think, it’s difficult to make any connection between that and ministry in the Adventist church. But the stories in the early chapters of Daniel present the significance of spirituality for leaders who are used by God. In other words, stories significant for pastors. And here we encounter a story of more than passing interest to pastors.
This story brings us to the climax of the struggle between King Nebuchadnezzar and God himself. And the battle between pride and humility. This has been the focus of the book so far. On the one hand the human obsession with size, power, influence and pride. And on the other hand, true humility in the presence of God.
So, a summary of the story so far: Episode 1: Nebuchadnezzar takes Jerusalem. Or, rather the Lord gives Jerusalem into his hand, as Daniel puts it. But Nebuchadnezzar can’t see it. Because at this stage he hasn’t met the Lord. Rather, he believes it is his power, his effort, which have brought him success. He’s filled with the pride of self-achievement.
Episode 2: Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a huge awe-inspiring, frightening metal idol. Sitting atop this idol, looking at all who bow before it, is a head of gold. The gold of Babylon. The beauty of the Chaldees excellency. But then the whole idol of human achievement is smashed to smithereens by a small stone. The stone of the kingdom of God. But at this stage, Nebuchadnezzar has only heard of the Lord. Nothing more. And the crushing of the idol of human pride means little to him.
Episode 3: Nebuchadnezzar’s resistance to humility continues. So he builds an idol 2
made entirely of gold. Now, this idol is monstrous. At 60 cubits (30 metres) second only to the legendary Colossus of Rhodes, one of the wonders of the ancient world, which stood 70 cubits high. Its size matches Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. But as he peers into the furnace, and sees the three friends walking in the flames, with another figure who looks like a son of the gods, the truth begins to dawn on him. But nothing more.
Which brings us to episode 4: Where God deals his final hand. Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a tree. A tree which represents Nebuchadnezzar himself. Its size matches Nebuchadnezzar’s ego. The tree is enormous – its top reached to heaven, visible to the ends of the earth. Which explains Nebuchadnezzar’s pride. ‘Is not this great Babylon?’ In previous episodes, Nebuchadnezzar, as he besieged Jerusalem, was ignorant of God; then heard of God, when Daniel interpreted his dream of the metal idol; then saw the workings of God, when the three friends walked alive in the flames. But here, in episode 4, he experiences God. And what is it that brings him to experience God? Humility.
Which is a sobering thought for us, as pastors. Being a pastor, we can lurch between two extremes. On the one hand, self-congratulation and pride. The Nebuchadnezzar syndrome. Are not these my baptismal candidates; my congregation; that I have built up and nurtured? Is not this my church? But on the other hand, depression – we’re just not achieving what the church expects of us. Few baptisms; rare Bible studies; doubts about our calling; awkward members; demanding conference presidents. The antidote for both extremes, of pride and depression, is humility. The humility of Nebuchadnezzar and his tree.
So let’s look a little more closely at that tree. The tree represents Nebuchadnezzar, great suzerain of the empire of Babylon. And the first thing to hit you about this tree is its size. DAN 4:10b-11. It is huge. Just like that massive metal idol, representing human super- powers, back in ch. 2. But remember, how the humble rock of the kingdom of God smashed the towering kingdoms of this world. For in the kingdom of God, size is not important. Which might be what Jesus had in mind. MATT 13:31-32. Note that Jesus calls the mustard plant a ‘tree’. Now, that is an exaggeration. It isn’t a tree. But he calls it a tree because his eye is on the Old Testament. And particularly, perhaps, on Daniel 4 and other places where trees represent kingdoms. In Nebuchadnezzar’s dream the kingdom of Babylon is like a great tree with its top in the heavens, and birds in its branches. In Ezekiel, the Kingdom of Assyria is like a huge cedar of Lebanon, with birds in its branches. And Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a mustard tree with birds in its branches. But the kingdom of God’s mustard tree is pretty insignificant next to Nebuchadnezzar’s tree that could be seen from the ends of the earth. Just as the humble stone of the kingdom of God was dwarfed by the huge metal idol. That’s the surprising thing about the kingdom of God. It will arrive in a surprising form; not as a mighty tree but as a humble garden plant. For the kingdom of God is no crushing human empire, built on might and power, but rather, a humble venture of faith.
Many of us are pastors of small churches, in small conferences, in small unions, and if serving in the TED, in the smallest division of the world church. So, we might be tempted to say, ‘Listen. I know all about humility!’ The first congregation in my ministry numbered three. Three old ladies. One to play the piano. One to take up the offering. And one to sleep through my sermons. I’d just arrived with a spanking new MDiv, and I thought I was learning humility. But the story of Nebuchadnezzar is more profound, more significant, than that.
Let’s look again at Nebuchadnezzar’s tree. The tree in his dream was ‘great and strong’. That’s what Nebuchadnezzar said ‘Is not this great Babylon ...’ He took in the full glory and power of his kingdom, in a moment of time. As someone else did, of course. As he too stood on a high place, and saw all the kingdoms of the world, in a moment of time. As he surveyed the imperial glories of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, China, the Aztecs, the Zulus, France, Britain and USA. And was tempted to accept the principles of the kingdoms of this world. ‘Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, “I will give you all this power and their splendour, for it has been handed over to me, for me to give it to anyone I choose. Do homage, then, to me, and it shall all be yours”’. (Luke 4:5-7. NJB). Jesus answered, LUKE 4:8. Christ’s answer showed that his gospel is based not on human ambition or pride, but on humble faith in God.
Which is of course, what Nebuchadnezzar finally learns. He learns it when his pride is humbled. This experience of Nebuchadnezzar’s sets the pattern for the rest of the Book of Daniel. Great cities fall; huge idols are destroyed; awesome beasts are slaughtered; boasting horns plucked up. And massive trees chopped down. And they all get their come-uppance. Because they never learn the lesson that Nebuchadnezzar finally did. Humility. That the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of this world. DAN 4:25b.
But what is the point? What is the point of humility? What is the point of humility for Nebuchadnezzar? For us as pastors? The point of humility is not, I think, simply to acknowledge God’s eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, and to be overwhelmed by how great he is. We might do that, of course. But I think the point of humility is more significant than that. Because one of the most prominent attributes of God, and one of the most forgotten, is God’s humility. God is a humble God. And when we exercise humility, we experience something of God. When we exercise humility, we come close to the heart of God.
Of course, the Bible does present the majesty of God. Isaiah sees the Lord, seated on a throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. But such passages merely make the humility of God all the more breathtaking. ISA 53:2b-3.
In his words, the Son of God underlined humility. MATT 20:26b-27
And by his actions, exemplified humility. JOHN 13:3 (the majesty). John 13:4-5 (the humility).
Which was finally the lesson learned by Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar II. Great suzerain of the neo-Babylonian empire, learned humility by taking on the form of a cow. But Christ ‘though he was in the form of God ... emptied himself, taking the form of a slave’ (Phil 2:6–7). When Nebuchadnezzar experienced humility, he came close to the heart of God.
And this gospel of humility needs pastors of humility. Because when pastors experience humility, we too come close to the heart of God.
Some years ago I attended a small church on the east coast of the USA. About 50 members. In our Sabbath School class we often had a visitor. An older fellow. He wasn’t a church member, but he knew the Lord. Softly spoken. Unassuming. Would contribute quietly and thoughtfully to the Sabbath School discussion. John was his name. We normally just talked about spiritual matters in class. But after church one day, we got talking. The Olympics were on at the time. I asked him if he’d seen any ot it. ‘Oh, a little, you know’. ‘Do you enjoy athletics, John?’ ‘Oh. Yes. Did a bit myself when I was younger.’ ‘Really? Did you ever run competitively?’ ‘Oh, a bit.’ ‘So, what was your best achievement?’ ‘Well, I suppose,’ he said, ‘when I won the gold medal at the Olympics.’ John. John Woodruff. 1936 Olympics. Berlin. 800 metres final. In a time of 1 minute 52.9 secs. John Woodruff: Sabbath School member; and Olympic champion. And if I hadn’t asked an ignorant question, I would never have known.
As I mentioned at the outset, I teach some homiletics. I’m frequently asked, ‘What is the most important quality you need to become a good preacher?’ I never knew what to say. There are so many qualities needed. But the most important? But recently, I realised what it is. Humility. Humility to take preaching seriously. Humility to accept the authority of Scripture. Humility to accept that the Holy Spirit works more through the sweat of study and preparation than he does in the shower on Sabbath morning. Humility to accept that what our congregations need is not our cleverness, our trivial anecdotes, our threadbare cliches, but the fruit of our wrestling with Scripture and the fruit of our spiritual experience.
There is more to ministry than preaching. But by whatever means, as pastors, when we proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, we proclaim the triumph of humility over pride and status. We need to pray for the triumph of humility in our own ministry.
That of course, is at the personal level. But what about the corporate level? What about the humility of the Church? What might her humility look like? When was the last time the Church asked for forgiveness? Asked herself whether she too might be up there, on the palace roof, swaggering around with Nebuchadnezzar. A play currently running in London’s West End, ‘The Last Confession’, explores those very questions in the Roman Catholic Church. The tension between those, on the one hand, who see the church corporate in terms of power, influence, size, making an impression, not rocking the boat. Where the greatest virtue is to be a conservative ‘safe pair of hands’. And those on the other hand, who see the Church corporate in terms of service, simplicity, courage and humility. As I watched the actors on stage, parading as popes, cardinals and archbishops, I wondered. Couldn’t we stage a play like this about the Adventist Church? We’re a task-oriented church. That’s a helpful thing to be. But its down-side is that it’s relatively easy to congratulate ourselves on achieving goals: baptisms; church buildings erected; beds in hospitals; students in colleges. To be seduced by statistics. But, is that what the Lord requires of us? Remember, Nebuchadnezzar learned more about God when he thought he was a cow, than when he stood proudly on his palace roof gazing at his achievements.
It took a dream of a tree to turn him around. A tree which gave him a vision of what the Lord required. Just like that other tree. The tree which stands at the heart of the gospel we proclaim. A tree which sums up meekness and majesty. Glory and humility. ‘When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the prince of glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.’ Maybe that’s why Micah put it the way he did. He has shown us. He has shown us what is good. And what does the Lord require of us. To do justly. To love mercy. And to walk humbly, walk humbly, with our God.
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(Sermon @ EUROPEAN PASTORS COUNCIL, DeBron, NL, 2007)
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