Daily Manna, Year Two · Day 251 · September 8
Great Babylon
“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?”
King Nebuchadnezzar was walking in his palace when he said, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?"
Today's verse comes from the same king's mouth. By then "seven times" have passed over him in the fields, where he ate grass like the oxen, and now his understanding has come back to him: "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?" Most of this chapter is told in the king's own words, so he put his own name to the story of his madness and sent it out "unto all people, nations, and languages."
His last line is the one to carry with you: "those that walk in pride he is able to abase." He learned it in a field, but it was just as true in his palace. And the God who brought him low also gave him back his mind and his kingdom, so the proudest king on earth ended by praising "the King of heaven, all whose works are truth."
Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year one reading for day 251 is Rich in Mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5).