Glory Belongs to God Alone

There are different accounts within the scriptures of men who attempted to steal God's Glory. I'm going to focus on three. I'm not talking about the devil, I'm talking about men, human beings, earthly Kings. I'm going to cover these three as briefly as possible since some of the accounts are very long. (I encourage anyone who reads this to read the full biblical accounts.)

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** 1) Nebuchadnezzar**
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King Nebuchadnezzar had an idol made, 90 Feet tall in his kingdom, (Babylon.) He then sent for the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, and counselors, the sheriffs, and all of the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the idol that he had made.

Then it was commanded that all of the Providence under Nebuchadnezzar (his kingdom,) should "fall," down to worship this idol. Anyone who refused to do so would be cast into a fiery furnace.

The Chaldeans came to Nebuchadnezzar and accused Shadrach “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego," by telling the King that they refused to bow before the Idol and the three men were cast into the furnace, but something happened that Nebuchadnezzar didn't expect. The men were not touched by the fire or the heat, and looking into the oven, there was a fourth man standing in the fire with them. Nebuchadnezzar said, "the fourth is like the Son of God."

Daniel 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

Before this incident, the king didn't believe that their God could save the three men, but afterward he said, " Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God." Dan Ch 3.

Daniel 3:29 Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

This event affected King Nebuchadnezzar so much, that the very next chapter in Daniel, (4) Nebuchadnezzar was glorifying God.

Nebuchadnezzar was again lifted up in his heart: The king spake, and 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? Daniel 4:30

The minute he spoke those words, he heard a voice from heaven that said: "Thy kingdom is departed from thee."

Daniel 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to 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.

God raises up kings and he brings them low. Sometimes it is for the benefit of the people, and sometimes it is not.

In this case, Nebuchadnezzar, who was lifted up in his own heart, was driven from his kingdom like a wild beast.

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** 2) The Ruler of Tyre**
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God told Ezekiel to say to the King of Tyre. (I'm going to post the account of what was said here directly from the Bible because God's word says it much better than I can.

Ezekiel 28:2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
Ezekiel 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
Ezekiel 28:4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
Ezekiel 28:5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
Ezekiel 28:6 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
Ezekiel 28:7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Ezekiel 28:8 They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.
Ezekiel 28:9 Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee.

God told Ezekiel to tell the prince of Tyre that his heart is lifted up in him, and he is a man and not a god.

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3) King Herod
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This is a very interesting account because Jesus spoke much about leaven. In regards to King Herod, Jesus said to beware of the leaven of Herod.

Acts 12:20 And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country.

(Very interesting that the people of Tyre were there, the people of the land of the very prince that God told Ezekiel to address.)

Acts 12:21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
Acts 12:22 And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.

Herod was lifted up in his heart.

The outcome:

Acts 12:23 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.

Men did not fare well in the scriptural accounts where anyone attempted to steal God's glory, and when they were lifted up in their own hearts.

Sorry, my posts are very long. I enjoy studying, and I enjoy sharing those studies. Everyone says, "do what you love."
This is it.