God Is Ruler Over All
Do you believe that God is the ruler over all? If you do, then that belief ought to shape your life each day. This truth puts life in perspective as we live knowing that He has dominion over all. God rules because He is God. He is the Creator of everything and everything rightfully belongs to Him. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 104:24:
O LORD, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; the earth is full of Your possessions.
God is active in His creation as He moves all things according to His appointed will. Often, from our perspective, it appears that men are rising up and leading nations through their own wisdom, power, or wealth. Sometimes it seems as if the only reason they have risen to lead a nation is due to their violence in taking the position.
When we come to God’s Word we see that it is not the might of men but the might of God that has dominion over all. In His Word we see God displayed as the Sovereign King. David, the Psalmist, wrote in Psalm 103:19:
The LORD has established His throne in the heavens, and His sovereignty rules over all.
Let us look at the words of four men in the Scriptures that speak of the Lord and His sovereignty. These men are found in vastly differing circumstances.
King David is officially presenting all the items that he has amassed for the building of the House of the Lord. In the sight of the people of Israel, David prayed this prayer found in 1 Chronicles 29:10-12:
Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O LORD is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.
Is this our mindset? In the wealth of our possessions, do we see these as coming from the Lord and so belonging to Him as well?
What about a Jew living in exile? How would he understand the sovereignty of God, all the while having been removed from his land? Daniel is our example of such a man. In Daniel Chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream and Daniel was pressed into service as the interpreter of the dream. After Nebuchadnezzar revealed his dream, Daniel broke out in an exclamation of praise to the Lord. We read in Daniel 2:19-21:
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; Daniel said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.”
The climax of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is the God of heaven establishing His eternal kingdom on earth as recorded in Daniel 2:44.
Let us look at this non-Jew, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. After having a dream from the Lord and then the interpretation by Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar lived for seven years as an animal in the fields. When his reason returned to him, he said:
I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?” (Daniel 4:34-35).
The evaluation of God by Nebuchadnezzar impacted his life. He began to praise and honor the one who exiled him for seven years in the fields. He goes on to say in verse 4:37:
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride.
Our final perspective was found by King Darius of the Medes. The day following the night Daniel spent in the lion’s den, King Darius made this pronouncement:
I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and enduring forever, and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed, and His dominion will be forever. He delivers and rescues and performs signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, Who has also delivered Daniel from the power of the lions (Daniel 6:26-27).
The realization that God is the Ruler over all impacted King David, Daniel, King Nebuchadnezzar, and King Darius. This truth should motivate us to give Him all the praise and cause us to strive to please Him in every area of our lives.