April 12, 2026

Ken Miller

Drinking the Kool-Aid of Self-Confidence

April 12, 2026

Ken Miller

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” – Romans 2:17-24 ESV

As a Jew, Paul had no qualms addressing the faults and failures of his Jewish brothers and sisters. As a former Pharisee, he a passionate student of the Hebrew Scriptures. On one occasion, having been arrested in Jerusalem and accused of speaking out against the Jewish people and the Temple, Paul addressed the crowd and said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today” (Acts 22:3 NLT).

In his letter to the believers in Philippi, Paul gave his bona fides as a card-carrying Hebrew by stating, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (Philippians 3:5-6 NLT).

So Paul knew what he was talking about when he addressed the attitudes and spiritual status of the Jewish people. Which is why he was able to say, “[you] rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law” (Romans 2:17-18 ESV).

The Jews had a certain degree of pride in their hearts when it came to their special designation as God's chosen people. But this pride led to an arrogance and boastful certainty that they were above the fray, free from judgment, and immune to God's wrath. But Paul has already warned them that, “according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:16 ESV)

Yes, they were God's chosen people. They enjoyed a unique relationship with Him, had been given His law, and had been provided with the sacrificial system. They could even brag about having the Temple, where God's presence dwelt. But Paul makes it clear that all of that was not enough.

They relied on God, boasted about their relationship with Him, knew His will as revealed in the law, and even taught others to obey it. They saw themselves as guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, instructors of the foolish, and teachers of children. But the problem was that they were hypocrites who failed to live up to their own standards. They demanded strict adherence to the law they themselves were incapable of keeping.

In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Isaiah 52:5 reads, “On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.” Over the centuries, the actions of the Jews revealed their blatant disregard for God and His law. They were guilty of rebellion and unfaithfulness to His will and ways. They boasted in the law, but dishonored God by regularly violating it. So, as Paul said, they were without excuse. Their extensive knowledge of God failed to produce obedience. Centuries earlier, God had accused the people of Israel of their blatant hypocrisy.

“These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.” – Isaiah 29:13 NLT

Even Jesus quoted this same passage when addressing the Pharisees of His day.

“So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” – Matthew 15:6-9 ESV

Knowledge can be a wonderful thing, and the knowledge of God can be life-transformative. Knowing God's Word can be beneficial to life, but there is a huge difference between knowing and doing. It was James who wrote, “But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:25 NLT).

Knowing the law of God is useless if you fail to keep it. Having an encyclopedic understanding of God is worthless if you choose to ignore His will. The Jews were putting their hope and trust in their pedigree and counting on their ethnic identity as Jews. But Paul wanted them to know that their knowledge of God and their awareness of His law only made them more responsible and culpable. Despite their pedigree as God’s chosen people, they stood before Him guilty of disobedience and spiritual infidelity. They were going to have to relinquish their reliance on their lineage and place their trust in Christ.

During his ministry, John the Baptist confronted the Jewish religious leaders who showed up at the Jordan River requesting that he baptize them, and His response was anything but tactful.

…when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.” – Matthew 3:7-9 ESV

Their confidence in their heritage had produced in them a false sense of superiority and a misguided confidence in their relationship with God. But just a few verses later, Paul dismantles their over-inflated sense of self-worth and spiritual superiority.

For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people. – Romans 2:28-29 NLT

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul followed up his impressive curriculum vitae with a stark assessment of his former confidence in his Hebrew heritage.

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” – Philippians 3:7-8 NLT

There is only one thing worth knowing, and that is Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is an awareness of our own sin and our desperate need for a Savior that really counts. Every other form of knowledge is useless and worthless.

Father, in a way, I can sometimes place far too much emphasis on who I am and what I have accomplished. I can look back on my life and see all that I have done for You and begin to think that I have somehow earned my right to be called Your Son. But when pride and self-confidence cloud my thinking, I lose sight of the fact that You adopted me into Your family. I was chosen by You, but not because I deserved it. You made me Your child, despite my sin and rebellion. You graciously gave me a seat at Your table and adorned me with righteousness, purely out of love, and not because of merit. Paul was trying to get his fellow Jews to see that their lineage and heritage meant nothing is they failed to obey God. Their on-again-off-again adherence to Your law was never going to earn Your favor or guarantee their future relationship with You. They were sinners in need of a Savior, but were having a difficult time acknowledging that fact. Enamored with their status as Your chosen people, they failed to understand that, having been set apart by You, their behavior was to set them apart from all the other nations. They were to live distinctively different lives. But confident in their status as Your treasured possession, they compromised their convictions and fell from grace. How easy it is to lose sight of our dependence upon You. Never let me drink the Kool-Aid of self-confidence and forget that “everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.22

October 18, 2024

Ken Miller

The Book of Daniel

Pride Comes Before the Fall

October 18, 2024

Ken Miller

The Book of Daniel

1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald proclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all the peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. – Daniel 3:1-7 ESV

It is impossible to know when the events of this chapter took place. The author’s inclusion of them immediately after the events of chapter two leaves the impression that they happened in quick succession. However, some biblical scholars believe Nebuchadnezzar’s construction of the golden image occurred years later. There is speculation that the statue was erected in the later part of 595 B.C. to celebrate a failed coup attempt. Others have suggested that the statue was erected in 585 B.C. to commemorate the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. But whatever the timing or the occasion, the golden image was intended to symbolize Babylonian supremacy over all the other nations of the earth. This image was a PR stunt designed to rally public opinion in the king’s favor and elevate his status as the king of all kings.

Whether Nebuchadnezzar ordered the image to be built immediately after hearing the interpretation of his dream or did so later in his reign, his motive seems clear. The term “image” is translated from the Aramaic word tselem and refers to an idolatrous figure. It is found nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible except chapter 3 of Daniel. The Hebrew equivalent is ṣelem, which is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to idols. The text does not provide a description of the image but the reader is led to believe that it was a physical representation of the “great image” (Daniel 2:31) Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream. Despite the disturbing nature of that dream and the less-than-optimistic meaning Daniel assigned to it, the king found ample inspiration to order the statue’s construction. His primary takeaway from the interpretation appears to have been Daniel’s opening words

“You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.” – Daniel 2:37-38 ESV

He enjoyed hearing himself described as “the king of kings.” Discovering that Daniel’s God had given him power, might, and glory, Nebuchadnezzar’s overactive ego became more inflated than ever. But he was not satisfied with being “the head of gold.” He wanted more. While the dream portrayed an image comprised of different metals mixed with clay, Nebuchadnezzar commissioned a statue made of pure gold. When completed, it towered over the plain of Dura standing at a staggering height of nearly 100 feet. It only seems logical to assume that this statue bore the image of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This wasn’t an idol meant to represent Marduk, the primary god of the Babylonians; it was a tribute to one man’s obsession with his own self-importance.

There is little doubt that Nebuchadnezzar suffered from an overinflated ego and an overactive sense of self-worth. In the very next chapter, he will have yet another dream that symbolizes his struggle with pride and arrogance. Despite repeated warnings from God about his unjustified sense of self-importance, Nebuchadnezzar will stand on the balcony of his palace and proclaim, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:30 ESV).

This man had every right to gloat over his own success because he ruled over the most powerful nation on earth. His might was unequalled and his kingdom was unmatched in size, wealth, and dominion. So, having erected this monument to his own success, he assembled all “the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials” (Daniel 3:2 NLT) for its dedication. These men were there in an official capacity to demonstrate their allegiance to the king and to serve as representatives of the people.

As the leaders of the nation gathered in the shadow of this massive statue, a herald declared the king’s edict.

“People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.” – Daniel 3:4-5 NLT

This image was not simply a monument to Nebuchadnezzar’s success and Babylonian supremacy, it was an idol to be worshiped. The king seems to have conveniently forgotten the statement he made when Daniel interpreted his dream.

“Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings.” – Daniel 2:47 ESV

The golden statue towering over the plain of Dura was not a monument to Yahweh’s glory and might; it was a blatant tribute to Nebuchadnezzar’s accomplishments. Whether the image was made in his own likeness is irrelevant because its very presence robbed Yahweh of glory. The king’s command that all his citizens bow down and worship the image he made was an affront to the God of the universe. The same God who had graciously interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream was being treated with contempt and displaced by an image made by human hands. Not only that, the worship Nebuchadnezzar demanded was coerced by the threat of death.

“Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.” – Daniel 3:6 NLT

As will become clear, the king expected all people, regardless of nationality or religious affiliation, to worship his statue. Due to Nebuchadnezzar’s recent conquests and his penchant for taking captives, the population of Babylon would have been a diverse mixture of disparate people groups with their own deities and religious expressions. But they were each expected to show their unadulterated allegiance to the king and his kingdom by bowing down to his statue. This included Daniel and his companions. Despite Nebuchadnezzar’s glowing tribute to their God and their unexpected promotions, they would not escape the king’s edict and its penalty.

Nebuchadnezzar was not outlawing the worship of other gods; he was simply demanding the unwavering allegiance of his subjects – upon penalty of death. Everyone was free to worship their own gods, but they were also required to demonstrate the primacy of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian state. Their allegiance was not optional. Their submission was not a matter of choice. It was a do-or-die proposition that left the people with little choice but to comply and, according to verse seven, “all the people…bowed to the ground and worshiped.”

Or did they? As the chapter unfolds, it will become clear that there were a few conscientious objectors. Not everyone was willing to obey the king’s edict and bow the knee to his statue. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will refuse to comply and, as a result, suffer the consequences of their civil disobedience. These three Hebrew friends will stand their ground, refusing to compromise their convictions and welcoming the opportunity to trust in the faithfulness of their God.