等你知道至高者在人的國中掌權（但4章）

你必被趕出離開世人，與野地的獸同居，喫草如牛，且要經過七期。等你知道至高者在人的國中掌權，要將國賜與誰，就賜與誰。（但 4：32）

要判斷這個人、神是否仍然與他同在的簡單方法，就是從他是否謙卑來做判斷。真實的謙卑，神就持續與他同在；若是驕傲自大，總是利用各種機會在各種場合大放厥詞，已被神棄絕。因為主說：

「我心裏柔和謙卑，你們當負我的軛，學我的樣式，這樣，你們心裏就必得享安息。」（太 11：29）

主的心，祂自己將自己昭示出來，就是「柔和謙卑」。不但如此，祂也要凡願意成為祂門徒的人，一起「負我的軛，學我的樣式」，也就是要去學祂、仿效祂，學祂的柔和謙卑、學祂的完全順服。經上也說：

你們年幼的，也要順服年長的。就是你們眾人，也都要以謙卑束腰，彼此順服。因為神阻擋驕傲的人、賜恩給謙卑的人。（彼前 5：5）

人一旦驕傲，神就必處處阻擋他，使他諸事不順，這樣的人，神怎麼還可能繼續與他同在？他怎麼還可能是神的工人？

時間回到兩千六百年前，當但以理的時代，尼布甲尼撒王因為一時驕傲，馬上被神刑罰，失去了神智，進入精神失常的瘋狂狀況。我們知道，驕傲的人，總希望人人敬重他、吹捧他，所以他要說一些話、做一些動作讓人來誇獎他，說他很棒。但是神教導尼布甲尼撒王的方法，就是使尼布甲尼撒王發瘋，期間必然醜態百出、極盡羞恥。之後，當他有一天恢復了神智，並恢復往日的聰明與智慧時，一旦知道發瘋期間所做的的一切事，必然覺得極度羞恥。

值得思考的，是為何神要如此管教一位外邦王？因為他也是神的工人，雖不敬拜神，卻為神所用。可見，當神的工人因各種原因驕傲，立刻被神刑罰管教時，是因為神還愛他。若神的工人驕傲自大，卻平安無事，那可能已經被神所棄絕。雖有神工人的職分，但已經不是神的工人。

所以在每次信徒代表會、或是在教會裡的信徒會議，甚至是職務會等等各種會議中，當我看見有人極其驕傲，自以為是，還強迫大家要接受他的意見，甚至當大家表決後並不是照他的意見時，他還情緒勒索一番說：「隨便你們啦，你們高興就好。」這時，我似乎已聽見神清楚地吿訴我說：「不要理他，他不是我的工人了，因為驕傲，我將要阻擋他一切想要做的事，使他事與願違。」

屬神的人願意謙卑，是因為他知道是神在掌權，所以該做的是，就是聽神的，聽就對了。即使環境不是照著所期待的方向前進，這時也能以柔和謙卑的心，接受神掌權的結果。至於驕傲的人，神若愛他，會給他挫折、阻礙，直等到他知道神在人的國中掌權為止。若學不會，就只能等著被神所棄絕。

現在我尼布甲尼撒讚美尊崇恭敬天上的王，因為他所作的全都誠實，他所行的也都公平。那行動驕傲的，他能降為卑。（但 4：37）

By Isaiah Kao

Wait Until You Recognize That the Most High Is Ruler over the Realm of Mankind (Dan. 4)

October 14, 2026

You will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the animals of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whomever He wishes. (Daniel 4:32, NASB 2020)

A simple way to determine whether God is still with a person is to observe whether that person is humble. If a person is truly humble, God will continue to be with him. But if he is arrogant and proud, constantly taking every opportunity to show off and boast in various settings, he has already been rejected by God. For the Lord says:

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.” (Matthew 11:29, NASB 2020)

The Lord reveals His own heart as “gentle and humble. Moreover, He calls everyone who is willing to become His disciple to “take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” In other words, we must learn from Him and imitate Him by learning His gentleness and humility, as well as His complete obedience.The Bible also says:

You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT HE GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE. (1 Peter 5:5, NASB 2020)

Once a person becomes proud, God will oppose him in every way, causing things to go wrong for him. How, then, could God continue to be with such a person? How could he still be a worker of God?

Let us go back 2,600 years to the time of Daniel. Because King Nebuchadnezzar became proud, God immediately disciplined him. He lost his sanity and fell into a state of madness. We know that proud people want everyone to respect and praise them. Therefore, they say and do things to win people's compliments and make others think highly of them. But God's way of teaching King Nebuchadnezzar was to make him lose his mind. During that period, he must have behaved in extremely shameful. Then, when his sanity was restored one day, along with his former intelligence and wisdom, he would surely have felt deeply ashamed upon learning what he had done while he was mad.

One question worth considering is why God disciplined a foreign king in such a way? It was because he, too, was a worker used by God. Although he did not worship God, God still used him to accomplish His purposes. This shows that when God's workers become proud for various reasons and are immediately disciplined by God, it is because God still loves them. If God's workers become arrogant and proud yet remain undisturbed, they may already have been rejected by God. Although they still hold the position of God's workers, they are no longer truly His workers.

Therefore, during Delegates Conference, Congregational Conference, meetings concerning church affairs and other gatherings, I sometimes see people who are extremely arrogant and self-righteous, insisting that everyone accept their opinions. Even after the group votes and the decision does not go their way, they turn to emotional manipulation, saying, “Fine, do whatever you want. Just do as you please.” At such moments, it seems as though I can clearly hear God telling me, “Do not pay attention to him anymore. He is no longer My worker. Because of his pride, I will oppose everything he tries to do and cause things to turn out contrary to his wishes."

Those who belong to God are willing to humble themselves because they know that God is in control.Therefore, what they should do is listen to God. Simply obeying Him is the right thing to do. Even when circumstances do not develop as they had hoped, they can still humbly and gently accept the outcome, knowing that God is in control. As for the proud, if God still loves them, He will allow them to experience setbacks and obstacles until they recognize that God is ruler over the realm of mankind. If they fail to learn this lesson, they can only await God's rejection.

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. (Daniel 4:37, NASB 2020)

By Isaiah Kao