“Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego” (Daniel 3:19).
Anger can cause people to make bad decisions, especially the elderly. One recent study found that older generations tend to fall victim to fraudulent purchases when they are angered by sales agents.
The study compared the reactions of two age groups: those who were 65 to 85 and those who were 30 to 40. Researchers concluded that those in the older age group were more likely to spend a large amount of money on misleading advertisements than their younger counterparts.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, appears to have had the tendency to get angry. After his first dream he began by threatening a violent death to the wise men who could not tell him the contents of the dream (Daniel 2:5). When the threat did not work, his rage increased and he decided to really have all the wise men destroyed (verse 12).
Although most of the wise men may have been a bad influence on the king, the decision would have led to the deaths of Daniel and his friends if God had not intervened. In addition, the families of the wise men would have suffered greatly if the rash decision had been carried out.
Yet Nebuchadnezzar did not learn from his first recorded outburst of anger. After discovering that Daniel’s three friends did not want to bow down to his golden image, the pattern began all over again. Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill the young men, and when that did not work, he actually attempted to kill them. Like the first threat, Nebuchadnezzar’s method of punishment was a painful one: death by fire.
Once again, God’s mercy prevented the king’s wrath from succeeding in the wicked task. Daniel’s three friends were rescued. Although Nebuchadnezzar may not have been over 65 years old, his anger was clearly an issue that would have caused an immense amount of pain without God’s transforming power.
Lord, please give me self-control, that I may retain peace in my relationships.
