Nebuchadnezzar's wages.
Nebuchadnezzar was used as God's servant in the work of destroying Tyre. But he got little profit out of that expedition. Therefore he was to receive his wages in the possession of the fertile and wealthy land of Egypt. This curious rendering of history in the light of Hebrew prophecy and poetry is suggestive.
I. THE GREATEST KING IS BUT GOD'S HIRELING. Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as a common laborer whose wages must be provided for. The pomp and ceremony of royalty are nothing in the sight of Heaven. Religion, like death, is a great leveler.
II. GOD MAKES USE OF SELF-SEEKING MEN. Nebuchadnezzar was called upon to work out Divine decrees. But it was not pretended that he did this of set purpose or with any disinterested motives. His aims and ends were selfish, his views and ideas dark and heathenish. Yet he was a useful instrument of Providence. Thus the greatest selfishness may be converted into a means of doing God's will.
III. GOD IS A JUST MASTER WHO PAYS GOOD WAGES. NO man shall lose by entering his service. At first there may be no advantage, and the service is found to be disappointing. Tyre does not pay. Then Egypt must be thrown in. The beginning of the service seems to be unprofitable; the end of it will certainly be amply rewarded. The laborer is not paid hour by hour. He must wait for his wages. God's laborers often seem to be kept long waiting. But they will surely see their payday, and then receive their dues with interest.
IV. HE DEGRADES HIMSELF WHO SERVES FOR NOTHING BETTER THAN WAGES. The servant needs, earns, and has a right to expect and enjoy, his wages. But he has a gross and selfish mind if he has no other interest in his work than the prospect of making a living out of it. Every man's work should be valued by him on its own account as a contribution to the good of society. Especially is this true of spiritual work. In that there is a prospect of rewards for which even Christ looked forward (Hebrews 12:2). Therefore it is not wrong to expect rewards; every lawful stimulus that can be had is needed to encourage cur service. But he is no true Christian who only serves his Lord for the sake of what he can get. Nebuchadnezzar the heathen, not Paul the Christian, is his model.
V. THE HIGHEST SERVICE IS DISINTERESTED. Nebuchadnezzar, king as he was, had degraded himself to the level of a common hireling in the sight of Heaven by carrying out his great expeditions in a mean and mercenary spirit. But the lowliest Christians rise to the rank of "kings and priests" (Revelation 1:6) when they give the royal service that seeks for no selfishness. This condition does not contradict that previously mentioned, in which a reward is expected. All depends on its quality. It is the working for self-seeking ends that degrades Christian work. Christ's reward was unselfish—to "see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." The true Christian should learn to say
"And I will ask for no reward,
Except to serve thee still."