In Return of the Jedi, Luke tells Darth Vader that he accepts that Vader was once Anakin Skywalker, his father.
Vader angrily responds, “That name no longer has any meaning for me.”
But Luke tells him, “it is the name of your true self. You’ve only forgotten.”
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, lost sight of who he was in comparison to the LORD.
In Daniel 3:28, he saw the LORD save Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. A verse later, the king decreed, “Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”
Between the end of chapter three and the middle of chapter four, the king forgot who he was, compared himself to the LORD, and suffered for it. He had a second dream, which Daniel interpreted (Daniel 4:4-27), and it came to pass in verses 31-32 when a voice from Heaven told the king, “The kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. And you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.”
In Daniel 4:34, we see Nebuchadnezzar restored. Darth Vader was restored when he turned from his evil ways. He remembered who he indeed was, and the good that was still in him helped him to save Luke from the Emperor’s Force lightning.
While humanity cannot redeem themselves, they can be redeemed. Like Nebuchadnezzar, we must look up to God, praise Him, and repent (turn our minds around).
Romans 10:9-10 tells us, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
