Sermon - Daniel 5:18-31 - Measured - Littleby Baptist Church - May 24, 2020
Daniel 5:18-31
King Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, has not
been making wise choices. He started out throwing a grand party for all of the
nobles in Babylon. One of the probable motivators was in defiance to the Medes
and Persians attacking the city. He believed that his city could not be
conquered and acted in arrogance.
Then we see him take it to the next level. He pulled the
holy vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the Holy Temple many years
prior and passed them around for the nobles to drink from. If that was not
enough, Belshazzar and the nobles used these holy vessels to worship gods made
from gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. He used the Holy Vessels from
the One and Only God of the Heavens to worship fake man made pagan gods.
Next thing Belshazzar knows is a hand appears out of nowhere
and writes on the wall. The king was filled with terror as he watched the hand
write something he could not understand. He summoned his wise men, and they were
clueless on what all of this meant. Human knowledge and wisdom got the prideful
king absolutely nothing, even offering the best reward he could did not help.
At the advice of the queen mother, the king appears to
reluctantly summon Daniel. While explaining the situation to Daniel, he pretty
much talked down to him the entire time. The king saw a foolish, weak,
insignificant, old, ex-slave who had no value. The king was judging Daniel
through worldly eyes. Through God working in us, through the Holy Spirit
guiding us, we can see the value in Daniel, his life, and the examples he has
given us. We see a man who took a stand and depended on God. We see a man of
prayer, a man of wisdom, and a man of faith.
Through the work of God’s Spirit, Daniel has been gifted
with the wisdom he has needed time and time again. As we faithfully follow our
God, that same Holy Spirit gifts us with what we need to carry out the task
before us.
Last week we ended with:
Daniel 5:17
“17 Then Daniel answered the king,
“You may keep your gifts and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will
read the inscription for the king and make the interpretation known to him.”
Regardless of what the king had said, or how he said it.
Daniel knew this was a message from God and he was the messenger. He was going
to faithfully serve his God and did not need or want the reward.
Daniel 5:18-19
“18 Your Majesty, the Most High God
gave sovereignty, greatness, glory, and majesty to your predecessor
Nebuchadnezzar. 19 Because of the greatness he gave him,
all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed
anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted
and humbled anyone he wanted.”
Daniel starts by giving Belshazzar a little history lesson,
letting him know that Nebuchadnezzar achieved his greatness through the Most
High God giving it to him. It had nothing to do with what Nebuchadnezzar
accomplished on his own, it had everything to do with ‘the greatness he gave
him.’ Without God’s intervention, Nebuchadnezzar would not have achieved all
that he had.
Daniel 5:20
“20 But when his heart was exalted
and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal throne and his
glory was taken from him.”
I wonder if Belshazzar is really listening at this point and
trying to understand what Daniel is saying, or is he half heartedly paying
attention and wondering when Daniel is going to get to the point. Daniel is
trying to get the king to open his eyes to the fact that he is following in
Nebuchadnezzar’s footsteps. Nebuchadnezzar became prideful, arrogant, and
hardened his heart. Belshazzar has been going down that same path.
Daniel 5:21
“21 He was driven away from people,
his mind was like an animal’s, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass
like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he
acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets
anyone he wants over them.”
Daniel continues to remind the king that Nebuchadnezzar was
judged for his behavior, until he finally acknowledged that the Most High God
is the ruler over all. Nebuchadnezzar had to acknowledge that it was not by his
own power that these things were achieved, it was God’s intervention. Daniel
was trying to get the king to see that repentance was needed.
I wonder if Belshazzar was starting to get the point, or was
he still waiting for Daniel to get to the interpretation.
Daniel 5:22
“22 “But you his successor,
Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this.”
Nothing Daniel said was new to Belshazzar. He knew all of
this. He was aware of what happened to his grandfather. He knew the history, he
knew the judgement, and he knew how Nebuchadnezzar was ultimately restored. Yet,
here he is facing judgement for the same behavior. He followed in his
grandfather’s footsteps to a point, but he stopped short of what was really
needed.
Daniel was straight and to the point, you ‘have not humbled
your heart.’ That probably got the kings attention, as he was probably not used
to people talking to him like that.
Daniel 5:23
“23 Instead, you have exalted
yourself against the Lord of the heavens. The vessels from his house were
brought to you, and as you and your nobles, wives, and concubines drank wine
from them, you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood,
and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified
the God who holds your life-breath in his hand and who controls the whole
course of your life.”
Daniel is not pulling any punches. The king has shown that
he has no regard for the One True God. In his act of using the holy vessels to
worship the manmade gods, he was basically making a bold statement that he was
equal to if not greater than God. He was challenging the only God who holds course
of his life and his every breath in his hand.
Job 12:10
“The life of every living thing is in his hand, as well as
the breath of all humanity.”
God is in complete control of Belshazzar’s life, Daniel’s
life, and He is in complete control of our lives. While some, like Belshazzar,
do not understand what that means or choose to flat out ignore it, God is in absolute
control.
Daniel on the other hand has given us examples of what it
means to trust in God. He shown us that we should take a stand when needed, we
have seen him go to our Lord in prayer, and we have seen the Holy Spirit guide
him.
I pray that each of us walk in faith and let the Holy Spirit
work in us, shape us, guide us. I pray that we are open to His leading and that
we do not turn away from Him.
Daniel 5:24-28
“24 Therefore, he sent the hand, and
this writing was inscribed. 25 “This is the writing that
was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is
the interpretation of the message: ‘Mene’ means that God has numbered the days
of your kingdom and brought it to an end. 27 ‘Tekel’
means that you have been weighed on the balance and found deficient. 28 ‘Peres’
means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.””
Belshazzar has been weighed, he has been measured, and he
was found wanting. His pride and arrogance coupled with his elevation of the
fake pagan gods over the One True God was more than enough. This was not a
simple act of someone struggling with a sin and failing to overcome it, this
was a blatant attack on God. Belshazzar had hardened his heart, and this was
the last straw in a life of turning away from God.
Belshazzar challenged the One and Only God and is being
judged for it. The crime has been committed, the verdict has been given, and
judgement is coming.
I would never want to hear that I have been measured by God
and found deficient.
Matthew 7:21-23
“21 “Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the
will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will
say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in
your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I
will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’”
Sadly, their will come a day that people who think they have
done enough by being a good person, saying a prayer one day, or even going to
church on a regular basis, they will realize that it was not enough. We are not
saved by what we do, we are saved by turning to Jesus, repenting of our sins,
and following Him. It is not a checklist to be done, it is a life change. Some
will think they are doing great, but when judgement day comes, they will hear
that they had been weighed, measured, and are lacking. They may have heard the
good news, may have walked up to the altar, they may have said a pray, and even
played the part. But their faith was only been skin deep.
When we read things like:
Hebrews 4:12
“12 For the word of God is living and
effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the
separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the
thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 12:1
“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large
cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin
that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before
us”
I could easily go on, about putting on the full armor of
God, being witnesses, making disciples, being filled with the Holy Spirit,
Loving God, Loving Others, caring for others, providing for those in need… these
are not things that come from skin deep faith, these things are part of
recognizing that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, and the more
we follow Him, the more our faith grows.
Those who have faith that grows are part of the Family of
God, they will not be found deficient, and will not hear those dreadful words
of ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’
Daniel 5:29-31
“29 Then Belshazzar gave an order,
and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and
issued a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the
kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the king of the
Chaldeans was killed, 31 and Darius the Mede received
the kingdom at the age of sixty-two.”
As foretold judgement came.
Every one of us will stand before our Lord someday. The
question is, will we be seen as God’s child or will we be standing their trying
to get through on our own merits?
Belshazzar thought he was in control, but the truth is even
a king had to answer to God. Are you ready to answer to the One True God or do
you need to make a choice today that leads to a faith that grows; a faith that
leads to Eternal Life.
If you have yet to make the decision to follow Jesus, go to Littlebybaptist.org and you will find a short message about salvation. Watch it, and you choose to join the family please reach out to me, I would love to hear from you.
God Bless,
Robert
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