YOU'D BETTER FEAR GOD!
Daniel is one of the richest books in the Bible. It is filled with ancient history, miracles and deliverances from evil, prophecies for the Last Days in which we live, and also grave warnings for those who do not fear God!!! One of those warnings appears in Daniel 5, much of it quoted here:
"Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.
"When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
"Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God, which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them...and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
"Suddenly the fingers of a man's hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.
"Then the king's face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.
"...Daniel answered and said, 'O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father...but when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed...and his glory was taken away from him.
"'Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone...but the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.
"'This is the interpretation of the message: God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it...you have been found deficient. Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.'"
By way of introduction, Belshazzar was co-regent, not king of Babylon, until the last two years of his life. His father, Nabonidus, wanted to focus on priestly service and left many royal duties to his son. Following the death of his father, Belshazzar became king, but his reign was cut short beause of his own heart attitudes and resultant actions.
Evidently, Belshazzar led an unbridled life. His very high opinion of himself governed his life and behavior. As a result, this Scripture account describes three facts about Belshazzar that led to the loss of his kingdom, his life and, most importantly, his soul.
1. He knew!
Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this...
Belshazzar knew the truth about God, but was not humbled by it.
The ancients were meticulous about keeping records. As is related in the book of Esther, Ahasuerus, ruler of Persia, called for the record books on troubled night. He wanted to see whether Mordecai had been duly celebrated for his warning about an assassination plot against the king. Ahasuerus knew that what he may have overlooked as ruler would be recorded in the books for him to read and act upon after the fact.
Undoubtedly, a similar record about Nebuchadnezzar's seven-year groveling as an animal was also written in Babylon's annals. Belshazzar was well aware of what was written. All the details were there for him to read and review. He had to have known about Nebuchadnezzar's conquring of Israel or he would not have known to send for the vessels from the Temple. Too, he knew the declaration made by a humbled Nebuchadnezzar that extoled God and proclaimed his belief in Him. God had been faithful in revealing to a pagan king and nation the truths about Himself as God of the universe. They were without excuse and so was Belshazzar.
Before he began interpreting the handwriting, Daniel made sure those facts about Nebuchadnezzar were clear to all those who were in the room. Every guest heard and knew what lay behind what Daniel was about to reveal. He spared no words in his truth telling. No longer was Belshazzar a hero. He was exposed for what he really was: a proud, arrogant man in love with himself and his status. A man who did not fear God in spite of all he knew!
Let that stand as the first lesson we learn here: Unless we have a true fear and awe of God and humble ourselves in repentance before Him, we won't stop sinning or see our need for salvation.
2. He defied God!
When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.
Evidently power went to Belshazzar's head. Controlling the riches of Babylon and governing much of the known world, he threw a party for 1000 of his nobles, a gala also attended by his wives and concubines. As the evening wore on, intoxicated on their wine, Belshazzar ordered that the gold vessels his grandfather had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem be brought so he and his guests could drink their wine from them in defiance of God. In spite of all he knew, Belshazzar defiled the Temple vessels.
When Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem hundreds of years before, all the appointments for worship were made of precious metals. Each and all of them were designed by God, the pattern having been given to Moses when Israel was in the wilderness. They were sacred and dedicated solely to the service of God.
Nebuchadnezzar had taken the valuable vessels as booty from his conquering of Israel and put them in his temple in Babylon. He probably dedicated them to his gods of silver and gold. It might be presumed that after his own humbling by God, Nebuchadnezzar had a new reverence for God that prevented his further alteration or destruction of the vessels.
Not so for Belshazzar! While he and his guests imbibed their wine from them, a hand suddenly appeared and began writing on the plaster wall in full view of Belshazzar, words in a language he did not recognize. At the suggestion of the queen mother, he sent for Daniel, now an old man, to interpret the writing for him.
Which brings us to the second lesson in this story: "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay." (Ravi Zachariah). If you don't quit the sin business and humble yourself before God when you know the truth about Him, your own willfulness will take you deeper and deeper into sin, farther and farther from truth into acts and situations you never dreamed of going to.
3. He lost!
God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it...you have been found deficient. Your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians."
Before he revealed the words' meaning to Belshazzar, Daniel made a point of honoring God by reciting the history of Nebuchadnezzar's humbling and resulting faith in the God of heaven. All in the banquet hall heard the truth. While the devil may have succeeded in defiling God's sacred vessels, Daniel uplifted God's honor! He was God's champion.
True to tradition, Belshazzar had been told all that history, but ignored it. His pride elevated himself above God, his Creator! Belshazzar though he was more powerful than God Himself and reaped the consequences of his pride.
Daniel articulated what was about to happen in a few moments or hours. Foolishly the king promised to make Daniel third ruler in his kingdom if he correctly interpreted the code on the wall. Daniel let him know he wasn't there for glory, but only to decipher the words. The whole scene had to have sickened Daniel!
Hours later, exactly as Daniel read on the plaster wall, the Medes and Persians comquered Babylon. They redirected the city's water supply, a river that ran beneath the city wall. Probably the sentries who ordinarily would have been on guard duty at the wall were seated at Belshazzar's table getting drunk. It was easy for the enemy to invade the city on the dry river bed, and Belshazzar was murdered.
His utter disregard for what God let him know about Himself, his grandfather and where true power lay, brought him to the dangerous third step in his downfall. He crossed a line from which there was no recourse. Belshazzar defied God and lost the kingdom, his life and his soul. Daniel, on the other hand, obeyed God and lived on into the kingdom of the Medes and Persians.
Reader, you have a choice to make. Follow the ways of Belshazzar, continue in sin, perhaps even crossing a line of no return, and perish eternally. Or, turn around, repent of your sins and fall humbly before God for His salvation in Jesus. You are the one who determines your destiny. Which will it be?