Daniel 5 - Leaders must humbly acknowledge God

Setting – Daniel reveals the writing of God to Belshazzar

Content – Belshazzar took the cups temple cups to drink from (v. 3 NLT) “So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them” God wrote a message to Belshazzar, which everyone saw (v. 5 NLT) “At that very moment they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king's palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote”, and (v. 24 NLT) “God has sent this hand to write a message”, which terrified Belshazzar (v. 6 NLT) “Such terror gripped him that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way beneath him.” No one could interpreter the message but Daniel. Daniel told Belshazzar of God’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar (v. 18 NLT) “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar.” Daniel confronted Belshazzar because he didn’t give God honor (v. 22 NLT) “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself.” And (v. 23a NLT) “For you have defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you.” Daniel provided the interpretation of the message “Mene” - means `numbered'--God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel - means `weighed'--you have been weighed on the balances and have failed the test. Parsin - means `divided'--your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." And then (v. 30 NLT) “That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed”

Application – We see that once again God was to be honored (v. 23b) “But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!” and the king was going to pay the price for this (v. 30) “That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.” Belshazzar defiled God himself by taking the utensils from the temple. And once again God humbled the king. God is a gracious God and we deserve the same treatment as Belshazzar, because our sin can be defilement to God. But at the same time, I wish that God would humble those that pride themselves and feel that they are untouchable by God. But we know that Galatians 6:7 (NASB) states, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” And we know that (Hebrews 10:30 NASB) “For we know Him who said, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.’ And again, ‘THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.’” So we know that God will execute His judgment and we need to pray for those in leadership that they humbly acknowledge God as the one who placed them into leadership.

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