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Weighed in the
Balance - and Found Wanting Daniel
5 {5:1} King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a
thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. {2} While Belshazzar was
drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that
Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the
king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. {3} So
they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in
Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from
them. {4} As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of
bronze, iron, wood and stone. {5} Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared
and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace.
The king watched the hand as it wrote. {6} His face turned pale and he was so
frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. {7} The king
called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said
to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever
reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have
a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler
in the kingdom." {8} Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could
not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. {9} So King Belshazzar
became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
{10} The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the
banquet hall. "O king, live forever!" she said.
"Don't be alarmed! Don't look so pale! {11} There is a man in your
kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father
he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods.
King Nebuchadnezzar your father--your father the king, I say--appointed him
chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. {12} This man
Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and
knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain
riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what
the writing means." {13} So Daniel was brought before the king, and the
king said to him, "Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king
brought from Judah? {14} I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and
that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. {15} The wise men
and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it
means, but they could not explain it. {16} Now I have heard that you are able to
give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this
writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold
chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in
the kingdom." {17} Then Daniel answered the king, "You may keep your
gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will
read the writing for the king and tell him what it means. {18} "O king, the
Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and
glory and splendor. {19} Because of the high position he gave him, all the
peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the
king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he
spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble,
he humbled. {20} But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he
was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. {21} He was driven
away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys
and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven,
until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of
men and sets over them anyone he wishes. {22} "But you his son, O
Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. {23} Instead,
you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from
his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your
concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of
bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you
did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. {24}
Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription. {25} "This is the
inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN {26} "This is what
these words mean: Mene : God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it
to an end. {27} Tekel : You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
{28} Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
{29} Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain
was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the
kingdom. {30} That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,
{31} and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. --
Daniel 5 (NIV) Sacrilege Definition “Sacrilege”
is a word not commonly used today. Indeed,
the word is almost always used in a satirical sense, designed to portray some
character as a self righteous hypocrite. The
truth, however, does not change (it is the work of its Author, and reflects
Him). So what, then, is sacrilege?
“The act of violating or profaning anything sacred, including
sacramental vows,” says my Funk and Wagnalls.
Let’s break that down: ·
The act
of violating anything sacred -- assaulting it, in other words, or attacking it.
The sense of the word “violate” (my dictionary dates from the 1960s)
is most commonly used in the sexual sense. ·
The act
of profaning anything sacred -- that is, to use the things God has set aside for
his purposes (the sacred) for the purposes of the world (the profane). ·
It
includes sacramental vows -- it is, therefore, not limited to physical objects
but also includes the promises of men to God. God
seems to take this most seriously. I
suspect that Belshazzar had more than one party in the palace.
Historians suspect he was co-regent with his father, Nabonidus (hence the
offer to be third highest in the
kingdom), and therefore probably a young man.
Evidently he was given to partying.
Is it too much of a suspicion to consider him like so many today, a cynic
who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing? We
have several examples of sacrilege in the Bible.
Notice in particular these items: ·
God seems
to care for the slightest detail of his commands.
Witness the command to carry the ark on poles -- and what happened when
He was not followed: {2}
He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark
of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the LORD Almighty, who is
enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. {3} They set the ark of God
on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill.
Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart {4} with the ark of
God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. {5} David and the whole house of
Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and
with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. {6} When they came to the
threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God,
because the oxen stumbled. {7} The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of
his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the
ark of God. -- 2 Samuel
6:2-7 (NIV) ·
God is no
respecter of persons, or past service. King
Uzziah was made powerful by God (the lesson is strikingly parallel to the
Babylonian kings), but see his pride... {16} But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led
to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple
of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. {17} Azariah the priest
with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. {18} They
confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense
to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been
consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful;
and you will not be honored by the LORD God." {19} Uzziah, who had a censer
in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the
priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord's temple, leprosy
broke out on his forehead. {20} When Azariah the chief priest and all the other
priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they
hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had
afflicted him. {21} King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a
separate house --leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his
son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land. --
2 Chronicles 26:16-21 (NIV) ·
The most
powerful example is Christ Himself: see
how He values the “house of the Lord:” {13}
When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
{14} In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and
others sitting at tables exchanging money. {15} So he made a whip out of cords,
and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the
coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. {16} To those who sold
doves he said, "Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father's house
into a market!" {17} His disciples remembered that it is written:
"Zeal for your house will consume me."
-- John 2:13-17 (NIV) (A
curious point: when I was a lad,
church doors -- even in the toughest of Army towns -- did not even have locks on
them. When I asked why not,
the rather indignant reply was that “you never know when someone needs to come
in to God’s house to pray.” How
the mighty have fallen!) Figurative Use Today So
far it looks like sacrilege is something that belongs to “way back then.”
It is not so: remember the definition.
Anything which violates or profanes that which is set apart for God is
sacrilege, and thus is subject to God’s wrath.
·
Your body
is such. We tend to view ourselves
as “the human animal”, a body and nothing more, but God sees the
Christian’s body quite differently. {16}
Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives
in you? {17} If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's
temple is sacred, and you are that temple. -- 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NIV) Perhaps
this is why the body is to be resurrected at the return of our Lord! ·
The
Lord’s Supper is another. Indeed,
how often have you heard these words: {28}
A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the
cup. {29} For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the
Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. --
1 Corinthians 11:28-29 (NIV) Again,
profaning the sacred is here! ·
For
teachers -- who handle God’s sacred word, there is the warning against using
the things of God for the purposes of the world: {2}
Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers--not
because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not
greedy for money, but eager to serve;
-- 1 Peter 5:2 (NIV) With
all these warnings, with so much history behind it, why is there so much
sacrilege today? Discussion
Point Idolatry Our passage here identifies not only sacrilege as sin
but also idolatry. Idolatry, in its
classic sense, is a temptation which has not been felt by American Christians.
It is well therefore to review just how detestable it really was.
Hear the word: Old Testament
Injunctions {21} "'Do not give any of your children to be
sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the
LORD. --
Leviticus 18:21 (NIV) We think this must be gone, right? This was the practice of taking your newborn son or daughter
down to the local temple -- and throwing the baby into the fire to die there.
Why would people do this? Molech
would grant them good crops; their animals would not miscarry at birth -- in
short, financial reasons! (“The
reason I had the abortion is because we just couldn’t afford to have another
child right now.”) {25:1} While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men
began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, {2} who invited them
to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these
gods. {3} So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger
burned against them. -- Numbers 25:1-3 (NIV) Or, to bring this up to date:
“I want to sleep with my girlfriend -- therefore, there is no God.”
(I’m indebted to Tom Granoff for the concept). {24}
There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all
the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the
Israelites. -- 1 Kings
14:24 (NIV) Often
in the Old Testament idolatry is referred to as prostitution.
The historical record indicates that many of these male prostitutes were
in fact homosexual prostitutes. Perhaps
this is not so out of date either! Current Examples Most
of us today feel that idolatry is of historical interest only.
But, in fact, there are forms of it which are still with us today.
One very current example is angel worship: {18}
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels
disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he
has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. {19} He has
lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held
together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. -- Colossians 2:18-19 (NIV) And,
how many of you (like Nancy Reagan) just can’t wait to read your horoscope for
the day? Hear what God has to say
about their advice: {13}
All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers
come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them
save you from what is coming upon you. {14} Surely they are like stubble; the
fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the
flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone; here is no fire to sit by. {15} That is
all they can do for you-- these you have labored with and trafficked with since
childhood. Each of them goes on in his error; there is not one that can save
you. -- Isaiah 47:13-15
(NIV) How
many of you have longed for a “religious experience?”
Looking for that session in life to which you can point and say, “Oh, I
know it’s real. I could just feel
it!” For some of us, the Lord
does not provide such experiences (which does give rise to the envy of those who
are so provided). Satan, as always,
is ready with a counterfeit: {31}
"'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by
them. I am the LORD your God. --
Leviticus 19:31 (NIV) The Principle of Idolatry In
fact, idolatry is still with us. It
is defined for us in the Ten Commandments: {3}
"You shall have no other gods before me.
-- Exodus 20:3 (NIV) Anything
that comes before God, in any aspect of your life, is idolatry.
Some of the contemporary examples: Discussion
Point National Sin One
of the hardest lessons in this passage is the concept of national sin. Americans, whose political religion worships at the altar of
individualism, seem congenitally incapable of understanding that a nation can
sin. The Old Testament in
particular makes it very clear that this is a commonplace. Three examples will do: ·
Egypt, in
enslaving the Jews ·
Sodom and
Gomorrah ·
Israel
itself, on a number of occasions. Common Factors National
sin seems to come in a pattern. There
are certain elements which always seem to be present when a nation is in sin.
They are not limited to this pattern, but consider that the nation which
is in sin seems always to have these characteristics: ·
The Godly
are persecuted and ridiculed. ·
Sacrilege
and idolatry, in whatever form is popular, are rampant. ·
God, in
His mercy, sends messengers to that nation to warn them to repent. The
classic example in the Old Testament is Elijah.
In this one passage he summarizes these points: {14} He replied, "I have been very zealous for
the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down
your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one
left, and now they are trying to kill me too." {15} The LORD said to him,
"Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get
there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. {16} Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king
over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you
as prophet. {17} Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and
Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu.
-- 1 Kings 19:14-17 (NIV) America Today It’s test time.
Do you see the pattern of national sin in America today? · Are the Godly persecuted? Has there ever been a time when the Christian (called by the world “right wing fundamentalist”) was so ridiculed as today? Has there ever been a time when the Christian has had it so difficult in the workplace? · Is it a time of sacrilege and idolatry? Has there ever been a time when sacred things have been so sneered at? Has there ever been a time when “New Age” gods are so prominent? Has there ever been a time when God is so much behind the real gods of our minds? · And -- if you think this idle -- has there ever been a time when the Spirit has led so many who speak for God to speak the words of doom impending? Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34, KJV |
  
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