Prayer Journal
Friday, November 17, 2000
"The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight." Prov 11:1
One of the ways a perverse ruler keeps power over the people under his authority is to subject them to unfair and unjust rulings. Belshazzar was such a king. But, during a party given for a thousand of his high ranking officers, Belshazzar would learn a lesson from God Almighty about justice.
Let's set this up: Daniel was serving under king Belshazzar of Babylon and was capable of understanding the meaning of dreams. Nebuchadnezzar, father of the king and former ruler, was in charge of the armies of Babylon when Jerusalem was invaded and its people taken captive years earlier.
On this night, Belshazzar wanted to drink the wine from the gold goblets that were taken from the temple of Jerusalem by his father. Scripture tells us that Belshazzar, his wives, buddies and concubines did exactly that. But, they didn't stop there. They mocked God by praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.
What god was this that they were praising? If you think about it, you will be hard pressed to name any physical thing that is not comprised of these materials. It seems these party animals were the predecessors of the NewAge philosophy that infests us 2,600 years later. NewAge religion approves the worship of anything materialistic, or more precisely - anything or anyone BUT Jehovah God.
Scripture says at the moment the king praised his gods, a bodiless hand appeared right in front of the king to write a message on the wall. Was it God's hand? Whatever it was, it scared the "heebie jeebies" out of Belsshazzar. He turned pale, trembled uncontrollably and his knees gave way.
When Daniel was asked to interpret the writing, he told the king; "You honor what you do not understand but fail to honor God who holds your life and all your ways in His hand. Therefore this is what God says; God has numbered your days and your reign is over. You've been judged by God Almighty and found guilty. Your kingdom will collapse and be given to others." (Dan 5:23 Paraphrase)
So, what can we learn from this? It's significant to note:
- God's judgment is final and immediate.
- God's people have a source of refuge even under the reign of wicked rulers.
- There is a point of transgression, beyond which there is no return
- God expects His people to faithfully stand up for him in those times when wickedness prevails.
- God is jealous, and NewAgers should note that it's not "mother" nature they need to worry about.
(1) Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society
(2) The images used herein were obtained from the Learning Company's ClickArt Christian Graphics Deluxe product, (c)1999 The Learning Company, Inc and its subsidiaries, 88 Roland Way, Novato, CA 94945 USA. All Rights Reserved.
