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. Daniel 5:17 [NIV]
Nebuchadnezzar's story ends with him proclaiming that God will humble those who walk with pride. Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar did not know the wisdom his father learned. It wasn't until it was too late that Belshazzar realised that you can be rich, you can be proud, you can be arrogant, you can refuse to learn the lessons that your father passed on to you. You can feast and eat and drink with your mates, but as Bob Dylan put it… 'You gotta serve somebody'. More to the point, who you serve has eternal implications. For Belshazzar this was a shock. He had insulated himself from reality with success, riches, wine and feasting. He had blasphemed against God by using the vessels of gold from the temple in Jerusalem. The vessels dedicated to the worship of Yahweh, which his father had taken from Jerusalem, he now used for the worship of false gods. But the party came to a sudden end when the hand of Yahweh appeared and passed judgement.
Judgement like one passed on Belshazzar also applies to us. God would be untrue to himself to ignore our sins. What was true for Belshazzar would be true for us too if the sentence over our lives had not been erased with the precious blood of Jesus poured form his ripped flesh on the cross.
So today, go and pray for someone that still stands under God's judgement. If you can, go and talk to them about how much God loves them.
John Martin-Jones
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 136:1-12, Daniel 5:17-6:28, 1John 1:1-2:11
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