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5-20-14. Daniel 5:22-31. WEIGHED ON THE SCALES AND FOUND WANTING – my devotional

5-20-14. Daniel 5:22-31. WEIGHED ON THE SCALES AND FOUND WANTING – my devotional

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 Daniel 5:22-31                                                    Kevin E. Jesmer                                                          5-20-14

“…but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.”  (23b)

Dear Lord, thank you for your word that shines your light into every dark crevice in our hearts. Jesus is the Light of the World. Your light shows the way. Your light reveals the darkness so it can be driven from our hearts. Your light grants life direction, hope, energy, warmth, growth and eternal life. Lord, may your light illuminate our paths. May it guide our lives personally, but also in our families, communities and in our nation. May the Light, that is Christ, shine brightly in every avenue of our society, starting in our own hearts.

Part 1: You Knew All This, But You Did Not Honor God (22-23).

Look at verses 22-23, “And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.”

Belshazzar had no excuse. (22) He knew what had happened to his father as the result of his arrogant pride, but he still did not humble himself. He did not honor God as the one who holds in his hand people’s lives and all their ways. Instead he lived as a spoiled and rich young man who spent his time in pleasure seeking. He praised the “gods” of silver and gold–inanimate things–but dishonored the Creator and owner of his life.

This is what amazes me. How often do we see the horrible ravages of sin in the lives of others around us and yet we do not change our own ways. The lives of others should be a classroom for us. But so often it is not so. We see and yet follow the way of destruction. I need to look at the lives of those who have gone on before me and learn. But do I? I read about those missionaries in the past, who embraced their mission field with reckless abandon. I read about the hours they spent in prayer daily for the souls of the lost. I heard about the sacrifices that people made so that the Gospel may take root in some unreached people group. I hear of people memorizing the Bible text and on and on, but do I follow their example…no. On my own, without my Savior Jesus, I would drift into depressed isolation. But God’s grace keeps me engaged in life, in community and in the church. I pray that I may learn from others in the past and mature as a servant of God.

My heart is burdened by some of the choices that our young people take. Despite of the great examples set by those of the previous generation, the young ones still choose the path of hedonism, overwhelming personal debt, and a life without Jesus. They praise money. Their heroes are business, film and media mogels. They want business degrees, and almost any other degree… than theology degrees. I pray that our young people may honor the Creator and the owner of their lives.

Part 2: God Has Brought Your Reign To An End (24-31).

Look at verses 24-31, “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.”

It was God, who rules all things, who sent the hand that wrote on the wall. The message was one of judgment. Belshazzar was ruler of Babylon, but he had been weighed on the scales of the Lord’s justice and found wanting. The writing was God’s sentence on his kingdom and his life; his reign was over and his days were numbered.

This judgment is similar to the judgment that people experience when they live apart from their Savior, Jesus Christ. Look at verse 26b-28 and 30,

“…God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 

27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;

28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.

When we live in deliberate sin then we are in danger of losing all that we have been working for in life. People loose their families, their children’s love, their wealth, their good legacy. Some loose their minds, their emotional well being. We may not enter eternal life. We can loose it all when we live outside of Christ.

We will have to face the judgment seat of Christ and because of our sins we will be found wanting.  2 Corinthians 5:10 reads, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”  (ESV) All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The glory of God is the standard. Our sins have made us fall short of that standard. On our own we are found wanting. But praise be to God. He sent Jesus into this world to be our righteousness. Though we are found wanting, in Christ, we are declared righteous. This is the grace of God.

In verse 20 we find that the king’s kingdom will be given to his enemies. This is also another result of living apart from Christ. All that we have lived for, spending a life time to accumulate, will go to someone else. It will be used to pay for someone’s family vacation to Disneyland, or pay off debts or make home repairs on someone else’s home, or increase the profits of some casino owner.  All the books and papers that you thought were so important will be boxes at the curb side, as your home is being prepared for sale. Sad but true. Everything in this world will pass, but only what is done for Jesus Christ will last.

In verse 30 we see that the king actually died an untimely death. He thought his kingdom and his expensive parties would go on and on forever. But it all came to an abrupt end. Jesus tells us a parable about this. It is the parable of the rich young fool. Luke 12:19-21 reads, “And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” (ESV) Our time on this earth is short. It will come to an end. We must be in Christ and worship the God in whose hand is our breath, and whose are all our ways. He is Jesus Christ.

Prayer: “Lord, thank you for helping me to honor you in all I do as my King and the owner of my life. Help me to learn from those who have gone on before me.

One Word: Trust the God in whose hand is our breath, and whose are all our ways…Jesus, Savior and our Righteousness.




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