Weighed and Found Wanting
May 15, 2016

Scripture: Daniel 5

I. God will judge idolatry.

A. In Daniel 5:1 we are introduced to the new king of Babylon: Belshazzar. At the end of the chapter King Belshazzar is killed, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom. Clearly, then, there were enemies at the gate of Belshazzar’s royal palace. But instead of making plans with his military generals to beat back this attack, Belshazzar decides to go out and get blind drunk with some of his powerful friends. He was afraid of his enemy. So he used alcohol to help him forget about his fears. He decided to party at the edge of his own grave.

B. One of the reasons for the judgment of Belshazzar was his idolatry. We read what he and his guests did at the king’s party in vs. 4. They drank wine and praised the Babylonian gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They raised a toast to their gods who they believed had protected them in the past and blessed them. Belshazzar should have praised the God that his ancestor Nebuchadnezzar knew. The most beautiful person in the world and the one worthy of our worship is God. Psalm 29:2 (KJV) says, “Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

II. God will judge blasphemy

A. Blasphemy is an irreverent act with our speech or actions that dishonors God. Belshazzar combined his idolatry with blasphemy against Israel’s God. He was irreverent with the cups that were used for sacred purposes in God’s holy temple in Jerusalem (vs. 2). He was making common use of extremely holy objects. By using objects meant for the worship of God and using them instead for the worship of his idols, Belshazzar was attacking God Himself. He was spitting in God’s face. He had praised his powerless idols, while neglecting the one true God.

B. We blaspheme not just by defacing a cross or a church. We blaspheme also by the words we say to our fellow human beings. Think about what Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:22: “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Human beings are made in the image and likeness of God. So if we say something cruel to a person, we are actually blaspheming God.

III. God will judge ignoring His Word.

A. Why did God give Nebuchadnezzar time (Daniel 4:29) to repent while He did not give any time to Belshazzar to repent? The key phrase is in vs. 22: you knew all this. Daniel is saying to the king, “You knew better. You knew that God judges pride because of how He judged Nebuchadnezzar your ancestor. But you did not change your proud actions. You ignored God even though you knew better. Because you ignored the lesson that God taught your ancestor you are going to be judged tonight.” Are you ignoring the clear teaching of God’s Word?

Application:
Set your heart on the party Jesus will throw rather than on Belshazzar’s party. The party of Belshazzar leads only to God’s judgment.

Sources:
The prophecy of Daniel
Commentaries on Daniel by Iain Duguid, Tremper Longman III and Joyce Baldwin.