Prayer: Father, may I always possess respect for the things which You call holy Amen.
Reading: Daniel 5 key: 1-2 “King Belshazzar held a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles and was drinking wine in front of the thousand. When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his consorts and his concubines could drink from them.” TLV
Attention: There is nothing like liquid courage when one wants to lampoon the Divine. King Solomon penned these words, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler. Whoever is led astray by them is unwise” (Proverbs 20:1). It was a very unwise decision to provoke the living God.
King Belshazzar holds a feast for 1,000 people, dignitaries whom he is trying to impress. So, to show his bravado, he remembers his father confiscating the Temple’s holy artifacts. They are stored in the treasuries of Babylon. What better way to show contempt toward the God of the Hebrews than to party with the sacred cups of the Temple.
What better way to get God’s attention, than to scorn Him in front of 1,000 of your closest friends. They were all on board till God shows up and shows off. We are told that the kings face “drained” of color, he was fearful, his “thoughts alarmed him, his hips gave way and his knees began knocking together.” I think he knew he had crossed the line.
Daniel was summoned to interpret the writing on the wall. His interpretation to the king, you “have not humbled your heart,” you “have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven,” “you had the vessels of His House brought before you,” “You have praised the gods made of silver and gold,” and “you did not honor God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.”
It was a costly decision King Belshazzar made that evening. For the last sentence in this passage declares, “On that very night King Belshazzar of the Chaldeans was slain.” Dishonoring God may cost you your life.
Action: I choose to honor and praise the true and living God, Adonai.
Yield: I choose to submit to the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Engage: I choose to engage with the Sovereign God of the universe.
Relationship: I choose to live in close, intimate relationship with God.
Prayer: Father, there is no other god. You are the King of kings, and Lord of lords. Amen.
Memory Verse: Revelation 19”16 “On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.” TLV
Music Video: Phillips, Craig & Dean—You Are God Alone https://youtu.be/ZOargNFiDd4?si=wMDFYloUndG-cyv1
Remember, “Abide in Yeshua, today!”