Daniel 5:1-24
Verse 22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.”
Years after the three young men had found themselves walking around inside the extra hot furnace with a surprise visitor, there was a change in the kingdom and the new king threw a huge party. Though his father had come to understand the special position of God, the new king didn’t care about the God of Heaven in any shape or way.
The king thought this party needed some extra finery and so he called for the sacred objects from the temple. These items had been used in worship in the Temple in Jerusalem since Solomon had built it. King Solomon had not wasted any resources to make everything perfect for the worship of God. It wasn’t that the pieces held the Spirit of God, but they had been dedicated to God and therefore deserved to be used with great respect and honor.
The king was obviously not using them in a respectable way, but he was using them in worship. The problem was that it wasn’t worshiping God. This arrogant king was leading a night of mockery and out of all the people there, no one spoke about truth. He had surrounded himself with people who were pagans and so they didn’t care about worshiping the one true God.
It was this mockery of worship that gave God occasion to make His presence known in one of the most bizarre displays we will ever see from God. Fingers appeared and started writing on the wall. Of course none of the party goers had ever seen that type of thing and it was attention grabbing. We can imagine the hush that fell on the room.
Though it would have been startling enough to have seen the fingers writing on the wall, it may have been even more disturbing to see that the language wasn’t in their native tongue. God didn’t see the need to speak plainly to them because He needed to get Daniel involved.
We are God’s vessels made for worship and there are times we ignore what we were made for and start worshiping ourselves. We do what brings us pleasure and God has to do something shocking to get our attention. Hopefully we aren’t so arrogant that we miss His correction.
Making It Personal
When have you treated yourself in a way that was more about worshiping yourself than glorifying God? How do you need to change your thinking so that He is your main focus? Are you ready for that change?
Making It Personal Kids
What are some ways that you may worship self instead of God? Do you do any of those things? What is something you need to stop doing so you can worship God better?
Closing Prayer
Father, we confess the sin of pushing You away as we misuse our lives. Please give us wisdom so we can make wise choices to always glorify You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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