Spiritual Scales: What do you weigh?
Daniel 5
October 4, 1998

Introduction:

A. The prophecy of Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar: "All the nations shall serve him, and his son and his son's son, until the time of his own land shall come." Jeremiah 27:7
B. Since Neb’s death: four kings have arisen in Babylon and been killed. Now Belshazzar the son of Nabonidus and grandson of Neb. is the king. His name meant, " the god Bel has protected the king."
C. The Persians had surrounded Babylon but the kind is so prideful he throws a party to spite the army outside for a 1,000 of his lords.
D. While drunk he ordered the vessels taken from the Temple in Jerusalem to be brought into the banquet hall and they drank from them and praised the gods of gold, silver, bronze, etc.
E. The fingers appear, Belshazzar and his wisemen are stumped and Belshazzar becomes very afraid
F. This morning we are going to look at 4 basic principles of judgment we learn from this historical event.

I. Principle #1: God will not share His Glory

A. Note that it is at the end of man’s efforts that Daniel shows up

1. Same sequence in chapter 2 (dream), chapter 3 (the fire), chapter 4 (another dream)
2. He’s never late and seldom early
3. At the end of our resources, He shows up
4. Is. 48:11 "I will not yield my glory to another"
5. First commandment: no other gods before me... including you

B. Belshazzar’s misuse of the things dedicated to God

1. Vessels dedicated for the use of the Temple
2. Drunkenness
3. God was judging Belshazzar for his pride in lifting up himself above Yahweh

II. Principle #2: Time is limited

A. Mene, Mene: literally means "Numbered, numbered" i.e. "numbered and totally evaluated" or It means not only "to count" but "to fix the limit of"
B. Daniel’s interpretation: "God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it." i.e. "The End"
C. God has number our days

• "What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." James 4:14

D. Seasons of life: 20 - 30; 30 - 40 mid-life value shift and looking at mortality 65 meaning of our life apart from our labor or titles and finally a gathering up a sense of our life and accomplishments as we face few Christmases left for us

1. Oh how fast our children are grown and then they are gone...

E. The clock quits for all of us at different times along the way...

• Eph. 5: 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. or "making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."
• Moses at the end of his life in Psalm 90: 12 "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

III. Principle #3: God weighs the soul

U is a conjunction and "pharsin" is the plural of "peres"

A. How do you measure a man?

1. Accomplishments?
2. Possessions?
3. Relationships?
4. Religious behavior?

B. God’s measuring rod for Belshazzar

1. Based on what he knew...
2. He knew the stories about his grandfather Neb.
3. He knew about the 7 years of humbling (19-21)
4. Yet Bel. did not humble himself (i.e. lifted up in Pride)
5. He knew the vessels had been dedicated to the Most High God

C. God’s measuring rod for you: Jesus

1. Hey, Bob, that’s unfair... He was holy
2. "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord..." Heb. 12:14
3. Matt. 5: 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4. God’s scales for you are not the bad deeds on one side and your good deeds on the other. It is Jesus on one side and you on the other
5. Unless Jesus stands in your place, you are lost!

D. Another measure: heat

"Because thou art luke- warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth" Rev 3:1

IV. Principle #4 God will Separate

A. Peres: Divided

1. Daniel’s interpretation (vrs. 28) "Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians
2. Rapture: two in the field, one will be taken and the other will be left
3. Matt. 7: 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
4. It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgmen

B. God’s measuring rod for Belshazzar

1. Based on what he knew...
2. He knew the stories about his grandfather Neb.