The Judgment Scales of God

Background: Belshazzar was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. This incident occurred around 539 BC while Nabonidus was King of Babylon. His son, Belshazzar was ruling as Regent in Babylon while Nabonidus was living in another Babylonian city. The time gap between chapter 4 and 5 is approximately 30 years.

Background: The time span between chapter 4 and chapter 5 is about 30 years. Nebuchadnezzar has died, and Nabonidus becomes king after several assassinations. Nabonidus spends the last years of his reign in another city, and allows his son, Belshazzar, to reign in Babylon.

The Persian forces have been attacking the Babylonian forces, and just a few days before Belshazzar’s banquet, the Babylonian forces in the field under Nabonidus have been routed. The Persians are now camped outside the walls of Babylon, and Belshazzar throws a party.8

The Persians are in the ascendant, and the Babylonians have just suffered a major loss under Nabonidus in the field. Nabonidus flees with the remains of the Babylonian army, and the Persians now surround the city. The setting of Belshazzar’s feast is three days after the loss.

While a thoughtful man might be making preparations, Belshazzar throws a drunken party. As the liquor flows, Belshazzar has the Temple items brought in and commits blasphemy against the Most High by leading the group in offering praise to the idols

Illustrate: Darwin Awards. People do some really stupid things, and a lot of the time the hash tag is “alcohol was involved”

Illustrate: In the book, The Darwin Awards, the author collects foolish attempts from around the world that often result in the death of the idiots that attempt them. It is interesting how many of the accounts have the hashtag: alcohol was involved

Argument: In his drunken arrogance, Belshazzar is moved to blaspheme the Most High, something that even Nebuchadnezzar did not do. What is even worse, Belshazzar most likely personally witnessed God’s judgment against Neb for his pride and arrogance.

Argument: Belshazzar is being proud and arrogant. He is inside what he considers to be an impregnable city. The walls are 87’ thick, and 350’ high, he has stockpiles of food to last over a year, and the Euphrates runs through the city. By having this party after a loss and with the Persians at the gate, Belshazzar is saying he is untouchable. And through the blasphemy of the Temple items, he is declaring that not even the Most High can take him down. declares, “Pride goes before destruction”

Regular people, like Belshazzar, have short memories. We get by with an act or a thought or a deed, and we often become more brazen with our sinful behavior. “the fool says in his heart, there is no God.”

Application: The most prideful and foolish behavior is for a person to think that he or she can take care of things on his own. It is having the mindset of “I’ve got this - I don’t need God to handle it for me.” Do not let pride keep you out of heaven.

Application: Even as believers we can get caught up in patterns of sinful behavior when we take our focus off Jesus. Sin may start small, but if left unchecked, it will grow. Keep a short sin list, and return to Jesus, especially if you “get away” with something.

The Pride of the Foolish invites the Judgment of God ()

Explanation: As Belshazzar leads in a drunken toast, mocking the Most High, he and his party receive a visit from the Hand of God Himself. A disembodied hand appears and writes a message on the wall. Belshazzar is scared and white as a ghost and is coming undone out of fright. The king brings in all the wise men, but once again, they fail to give an answer, so he is becoming even more agitated. Even without an interpretation, Belshazzar realizes he has made a mistake and the outcome is not looking good.

Explanation: Belshazzar’s misuse and abuse of the sacred items was tantamount to an outright challenge. He was basically declaring that Babylon was unbeatable. The Persians were outside, but so what? The Most High had humbled Nebuchadnezzar, but so what? Belshazzar was foolishly declaring himself to be untouchable - not even God could take him down.

Illustrate: Going past the point of no-return, encountering that “uh-oh” moment when you realize you made a bad mistake and are about to pay for it.

Argument: God does not always bring judgment at the moment of foolish challenge. [Remember, narrative is not normal] The Almighty does not settle all His accounts in this worlds realm; but He will settle accounts.

Illustrate: Scotty’s story of the marine recruit who was being cocky with the D.I. When the D.I. screamed at the recruit about how he must have “read the book” because he was so smart, the recruit replied, “Sir, this recruit wrote the book!”

Even as believers we can dabble in sin and make poor decisions. We can get entangled in sin, and if we persist in going against God, we invite His judgment upon us. When we begin to think that we are above rebuke, that is when we are apt to fall. A loving God will only allow His wayward children to go so far.

Argument: When we do stupid stuff, there will be a price to pay. “Pride goeth before a fall” (). Of course, we don’t think of what we do as being stupid on the level of a Gary Hart (go ahead and look, you won’t find anything!), but we can become prideful even in the area of our spirituality.

[SSBC has been around for 150 years, and this church will continue to be around til Jesus comes back!] If we fail to sense the leading of God and refuse to change where needed, God may come and remove our candlestick

Application: Perform a personal self-examination; ask the hard questions - are you close? are you staying clean? or are you dabbling in sin and “getting away” with it? Don’t let yourself be deceived (cf. Jeremiah 17:9)

The Righteous must stand ready to confront the Foolish ()

The Righteous must stand ready to confront the Foolish (Daniel 5:17-23)

Explanation: Daniel has been in semi-retirement for a number of years. Belshazzar needs the queen mother to remind him of Daniel’s existence. But after the wise men fail (again!) and because the hand and its message have terrified him, Belshazzar is willing to bring in Daniel. When Daniel arrives, he politely rejects the king’s offer of reward, and then takes Belshazzar to task for being so foolish as to commit this heinous act.

Illustrate: after you have done something you knew was wrong, there is always someone who says, “I told you not to do that!)

Argument: No one likes to be reminded of mistakes, but it is often necessary for a righteous person to confront the unrighteous. This is necessary because most of the time they don’t even think they have done anything wrong.

Application: Who in your life is God leading you loving confront with the truth. Who is out of bonds and may be facing judgment? Are you willing to share the truth in love?

God has a final judgment day in which all will be weighed in the balance ()

Explanation: Daniel interpreted the message from the Hand of God. Daniel informed Belshazzar that God had numbered (repeated twice for emphasis) his kingdom - his time was up and God was bringing Belshazzar’s rule to a sudden and abrupt end. Daniel then informed the king that God had weighed him in the Divine Scales, and that Belshazzar had been found lacking in moral character - in short, Belshazzar didn’t measure up to God’s standard. As a result, Daniel informed the king that God’s decision was to divide the kingdom - to have it taken over by the Persians.

Argument: Not all of God’s judgments are this spectacular and chilling in this world’s realm. Narrative is not normative. But make no mistake, we will all give an account to the Most High. God has sovereignly numbered our days, and we will be weighed in His balances. And the only thing that will suffice to tip the scales in our favor will be the Blood of Jesus.

Application: Do not try to pay for your own sins. It will take an eternity in a real place called Hell where you will be separated from the presence of God. The only remedy for being found wanting in the Divine Scales is found in the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

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