10/13

Daniel 5:22

²²And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

The son of King Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar. He used the temple's holy vessels made of gold and silver for drinking at a wild party he threw for his officials. Outside his gates were the armies of the Medes and Persians. He was so sure that his walls were impenetrable that he went on unconcerned.

A hand from heaven appeared on the wall of the hall in which the party was held. It wrote out MENE MENE TEKEL PARSIN. Belshazzar's knees were knocking as he called for the magicians to interpret the writing. None of them could interpret it. Finally he called Daniel. Don't you wonder why these kings call Daniel last? Daniel first told him that he had paid no attention to the testimony of his father, Nebuchadnezzar. Though he knew the God of Israel was the God of gods, he brazenly used the temple vessels to praise gods of gold and silver. The message on the wall meant that Belshazzar's kingdom had come to an end. He was weighed in the balances and found wanting. His kingdom was being given to the Medes and Persians.

That night the forces outside the wall diverted the river that flowed through the city and went under the wall via the river bed. Belshazzar was killed and the city was taken. Belshazzar was held accountable for ignoring the testimony of his father and refusing to humble his heart. We don't have to have a personal experience to know what is true. Even if we learn it second hand, we are accountable.

Consider: How many testimonies have we heard of lives transformed by the Gospel? How many stories of lives turning from darkness to light have declared that the LORD alone is God? That, too, is God's way of revealing Himself to us, and we are accountable for heeding that truth.