Daniel #05: an exposition of Daniel 5:1-31. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, February 17, 2013.
Intro:
It is universally recognized as wrong. It is the kind of thing that ought to be avoided. Most everyone would say it is foolish and ignorant and yet virtually all of us engage in it in some form. Presumption. The dictionary defines presumption as:
- …an act or instance of taking something to be true or adopting a particular attitude toward something…
- an idea that is taken to be true, and often used as the basis for other ideas, although it is not known for certain…
- …behavior perceived as arrogant, disrespectful, and transgressing the limits of what is permitted or appropriate.
I want to focus on the second part of the definition. “An idea that is taken to be true, and often used as the basis for other ideas, although it is not know for certain.” I would add that it is acted upon as the truth though it is not known to be true. When it comes to spiritual matters “presumption” has run amuck! The average person’s spiritual life is like presumption on steroids. Their spiritual lives are not based upon the Word of God but on their own ideas. Their own assumptions about the nature of God. The average person assumes it is God’s job to make us happy; to see that we have a good self-image and we are able to cope with life. The idea is that God is in the blessing business. The problem is, that is as far as they go. They take a part of the truth and treat it as if it were the whole truth.
It is okay to believe in God provided you don’t talk about sin and judgment and all that stuff from less informed and more primitive religions. The notion that a judgment day is coming is considered a joke. When you hear of judgment on the world you picture a man with a cardboard sign, dirty and disheveled standing on a street corner warning of Armageddon. The truth is the judgment of God is no joke. It is central to the message of the Gospel. The reason the Gospel is “good news” is because the judgment of God is real. God’s holiness demands judgment. Though the message of judgment was once a staple in Christian preaching it has all but disappeared. In fact, in many circles, the God of the Old Testament is pitted against the God of the New Testament. The God of the Old Testament was a God of wrath and fire while the God of the New Testament is a God of love and compassion. At best that is a misguide understanding. Hebrews 10:26-31 makes it clear that the New Testament God is a God of judgment! Perhaps the most striking illustration of the severity of God’s judgment is found in Daniel chapter 5. The year was 539 b.c. The place was Babylon. A godless pagan ruler in the midst of a drunken orgy finally sees the handwriting on the wall but it was too late. Judgment had come. Our text this morning is found in Daniel chapter 5.
Text: Daniel 5:1-31
In chapter 4 we saw an example of God’s love and kindness extended to a wicked king. God graciously revealed himself but Nebuchadnezzar arrogantly ignored His message. Until God got his attention through unusual means. The king went insane and lived like an animal for 7 years. At the end of that time the once mighty king acknowledge God’s sovereignty; his own unworthiness and God’s justice and holiness. It was a remarkable change brought by God’s mercy and grace.
Now the story moves ahead nearly 50 years. Nabonidus is now king. He was not a descendent of Nebuchadnezzar though he took his name. Nabonidus built a palace south of Babylon and ruled from their and established his son, Belshazzar, as co-regent in Babylon. As the chapter opens Belshazzar is hosting a banquet. It is a night of feasting and celebrating. Little does he know his kingdom and his life will end in just a few hours.
His tragic story serves to remind us that…
Thesis: The judgment of God falls on the unrighteous.
This chapter shows God bringing his judgment to bear upon a wicked, godless, and arrogant young ruler. It is a vivid reminder of what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 40:23-24:
…who brings princes to nothing,
and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
and the tempest carries them off like stubble.
God is sovereign over kings and rulers and brings them to power and disposes of them as he wishes. This is the message throughout the book of Daniel.
There are three things for us to note as we make our way through this chapter.
- Man, in his arrogance, profanes the holy. (5:1-4)
- God in His righteousness condemns the wicked. (5:5-29)
- God’s judgment is certain and complete. (5:30-31)