Corona Devo 2059
This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. ~Daniel 5:25
Numbered...weighed...divided...
~~~
God is holy. And His things...His places of worship (our churches and the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem), His institutions (communion, marriage, family, baptism) that relate to Him are holy, and we must honor them.
We must honor our God.
God is not deceived or mocked or blind to it when we do not regard Him and His institutions as holy.
Many years later King Belshazzar gave a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles, and he drank wine with them. (2) While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
(3) So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. (4) While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. ~Daniel 5:1-4
Scripture elaborates here and gets specific about the importance and sacredness of what these articles were and where these articles came from: God's cups taken from God's house
...gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem... ~Daniel 5:3
What if we took something special from someone's house and used it carelessly/pridefully/arrogantly...as our own?
What if we took God's gifts that He's given us: (the legacy that He has left us/the purposes that He has for us/His calling on our lives/His tithes that he has provided us with) ...and what if we treated/regarded/ignored Him carelessly, pridefully, arrogantly, or selfishly?
Are we?
Watch out. Our God is holy, and He will be honored.
Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. ~Daniel 5:25
Do we think that God does not notice us disregarding Him and His Word as governing principles and foundational truths over our lives?
Or, what of those who completely choose not to follow God? Do they think that there will be no consequence?
Well...King Belshazzar and his 1,000 nobles had no regard for God and the things of Him, and we will see that God did notice.
So they brought these gold cups taken from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. (4) While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
(5) Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, (6) and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him. ~Daniel 5:3-6
We serve a holy Lord. And God sees/notices/is-aware-of/and is-dishonored-by our arrogance and lack of worship of Him.
Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. ~Daniel 5:25
Numbered...weighed...divided
Whoa...Are we ready (today for these words)? Are we ready for our life and our days to be Numbered...weighed...divided?
What if the words Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin were spoken over us today?
God is calling us (through His Word, the Bible) to read the handwriting on the wall today.
Mene... (Numbered)
It does not matter if we are eight or eighty years old today: Apply the handwriting on the wall to our lives.
Our days are numbered, and God (alone) knows the count exactly.
We still have time today to live authentically for the Lord. Let's do it. And then when our numbered days are over, we will not be found lacking before God.
~~~
tekel... (Weighed)
Our lives, our dedication and our fervor for the Lord and His ways and institutions will be weighed. Does that scare us?
We will be weighed.
But we still have time--link arms with God today and go where He leads us.
Parsin... (Divided)
Maybe we have always sought to do well and do right, but now we can seek God and do well and right with God's leading, and with the foundation of the Bible, God's Word.
Keep seeking. God changes our lives, and the motivations of our lives. God does not desire to remove us from our work and our pastimes, but rather that we would influence others for Christ through those vehicles...that others might know that God is our rock and our redeemer (Psalm 19:14).
In doing "this", or working "here", or playing this sport/instrument/role/position: this is the area and gift that God has always given us to do well in His name and for His glory.
May we repent of doing life only ourselves, and today we lay down our gifts and talents at God's feet, and we give our gifts for His glory today. Amen.
Because then, our life, and our afterlife will not be divided (Parsin).
~~~
The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!”
(8) But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant. (9) So the king grew even more alarmed, and his face turned pale. His nobles, too, were shaken.
(10) But when the queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, “Long live the king! Don’t be so pale and frightened. (11) There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your predecessor, the king—your predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar—made him chief over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers of Babylon. (12) This man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has exceptional ability and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” ~Daniel 5:7-12
Intermission: Sorry--I know that this is a lot of Scripture, but it reads like a suspense novel, doesn't it? Let's get back to the rising action!...
(13) So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles brought from Judah by my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar? (14) I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with insight, understanding, and wisdom.
(15) My wise men and enchanters have tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning, but they cannot do it. (16) I am told that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honor, and you will have a gold chain placed around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
(17) Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means.
(18) Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar. ...(20) But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. (21) He was driven from human society. He was given the mind of a wild animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them.
(22) “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. (23) For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! (24) So God has sent this hand to write this message.
(25) “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. (26) This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end.
(27) Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up.
(28) Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
(29) Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
(30) That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.
(31) And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two. ~Daniel 5:13-18, 20-31
~~~
We serve a holy Lord. And if God sees/notices/is-aware-of, and is-dishonored-by our arrogance and lack of worship of Him...then (good news!): the opposite is also true.
God is pleased, blessed, and honored, when we regard Him highly and worship Him and honor His instructions and His institutions (church, marriage, and family) which He created with the intent of reflecting Him and His ways.
Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin.
Read the writing on the wall today. It can be good or bad, depending on us.
sarah
Https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com
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