Daniel 5 - The Handwriting Is On The Wall

You may have heard the saying: "the handwriting is on the wall." My mother use to use this expression whenever someone was heading in a direction that she and most other people could recognize would lead them on a path to destruction. She used this expression synonymously with this expression, "Their days are numbered." (Dan 5:26) Whenever she used one of these expressions, I knew that someone had messed up "big time!" She meant that she expected that soon and very soon everything would blow up in their face and they would lose everything. Often as she predicted someone's destruction, she would also warn: "What goes around comes around."

The expression "the handwriting is on the wall" comes from this fifth chapter of Daniel. In the midst of a party, King Belshazzar (son and successor of Nebuchadnezzar) leads the group in praising the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone as they drink from the gold goblets that had been stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. "Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking." (Dan 5:5:6)

Daniel is called to interpret as no one else can figure out the meaning. Belshazzar was a hard-hearted and an arrogant king. He knew what consequences his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had suffered for his inflated ego, but Belshazzar learned nothing from his father's experience of being mad into the wilderness. Daniel tells him:

"“But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
“This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin

“Here is what these words mean:  Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.""  (Dan 5:22-31)

 

There is only one God. Put away your false gods and worship only Him.  Can you imagine the fear that one would experience seeing a hand come out of nowhere and write on the wall? If a simple hand can bring such fear, how would we react to seeing God face to face? The days of that meeting are indeed numbered for all of us. It will happen. The day is coming when every knee will bow before the LORD. Everyone will acknowledge that He is God. It is written:

"'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.'"

So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." (Rom 14:11-12)

 

The handwriting is on the wall. What does it say?

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

 

Daniel 4 - Babylonian King Glorifies God; Will We?

"At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
    his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
    or say to him: “What have you done?”

At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Dan 4:34-36 NIV)

King Nebuchadnezzar, mighty and powerful, had been brought to his knees and when he looked toward heaven, acknowledging that no one was before God, no one was more mighty or powerful than God, he was restored to his sanity.

Nebuchadnezzar had another one of those fantastic dreams which Daniel interpreted for him. Nebuchadnezzar, this powerful king, would be brought down to his knees. He would wander around in the wilderness, completely mad. It was as was predicted. He went through a horrible time of trial; but, in the end this great Babylonian king did not shake his fist at God. He thanked God. He praised Him!

What about us? Do we, who profess Jesus Christ, give thanks and praise to God for all things? Do we praise Him when we go through trying times? Think about it; King Nebuchadnezzar had gone totally mad; driven by God from the people to wander about in the wilderness with the wild animals, even eating the grass of the fields with the oxen.

When we are driven to wander aimlessly in the wilderness, what will we do? Will we turn quickly and give praise and thanksgiving to God?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Daniel 2 - Jesus is the Rock

Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.” (Dan 2:4 NIV)

Not! The king wants his servants to not only interpret his dream, but to tell him what it was that he dreamed first! No king's servant is able to do that. Only God knows what goes has been put into the mind of man whether he is awake or asleep. The LORD comes to Daniel's rescue and shows Daniel the dream so that the dream might be interpreted for the king and the king will know what is to come.

"Daniel replied, 'No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come...'" (Dan 2:27-28)

What has been revealed is none other than Jesus, the Rock; Jesus the King. "They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ." (1 Corinthians 10:3-4)

"As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—  you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble    and a rock that makes them fall.” (1 Peter 2:4-8)

Daniel interpreted the kings dream: “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces..." (Daniel 2:44-45 NIV)

Jesus is the rock. He is the King of Kings. His Kingdom is the kingdom, prophesied by Daniel, that will endure forever.

And we will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Amen. (Psalm 23:6)

God's Peace - Pr. J
 

Ezekiel 26 - Check the "Aha"; God is Watching You

Consider Tyre, they too laugh at Jerusalem, saying "Aha!" (Ezek 26:2 NIV) They are glad for Jerusalem's fall at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. They now have a little less competition. They think that because Jerusalem has fallen, they will now prosper even more. But, they will not be glad for long. God will send this same Nebuchadnezzar to ravage Tyre. They will no longer be the great city that they were.

Consider, again those whom you would laugh at and rejoice over when they fall because you might now have an advantage. Consider your boasting when you prevail over a friend or foe. Does God not hear? Will He come to their aid and take all that you thought you had won away?

God's Peace - Pr. J

Lamentations 1 - Much Grief

The temple has been destroyed. The people dispersed. There is much grief, thus the name Lamentations for this book of poetry.

No where in this poem is Babylon or Nebuchadnezzar mentioned by name. God is given credit for the destruction and the exile.

“Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?
    Look around and see.
Is any suffering like my suffering
    that was inflicted on me,
that the Lord brought on me    in the day of his fierce anger?" (Lam 1:12 NIV)

Is there anything that God does not see? Is there anything that He cannot do? His chosen ones have turned their backs on Him; seeking their own glory rather than His; now weeping for what once was and for what could have been.

May God help us to always seek His face so that we might know peace in His land.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Jeremiah 44 - Denying/Rejecting God's Mercy

Do not mistake God's mercy for blessings of false idols. He endured the sins of the remnant for long enough as they worshipped their false idols. And, now they are willfully turning their backs on Him saying: "We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord! We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine." (Jer 44:16-18 NIV)

God's own people, the little remnant that God allowed to remain in Jerusalem and care for the temple; care for the land, have decided instead that they will give up their inheritance. They will go to Egypt; and they will worship this false goddess. They have chosen to ignore God's blessings. Rather than give Him the glory; they will give thanks to and glorify this "queen of heaven."

And... they will be lost.... The LORD will not stand for His people turning away from Him in this manner. He will send Nebuchadnezzar to Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar will overthrow them. The people who were once God's people, who worshipped in His temple, will not be able to return to the home they turned their backs on.

Do not, I pray, turn your backs on the LORD, our Maker and Redeemer. Return to Him, giving Him (and no other) glory for all that He has done.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 40 - Fear Divides

Jeremiah doesn't do any prophesying in this chapter. We find him bound in chains. The Nebuzaradan commander frees him and gives him a choice. Go to Babylon and he will take care of Jeremiah or stay with the remnant. Jeremiah chooses to stay with the remnant.

Meanwhile, Gedaliah has been left in charge of the remnant in the Yehud province. But, not all of the God's people are pleased with this turn of events. Most of their people have just been carried off as prisoners to a foreign country and some of those who have been left behind are plotting to kill Gedaliah. Gedaliah doesn't believe it! He cannot believe that Ishmael, son of Nethaniah, would try to destroy him and ultimately divide and scatter the rest of the remnant. Politics!

It has been a difficult morning as I have been considering the plight of and praying for the Coptic Christians in Egypt this morning. At least 40 Christian churches were destroyed this week. Politics! Even Religion! So much turmoil! What causes it all! Could it be the fear of losing what one has had? Maybe, anger over the recent changes in the country? Could it be the fear of change? It just kind of baffles me that when things don't go our way, rather than face and address the situation appropriately, we sometimes attack, not the one(s) who is actually at the root of the problem, but the one who we don't care for, but is closer and more vulnerable. As individuals, we do it all the time. The problem is too big for us to handle alone, so we attack anyone and anything that irritates us. We end up attacking the symptom not the problem. Kind of reminds me of a few doctors... That is just what some of the remnant are about to do. They are frustrated and angry over the deportation of their people to Babylon. They can't stand up to Nebuchadnezzar's forces so they will attack Gedaliah, one of their own, who has been placed in charge of them.

Doesn't make sense to me to attack the symptom when the cause overwhelms us.

Doesn't make sense to me to not trust the LORD to see us through the disasters that come upon us and to give us the strength and courage to endure. Seems like God's people in Jeremiah's day were really having a hard time learning this. Seems to me that they will probably be bringing more trouble to themselves. May God help us to avoid all troubles by listening to His Word and doing His will.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 28 - Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire!

Liar, Liar, pants on fire!

No, that is not what Jeremiah said in response to the prophet Hananiah's prophecy that the LORD will break the yoke of Babylon in two years. "He said, “Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon." (Jer 28:6 NIV) Jeremiah would have liked that prophecy to occur, but he knew better. He knew because he, himself, had heard the word of God concerning the exile.

Hananiah tries to convince the people that Jeremiah is the one who is wrong. He takes the wooden yoke, that Jeremiah has been wearing as a warning to the people of their bondage to Babylon, and breaks it. Hananiah says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.’” (Jer 28:11)

Bad news... Lying about what God says is not a good thing, for sure!

"Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord.’”
In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died." (Jer 28:15-17)

It's really not a good idea to be saying "Thus says the LORD" if the LORD hasn't said it.

"Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar." (Prov 30:5-6)

God's Peace be with you! Pr. J

Jeremiah 27 - Nebuchadnezzar; The Servant of God

"Now I will give all your countries into the hands of my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him.  All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him." (Jeremiah 27:6-7 NIV)

We all have those days when we just can't figure out why our enemies prevail; when we beg God to intervene. Can you imagine what God's people thought when they heard Jeremiah's prophecy concerning Nebuchadnezzar being the servant of God? I'm thinking, it probably would have been pretty hard to believe Jeremiah and much easier to believe the false prophets. Of course, many of God's people have already been exiled to Babylon, so maybe they should be listening a whole lot closer to Jeremiah.

But, God has a plan and that plan includes restoring His people in the long run. Nebuchadnezzar has been chosen by God to help in that plan. The people have been yoked, for a very long time, to their false idols. Now, they will learn what it really means to be yoked by something, by someone, who is not God Almighty. They will learn this and turn to the LORD. They will then return to the land promised them.

Sometimes, hardships, may not be so much about our enemies persecuting us. Sometimes, they just might be about our LORD softening our hearts toward Him, as well as others.

May God bless your day as you go about serving the One God with an abundance of joy!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 21 - Day Of Judgment

Have the people not been listening? Has King Zedekiah heard none of the prophecies of Jeremiah? After much warning, Zedekiah finally realizes that Nebuchadnezzar is coming against them and sends word to Jeremiah to inquire of the LORD if He will deliver the people. It is, in fact, the LORD who is sending Nebuchadnezzar against them. It is too late. The day of judgment arrives. All those wasted days and years living for themselves rather than for God and doing what was not right in His sight, have finally come back on them.

 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.  I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’
  “Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. ¹² This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

“‘Administer justice every morning;
    rescue from the hand of the oppressor
    the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
    because of the evil you have done—
    burn with no one to quench it.
I am against you, Jerusalem,
    you who live above this valley
    on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
    Who can enter our refuge?”
I will punish you as your deeds deserve,
    declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire in your forests    that will consume everything around you.’” (Jer 21:8, 10-14)

It will not be good on the day of judgment. There will many who will think, as King Zedekiah thought, that the LORD would save them and in the end, the LORD will say, I knew you not, because you knew me not. Hear the prophecy of Jesus, just in case you haven't heard it before and a reminder if you hadn't, like King Zedekiah, paid attention.

   “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
   “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
   "He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’" (Matt 25:41-45 NIV)

Feed His Sheep! And have a blessed day!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 5 - Destroyed; But, Not Completely

It was last Sunday, as I was proclaiming the Kingdom through Jesus Christ from the pulpit, that it came to me that there is such a multitude out there that say "LORD, LORD" (Matt 7:21-23); yet do not really know Him or trust Him. My heart became extremely heavy with this burden. My eyes filled with tears for those wandering about aimlessly, chasing after false hopes, false promises, false gods. How could they? Why would they?

The LORD commanded Jeremiah to go into the streets of Jerusalem and try to find one person who sought the truth. If Jeremiah could find that one person, then then LORD would not hand the city over to Nebuchadnezzar. There were many who said "As surely as the LORD lives," yet they did not believe. They had turned their backs on God while pretending to worship Him. God had tried to correct them, yet they refused His correction.

Jeremiah thought that just maybe they were foolish and simply didn't know the way of the LORD. But, the word he sought to bring them fell on deaf ears. The leaders of the people had hearts of stone. They had removed the yoke from their shoulders. And, so... the LORD promised that He would hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar. They would be destroyed, but not completely. There was hope, even if the people didn't want that hope, because they really did not believe that God was Almighty enough to do this thing. They didn't trust God's word for the good or the bad. In spite, of their lack of faith, God would not destroy them completely. In the end, He will save them. But, they will endure much correction, much hardship, to get there.

As we came to the LORD's table following the sermon this past Sunday, the burden lifted (at least a bit) and hope was restored. I was reminded that it is by God's grace that we are saved. That His children are saved by faith in the precious blood of Jesus shed for all. God forgives you your sins. Turn around and worship Him. Trust Him. Love Him above all things. Let us not harden our hearts and say that God will do nothing. God will do something. He has done something. He has given His all for you. He has given His life for your life - that you might live eternally in His Kingdom. Live life!

May God grant you peace of heart and mind in the knowledge that you are forgiven; that the door to the Kingdom has been opened to you; that you have been saved through Jesus Christ, our LORD. 

Pr. J

2 Chronicles 36 - Last Chapter - Into Exile

Some peoples never learn.  Hard-hearted, after running through their last hard-hearted kings, the Israelites are given into to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, by God, exiled to Babylon for 70 years.   One would thing the people would learn, but, no.  They ran through kings like water runs in a waterfall; yet, they would not repent.  They would not turn back to the LORD.  They lose their temple.  They lose their home.  They lose their freedom.  Into captivity they go. 

In the end, it is only by the softening of the Persian's king's heart, by God, that the people are allowed to return to rebuild the temple. 

Sometimes, it seems, we can be so hard-hearted toward the LORD, that it takes a non-believer, with a heart softened by God, to steer us back on course.  I have (and I'm sure if you think about it, you probably have, too) often been turned around by someone who worships others gods or as some would say they worship no gods.  For whatever reason or however He does it, God can use anyone to soften our hearts toward Him; to bring us back to Worship; to renew our faith.  The Holy Spirit is not limited to just work on and through Christians.  The Holy Spirit can do whatever the Holy Spirit wants.  He is God and God works in ways we can even begin to fathom.   

Well, I am back from vacation and heading to the church very soon for Bible study.  May God soften the hearts of all people (especially those who say they are Christian) so that they would study and hear His word more faithfully.

2 Kings 24

Well, they are on their way into exile and captivity.  Jerusalem is captured.  The LORD is accomplishing what He promised to do because of the evil that was done in the sight of the LORD.

God had given them so much, but they had forgotten how He had delivered them from Egypt.  They had forgotten how they had to wander around in the wilderness for 40 years because of their lack of trust in Him.  Even after receiving the promised land, they did not trust the LORD, their God and followed after and gave offerings to other gods of their own making and imaginations.  And... now they are heading, once again, toward exile and bondage.

What is it exactly about the human race that we just cannot give credit to where credit is due?  Why is it that we insist on NOT giving thanks and glorifying God?

May our hearts be softened and our whole beings turned to Worship the only One who can deliver us...