Wednesday, June 13

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Wednesday

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.  King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them.  While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.  As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.   - Daniel 4:37-5:4

The last six chapters of the book of Daniel are prophetic and apocalyptic (that is they deal with the end of the world); but the first six provide the personal history of Daniel. They give us the background for the prophetic messages God gave through him. Roughly speaking, the first two chapters deal with Daniel's youth, chapters three and four with his middle-age, and chapters five and six near the end of his life.   

It is strange that chapter 4 ends with Nebuchadnezzar praising God and Chapter 5 begins with Belshazzar openly defying Him.  Belshazzar knew about how his step-grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had humbled himself before God.  He knew about how this God had preserved and protected His people during their captivity.  “He knew about all of this” (Daniel 5:22).  Yet, despite his knowledge about God, he chose the path of pride and arrogance.  Why?  Well there are likely many reasons, but at least one of them is that there is a huge difference between knowing about God and knowing Him personally.  Belshazzar may have known some facts about this God, but he trusted in himself and in the might of his nation - Babylon.  

When we dig a little into ancient history, we find out that Belshazzar probably had good reasons (from a human point of view) to trust in Babylonian power.  The capitol city of Babylon was one of immense wealth and power. It was the center of a vast empire, which included all of Mesopotamia and the highlands beyond, as well as Syria and Palestine. The city was built on the plains, along the banks of the Euphrates River.  Ancient writers describe it as a city surrounded by four walls, each fifteen miles in length. Twenty-four streets ran north and south, and the same number east and west. Each street terminated at one of the one hundred gates in the inner walls and at each gate there was a large beautiful garden. Hence, the city was made up of more than six hundred square blocks!  According to ancient documents, the city walls enclosed a huge, seven-stage ziggurat, which rose to the height of 650 feet.  If we could go back in time and see this ancient city, we would be awestruck at its sheer size and beauty.

 Ancient historians tell us that Babylon held 20 years of food provisions for all the inhabitants inside of its walls.  Additionally, the walls of the city had actually been built over a portion of the Euphrates river so that the city would never be without fresh water!  

The city of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar’s reign reached the absolute pinnacle of world power and no doubt Belshazzar believed his city, his empire and his life to be untouchable.

Daniel 5 deals with the downfall of the Babylonian empire at the hands of Cyrus the Great of the Medo-Persian empire. History records that this transition of power occurred in just one night (October 11th or 12th, 539 B.C.).  Mighty Babylon fell in a single night!  Do you want to know how Cyrus did it?  He knew that he could not get over or through the walls of the great city, so he went under them!  He dug canals that diverted the waters of the Euphrates river and then marched his army through the shallow stream under the walls of the city!  The events of that night are spoken of by the prophet Jeremiah...

Even if Babylon reaches the sky and fortifies her lofty stronghold, I will send destroyers against her,” declares the LORD. “The sound of a cry comes from Babylon, the sound of great destruction from the land of the Babylonians.  The LORD will destroy Babylon; he will silence her noisy din. Waves [of enemies] will rage like great waters; the roar of their voices will resound.  A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the LORD is a God of retribution; he will repay in full.  I will make her officials and wise men drunk, her governors, officers and warriors as well; they will sleep forever and not awake,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty.  This is what the LORD Almighty says:  “Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled and her high gates set on fire; the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing, the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”   - Jeremiah 51 (selected)

Other than being historically interesting, what does all of this teach us today?

Simply put, God is sovereign over all nations, kingdoms, cultures, countries, civilizations, and peoples, and He is certainly sovereign over your life and mine!  We all place our trust in someone or something, the only question is who?

Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed; he answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.  Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.  They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.  - Psalm 20:6-8

That is why Scripture says:  “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.            - James 4:7-10

Jeff Frazier