Pride Sovereignly Judged

It's right there. It's right there.

That means we're praying hard.

Church, let's open up our Bibles to the book of Daniel once more.

The book of Daniel. If you've been in business with us or have been with us over the past several weeks,

you know we've been walking through the book of Daniel chapter by chapter.

We're almost to the end of the first half. We broke it up into two halves.

We have the narrative sections in chapters 1 through 6.

Then we're going to pause as we go through some psalms for the summer before we get to some of the scary stuff in verses 7 through 12.

Right now we're in chapter 5 of the book of Daniel.

When you found that in your Bibles, I ask, would you stand in honor of the reading of God's word, Daniel chapter 5?

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar, his father,

had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought,

that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.

Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem.

And the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.

They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace,

opposite the lampstand.

And the king saw the hand as it wrote.

Then the king's color changed and his thoughts alarmed him.

His limbs gave way and his knees knocked together.

The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers.

The king declared to the wise men of Babylon,

Whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation

shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck

and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Then all the king's wise men came in,

but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.

Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed and his color changed and his lords were perplexed.

The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords,

came into the banqueting hall and the queen declared,

O king, live forever.

Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.

In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom

like the wisdom of the gods were found in him.

And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king,

made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,

because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams,

explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel,

whom the king named Beltshazzar.

Now let Daniel be called and he will show the interpretation.

Then Daniel was brought in before the king.

The king answered and said to Daniel,

You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah,

whom the king, my father, brought from Judah.

I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you,

and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.

Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me

to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation,

but they could not show the interpretation of the matter.

But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems.

Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation,

you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck

and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Then Daniel answered and said before the king,

Let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another.

Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king

and make known to him the interpretation.

O king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father,

kingship and greatness and glory and majesty.

And because of the greatness that he gave him,

all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him.

Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive.

Whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.

But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened,

so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne,

and glory was taken from him.

He was driven from among the children of mankind,

and his mind was made like that of a beast,

and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys.

He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven,

until he knew that the most high God rules the kingdom of mankind

and sets over it whom he will.

And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,

though you knew all of this.

But you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven.

And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you,

and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines,

have drunk wine from them.

And you have praised the gods of silver and gold,

of bronze and iron and wood and stone,

which do not see or hear or know.

But the God in whose hand is your breath,

and whose are all your ways,

you have not honored.

Then from his presence the hand was sent,

and this writing was inscribed.

And this is the writing that was inscribed.

Many, many, tekel and parson.

This is the interpretation of the matter.

Many, many, God has numbered the days of your kingdom

and brought it to an end.

Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.

Paris, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then Belshazzar gave the command,

and Daniel was clothed with purple,

a chain of gold was put around his neck,

and a proclamation was made about him

that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

That very night,

Belshazzar, the Chaldean king,

was killed,

and Darius the Mede received the kingdom,

being about 62 years old.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the word of our Lord endures forever.

Would you pray with me?

Lord,

we thank you for your word.

We thank you for the gift that it is to us,

and we pray now as we open it,

as we seek you in it,

Lord, would you humble us?

Would you lead us to praise you and honor you as you deserve?

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Amen.

Well, Daniel chapter 5 begins with a little bit of a shock, doesn't it?

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

King Belshazzar is now on the scene,

and as you read this,

you kind of wonder,

well, what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar?

Last chapter,

we were discussing King Nebuchadnezzar,

his restoration.

He was doing well.

He had been humbled,

but brought back to right relationship with the Lord,

and you wonder,

well, where did King Nebuchadnezzar go?

Well, Daniel doesn't tell us.

He just goes from one king to another,

Nebuchadnezzar,

and now to Belshazzar,

and it's jarring for us,

but I think it's also helpful for us

in order to illustrate the point of the book of Daniel.

We're five chapters in now,

and I hope that you're starting to get the big picture of Daniel's book.

Daniel's aim is to teach us about the kingdom of man

and the coming kingdom of God.

He's teaching us about God's place

as the sovereign ruler of all things

and our place as God's people,

our place as citizens of his kingdom

who are exiles here in the kingdom of man.

That's the point of the book of Daniel.

In fact, if you want to know what the book of Daniel is about,

the word king or kingdom appears 150 times in these 12 chapters.

That's a good clue to us about what this book is about.

The kingdom of man, it comes and goes.

It takes many different shapes,

many different forms,

different rulers come,

and different rulers go,

but ultimately, in the kingdom of man,

nothing really changes.

The book of Daniel, it spans seven decades.

Daniel, who we first met as a teenager in chapter 1,

he's in his 80s now,

here in chapter 5.

Time has come and gone.

There's a new king in place.

Everything has changed,

but nothing has changed,

and that's exactly the point.

Here in chapter 5,

we meet the new boss,

same as the old boss.

What we see

is that that same ugly sin of pride

and disregard for the true king of kings

that characterizes the kingdom of man

in every place and in every age

has cropped up yet again.

What we see, especially here in chapter 5,

is the truth that,

in the end,

God will judge all human pride.

I'll say that again.

The point of chapter 5

is to teach us that,

ultimately,

God will judge all human pride.

So this morning,

what I want us to see here

in Daniel chapter 5

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

are four characteristics of human pride.

Four characteristics of human pride.

First,

pride ignores reality.

Pride ignores reality.

I think it might be helpful here

in this first point

to provide some historical context

for what's happening here in Babylon.

So zoom out of these pages

just for a moment.

Let's look to the pages of history.

The pages of history tell us

that Babylon fell to Cyrus of Persia

in October of 539 B.C.

King Nebuchadnezzar,

he died in 562 B.C.

And so if you're doing the math,

we're at least 20 to 30 years

removed from the events of chapter 4

by the time we come here to chapter 5.

Now, I know that it says

that Nebuchadnezzar is Belshazzar's father

here in the text.

It says that in verse 2,

verse 11,

verse 18.

But the word there

that's translated father,

it can also be translated,

I think it's probably better translated,

as predecessor.

Predecessor.

It doesn't necessarily

have to mean biological father.

It's a predecessor.

And so again,

the pages of history,

back this up,

historical records tell us

that after Nebuchadnezzar came,

I'm going to brutalize these names,

okay,

so just be forewarned.

After Nebuchadnezzar came

Amal Marduk.

He was assassinated.

And after Amal Marduk

came Neraglisar,

who died without any real explanation.

And then after Neraglisar

came Labashi Marduk,

who was overthrown.

And then the people

who overthrew Labashi Marduk

set up Nabonidus as king.

And Nabonidus had a son,

and his name was

Belshazzar.

And it was during the reign

of Nabonidus,

with Belshazzar his son,

as sort of a second in command,

the functional king,

that the empire of Babylon

fell to Cyrus

and to the Persians.

Now,

that historical lesson

might not mean anything

to you at all,

other than to place

what we're reading

here in actual human history.

This is God's perspective

of God's plan,

of God's work

in human history.

Now,

apparently,

it was almost unthinkable

that Babylon

would actually ever fall.

It was thought

to be indestructible.

It was well protected.

It was strong,

and it was secure.

So much so

that an ancient Greek historian

named Xenophon,

I don't know why

these guys can't have

normal American names,

but here we are.

Xenophon,

who recorded Babylon's fall,

he said that

Babylon was

well protected

from a siege,

and it had plenty

of resources of food

and drinks

stored away,

so Belshazzar felt

he could take pride

in his security.

And again,

interestingly enough,

Xenophon,

in his historical writings,

tells us that

right before

the fall of Babylon,

they threw

a giant,

drunken orgy.

Okay?

Now this is the context

that we're dealing with here.

So it's in this context

that we come to verse 1,

and verse 1 tells us

that King Belshazzar

made a great feast

for a thousand

of his lords

and drank wine

in front

of the thousand.

What kind of king

does this?

His city is under attack?

His people

are in danger,

but he completely

disregards the reality

of the situation,

and he chooses

just instead

to throw a giant party

and just eat

and drink

and celebrate

as if nothing

could ever stop

the party.

As I read this,

and as I studied

this this week,

I thought of the story

of the Titanic.

You know the story

of the Titanic.

The Titanic

was billed

as the unsinkable ship.

It's this giant,

supposedly indestructible vessel,

and so they filled it

with over 2,000 passengers,

and they set off

onto the ocean

to eat and drink

and party

until all of a sudden

what happens?

They hit an iceberg,

and the ship

begins to sink,

and this unsinkable ship

that took nearly

three years to build.

It sunk all the way

down into the depths

of the ocean

within less than

three hours.

And apparently,

if you read

the eyewitness accounts

of the sinking

of the Titanic,

the musicians

on the ship

continued to play

their music

the entire time

as the passengers

jumped and filled

the lifeboats.

And you can read

testimonies

from the survivors

who described

just how strange

it was to hear

the music

continue to play

and the party

continue to go on

even as the ship

sank into the ocean.

Yeah,

it seems strange

to us,

doesn't it?

You know,

almost unimaginable.

It's hard to imagine

throwing a party

and being so unaware

of the dangers

around us,

doesn't it?

But the fact is

that this is exactly

how people

who don't know

the Lord

go about this life,

isn't it?

The godless

worldview

thinks that

all there is

to do

is eat

and drink

and be merry

for tomorrow

we die.

You only live once.

Live it up.

Life is one big party.

I'm going to live my way.

I'm going to do

what I want.

I'm going to satisfy

whatever desire I have.

I'm going to go to bed.

I'm going to wake up

and I'm going to do it

all again

tomorrow.

The godless

worldview

thinks wrongly

that life is just

one big party

and that we are

indestructible.

But there's a word

for that.

You know what it is?

It's pride.

Pride

completely

ignores

the reality

of the situation.

It's a dangerous

and a reckless

way to live.

But we need to understand

why it's so dangerous

and that's our second

point this morning.

Second,

it's because

pride

offends

the Lord.

Second,

pride

offends

the Lord.

This is the danger.

This is the iceberg

in the water.

This is the danger

that we face

with our pride.

Pride is dangerous

because our pride

is sinful rebellion

against a holy

God.

Look there to verse 2

with me.

Belshazzar throws

this party.

He begins to

drink himself drunk

with a thousand

of his closest friends

but then he goes

a step further

and verse 2

says that

when he tasted

the wine

he commanded

that the vessels

of gold

and of silver

that Nebuchadnezzar

his father

had taken out

of the temple

in Jerusalem

be brought

that the king

and his lords

his wives

and his concubines

might drink

from them.

So they brought

them in

and verse 4

says that they

drank the wine

out of these

holy vessels

and they began

to praise

these false gods

gods of gold

and of silver

and of bronze

and of iron

and of wood

and of stone.

This is

deeply

deeply

irreverent

and offensive

to God.

Now we don't have

holy objects

like this anymore

right?

But it might be

a little bit

if I can make a parallel

it might be a little bit

like throwing a party

and somebody needs

some coasters

and you don't have

any coasters

and so instead

of using

an actual coaster

you say

well go grab

that Bible

over there

and rip off

a few of the pages

and put that down

and set your drink

on top of that

and we'll drink

on top of

the word of God.

This is

disrespect

and disregard

for God

and his ways.

These holy vessels

were meant

to be set apart

for use

in the temple

in Jerusalem.

Only the priests

could use

these holy vessels

and only in the temple

and only after

consecrating themselves

not because there's

anything special

really about

the objects themselves

but because

these objects

were set apart

for holy use.

These objects

were intended

for holy use

in the worship

of the one true God

but here

they're used

like solo cups

at a party.

Not only this

they're used

in direct connection

with idol worship.

It says they drank

from these holy vessels

and they praised

the gods of gold

and silver

and bronze

and iron

and wood

and stone.

This is a direct

assault against

the Lord.

What we need

to understand

is that

that's what

pride is.

That's what pride

does.

This is how pride

works

and it's deeply

offensive to the Lord.

Now of course

you may say

I would never

disregard

a holy object

like this.

We don't really

have these

holy objects

and I would

never

ever be so prideful

as to profane

a holy thing

like this.

Well

listen to what

Paul says

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 3:17

chapter 3

verse 17.

He says

if anyone

destroys

God's temple

God will

destroy him

for God's

temple

is holy.

You understand

that?

Let me read

that again.

If anyone

destroys

God's temple

God will

destroy him

for God's

temple

is holy.

Now listen

to this.

He says

and you

are

that

temple.

Do you hear

that?

You

are

that

temple.

You

Christian

are

the

temple

of God.

By faith

in Christ

his

Holy Spirit

dwells

in you.

You

are a

holy

vessel.

You

are set

apart

for

holy

use.

You

are

intended

to be

used

for

the

honor

and

the

glory

of

the

Lord.

You

are

much

more

sacred

and

profound

than

any

holy

object

in

the

Old

Testament.

God's

own

spirit

by faith

in

Christ

dwells

in

you.

So

no

we

may

not

ever

drink

wine

from

a

cup

intended

for

holy

use

but

Paul

says

you

are

the

temple.

Don't

profane

his

temple

by being

sexually

immoral

with your

body.

Don't

devote

your

hands

and your

feet

and your

energy

to

worthless

things.

Don't

commit

idolatry

by fixing

your heart

and your

mind

on created

things

rather than

the

creator.

All

of

these

are

direct

assaults

against

our

holy

God.

And

all

of

these

things

they

flow

downstream

from

pride.

This

is

offensive

to

our

Lord.

Belshazzar's

behavior

is

offensive

to

God

and

so

now

what

we

see

is

that

God

does

something

about

it.

Look

there

to

verse

5.

It

says

immediately

the

fingers

of

a

human

hand

appeared

and

wrote

on

the

plaster

of

the

wall

of

the

king's

palace

opposite

the

lampstand.

Apparently

the walls

of

Babylon

were made

out of

white

gypsum

which

would

have

made

a

perfect

blank

canvas

for

this

hand

to

write

a

message

for

Belshazzar.

And

so

the

king

sees

this

mysterious

hand

as it

wrote

in

verse

6

it

says

that

I

just

have

in

my

mind

this

image

of

a

cartoon

character

who's

just

terrified

his

legs

are

shaking

his

limbs

are

loose

and

literally

the

phrase

there

his

limbs

gave

way

literally

that's

translated

the

knots

of

his

loins

were

loosed

y'all

think

about

that

for

a

minute

the

knots

of

his

loins

were

loosed

it

means

that

the

king

is

so

afraid

probably

so

full

of

alcohol

he

sees

this

divine

hand

riding

on

the

wall

and

he

soils

himself

he's

humiliated

this

is a

humiliating

moment

for

the

king

and

at

this

point

the

party

is

officially

over

now

imagine

the

scene

of

a

college

party

you're

going

to

have

to

use

your

imagination

I

know

none

of

y'all

have

ever

been

to

anything

like

this

use

your

imagination

as

best

as

you

can

but

you

know

that

there's

plenty

going

on

here

that

shouldn't

be

happening

everything's

good

everybody's

having a

good time

the music's

on

we're

we're

dancing

we're

drinking

we're

having

fun

and then

all of

a

sudden

the

lights

turn

on

the

music

stops

you

look

up

towards

the

door

and

you

see

the

police

have

arrived

at

the

party

the

party

is

over

at

this

point

right

why

because

a

higher

authority

to whom

you

will

have

to

give

an

account

has

shown

up

at

the

party

and

you

you

begin

to

count

off

all

the

ways

that

you

know

that

you're

guilty

and

you

begin

to

realize

that

I

have

done

wrong

somebody

higher

and more

powerful

and more

authoritative

than me

has come

and I

am going

to have

to talk

to them

about

everything

I've

been

doing

and they

realize

here

that

they're

busted

the thing

is

he should

have

known

better

right

he should

have

known

better

but that's

the third

characteristic

of pride

here

third

pride

never

learns

pride

never

learns

I

wonder if

you notice

how similar

the stories

of

Nebuchadnezzar

and Belshazzar

have been

you notice

those similarities

Belshazzar

has done

exactly

what

Nebuchadnezzar

did

just like

Nebuchadnezzar

they both

saw a

divine

message

just like

Nebuchadnezzar

they both

called in

all the

wise men

of Babylon

to come

and interpret

the message

just like

Nebuchadnezzar

he offered

them up

all these

rewards

and honors

for anybody

who could

interpret

the message

and the

interpretation

and just

like what

happened

with Nebuchadnezzar

the wise men

were they

successful

no

they

failed

in interpreting

the message

they don't

know what

to do

but it

says that

the queen

remembered

something

verse 11

she said

there's a

man in

your kingdom

in whom

is the

spirit

of the

holy

gods

and

king

Nebuchadnezzar

promoted

him over

all these

wise men

that you're

listening to

because he

was able

to understand

dreams

and interpret

riddles

and solve

all sorts

of problems

why don't

you go

get

Daniel

so he

did

verse 13

it says

Daniel was

brought in

before the

king

and the

king

says

none of

my men

have been

able

to help

me

but I

I've

heard

that

you're

able

and if

you can

verse 16

says

I will

honor you

clothe you

with purple

and you'll

get a gold

chain around

your neck

and I'll

make you

the third

ruler

in the

kingdom

but look

how Daniel

responds

verse 17

he says

let your

gifts be

for yourself

and give

your rewards

to another

nevertheless

I will

read the

writing

to the

king

and make

known to

him

the

interpretation

O king

the most

high

God

gave

Nebuchadnezzar

your father

kingship

and greatness

and glory

and majesty

and because of

the greatness

that he gave

him all

peoples

nations

and languages

trembled

and feared

before him

whom he

would

he killed

and whom

he would

he kept

alive

whom he

would

he raised

up

and whom

he would

he humbled

but when

his heart

was lifted

up

and his

spirit

was hardened

so that he

dealt

proudly

he was

brought

down

from his

kingly

throne

and his

glory

was taken

from him

this is

last week

he was driven

from among the

children of

mankind

and his

mind was

made like

that of

a beast

and his

dwelling

was with

the wild

donkeys

he was

fed

grass

like an

ox

and his

body

was wet

with the

dew

of heaven

until he

knew

this is

the point

that the

most high

God

rules the

kingdom

of mankind

and sets

over it

whom he

will

that was

the lesson

God taught

Nebuchadnezzar

from last

week

God is

ultimately

king

not

you

why is he

telling all

this to

Belshazzar

it's because

Belshazzar

hasn't learned

the lesson

he knew all

of this

but history is

repeating itself

here and he

should have

known better

verse 22

it says

you his son

Belshazzar

have not humbled

your heart

though you

knew all of

this

but you

have lifted

up yourself

against the

Lord of

heaven

and the

vessels of

his house

have been

brought in

before you

and you

and your

lords

your wives

your concubines

have all

drunk wine

from them

you've praised

the gods

of silver

and gold

of bronze

and iron

and wood

and stone

which don't

see or hear

or know

but the true

God

the true

God

in whose

hand is

your breath

the true

God

in whose

hand is

all your

ways

the true

God

who raised

you up

to this

position

and the

true God

who can

bring you

down

you have

not

honored

him

in other

words

you haven't

learned a

thing

you've heard

the quote

those who

fail to learn

from history

are doomed

to repeat

it

right

Belshazzar

hasn't

learned

a thing

from history

there's a

similar quote

the German

philosopher

George

Hegel

he says

the only

thing that

we learn

from history

is that

we learn

nothing

from history

and Belshazzar

sadly

proves that

to be true

as well

church

what I want

us to

understand

is that

the only

reason why

we don't

learn

anything

from history

is because

of our

pride

pride

doesn't

learn

why

because pride

knows

a pride

a prideful

heart

cannot

be

taught

one of

the

hallmarks

one of

the

trademarks

of pride

is an

unteachable

spirit

it's an

unwillingness

to learn

from others

it's a spirit

that puts

yourself above

everybody else

and says

I know

better than

you

I can't

learn from

you

I know

more than

you

and it's a

spirit that

doesn't want

to learn

from the

mistakes

or the

victories

or the

experiences

of others

it says

that would

never happen

to me

I wouldn't

make that

same mistake

I would

never do

what they

did

I'd never

say what

they did

that never

happened

to me

I'm above

what's happened

to them

pride

doesn't

learn

but humility

humility on the

other hand

understands that

we are

not

above

them

as we

read this

passage

humility

ought to

understand

that you

and I

are not

above the

same prideful

sin as

Belshazzar

here in this

passage

you and I

are not

above the

same pride

that ran

through

Adam

that ran

through

Israel

that ran

through

Nebuchadnezzar

that ran

through

Belshazzar

that same

spirit

of pride

runs through

every single

one of us

we have to

understand this

we have to

humble ourselves

to learn

from the

experiences

of others

especially

those that

are recorded

from us

by the

word of

God

himself

this is

why Paul

tells us

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

he says

these things

these Old

Testament

things

the experiences

of Israel

these things

took place

as examples

for us

that we

might not

desire evil

as they

did

do not

be idolaters

as some

of them

were

as it

is written

the people

sat down

to eat

and drink

and rose

up to

play

we must

not indulge

in sexual

immorality

as some

of them

did

and 23

thousand

fell

in a

single

day

we

must

not

put

Christ

to the

test

as some

of them

did

and were

destroyed

by serpents

nor grumble

as some

of them

did

and were

destroyed

by the

destroyer

now

these

things

happened

to them

as an

example

but they

were written

down

for our

instruction

on whom

the end

of the

ages

has come

do you hear

what he's

saying

all of

these

things

that have

happened

in human

history

all of

these

workings

of God

throughout

throughout

the pages

of scripture

are written

down

for our

instruction

that we

might

humble

ourselves

and learn

and not

repeat

the mistakes

that they've

made

because

if we

don't

humble

ourselves

church

we'll

soon

find out

that

fourth

the

fourth

and

final

characteristic

of

human

pride

fourth

pride

ends

in

judgment

all

pride

ends

in

judgment

there

to

verse

24

with

me

says

then

from his

presence

the hand

was sent

and this

writing

was

inscribed

and this

is the

writing

that was

inscribed

many

many

tekel

and

parson

you know

there's

so much

depth

of what's

written

here

there's

there's

meaning

on top

of meaning

on top

of meaning

on top

of meaning

there is

a quadruple

entendre

really

of what

is being

written

here

I don't

possibly

have the

time

to

unpack

all of

it

for you

this

morning

but Daniel

gets

right to

the heart

of it

he says

many

God

has

numbered

the days

of your

kingdom

and he's

brought it

to an end

the party

is over

and it may

look

from a human

perspective

like a

like a human

takeover

here by

Cyrus

but this

message

is intended

to show

you

God

is showing

you

that

he

is

bringing

judgment

upon

you

why

because

tekel