Categories: Daniel

Daniel 5

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Daniel 5 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

“Though you knew all this…”

It’s a frightening statement. Consider the fact that Belshazzar didn’t grow up in a “Christian home.” His father, King Nebuchadnezzar, had humbled himself to the Lord at one time and Belshazzar knew this. However, he still followed the arrogant, selfish behavior which had been modeled before him for so long.

Some people would say Daniel’s response was harsh. Scripture tells us that every human being will be held accountable regardless of their upbringing because the reality of sin and the reality of God are built into humanity from the beginning.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 1:20-23 ESV

He surely had witnessed or heard about the story of the fiery furnace. There is no doubt he knew that his father became mad and grazed among cattle for seven years. You would think this would be enough to turn a heart… but it wasn’t. God still required Belshazzar to respond. We read that he had to be told (or reminded) who Daniel was. This is what we do, right? We get so caught up in our own world that we forget about what really matters in life. We lose focus and make God into an amenity instead of our Lord.

The goodness of God was not meant to be experienced through another person’s life. He is not like a credit card that pays for our debts whenever we decide to pull him out of our wallet. God wants all or nothing… no compromising. We cannot be satisfied with living a lifestyle on our terms and still receive the benefits of knowing Christ. He calls us to so much more than that.

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