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NUMBERED, WEIGHED AND DIVIDED (DANIEL 5:13-30)

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “Numbered, Weighed, and Divided. “Numbered, weighed, and divided ” was the writing on the wall that represented King Belshazzar’s judgment for dishonouring God. We shall reflect on the fact that God detests pride. Pride is the failure to give honour to God or acknowledge His sovereignty. Again, it amounts to insulting, showing contempt, or lacking reverence for God.

Dear friend, God detests pride hence we may incur His wrath if we remain unrepentant. King Belshazzar, the successor of King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders that “they bring 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.” Daniel 5:3-4). Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall as “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, 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; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians…That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain” (Daniel 5:25-28,30) Beloved in the Lord, it is important always to remember that we are mere mortals or flesh, bone and blood who have been graciously created in the image and likeness of God. We must understand no matter who we are and the power we possess on earth, we remain fragile or weak and can easily be destroyed by God. Let us be careful so we do not become power-drunk and begin to rub shoulders with God, our creator. We must fear and honour God irrespective of our prestigious positions and achievements in the world.

King Belshazzar failed to learn from his father, Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and punishment, therefore Daniel said to him, “But when his (father, Nebuchadnezzar’s) heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.

22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 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 honour the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.” (Daniel 5:20-23) In other words, Belshazzar decided to dishonour the God of Israel by partying with sacred elements taken from the Temple of the Living God during their siege and victory over Israel. Using consecrated and holy articles of worship for mundane or entertainment purposes was an act of blasphemy, abomination and utmost display of pride by a mere mortal. The key lesson of today’s reflection is that we may be spared when we become arrogant towards our fellow human beings, however, we may not be spared when it comes to our arrogance and pride towards God. We are cautioned in Proverbs 16:5 that “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.” It is for this reason “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.”(Proverbs 16:18)

Dear friend, as believers, let us follow Jesus’ perfect example of humility. Paul admonished us to “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:5-9). Again, we are greatly admonished by James to eschew pride, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:6-9). As Church leaders group leaders, Chief executive directors and managers at our various workplaces and responsible Parents, spouses and children, Jesus has taught us to remain humble always when He said in Luke 17:10 “When you have done everything you were told to do, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” Again, as a Christian President, Member of Parliament, District Chief Executive or whatever political position or appointment we have held or still holding, Jesus has taught to remain humble by saying ” We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” (Luke 17:10). Let us remain humble at all time and learn to say with the Psalmist, “I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 2 I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of your name, O Most High.” (Psalms 9:1-2)

In summary, we have discovered that God detests pride. Unlike King Belshazzar, let us humble ourselves at our various positions of power, leadership and influence to avoid our days being numbered, our lives being weighed and found wanting and last but not least, our prestigious and privileged position being divided and given to others. Let us fear God and humble ourselves to avoid His divine wrath, disgrace and destruction. Shalom.

PRAYER

Holy Spirit, strengthen us to remain humble through our actions and inaction. Empower us to live a life that brings honour and praise to God and not to ourselves. Amen.