(And Found Wanting)
for there is none beside thee: neither is
there any rock like our God...for the Lord is a God
of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.
I Samuel 2:2,3
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it...And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans...Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego. Daniel 1:1-7In the fourth chapter of Daniel, we read about a dream King Nebuchadnezzar had. And as he had done before, Daniel also interpreted this dream of the king's and added the warning: Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. Daniel 4:27.
But did the king heed Daniel's warning to him? No. A year passed. One morning, King Nebuchadnezzar walked into his palace and said, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?" While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. Daniel 4:32,32.
And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honour and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellers and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. Daniel 4:34-37.Then we read in the Book of Daniel where King Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar, followed his father onto the throne as ruler. For the great feast that he made, King Belshazzar commanded that the gold and silver vessels his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem be used. He and his princes, his wives and his concubines all drank out of them, praising the gods of silver, brass, iron, wood and stone.
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Daniel 5:5,6.
We can put it this way: he was so frightened by what he saw that he was unable to walk and his knees knocked together. He called for all his wise men (please know that these "wise" men were soothsayers and magicians and astrologers--so much for "their" wisdom) to come and interpret what the hand had written, offering a great reward to he who was able to do so. And as was the case with his father's "wise" men, no one was able to interpret the meaning of the words on the wall. But the queen reminded Belshazzar of Daniel--thus, Daniel was brought before the king.
Daniel said, "Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. I will interpret these words. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. But when he got elevated within himself and his mind was hardened in pride, all his glory was taken from him, even his throne. He was given the heart of a beast, and dwelled with the wild asses. They fed him grass just as the oxen ate and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this." (Daniel 5:17-23)
- Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
- Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
- Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians
Job stated: "Let me be weighed in an even balance that God may know mine integrity" (Job 31:6). The Word of God tells us, But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Jeremiah 10:10. God doesn't change, my friends. That which angered Him against Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, angers Him today.
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:29-31.Now we can fool around and play at following Christ, but know this, just as Paul told the Corinthians:
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. II Corinthians 6:14-17.There are those who will tell you that scripture is meant for this specific circumstance or that one. Wrong! It applies to every aspect of our life! We are to "come out from among them"--we are not to sin. We are not to engage in anything that is counted as sin before God! We are to live a witness of our salvation through Jesus Christ before ALL we encounter every day. Wherever that is. It means we are to follow Jesus, Who said, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Hebrews 3:7-13.All of us who profess to know the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior need to be certain that the daily decisions we make are for Christ. Each and every day we must lift Him to the world and be a witness of that which He has done for us. Remember this:
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. Revelation 3:15-21.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:7-9.Let us live so that none of us will be found wanting when we are weighed in the balances of God. It's not the measurements of man that should concern us, or what we possess compared to those of our neighbor. It's that we need to be ever aware of the balances that God uses. Are we knowingly failing to do that which He would have us do? Please, let us NOT be
And Found Wanting
"Weighed (And Found Wanting)"
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