Daily Lesson for September 11, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Daniel chapter 4 verses 2 through 11:

2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar commanded that they bring in the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the vessels of gold and silver[a] 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. 4 They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. The king was watching the hand as it wrote. 6 Then the king’s face turned pale, and his thoughts terrified him. His limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and the king said to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me its interpretation shall be clothed in purple, have a chain of gold around his neck, and rank third in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation. 9 Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.

10 The queen, when she heard the discussion of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall. The queen said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts terrify you or your face grow pale. 11 There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.

This morning's readings have to do with kings, and dreams, and God the LORD putting the powers of this world back into their place.

So Daniel, a man full of wisdom and understanding, was called to tell King Belshazzar the King's dream. And the words were judgment:

"Mene, Tekel, and Parsin."

Mene -- God had numbered the King's days.

Tekel -- The King had been weighed on the scale of judgment and found wanting

Parsin -- The kingdom would be divided amongst the King's enemies.

There is a piece of ironic humor in the story also. "Belshazzar" is Babylonian for "God, protect the king". But the Bel is no match for the LORD God, who found in Belshazzar arrogance, and disdain and a flouting of humility which in the end cost him his throne.

For, as was said in chapter 2 of Daniel, "there is a God" who:

"Changes times and seasons,

deposes kings and sets up kings,

and gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those

who have understanding . . ."

So may those with wisdom and knowledge understand and find peace in the eternal truth of this message.

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson will come from Daniel chapters 7-9.