Daniel 5:24-31 Video Devotional

Posted on Dec 8, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , , ,

“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: 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.”
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 sixty-two years old. – Daniel 5:24-31
 
In this story, the writing was on the wall. Whatever the hand wrote wasn’t going to be good. We could see that from how the phrase is now used as well as Daniel’s prologue to the interpretation. In today’s passage, that warning is confirmed. Belshazzar will lose the kingdom. Later that evening, he was killed. His story did not end like his father’s.
 
What I do find interesting about this passage is that in the midst of a horribly foreboding warning from Daniel, Belshazzar’s fate was sealed, but his attitude was grateful. At least, that’s how it seems. Belshazzar’s response to the interpretation was to have Daniel robed in royalty and made the third ruler of the kingdom. So here is the interpretation challenge to you – was Belshazzar being sarcastic in his honoring of Daniel, or did he simply keep to his word?
 
Earlier, Daniel politely requests to receive nothing for this interpretation, but there is no follow up after the robes are put on Daniel. I am sure he was under social obligation to accept when offered, but we have no more information on the exchange. While we can guess whether Belshazzar did that out of anger/sarcasm as opposed to honor, all that can be done is debate the idea.
 
What we do know is that Daniel was faithful to deliver God’s message regardless of the rewards or consequences he would face. We know that Belshazzar, though refusing to humble himself to God, still put Daniel as the number 3 guy in his kingdom. Granted, that would only last a few hours.
 
We have no idea how one person may respond to hearing the gospel or what they might do or say as a result. All we can do is to be faithful with the message God has entrusted us with and leave the rest to Him. As Daniel’s life has shown, that can go well on earth and it can also go bad. Thankfully, God promises to be with us through it all.

Daniel 4:9-18 Video Devotional

Posted on Nov 17, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , ,

“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

“I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold, a watcher, a holy one, came down from heaven. He proclaimed aloud and said thus: ‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. Let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man’s, and let a beast’s mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’ This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. And you, O Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.” – Daniel 4:9-18

We come to another dream of Nebuchadnezzar’s – this one a warning. Despite his movements towards humility and honor of God, Nebuchadnezzar still holds on to a lot of arrogance, thinking very highly of himself. Though it is interesting that we have seen multiple instances of him praising God, this story shows us clearly that one’ coming to God is a process, not a one-time thing. This dream is the big change-maker in his life.

Of course no one but Daniel can interpret the dream, thus leading the king to go to one of his most trusted advisors for the answer (however, he still hasn’t learned to go to Daniel first). He recognizes the power in Daniel and trusts him with the interpretation.

The king had a lot to learn, but it is cool that we are shown his progression towards God. We don’t know har far he goes in his spiritual journey, but we definitely see a journey, and that is something we need to understand with all people. In our zeal to tell others about Jesus, we need to realize that everyone is on a journey and us jumping in at some random point is a small blip on the totality of their journey. It is an important blip, but they might be better served if we make sure our presence is more than one blip.

In other words, let’s make sure to enter in to other people’s lives and journeys before presenting Jesus. We need to build relationships with them, love them, and truly know them. Then we can be most aware to when the right time and the movement of the Spirit is leading us to present Jesus. Proper witnessing is a long-term relationship, sprinkling the gospel over many conversations. Take the time to invest in those relationships (like Daniel did) and watch the spiritual fruit grow!


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