Commanding to Bring Gold and Silver Vessels - Daniel 5:2

In the book of Daniel, Daniel shared how “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand”, and in chapter five and verse two of his book Daniel shared how Belshazzar, “commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken” where we read,

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

The verse reads, “Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem:” Daniel began with the word, “Belshazzar” or “Belshazzar whose name means ‘Bel protect the king’ and was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar and the royal ruler and leader of Babylon at the time of its fall”, “while he tasted the wine” which means “during the time and at the moment he, Belshazzar, drank and consumed the fruit of the vine”, “commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels” or “declared, spoke and ordered to carry forth the utensils, bowls and cups made with gold and silver metal” “which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken” which means “that his, Belshazzar’s, grandfather Nebuchadnezzar whose name means ‘may Nebo protect the crown’ and was the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive” “out of the temple” or “from the sacred worship place” “which was in Jerusalem” which means “that was located within Jerusalem whose name means teaching of peace and is the the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split”. Daniel shared how “Belshazzar” ordered the drinking cups and bowls made with gold and silver metal that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar took from the sacred worship place in “Jerusalem” to be brought to him.

The verse continues, “that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.” Daniel added the words, “that the king” which means “that the royal ruler and leader”, “and his princes” or “and his, Belshazzar’s, nobles and lords”, “his wives” which means “his, Belshazzar’s, female spouses”, “and his concubines” or “and his, Belshazzar’s, mistresses or women who lived with him but had a lower status than a wife”, “might drink therein” which means “could imbibe and have beverages within the vessels”. Daniel shared how “Belshazzar” desired that he, his lords, female spouses and his mistresses could imbibe drinks from the gold and silver vessels. 

When we think through the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel how “Belshazzar” was feeling so bold and courageous in his drinking wine that he decided his party of people should be imbibing from the sacred gold and silver cups taken from the sacred worship place in Jerusalem by his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. This would become a fatal mistake. God is holy, and He desires that we and everyone else be holy. (See Leviticus 20:7; 1 Peter 1:15-16) This is only possible through belief in His Son Jesus who came into the world to be crucified on the cross for our sins and to be raised from the dead for our resurrection. When we believe and trust in Him as our personal “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us the value of His sacred things by way of His Holy Spirit working within us. (See John 16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21)

Next time Daniel shares how, “they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".