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. 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. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them”, and in chapter five and verse four of his book Daniel shared how, “they drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone” where we read,
They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver,
of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
The verse reads, “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, …” Daniel began with the words, “they drank wine” or “they, King Belshazzar, his princes, wives and mistresses imbibed the fruit of the vine”, “and praised the gods” which means “and gave laud and adoration to the deities” “of gold” or “fashioned with golden metal”, “and of silver” which means “and fashioned with silver metal”. Daniel shared how Belshazzar, his princes, wives and mistresses all imbibed the fruit of the vine and gave adoration to the deities of “gold and silver”.
The verse continues, “… of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” Daniel added the words, “of brass” which means “pertaining to bronze or copper”, “of iron” or “pertaining to iron metal” “of wood” which means “pertaining to tree timber or beams”, “and of stone” or “and pertaining to rock material for the making of idols”. Daniel shared how “Belshazzar” and his entourage also gave adoration and worship to deities fashioned with bronze, copper, iron metal, tree timber and rocks fashioned into idols.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn through Daniel we see how “Belshazzar” was not only presumptuous to “drink wine” from the “golden and silver vessels” which were taken from the temple in Jerusalem, but he and his people began to give adoration and glory to earthly materials such as “gold, brass, iron, wood and stone”. How foolish was this man, and we shall see how God deals with him in our next verses. For now, let us consider how flawed this man was in his mind. Not only did He reject the God who revealed himself to his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, but he took insolence to another level and worshiped other gods. God wants us to worship Him and Him alone. (See Exodus 20:3; Mark 4:10; Luke 4:8) When we yield to Him through His Son Jesus who came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the grave after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and teach us through His Holy Spirit how worshiping Him alone not only blesses Him, but also brings blessings to us as well.
Next time Daniel says, “in the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand”, 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".
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