Title: Omen of Misfortune, Omen of Blessing
Contents
Daniel (20) A harbinger of misfortune, a harbinger of blessing (Daniel 5:1-4) <Pride that leads to destruction>
Daniel 5 is the record of the last king of Babylon, King Belshazzar. At that time, a large army of Persia, a new empire, was attacking Babylon and besieging the city and breaking the wall with a siege mac. In that situation, King Belshazzar invited 1,000 nobles to a great feast to boost the morale of the people (verse 1). Although it was a measure to boost morale, the reason that the feast was held in a desperate situation when the enemy was attacking the city was due to the proud thought that the city of Babylon would never fall. In the end, that thought becomes a catalyst for the collapse of the country. What happens when you fall into pride?
First, you become lazy. At that time, Cyrus, king of Persia, realized that he could not take the city of Babylon with a frontal attack, and dried up the Euphrates River entering the city. Without knowing it, King Belshazzar and his servants could not prepare for danger and were indulging in indolence and revelry.
Second, you lose your morals. In ancient countries, royal banquets were usually attended only by officials. However, in verses 2-3 of the text, the fact that the queens and the poor men attended the king's banquet and drank and played shows that the morality of the nation has fallen to the ground and the nation's discipline has almost collapsed. Faith is not moral, but sincere faith produces a sense of order and morality.
Third, you lose your judgment. King Belshazzar drank from a vessel stolen from the temple in Jerusalem (verses 2-3). It was a sin that amounted to great blasphemy at the time, and was a direct confrontation with God. Even if it was a sacred material of a religion that he did not believe in, if he had normal reason and judgment, he would never have used it as a cup of wine.
Fourth, we fall into idolatry. At that time, the revelry crowd drank wine and praised gods made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone (verse 4). A person's fall into idolatry is ultimately the result of pride. Idolatry is the act of pursuing outward splendor and ignoring inner truth. After all, idolatry only prepares for misfortune.
< Don't lose your humility >
One day, two roosters fought over the hen. In the end, victory and defeat were decided. The defeated rooster went to the corner and curled up. The victorious rooster climbed up the fence and croaked loudly. Just then, an eagle came down from afar and snatched the triumphant rooster above the fence. Eventually, a rooster crouching in the corner took over the hen. Pride is a harbinger of tragedy. Conversely, humility is a harbinger of blessings.
If you look at the Bible, there is one thing that God hates the most and never lets you see it. That is pride. 1 Peter 5:5 says this: “In the same way, young men, submit to your elders, and all of you gird yourself with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” How strong is the expression? If you are proud, God regards you as an enemy, but if you are humble, He gives you grace.