Good Morning! - Daniel 6:1-3 - Daniel's Reappointment Under Darius - 2009.10.30

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom a hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might giveaccounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm (Daniel 6:1-3)

Daniel was an old dog at this time. "He had spent a lifetime—from a boy of seventeen until he was about ninety—in the palace of pagan kings" (McGee). Belshazzar seemed to have been one brick short of a load in failing to recognize that Belteshazzar (Daniel the Prophet) was the most talented and competent man in his kingdom to manage his affairs.

Is it not strange that Darius the Persian conqueror of Babylon would so quickly bring Daniel out of obscurity and put him in charge of the other 120 princes and two fellow presidents? Well, when God's plan and God's timing focus on a scene, strange things happen. That's true, not just in ancient Babylon and Persia (Iran) but in your town and at your house.

It's hard for God's people with Bible in hand to really believe the radical stuff in their Bibles. That the Bible may really relate to you personally in your daily living is a radical and unknown idea with many who call themselves Christians. The Bible calls that state of existence—unbelief and it is often accompanied by pride. If you want a personal walk with the Lord and if you want a Bible that has personal meaning to you, you can have it.

But many Christians know little about their Bibles except that the cover says "Holy Bible." And some that have spent a lifetime listening to Sunday school lessons and sermons do not mix faith with them and they have virtually no effect on them. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it (Hebrews 4:2).

James observed that in his day and said: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was (James 1:22-24).

Paul called this quirky state of mind: "dull of hearing" (Acts 5:11) and knew that it would be useless to try to get some things across to people in this condition.

Darius found an excellent spirit in Daniel. This man believed God and God blessed everything he did. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). He sought to please God rather than man in everything he did. By examining the preceding chapters of Daniel we see that his very soul was anchored on serving God. If it cost him his life, then so be it. This is one of the vital differences in people—a vital difference in Christians. Shall I please self or God? Shall I please my friends or God? When we answer those two questions, we can predict the outcome of the speech and actions of the person regardless of who it is.

Darius is the silver king in Nebuchanezzar's dream. Time will move on to the brass kingdom of Greece and then to the iron kingdom of the Roman Empire and then to the iron mixed with clay kingdoms of the feet of the image. The iron and clay are a mixture of dictatorships that exercise efficient power and the democracies dominated by the fickle masses.

At the stage of the feet a great stone shaped without hands will come and strike the image on the feet of iron and clay and the whole thing will topple and fall and be ground into powder. The wind will carry it all away. And the stone will grow in size and fill the whole earth. We are in the feet of the image and we are waiting for the stone that is to come. Read Daniel 1-5 again and get some real stuff into the engine room of your soul.Ω

Memory Verse for this week:

(1Th 4:13)But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1Th 4:13) (See 1Th 4:13-18).

Good Morning! - Daniel 5:29-31 - Daniel's Promotion and Belshazzar's Demise - 2009.10.29

Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should bethe third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old (Daniel 5:29-31).

"The events recorded in chapter 5 took place a great deal later than those in the previous chapters. This is … a page lifted from the historical records of Babylon,.."(McGee). In other words, there is no question about the authenticity of this event and the way it happened.

Some critics have said that if Daniel had spoken the way he did to the king, his head would have been taken off. However, we must remember that Belshazzar knew all about the Persian army that had been gathering around Babylon for days in preparation for an assault on the city. He did not know that they were digging feverishly to dry up the portion of the river that flowed through the city nor that it would a simple matter for a small detail of soldiers to come under the wall and open the gates to the city.

Historians tell us that there was hardly any loss of life in the taking of the city. So, in one night the mightiest city and the mightiest walls and the mightiest military might of the world fell. In one night with almost no loss of life.

"Belshazzar was overpowered with the remarkable vision of the handwriting on the wall; his conscience smote him, and he was in deep alarm. He sought the meaning of this extraordinary revelation, and could not but regard it as a communication from heaven. In this state of mind, painful as was the announcement, he would naturally receive it as a Divine communication, and he might fear to treat with indignity one who showed that he had the power of disclosing the meaning of words so mysterious" (Barnes).

Belshazzar had miscalculated on many other things during his reign and to add this unusual piece of drama to his bazaar reign is really no stretch. The reason Daniel was given the third place in the kingdom is because Belshazzar occupied the second place while his father, Nabonnedus, was off fighting. Wars to put down brush fires of rebellion against Babylon were a continual menace. So a father-son team was formed to attend to both needs. Remember that this was a vast territory that is now called Iraq. At the time, it was the civilized world's greatest power.

The exalting of Daniel to the third place in the kingdom may have been Belshazzar's final official order. It was certainly the final significant order he gave. It is interesting that Daniel had told the king to keep his rewards. Daniel would tell the king what was coming up, free of charge. Anyway, he knew he was talking to a dead man.

Why did Daniel submit to being dressed up in regal garb? Daniel was an old dog in the palace. He had seen people come and go. He was also a very wise man and one who feared God above all else. He would humor Belshazzar and his court if that was the part he must play. I have a strong suspicion that he did not remain in the presence of the king until the enemy soldiers poured into the palace, but rather, left the scene and put on his own clothes. I don't know that, of course, but I do suspect it. Would it have been out of place for him to have excused himself to go to the bathroom?

Belshazzar was run through with a sword as an easy target. His outfit gave him away. Who else was dressed like him? Nobody. Daniel had no interest in being the target of a Persian sword and he was wise enough to exit stage left.

Our times are in God's hands. We can affect the length of our lives by careful diet and exercise and by choosing our parents carefully. But in the final summary, God is the one who appoints our days and appoints the day of our departure. I am reminded that it is not the days we put in, but what we put into the days thatreally counts in this life. I hope you have a good day and a godly day. Ω

Memory Verse for this week:

(1Th 4:13)But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1Th 4:13) (See 1Th 4:13-18).

Good Morning! - Daniel 5:22-23 - Daniel Lays Out the Sin of Belshazzar - 2009.10.27

And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven;

and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them;

and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear,nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: (Daniel 5:22-23).

Please allow me to repeat this one more time:

The Book of Daniel is necessary to understanding the time line of human existence on Planet Earth. If God is in charge of Planet Earth then the evolutionists and the planners for a one-world government know as much as the Babylonian wizards who knew nothing. The Book of Daniel is a square pill for the arrogant of our day. If you believe the book of Daniel, you are in the way of "progress." The overriding influence of world thinking is attempting to bring about a productive and peaceful world full of love and cooperation—without God.

In short, we are in the closing days immediately preceding the one-world government prophesied in the Bible. Daniel and Revelation provide the blueprint and some description of what is taking place. God is not in a bind. God is not wringing His hands. Rather, He is the one who is in the background, fully in charge.

Little men, little politicians imagine themselves to be in charge but they are not. God allows them to be on His stage for a short time and then they are carried away and buried with great pomp and ceremony. And their dream of a wonderful world as patterned by them is also dead. It's not going to happen. God tells us to think thoughts after Him:

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:1-2).

It is good and profitable that we avoid making the mistakes of Belshazzar. He knew how God brought down his grandfather for his arrogance but he ignored it and rejected everything his grandfather had tried to pass along to him after he came to know the true God of Heaven who was also the true God over Babylon (today's Iraq). It's good to avoid Belshazzar's mistakes this day as you go to work or school or work at home. Humbling our hearts does not stalk us and overtake us. We will have to pursue it. It is pride and arrogance that will stalk us and overtake us.

We may not always realize it when we are lifting up ourselves against the God of Heaven but we do know when we are going against the red light that comes on somewhere in our spirit. We want to be in charge. That was Satan's downfall. He attempted to exalt himself above the throne of God. He would be God. Isaiah said it like this: For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. (15) Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit (Isaiah 14:13-15).

Some people go to church so they can figure out how to use God. If they bargain with Him, maybe He'll be their celestial bellhop. You know, the big guy in the nice uniform at the old stately hotels who greeted you at the door and rushed out to get your baggage and unlocked your room, turned down your bed, etc. That guy. Go to church to get God to be…your personal bellhop. God is boring. The Bible is boring. God's hymns are boring. But I can put up with all the boring stuff if I can get God to do some things for me. Better not go that route, friend. Belshazzar didn't do well with it and you won't either.

Belshazzar was one of those people who made gods to suit him. They made their gods with their hands, their knives and chisels and hammers. Today we are more sophisticated. We go god shopping. We shop for a book or video that will tell us how to be our own god. Oprah is not the only act in town engaged in remaking God. But there's no place, no house, no closet where we can remake God away from His gazing eye.

That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else (Isaiah 45:6).

Memory Verse for this week:

(1Th 4:13)But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. (1Th 4:13) (See 1Th 4:13-18).