Know, Sir.

“As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. And when his mind became arrogant and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. He was driven from human society, his mind was changed to that of an animal, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes. But you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, although you knew all this. Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!” (Daniel 5:18-23, NET)

There’s an old saying: “When you know better, you do better.” Sadly, this was not true in the life of King Belshazzar. In this past Sunday’s sermon Pastor Andy noted that after Daniel spoke with Belshazzar, Belshazzar gave no indication of repentance. There was no apology, there were no tears, there was no plea for mercy. In fact, Belshazzar’s response to the prophetic word of destruction seemed to be quite odd: he bestowed gifts and praise on Daniel, and gave Daniel a high position in the kingdom (see Daniel 5:29). But King Belshazzar’s response was merely another indicator of the king’s habit of refusing to glorify God. I imagine that it must have broken Daniel’s heart to be the recipient of the king’s temporal praise, while the praises of the living God remained unspoken.

Well, that was a long time ago. But, what about us today? Have we learned from the mistakes of our elders? Have we been careful to admit our moments of wrongdoing? Have we expressed genuine repentance? Have we sought reconciliation with God? Are our days filled with the joy of proclaiming His greatness? Or, are we withholding our praise of God while pouring our devotion onto someone else?

My God, I repent over the idols have I set up and praised while neglecting to exalt Your great name! Have mercy on me.