What To Do When Pride Has Blocked Your View

09/07/2020 What To Do When Pride Has Blocked Your View

Series: Daniel - Influencing Culture  

https://vimeo.com/452014354

Have there been problems in your life that were developed because of you thinking too high of yourself?

What Does The Bible Say?

Daniel 5

2 Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies— so the living should take this to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:2 NLT)

5 Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, 6 and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him. (Daniel 5:5-6 NLT)

Have you ever been frightened by the consequences of the poor choices you made?

How Can You Obey?

7 The king shouted for the enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers to be brought before him. He said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed in purple robes of royal honor and will have a gold chain placed around his neck. He will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom!” 8 But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant. 9 So the king grew even more alarmed, and his face turned pale. His nobles, too, were shaken.  (Daniel 5:7-9 NLT)

Be careful where you go for help.

10 But when the queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall. She said to Belshazzar, “Long live the king! Don’t be so pale and frightened. 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods. Your predecessor, the king—your predecessor King Nebuchadnezzar—made him chief over all the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers of Babylon. 12 This man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has exceptional ability and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” (Daniel 5:10-12 NLT)

Find a mentor who has a relationship with God and let them guide you.

13 So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles brought from Judah by my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar? 14 I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you and that you are filled with insight, understanding, and wisdom. 15 My wise men and enchanters have tried to read the words on the wall and tell me their meaning, but they cannot do it. 16 I am told that you can give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honor, and you will have a gold chain placed around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” 

17 Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means. 18 Your Majesty, the Most High God gave sovereignty, majesty, glory, and honor to your predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar. 19 He made him so great that people of all races and nations and languages trembled before him in fear. He killed those he wanted to kill and spared those he wanted to spare. He honored those he wanted to honor and disgraced those he wanted to disgrace. 20 But when his heart and mind were puffed up with arrogance, he was brought down from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven from human society. He was given the mind of a wild animal, and he lived among the wild donkeys. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he learned that the Most High God rules over the kingdoms of the world and appoints anyone he desires to rule over them. (Daniel 5:13–21 NLT)

We are inviting trouble into our lives when we do not learn from the past. 

22 “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself. 23 For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! 24 So God has sent this hand to write this message. (Daniel 5:22–24 NLT)

You’re asking for trouble when you do not live your life honoring God.

25 “This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. 27 Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. 28 Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was dressed in purple robes, a gold chain was hung around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. (Daniel 5:25–29 NLT)

Always remember that God holds your future.

30 That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede took over the kingdom at the age of sixty-two. (Daniel 5:30–31 NLT)

There are consequences when you are all about your kingdom and not God’s kingdom.

Additional Notes:

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Explore:

Daniel chapter 4, not for study this week, contains a fascinating account of how God continued to display His sovereignty to Nebuchadnezzar and those in his kingdom. See the following EXPLORE section for more details about this. By the time we get to chapter 5, Nebuchadnezzar had already passed off the scene. Indeed, Babylon’s imperial glory was about to fade away as well. 

Zoanthropy is an identified disorder in which an individual believes himself or herself to be a cow—and acts accordingly. That is the technical name for what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4. He had another dream and again sought an interpretation from the man who had “the spirit of the holy gods” (Daniel 4:8). 

The dream revealed that he, Nebuchadnezzar, would live for seven years as a beast of the field (literally, seven times or periods), but would then be restored to normal human existence. Thus, God Himself showed Nebuchadnezzar who is in control of the world’s kingdoms. For months, the king had opportunity to follow Daniel’s advice to repent. One year later, however, the king looked out over his city, reveled in his accomplishments, and God brought the dream to life. Indeed, Nebuchadnezzar lived out in the fields, like a cow, for seven years. 

Babylonian archives do not specifically corroborate this change—not surprising, all things considered. However, there is a clay fragment that appears to be communication to Nebuchadnezzar’s son (Evil-Merodach in the Bible), from Babylon. The official complained to him of his father’s bizarre behavior and encouraged him to take the reins of power for a while. You can read about this at: bit.ly/MM-madness. 

Explore:

The events recorded in Daniel 1–4 pertained to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who expanded and united the Babylonian Empire. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 b.c. after ruling 43 years. The ensuing years of Babylonian history till its overthrow by Cyrus in 539 b.c. were marked by progressive deterioration, intrigue, and murder. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach who ruled for two years (562–560 b.c., 2 Kings 25:27–30; Jer. 52:31–34). Evil-Merodach was murdered in August 560 by Neriglissar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son-in-law and Evil-Merodach’s own brother-in-law. Neriglissar then ruled four years (560–556 b.c.). He is the Nergal-Sharezer mentioned in Jeremiah 39:3, 13. At his death, he was succeeded by his young son Labashi-Marduk, who ruled only two months (May and June 556) before he was assassinated and succeeded by Nabonidus, who reigned 17 years (556–539 b.c.).

Nabonidus did much to restore the glory that had belonged to Babylon under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Nabonidus’ mother was the high priestess of the moon god at Haran. Perhaps because of her influence, he had great interest in restoring and expanding the Babylonian religion and did much to restore abandoned temples. He was absent from Babylon for 10 of his 17 years, from 554 through 545. In Haran he restored the temple of the moon god Sin, and then he attacked Edom and conquered parts of Arabia where he then lived for some time.

Belshazzar was Nabonidus’ eldest son and was appointed by his father as his coregent. (Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as Belshazzar’s father [Dan. 5:2, 11, 13, 18; cf. v. 22] in the sense that he was his ancestor or predecessor.) This coregency explains why Belshazzar was called king (v. 1) and why he exercised kingly authority even though Nabonidus actually held the throne.

Pentecost, J. D. (1985). Daniel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1344). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Explore:

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” C.S. Lewis

Explore:

Why did Belshazzar only offer Daniel the third place in the kingdom? Because Belshazzar himself was second. He ruled in the place of his father Nabonidus, who spent a decade or more off down in Arabia, where among other things he conducted what today we would call archaeological studies. Nabonidus had come to power through intrigue and perhaps even murder. Some believe his son Belshazzar had worked some of the violence on behalf of his father. The queen mother in this passage was likely a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. This is how Belshazzar could call Nebuchadnezzar his “father,” or ancestor, because his father Nabonidus did not directly descend from Nebuchadnezzar. 

Explore:

The three words appear to have been terms for weights and measures, given in descending order. The Babylonian kingdom’s power had been declining—in descending order—ever since Nebuchadnezzar. Their verb forms translate as “numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided.” Remember that a major theme in the book of Daniel is God’s sovereignty over human affairs, including the rise and fall of empires. Royal Babylonian archivists and later historians could say whatever they wanted, but the true verdict came from God, who numbered, weighed, and then divided as He saw fit. 

The Darius of verse 31 may have been a throne-name (such as Pharaoh, or Caesar) for Cyrus the Persian’s ruler in Babylonia. Some suggest Darius could also be another name for Cyrus himself (although Daniel 6:28 identifies Darius and Cyrus as two distinct individuals). Others consider that Darius may have been a military leader who initially captured the city and reigned until Cyrus arrived in the city. Even though this Darius is, at present, a name not known outside of the biblical text, it would be unwise to doubt the accuracy of Daniel’s writing. Archaeology and historical accounts are filled with suppositions of biblical errors only to eventually discover the Bible was correct all along. 

Explore:

The Greek historian Herodotus indicates that Cyrus the Persian had his army divert the Euphrates River until it was low enough that his soldiers could wade through its bed under the gates and barriers, into Babylon without having to scale the walls at all. They came in unnoticed while the city was partying, it seems. Other sources dispute the river story, but it is not impos- sible. Herodotus also claimed that because of Babylon’s size and the city’s feasting, the outer portions of the city were taken before the residents in the center even knew anything about it. 

Explore:

Daniel

The Book of Visions

“ ‘In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure for ever.’ ” Daniel 2:44

Major Theme

When God’s people had little hope, Daniel provided encouragement by revealing God’s power and his plans for the future.

Background and Purpose

The book of Daniel records the experiences of Daniel and some of his fellow-exiles in Babylon and how their faith in God protected them. It has never been easy interpreting the visions about the rise and fall of several empires, in the second part of the book of Daniel. Jesus took seriously Daniel’s prophecies about Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled most of Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine from 175 bc until 164 bc. See Matthew 24:15

One helpful way of interpreting these prophecies is to see that they may have more than one point of fulfilment:

• In the time of Antiochus

• When the city of Jerusalem fell again in ad 70

• At the final End Time.

Author

Daniel is stated as the author of this book (9:2). Jesus attributed the quotation from Daniel (9:27) to “the prophet Daniel” (Matthew 24:15). Certain scholars do not accept Daniel as the author, nor do they accept prophetic predictions. Thus they date the book as late as 160 bc, which of course eliminates all the prophetic element of the book.

Date

Daniel prophesied in Babylon and probably completed his book just after Babylon was captured by Cyrus in 539 BC.

Brief Outline

1. Daniel’s life at the Babylonian court 1:1–2:49

2. Daniel’s early visions in Babylon 3:1–6:28

3. Daniel’s visions of world empires 7:1–8:27

4.  Daniel’s prayer and vision of the 70 “sevens” 9:1–27

5. Daniel’s visions of Israel’s future 10:1–12:13

Important Events

• Daniel’s three friends survive being thrown into the fiery furnace

• Daniel in the lions’ den

Christ in Daniel

• The “Ancient of Days” is Jesus (7:13).

 Water, M. (2001). The Books of the Bible made easy (p. 27). Alresford, Hampshire: John Hunt Publishing.

Question 1 of 5

Why is it important to understand that the Bible is written for us and not to us?     

Question 2 of 5

When have you seen pride go before a fall? Tell us what happened.    

Question 3 of 5

What does it mean to humble ourselves before God?    

Question 4 of 5

What kinds of character and behavior might draw people to seek us out when they need help or answers?   

Question 5 of 5

In what ways can we say that God rules the kingdom of men today?