Symptoms of a Heart Problem

Daniel 5:13–31 ESV

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. 24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Introduction

It is a good idea to be able to know the symptoms of potential medical issues. For example, symptoms of serious heart issues include chest pain, numbness, and shortness of breath. If you feel these, be aware that you may need to seek medical attention. In Daniel 5 we meet the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar. He refused to recognize his heart symptoms and received the consequences for his negligence. What were his symptoms? He refused to learn from the past examples, profaned the holy things of God, and chose to honor idols instead of God. All these are symptoms of a heart without humility.

A New King

The time lapsed from chapters 4 to 5 is about 23 years. In this time, Nebuchadnezzar died and passed the throne for a short while to his son Evil-Merodach. Then an unrelated person took the throne named Nabonidus. But he chose to make his son coregent while he lived outside of Babylon. Belshazzar is this king we meet in chapter 5.

The text describes a large celebration hosted by Belshazzar. The people drank toward a drunken state. At this point, Belshazzar called for the sacred vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem that King Nebuchadnezzar took and placed in the temple of his god. But Belshazzar chose to make these vessels the common cups of celebration. As they did this, they praised their gods. Historical records show that his father, King Nabonidus, emphasized a shift in allegiance for the religion of Babylon and chose to uplift the moon god Sin instead of Marduk. Belshazzar most likely used this action of drinking from the vessels to solidify support from his lords and distinguish himself from the legacy of Nebuchadnezzar.

The book of Daniel consistently reminds us that God is present, active, and aware of all that occurs. So, we should not be surprised that God showed up in the court of Belshazzar to set him straight. God sent a supernatural sign that no one in Babylon could interpret. Once again, Daniel arrived to give a message to the king who, like Nebuchadnezzar, had a heart that needed to be humbled.

3 Symptoms of a Heart without Humility

In verse 22, Daniel lays out the actions that revealed the “symptoms” of his heart. Let’s examine each and consider what the New Testament says concerning these things in the life of the believer.

1. Refusing to learn from the past

You may have heard this wise saying, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” You may have not enjoyed learning about history as a young person, but it is an important subject. This symptom is evident when someone assumes that they can make sinful or foolish choices and expect it to turn out differently from the patterns we see in scripture. Belshazzar new that Nebuchadnezzar had treated the sacred vessels of God with religious respect and praised God. For that, God preserved Nebuchadnezzar. But Belshazzar chose to honor other gods, nor did he honor God after receiving the interpretation and warning.

Consider what Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:6. He reminded the believers of their connection to the past story of the Old Testament people. We share the same spiritual heritage of God’s grace and consequences. If we repeat similar actions of disobedience, should we not expect similar consequences?

1 Corinthians 10:6 ESV

6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

How do you view the success and failures of people around you? Do you seek to learn the consequences described in scripture or do you prefer to learn the “hard way”? God is merciful in warning us and providing the consequences so that we always turn to Him.

2. Profaning holy things of God

Belshazzar treated holy things in a profane manner and refused to honor God. We may be surprised that Paul warns Timothy about Christians that were doing the same. Paul wrote this in 1 Timothy 6:20-21

1 Timothy 6:20–21 ESV

20 O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 21 for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you.

The warning is to watch out for those people in the church who stray away from teaching and living the gospel's central message. The term “irreverent” implies that their profane teaching contradicted God’s word, which inevitably led them to wander from the faith.

Today, we still see similar kinds of “special knowledge and teachings” creeping into the church and pulpit. For example, the Law of Attraction is a teaching that claims we have access to a universal energy force through our thoughts and feelings. Through visualization,(envisioning something coming into being), one can manipulate this energy to realize things in our life that we desire. Although some terms are changed to emphasize God, prayer, and faith instead of the universe, it is still a self-centered concept in which we control what comes to our lives. Inevitably the believer who follows this ignores God's sovereignty. Such teaching opens the door to self-indulgence. Gaining wealth, health, and "success" becomes the goal. If this is the emphasis of the Christian message, where is the cross and the call to seek first God's kingdom? In this symptom, the Christian message is profaned to become a tool for getting things and the result is dangerous wandering from the faith.

3. Worshiping other things

Idolatry is the ever-present sin that the covenant people were warned against. Consider the warning from Paul in Philippians 3:18-19.

Philippians 3:18–19 ESV

18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

The believers may have left their idols of paganism, but some may have traded them for the idolatry of self-pleasure and satisfaction. Although they should be ashamed of placing themselves first, they are rather excited because they satisfy their earthly desires. They literally “worship their satisfaction” (belly = god). They reverse the command of seeking firs the kingdom of God. Instead they seek first kingdom of their satisfaction, and maybe God’s desires may be added. The world rightly criticizes churches when they see church leaders who live extravagant lifestyles furnished by their “ministries”. One such preacher recently claimed that He needed another private jet for the “ministry” by claiming, “I really believe that if the Lord Jesus Christ were physically on the Earth today, he wouldn't be riding a donkey, He'd be in an airplane flying all over the world.” (Jessie Duplantis) One should note that he is a proponent of the Word of Faith movement. This symptom will always make personal satisfaction the center instead of fulfilling God’s desires. And this heart will find a way to make its actions appear spiritually motivated.

Check your heart

Does your heart show a lack of humility? You may not be a king of Babylon, but we also face the ugly sin of pride. You don’t have to have a lot of wealth, power, or good looks to have a heart that needs to be humble. Pride was part of the original sin in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were tempted with the thought of “being like God,” and we face that temptation in many forms. The heart without humility is present when we choose to ignore the warnings of God in scripture and choose paths that depart from God’s path. The heart without humility is evident when we seek to be served instead of serving our God and King. Beware of your desires, they may need to be checked and corrected. Every path that leads away from Him will lead to destruction. The only cure for this is a regular dose of the gospel message.The gospel reveals that Jesus is God and deserves all the glory and honor due unto God. But Jesus humbled himself to save us. Humility is an attribute of our Savior and God.

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

And if our Savior humbled himself to obedience upon the cross, he invites us to take up our cross and follow him through self-denial and humility. We will only find that we are truly following God when we submit to Him and allow Him to be the King. There is only room for one to sit on the throne of your life. Who is sitting on that throne? Have you bowed your heart to recognize that God alone can be God? He must be honored. And ultimately, all humanity will bow down in humility and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Every knee will bow, but you can do it now. Your faith and pride are not complimentary things; one must be subdued.

300 Quotations for Preachers Faith and Humility Are One

As we see how in their very nature pride and faith are irreconcilably at variance, we shall learn that faith and humility are at root one, and that we never can have more of true faith than we have of true humility.