In the sermon series “The Unshakable Faith,” we have been studying various tests experienced by different characters in the Book of Daniel. Today, we will explore another trial faced by King Belshazzar. As we learned from the children’s Bible video, this ruler hosted a party while Babylon’s two greatest enemies camped around the country and prepared to attack. The Babylonian soldiers might have needed some relaxation to relieve their ongoing stress and tension. However, the problem was not just that they were enjoying themselves in the middle of a battle, but that they misused sacred temple items for idol worship.
During the party, human fingers suddenly appeared and wrote a message on the wall. Have you ever heard the phrase “the handwriting on the wall”? This idiom originates from this divine message, which serves as a future warning. With his God-given insight, Daniel was able to understand and interpret the message. Because of his godly knowledge, Daniel, an Israelite, was appointed to be the third highest ruler in Babylon, a nation that had colonized his homeland. Even to the Babylonian emperor, Daniel was considered a brilliant person of God, filled with “insight, intelligence, and outstanding wisdom” (Daniel 5:14). We hope that people around us would offer us similar compliments.
Nowadays, we need more Daniels with God’s sacred wisdom in our secular society. How can we become wise like Daniel? This morning, I want us to look at the principles that make us wise people of God and apply them to our spiritual journeys.
Firstly, God wants us to make a commitment to never stop learning. As we have previously learned, Daniel decided to become well-educated when he was young and taken to Babylon as a captive. Because of his determined mind for learning, Daniel was recognized as being “ten times,” wiser than other students in the entire Babylonian kingdom. With his God-given knowledge, he could understand all kinds of visions and dreams (Daniel 1:17). Even after he was placed in a high position, I believe he continued learning divine things with God’s guidance in prayer.
In the Book of Proverbs, King Solomon, renowned as the wisest king in the Bible and traditionally considered the author of Proverbs, emphasized the importance of education. He stated, “Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12). Another translation of the Bible implies our commitment to continuing education. Our learning happens not only during school years but also throughout our entire lives. That is why we often call it lifelong learning.
Like Daniel and King Solomon, we need to decide to continuously develop our various attributes in God. Let us consider this: I believe we need to keep growing in love. I think all of you agree with me. We are to love our spouses, our children, and the people around us more than we did before. While living in this evil world, we need to be purer than before in the sensitive realms of materialism, reputation, and sexuality. We also need to deepen our learning about Jesus more and more. When we continue to resemble Jesus in our thoughts, speech, and actions, we can reveal His full image to other people through us. Please understand that spiritual development is not automatic; rather, it requires a sincere desire to align our lives with God’s Word. When we constantly make an effort for our personal spiritual growth, we can and will become wiser in God.
Secondly, God wants us to learn lessons from past generations with humble minds. In the previous chapter of today’s text, we remember the training King Nebuchadnezzar received due to his pride. One day, he was reflecting on his achievements, particularly the Babylonian royal residence (Daniel 4:30). Those of you who have visited ancient royal palaces could say how magnificent they are. Nebuchadnezzar believed all the authority and resources he had came from his own efforts. Eventually, because of his ignorance, he forgot the Lord, his Provider, and went through a trial for seven years.
Time went by, in our text for today, we discover that King Belshazzar, the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, was making similar mistakes. As we observed this from the children’s story, Belshazzar dishonoured God by using sacred items to praise all kinds of idols instead of the Lord, his Creator (Daniel 5:23).
Throughout the Bible, we find many instances of people not learning lessons from their ancestors and continuing to make the same mistakes. That is why the Word of God highlights the importance of observing the teachings from older generations. In the Book of Job, one of Job’s three friends said, “Ask the former generation and find out what their ancestors learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing… Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?” (Job 8:8-10).
Biographies help us learn valuable lessons from various people’s successes and failures. In a way, the Bible contains numerous biographies. One critical lesson we can discover from genealogies in the Holy Scripture is to be “wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” Through the lessons in the Word of God, we can be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained to become righteous and equipped for “every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
An interesting point about family trees in the Bible is that God shows both wonderful stories and ungodly accounts. For instance, in the genealogy of Christ, some had good reputations, while others did not. The author of the sacred text might have wanted to hide them, but God is honest with every biography and genealogy in the Holy Scripture. God wants us to learn both good stories and challenging stories from our spiritual ancestors. Through these truthful accounts, we can gain wisdom on how to handle difficulties and overcome complex problems. We can also understand how to avoid making the same mistakes.
Furthermore, like our spiritual ancestors, we need to pass on our rich Christian heritage and the lessons we have learned, including from our failures, to our descendants. By doing these divine activities, we can grow in wisdom and leave a profound spiritual legacy for our loved ones to follow in God’s ways.
Thirdly, God wants us to refuse to fill our minds with garbage. As we reflected on the first chapter of the Book of Daniel, Daniel firmly decided not to defile himself with pagan influences before he began his education in Babylon. One primary example he demonstrated was refusing to eat the king’s food and drink the royal wine, as these items were related to idol worship in those days. Instead, Daniel and his three friends chose to consume only vegetables and water for the three years of their education. After that period, Daniel continued to examine himself in prayer and fix his mind on what he was advised from the Word of God – things that are “true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable” (Philippians 4:8).
King Solomon, known as the author of Ecclesiastes, expressed the outcomes of what people gained from their labors under the sun by saying: “Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2). He also described his empty feeling with the statement: “The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing” (Ecclesiastes 1:8). That is why Solomon encouraged his audience to fear the Lord, as that attitude leads to “the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:9).
I have shared the word “GIGO” before. It stands for “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” What we seek or search in our minds can influence what we have in our spiritual hearts. In other words, if our input is garbage, our output may also be garbage. We tend to be worried about water and air pollution as we want to take care of our God-given planet and our God-given bodies. We try to eat healthy meals and avoid processed foods because we know that food is another type of medicine. But what about the reading, watching, and listening activities in this sin-darkened world? One way we can fill our minds with super healthy brain food is by meditating on the Word of God.
The Psalmist asked himself on behalf of all people: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity?” (Psalm 119:9-16). Whether we are young or old, we want to live holy lives in this ungodly world. The answer he shared with his audience was “by living according to the Word of God.” He said to God, “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). Our minds governed by fleshly desires may lead us down dangerous paths; but minds led by the Word of God can provide us with “life and peace” (Romans 8:5-8). God’s Word gives us the power to overcome our sinful desires and become wise.
To discover more, one practical method of being filled with the Word of God is to memorize more scriptures. To achieve this, we can write them on recipe cards, carry them with us, and read them aloud whenever we have the opportunity. When I encounter something bothering me, I often try to recall the scriptures I have kept in my heart. For example, Psalm 23… Another example is Proverbs 3:5-8… And Philippians 4:6-7… It is okay whether we find it challenging to memorize the Word of God or not. The important thing is to challenge ourselves to be governed by the Word. When we engage in this divine meditation, God’s Word can and will calm our minds, give us peace, and provide us with wisdom.
Fourthly, God wants us to put into practice what we have learned. King Belshazzar failed to implement what he had observed from his grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar had heard and seen both good and bad things from his predecessor. He had been given sacred guidance and directions along with divine warnings and alarms. However, he did not humble himself and did not carry out these teachings.
Someone once said, “Some people miss heaven by eighteen inches.” For your reference, that is the average distance between our heads and our hearts. This emphasizes the importance of practice. In our Epistle for this morning, James also points this out: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. …not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22-25). James’s instruction encourages each of us to put the Word into practice. We often hear the phrase: Practice makes perfect. I firmly believe in the power of training. If we practice something even 5 or 10 minutes every day, we can improve whatever we have decided to do. Consistent effort leads to progress, whether significant or small.
When our Lord Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount, He encouraged His audience by saying, “Be perfect, therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Sometimes I hear believers, including myself, excusing themselves that they cannot be perfect before God since they are human beings with selfish longings. Of course, we cannot be perfect by ourselves, and none of us can become fully righteous before God on our own. The Greek word for “perfect” is often translated as “mature,” which means to “reach a stage of completion.” Because of our sinful human nature, we sometimes stumble and fall. However, we need to realize that it is okay for us to fall and fail on occasion. What matters is that God wants us to keep getting back up and doing what is right before Him. God wants us to practice in our daily lives the teachings that we have learned from the Bible. When we put the Word of God into practice with patience, God, who began good work in us, will make our spiritual minds wise and help us grow to be more like Christ, with the help of the Holy Spirit.
In conclusion, I want us to pay attention to the interpretation Daniel shared with King Belshazzar (Daniel 5:22-31). Daniel delivered God’s judgment to the king, who had not humbled himself despite knowing all the godly lessons. Instead, he had set himself against the Lord of heaven. The message Daniel conveyed was this: “The meaning of the written words, ‘mene and mene’ on the wall is that ‘God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end’” (Daniel 5:26). The sad news regarding this message was that the king died that very night due to the attack of his enemies.
Like King Belshazzar, someday we will all stand before God and receive His verdict regarding our individual journey of faith. The Apostle Paul echoes this in Hebrews 9:27-28: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28). The good news about this final test is related to its reward: God’s forgiveness, salvation and eternal life. This promise is given to those who humbly examine their lives with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, repent of their sins before God, and live a godly life while waiting for Christ’s Second Coming.
Once again, why does God’s verdict matter to us? Why should we be concerned about becoming wise in our faith journey? Once we are called to be with the Lord, God will evaluate us based on what we have done on earth. It may seem scary, and yes, it is! However, for believers, it should be an exciting time to meet our Lord face to face, be rewarded, and be invited to the place our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared.
Friends, let us ask ourselves the following questions: “Are you a foolish builder who builds a house on sand or are you a wise builder who builds a house on a rock? Which builder are you?” In other words, “Are we building our life on the true foundation of Jesus Christ or on something temporary?” There are only two rulings once God calls us home: one way leads to life, and the other leads to death.
We have learned the importance of having continued learning attitudes before God, taking lessons from past generations, being filled with godly things, and building our spiritual foundation on the Word of God – not just by hearing but obeying the Word. The Wise Builder, God who created the whole universe, can and will give all of us, like Daniel, who have followed these spiritual principles, His supernatural wisdom and make our lives successful and prosperous, as He did for Daniel.
*In this sermon, I have incorporated thoughts and materials from various messages inspired by the texts from Daniel 5:26-31; Proverbs 23:12; Job 8:8-10; Psalm 119:9-16; James 1:22-25, as well as the Unshakable sermon series prepared by Rick Warren.