Rejection is Punished

Scripture: And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. Daniel 5:22-23a

Observation: Daniel is about to interpret the handwriting on the wall for Belshazzar, but before he does, he takes off on QUITE the lecture of the king. It includes a summary of the fact the Nebuchadnezzar had been driven mad by God until he accepted God as the true Lord of the earth, and that Belshazzar knew the lesson ... but was now ignoring and even mocking God.

Throughout the book of Daniel, the king of Babylon clearly has supreme authority to put anyone to death for any kind of disrespect. Yet here is Daniel lecturing the king openly, with no mention of anger from Belshazzar at all. Why is this the case? I'd say for two reasons:

1) Daniel is right that Belshazzar did, in fact, know of the Lord.
2) Belshazzar was therefore afraid.

And God immediately struck him dead that very night.

Application: There is a dynamic with God that is repeated in the Bible. Those who don't know God, or have never heard of Jesus, are offered opportunities to learn the truth. However, those who know of God, and have rejected God and Jesus despite having all the information they need, are actively punished by God. Plain and simple, there is a different standard: If you don't know God, he'll try to reach you; If you reject God, there will be punishment.

This is critical for society today. Almost everyone I know knows about God. Many were raised in the church, and certainly all have received some level of exposure to God and Jesus during their lives. Now the majority of them reject Jesus, reject anything about faith, and reject even the concept of a creator.

As a result, we may be living in the most 'cursed' time in human history. That makes our message to the "de-churched" among so desperately important.

Prayer: Lord, I know what is in the head of people who have known but then rejected you. I don't know what to say to them, but I am here among them ... send me. Amen.