PART 10
March 10, 2013
Pastor Chris Lawson
Let us pray.
There is a war that's raging, but its outcome has already been secured. Lord, we'll never know
how many times Your angels whispered our name to keep us from danger, but we know the King
Who commands the armies of angels is our King, and He's on our side. The victory has been won;
the captives have been set free; and You're on Your throne. May You receive all the glory and praise in this place
today.
It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
FIRST THINGS FIRST. Since the Devils won
last night, let’s spend this morning talking about
Jesus!
Fear is a funny thing, and if we aren’t careful it
will make us do silly things. Interestingly, babies are
born with only two natural fears: falling and loud
noises. All other fears are learned through nurture.
Just this week I saw a video of a young boy who
was attempting to feed a small chicken from a large
bag of food. It didn’t take long before the other
chickens around this young boy -- numbering nearly
one hundred, no exaggeration -- noticed his large
bag of food. Next thing you know, all the chickens
are chasing the little boy, who is now in tears, and
whose parents are yelling, "Just drop the bag! Just
drop the bag!" He does, and the chase ends. This
would explain the small boy's future fear of birds.
These learned fears have the ability to corner us
into making silly choices.
Reynolda Church, EPC
I'm not afraid of much, but I am afraid of heights,
probably because as a small child my Dad would
place me on his palm and pin me to the ceiling!
Think so? I think so.
I have had the great fortune of being a part of a
number of busted couples. In fact, every dating
relationship I've ever been in was that kind of
relationship. In case you don’t know that phrase, it is
when the girl in question is way better looking than
the boy in question. Frequently, when walking
through the mall with my beautiful wife, I wonder
how many people look at us walking together and
wonder, “How did he get her?!”And it hasn't been
too long ago that one of the middle school boys said
to me here at this beloved church, "How did you get
THAT girl to marry you?" To which I said, "No
idea. We're all trying to figure that out!"
I have made several silly decisions in response to
the fear of losing these girls.
For instance, in the 10th grade I was dating a very
pretty girl who asked me to go hiking with her one
Saturday. That, as you know, violated two of my life
rules – no outdoor endeavors AND no heights. But,
because the girl’s beauty blinded my judgment, I had
to do it. So we walked up that mountain. Now, as I
said, our fears often cause us to do silly things, and I
thought the way I could cover up and mask my fear
was to play a joke on this beautiful girl. I decided I
would pretend I had to take an emergency potty
break on the high trail going up Pilot Mountain, and
I would run ahead, circle back around behind her,
and scare her. I thought that would be really funny to
both of us. But, you see, what I had forgotten is that
in our prior conversation about the likelihood of
mountain lions there in Surry County, we had
selected large walking sticks to protect ourselves.
So, when I snuck up behind this beautiful tenth
grade girl and scared her, she swung that stick and
hit me right in the arm. I also don't do well with
pain, apparently. We broke up pretty quickly after
that. Nobody wants to date a boy that you can make
cry.
In another instance, when Merri and I were the
parents of a small child, we convinced ourselves that
an open washing machine lid meant that someone
was in our basement. So we began to tiptoe through
the entire house opening closets, opening doors,
peeking around corners, turning on lights and
running away. The last place to look was in a closet
in the last bedroom [remember, fear will make you
do silly things ...] and as I opened up the door, I
pushed Merri in front of it to see if there was
somebody inside. I've often said I'm glad I married
her before I did that. That might have been it.
Last week when we were together we started with
the first four verses of chapter five of Daniel. [Very
nice of Alan to take the first four verses and leave
the next twenty-seven for me!] Today we will look
at the fall of the vast Babylonian empire and do two
things: set the scene and secure the Gospel
application.
SETTING THE SCENE
In chapter five, Belshazzar is the king. He is
thirty-six years old and, at this point in the story, he
has been the king for some time. It is seventy years
after Daniel entered into Babylon, and now he is in
his eighties.
Timing
Now, what's interesting is that it is twenty-three
years after the setting of chapter four. So between
chapters four and five, King Nebuchadnezzar has
died, and there is a twenty-three year period where
the biblical record provides little information about
what has been happening between his death and
Belshazzar becoming king. However, there are
historians like Herodotus who provide us with the
history of ancient Babylon during this time. So just a
quick review of this history, beginning with King
Nebuchadnezzar, will help us to understand how this
well-fortified city falls completely into the hands of
a foreign army and into rubble in a matter of twentythree years.
History of the Kings
Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar rules for forty-three years as king
over Babylon, one of the greatest empires in all the
world, so great that when we mark the seven ancient
wonders of the world, the Babylonian Gardens are
part of it.
Amel-Marduk
After Nebuchadnezzar's death, his son, AmelMarduk, becomes the king, and he reigns for two
years, until he is assassinated. The story is in second
Kings twenty-five.
Nergal-sharezer
Nebuchadnezzar's son-in-law, Nergal-sharezer,
then reigns for four years before dying a natural
death.
O
ver the last several weeks we have been
studying the first six chapters of Daniel
together. We talked about how Daniel, as a foreigner
in Babylon, had reason to fear, but that he never
wavered on his convictions. We also have learned
how God blessed Daniel and the people of Israel
while they were in exile, and the ways He preserved,
promoted and showed favor to Daniel.
Many have claimed that the story of Daniel is
fiction, yet we continue to find more and more
evidence to support the historicity of the biblical
account, including what is now believed to be the
actual dining room where the king in today’s text
was sitting. We're going to talk a little bit about this
today.
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
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March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
So you have Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar's
son, then Nebuchadnezzar's son-in-law.
Labashi-Marduk
Then the son of Nergal-sharezer, LabashiMarduk, takes the throne, but a group of conspirators
beats him to death while on the throne. This group of
conspirators then places in control a king of their
choosing.
forward right there, but he 's at least in the same line
of Nebuchadnezzar, the right king of Babylon.
THAT IS WHAT WAS HAPPENING in the
twenty-three years between chapters four and five of
the book of Daniel. So why are these kings
important? Because during the reign of all these
kings, Babylon is in a season of moral and social
decline.
So, Nebuchadnezzar, then Nebuchadnezzar's son,
then Nebuchadnezzar's son-in-law, then the son-inlaw's son, who is killed by a group of conspirators.
Nabonidus
Now this interesting thing happens. The bloodline
was broken after Amel-Marduk, and conspirators
place in power a man by the name of Nabonidus.
Nabonidus becomes king and he is actually a pretty
good king. He rules for seventeen years; he's not a
king of war; and he provides for the needs of the
people. Babylon is in a relatively good state of peace
at this point, except for the fact that they're
worshipping a foreign god.
But Nabonidus realizes that the tide is turning
against him because he is not from the royal
bloodline. So this foreign king who is not of the
bloodline finds one of Nebuchadnezzar's widows
who is still alive, and he marries her. They have a
son, and that son is Belshazzar.
Belshazzar
So Belshazzar is of the bloodline of
Nebuchadnezzar. When he is of age, probably
twelve or thirteen, he sends his father, Nabonidus,
into exile. His father is fine to do it. He retires
somewhere out in the countryside. He is still the
king, but his son is what is called a co-regent king,
which means he has all the authority of the throne.
So, Belshazzar is ruling in Babylon while his father
is in exile.
Scripture will often call Belshazzar the son of
Nebuchadnezzar because Hebrew doesn't actually
have a word for grandfather. For instance, Scripture
calls Jesus the son of David,1 and we know that's not
accurate, but Hebrew doesn't have the right language
to communicate that actual relationship. So when the
Scriptures say father, it often means family, and
Belshazzar is of the family of Nebuchadnezzar, who
is probably his grandfather or great-grandfather. It's
hard to know exactly how many generations go
A Huge Feast
Last week Pastor Alan explored the first four
verses of chapter five. If you remember, King
Belshazzar is throwing a huge feast in his great hall.
Now huge is a relative term. The Scriptures tell us
there are a thousand people at this party. When
Alexander the Great got married, he invited 65,000
people to his three-month celebration of his
wedding. Moms and dads, you think your weddings
for your daughters are expensive? Throw THAT
one, 65,000 people! History actually records the
numbers of all the animals they had to kill just to
feed those people for those ninety days.
So on the scale of antiquity, Belshazzar's feast is a
fairly small party, but there are a thousand people
within this dining hall, which archeologists have
found in the ruins of Babylon, and it is actually not a
whole lot bigger than this room. It is about 167 feet
by 55 feet, so it is a little longer than, and not quite
as wide as, this room, and there are a thousand
people in there.
History tells us that at this very moment, the
Persian and Mede army of Cyrus the Great is
literally outside the gate of Babylon. And, what
Belshazzar doesn't know, is that Cyrus had captured
most of the known world by this point; he had killed
Belshazzar's grandfather, and his last conquest was
to happen in Babylon.
Sacred Cups
The thousand people in the dining hall are doing
all kinds of awful things. As Alan talked about last
week, Belshazzar had brought into the party the
golden vessels that had been taken from the temple
in Jerusalem, and he and his guests are using these to
drink their wine from, so as to mock not only Cyrus,
who is attacking, but also the God of Israel.
1
Matthew 1:1, 9:27, 15:22, 20:30, 31, 21:9, 22:42;
Mark 10:47, 48, 12:35; Luke 18:38, 39; 20:41
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
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March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
also the finger of God that Jesus says cast out
demons in the Gospels.3And so this finger of God,
which may have been familiar to the Babylonians
and was definitely familiar to the exiles of Judah,
shows up above the head of Belshazzar.
A Fortified City
Belshazzar had reason to be confident. The city of
Babylon was small, but well fortified, probably the
most fortified city in human history. Consider this.
Herodotus says the city was fifteen miles square and
surrounded by a wall eighty-seven feet thick, [you're
not going to dig through those walls in a weekend],
350 feet high, with battle towers that extended to
450 feet, and with access granted through one
hundred massive bronze gates. In addition, water
and food were not an issue because in a stroke of
genius they built their city right on top of the
Euphrates River -- it flowed right through the middle
of the city -- so they could stay there literally for a
lifetime and never have to leave.
The King's Response
Here is the king's response. It is fantastic!
6
Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts
alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees
knocked together.
Now, to make sure you understand what's
happening here, almost by universal consent, what
happens to you when your color changes, say to a
light shade of green? This is what happens to
Belshazzar. He's a little drunk, a little overfed, a
little startled, his color changes, and he throws up all
over himself. He's alarmed at this and his limbs gave
way. The better use of the language here would
actually say that his hip gave way. This is what
happens to Jacob when that angel that is wrestling
him touches him in the hip and it is dislocated.4 So
this guy throws up on himself and literally slides out
of his chair onto the floor when this hand shows up.
Here he is throwing this grand party for himself, this
hand shows up on the wall, he does this to himself
and his knees knock together. This is fulfilling the
prophecy of Haggai 2:7 that says that all the nations
will shake when they know who God is.
That sets up our story for today.
THE FALL OF BABYLON
DANIEL CHAPTER FIVE
The Handwriting of God on the Wall
5
Immediately the fingers of a human hand
appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the
king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king
saw the hand as it wrote.
A thousand people are in this huge banquet hall
and a hand appears next to the lampstand.
Archeologists found there was a niche at the end of
the hall where the king would have sat, and this
lampstand would have been placed next to the king
to draw attention to him, lest anybody forget who is
in charge. And the Scripture says the hand wrote on
the wall opposite the lampstand. What most
historians believe is that this hand, or these fingers,
show up directly above the head of Belshazzar.
So they are having a huge party, all the attention
is on the king, everyone is drinking from the holy
vessels, and this hand appears and begins to write on
the wall.
This hand is the hand of God. Similar language,
the finger of God, is common in Scripture. It's the
finger of God, for instance, in Exodus eight that
writes the message to Pharaoh that the plagues are
coming, and the tablets of the Commandments are
said to have been written with the finger of God.2 It's
Enter the "Wise Men" of Babylon
Verse seven,
7
The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters,
the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king
declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever
reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation,
shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of
gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in
the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king's wise men came
in, but they could not read the writing or make
known to the king the interpretation. 9 Then King
Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color
changed, [AGAIN! That's funny] and his lords were
perplexed.
3
2
4
Exodus 31:18; Deuteronomy 9:10
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
4
Luke 11:20
Genesis 32:22-25
March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
Here's what happens. This is the third time that
they have called on this group of Chaldeans and
astrologers, and it's the third time they've been
unable to decipher exactly what God is doing in the
Babylonian court.
It's interesting that Belshazzar promises these
truthsayers that if they can interpret what was
written on the wall, he will give them clothes of
purple and a gold chain. This shows up another time
in Scripture. It is the same honor Pharaoh gives to
Joseph when he interprets Pharaoh's dream.5 So the
king promises the truthsayers the same promotion,
third in the kingdom -- third in the kingdom because
he still believes that his grandfather is alive out in
the wilderness. He's the second in command. Little
does he know that Cyrus has already defeated his
grandfather. So here he is promising the position of
third in a kingdom of a failing army by saying, "if
you can interpret this, I'll honor you the same way
that that other foreign king honored Joseph." And, of
course, they are unable to do it.
The queen who is not involved in the party goes to
her son and says, "remember, [this is twenty-three
years later] there is a man who lives here who could
interpret dreams. Call him in. Your father trusted
him; you should, too."
No doubt Daniel is still the Prime Minister of
Babylon at this point, but Belshazzar has pushed him
to the outside. Daniel is around the age of eighty,
and honestly, he was probably kind of glad to not be
paid attention to by this young thirty-six year old
king. But the queen comes in and she has
institutional memory. She remembers when God
worked through Daniel.
So the king calls in Daniel.
Here is what happens. Verse thirteen:
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.”
He mocks Daniel a little bit here by saying, "I
have heard." I'm not sure he actually believes that
Daniel has done this. He mocks him a little bit and
then promises him the same honor he had promised
to his other employees if they could interpret the
writing. I'm sure that Belshazzar had heard a rumor
one time or another about how Daniel saved the
kingdom, about how he had allowed
Nebuchadnezzar to hear the word of the Lord rightly
and thus perform in ways that honored God. But, I'm
sure that his pride had overcome him, and at this
point he is believing he can do it on his own. So,
even though his mother tells him that Daniel can do
it, he mocks Daniel a little bit and then Daniel says
this great thing:
17
Then Daniel answered and said before the king,
“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your
rewards to another. ...
A Call for Daniel
Verse ten tells us:
10
The queen, because of the words of the king and
his lords, came into the banqueting hall, ...
The queen most likely is his mother. She is very
old by this point. Remember, she is the former wife
of Nebuchadnezzar. She's not interested in her
thirty-six year old son's party, so she is outside the
room. She comes in, and she says,
...“O king, live forever! ...
Can you imagine a mother having to say that to
her son?
... Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color
change.-- So great! -- 11 There is a man in your
kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In
the days of your father, light and understanding and
wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in
him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your
father the king—made him chief of the magicians,
enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because
an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to
interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve
problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king
named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and
he will show the interpretation.”
5
Genesis 41:38-42
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
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March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
God has not called us to be separatists,
to live outside of the culture;
God changes people to infect and affect the culture.
Daniel's not interested in being honored by the
king. He couldn't be bought. True leadership comes
in spite of the promises of benefit and in spite of the
promise of consequences. Daniel neither wanted to
benefit from his help to Belshazzar, nor was he
afraid of any consequences that may come if he told
the truth. So Daniel says, "you can keep your gifts."
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.
History records that Nebuchadnezzar for the last
seven years of his life lost his mind, that the last
place that Nebuchadnezzar was seen was on the
hillside with cattle, eating like a wild beast from the
grass. Belshazzar has to know this story. What
Daniel is saying is that for a time, Belshazzar, your
father honored my God, and your father prospered
because of it.
Remember, several weeks ago we learned that
when the exiled people first went to Babylon there
was a false prophet among them who begins to say,
"leave yourself outside the city; pray against the city
of Babylon; pray for their destruction; pray that God
will kill many of them." Jeremiah, who is back in
Judah, hears of this and writes a letter to Daniel, and
he says, “do not listen to that false prophet. God
created the city. God loves the city. When you move
into the city and the city prospers, you will prosper;
when Nebuchadnezzar prospers, you will prosper;
when they benefit, you will benefit. You will benefit
from being in the city." We talked about how God
has not called us to be separatists, to live outside of
the culture, but that God has changed a group of
people to infect and affect the culture. And so Daniel
says, “Belshazzar, this worked for a long time. We
lived in the city and we prospered because your
father prospered, and we were in harmony waiting
for the time when God would return us to our
homeland. But then he rebelled against God, and
you're falling into that exact same pattern." He says,
"how do I know that’s true? It's because I can read
that writing on the wall." And Daniel begins to
interpret for the king. He says:
24
“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and
this writing was inscribed. [This writing was
inscribed above his head! ] 25 And this is the writing
The Interpretation
Daniel then says: ... Nevertheless, I will read the
writing to the king and make known to him the
interpretation, and in this great Old Testament
motif, Daniel provides what is the case against
Belshazzar before he actually interprets the writing.
If this were a court case, he is about to read the
charges against Belshazzar. He says:
18
O king, the Most High God gave
Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness
and glory and majesty.
What he is saying is: God placed your father in
control.
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, [Listen to this] 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
[he hasn't forgotten what Belshazzar did with those
vessels] of his house have been brought in before
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
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March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
and PARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of
God gives power
the matter:
and God takes away power.
Daniel just tells him what it means, he
says:
So whenever you become disillusioned
MENE, God has numbered the days of your
with the authorities that are over you,
kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 TEKEL,
remember Who has rightful authority over you.
you have been weighed in the balances and
Remember whose name is written on you
found wanting; 28 PERES, your kingdom is
with the finger of God.
divided and given to the Medes and
Persians.”
This must have been a wakeup call for
Belshazzar, for Daniel to say that the Medes
and the Persians are about to own your
king, to hear his people screaming, and to see
kingdom, because the king knows they’re right
everything he found security in, to be burnt to the
outside the gate. So what Daniel basically tells him
ground? Historians argue that this may have been the
is, "not only are your days are numbered; your
fastest battle in all of antiquity, faster even than
leadership has not measured up, and because of that,
some of the conquests of Alexander the Great. In an
the kingdom of Babylon is going to fall, and it is
instant Babylon was gone.
going to be given to the Medes and the Persians."
POINTERS TO JESUS
The End of an Empire
Here is what happens. The Persian and Mede
armies, lead by Cyrus the Great and his captains, had
been outside the wall of Babylon for some say two,
some say three, some say four weeks, trying to
figure out a way to get in. You can’t burrow through
a wall that’s over eighty feet thick; you can’t
catapult over a wall that’s 350 feet high. So they
have to have been just standing out there. And I’m
sure for weeks those guards on the wall, who were
likely unarmed because they were so secure in the
fortification of the city of Babylon, stood in those
450 foot towers and mocked the Persian army.
I believe as Daniel stood before that king and said,
“Your days are numbered and your kingdom comes
to an end,” Belshazzar begins to hear screaming in
the courts, and begins to hear panic in the alleyways,
because what the army had figured out was that the
thing that had made Babylon so strong -- the
Euphrates river that ran through the city -- was
actually the thing that would bring their demise. See,
the Persian army figured out how to divert that water
over into a marsh, and in a matter of hours, they
crawled right under the gate.
So how does this story of a prideful king and a
faithful prophet point us to Jesus' work and the
Gospel story? Let me offer a few reflections.
Power is given and taken away
by God alone.
As we learn over and over in Daniel, God
established Nebuchadnezzar for the benefit of God’s
people. Jesus affirms that God gives power and God
takes away power when this conversation is
reflected in John nineteen. It reads:
10
So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to
me? Do you not know that I have authority to
release you and authority to crucify you?” 11 Jesus
answered him, “You would have no authority over
me at all unless it had been given you from above.
Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the
greater sin.”
In Luke 11:20 Jesus says: But if it is by the finger
of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of
God has come upon you.
God throughout human history has frequently
used foreign kings for the promotion and benefit of
His people. God used Nebuchadnezzar to protect the
people of Israel and Judah while in exile.
History records that on that night, the 16th day of
Tishri, (October 12), 539 BC, one of the greatest
empires in human history is conquered. What must it
have been like for Belshazzar to stand there as the
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
7
March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
will judge the world in
righteousness by a man
The need has never been greater
whom he has appointed;
and of this he has given
for missionaries who believe their places of work and play
assurance to all by
are of highest priority.
raising him from the
The sooner we realize we are missionaries in a foreign culture,
dead.7
the sooner we begin to believe that God has a purpose
If it’s true that eightyfor everything we do.
five percent of all people
in our country do not go
to church, then it’s also
true that the need has
never been greater for
God promoted and used Alexander the Great so
missionaries who believe their places of work and
that he might conquer Egypt, so that he might
play are of highest priority. The sooner we realize
establish Alexandria, so that while the people of God
we are missionaries in a foreign culture, the sooner
were in exile in Egypt, they would have a place of
we begin to believe that God has a purpose for
safety.
everything we do. And if the days of our missionary
God used Constantine, who most believe at the
work are numbered, then we can do that work with
end of his life became a believer, to globalize
zeal.
Christianity, to take it from a Middle Eastern sect, to
I’ve been reminded lately that my father is about
something that conquered the entire world.
eighteen months or so from retiring. I’ve never
God used King James, who when offered by the
known my Dad to do anything other than what he
Christians during his time at least eleven options of
does right now. He gets up every morning, drives to
how they might keep peace, thought he would do the
Eden, works a job that would be accurate to say he
thing that was the least likely to have any
doesn’t love, and drives back home that hour and a
consequences, and that was to translate the Bible
half every day. Now when he was a single father,
into English. Before he knew it, everybody was
raising two rebellious little blonde-headed boys,
reading that Book, and a kingdom fell.
he’d get up early in the morning, stuff us in sleeping
God is the God of history and God gives and takes
bags, put us in the back of the Buick station wagon,
away power. So whenever you become disillusioned
and take us to our grandparents house, tuck us back
with the authorities that are over you, remember
in bed there, go to work, come home. I’m a few days
Who has rightful authority over you. Remember
from being thirty-four, and after all those years he’s
whose name is written on you with the finger of
been doing that drive, an hour and a half there, and
God.6
an hour and a half back, I thought, those drives must
be a lot sweeter now that he knows the number of the
Only God knows the days.
remaining drives. See, the drive isn’t that hard when
you know this isn’t what you’re going to do for
Daniel never panicked about the fact that he’d
eternity.
been there for SEVENTY years, because he always
knew that God knew the number of days. This
The mission that we’ve been placed on earth to
reminds me of a sermon Paul preached in Athens,
do, which is to glorify God with our lives and to be a
when He says,
testimony of God’s transforming power and glory in
29
Being then God's offspring, we ought not to
the world, can be a daunting and overwhelming task,
think that the divine being is like gold or silver or
unless eternity looks somewhat different; unless this
stone, an image formed by the art and imagination
is just a season.
of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked,
but now he commands all people everywhere to
repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he
6
7
Revelation 7:2, 3, 14:1; 22:4
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
8
Acts 17:29-31
March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
If we could just see that Jesus has won the victory,
and that we’re on His team,
we would live our life differently.
took was the finger of God to crumble man’s
greatest empire. Then in that you begin to get a
glimpse that THAT Creator can conquer any
kingdom.
Jesus conquers kingdoms.
It’s very important to believe and to know and to
trust that Jesus is our Champion. A preacher I listen
to every week says that we have done a miscarriage
to Jesus by the way we represent Him to the world.
He calls it Sunday-school Jesus. Jesus, in the
pictures we use to depict Him, has very long flowing
hair, usually a little rouge on the cheeks, and very
deep beautiful blue eyes. That’s not the Jesus that
Scripture describes. I read to you from Revelation
nineteen:
11
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white
horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and
True, and in righteousness he judges and makes
war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his
head are many diadems, and he has a name written
that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a
robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is
called is The Word of God.
That’s a God I can follow, mostly because that
God is going to take the first punch. I mean that.
Why do we follow winners? Because following a
winner bolsters our confidence. When you’re
playing dodge ball, why do you want to be picked by
the best dodge ball player? Because your confidence
automatically rises when you realize that you’re
following someone who’s better at what they’re
doing than you are at what you’re doing. If we could
just see that Jesus has won the victory, and that
we’re on His team, we would live our life
differently. We’d be emboldened as missionaries,
not ashamed. We’d be excited about sharing the
Gospel, not timid. Because when you realize that
your King has not only won all the battles in the
past, but that every battle in the future is already
assured, it changes the way you act. It changes the
confidence by which, and through which, you live in
the world. And so what you get a glimpse of in the
Daniel story is that even the mighty empire of
Babylon is under the finger of the Creator, and all it
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
Jesus’ Kingdom will always prevail.
There is a battle for the cosmos, an unseen battle
between the kingdom of the air, and the Kingdom of
Heaven.8 You see, as much as you don’t want to
admit it, your citizenship is both here and there.9 I so
deeply believe that on a Christmas day two thousand
years ago, hell trembled when they heard a baby had
been born in Bethlehem. And at that moment, all of
the energy and focus of hell was directed at
destroying that baby. Hell tried to destroy that baby
through Herod, through exile in Egypt, through
isolating Him as a Gentile-loving Jew in Galilee, by
putting Him up on the temple and challenging Him
to throw himself down and let His angels rescue
Him,10 by challenging Him to turn a rock into
bread.11 If hell could just get the baby born in a
manger to mess up one time, just one sin, just one
shortcoming, just one failure, it would prove that all
of the things that the Old Testament said, including
all of the messianic expectations of Daniel, could no
longer be about Him. And so, when Jesus came as a
baby, all of hell turned its attention to destroying
Him. And even on the cross, mockery came from
His side to just bring Himself down from that cross,
because if Jesus, Who lived the life we could never
live, offered up His blood as a spilt sacrifice, then all
of the guilty blood of all of humanity would never
have to be spilled.12 And so even in those fleeting
moments as Jesus is getting ready to give up His last
breath, hell mocks Him and says, "don’t you do it.
8
Ephesians 6:12
2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Ephesians 2:19; Philippians 3:20
10
Matthew 4:5-6; Luke 4:9-11
11
Matthew 4:1-4
12
Matthew 27:40; Mark 15:30
9
9
March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
They don’t love you. They don’t care. Call down
your angels to save You."
Yet Jesus of His own will sacrificed Himself on
that cross, let His blood be shed as the innocent
Lamb of God.13
Then, just so hell didn’t think they had won the
victory, three days later God, by the same power of
the Spirit Who lives in you and through you, raised
that Christmas baby from the dead.14
Then Jesus ascended to Heaven to sit enthroned at
the right hand of the Father, His rightful place as the
King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.15
Jesus’ Kingdom will prevail because the victory
was won on a cross!
God, write on our walls today, and let us know
that for the people of God, the fingerprint of God
never goes away. And God, because You are
sufficient, because You are eternal, because You
never change, and because the victory, both now and
not yet, is assured and living out its promises in our
life Lord, we know our only worthy response to You
is to worship You for Who you are, and that is King.
So God, this morning, we raise our voices and lift
our hearts to the King of Kings, Who loves us so
much.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Why do I believe with all my heart that marriages
can be saved, that finances can be redeemed, that
healing still happens, that prophecy is still spoken,
and that the Word of God still goes forth into a dark
world and transforms the life of sinners? Why do I
believe all of that is still true? Because the victory is
not in question. The King of Kings IS on His throne,
and so the entire world is already under His finger.
Closing Remarks
It's pretty easy for us to slip into a position of
despair, to feel like we've lost the battle, like the
world is against us and everything we hear in the
media and talk about in the world is a position that
stands against what we hold dear. But then you
realize that every empire is under the King's
authority,16 and if you're the rightful heir to the
Kingdom, there will come a day where they no
longer question your standing! 17
As you leave here today, leave here knowing two
things: The God of the universe is deeply,
passionately in love with you, and so is this church.
And that’s the Gospel.
Lord God, You are good and You are King. God,
we pray that we might see ourselves as our Father in
Heaven sees us, as a people who are in fact holy, set
apart and destined for a Kingdom reign with Him -not through our own works, or our own
righteousness, or our attempts to become holy -- but
because Jesus has won the victory for us on a cross.
God, that writing on the wall over the head of that
foreign king meant one thing: not even humanity's
greatest kingdom is greater than the finger of the
Creator. So God, we believe that You will do a great
work in us today, that the Spirit Who was poured
out, Who raised Jesus from the dead, is the same
Spirit Who lives in us and changes us into Your
likeness. So Lord God, whatever our need is today,
whether it’s physical healing, or it’s spiritual
healing; or it’s emotional healing; whether we are
ready to give up on our marriage, or give up on our
children, or give up on our finances; Lord, let us
know that You are King, and You are sufficient.
And may the God Who created the universe,
and thus created you,
be with you now and always,
and may Jesus the Christ, the Son of the Living God,
Who lived the life you could not live,
and died in your place so that you could live forever,
and the Holy Spirit, Who lives in you
so that He can work through you in the world,
be with you now and always.
And all God's people said,
"Amen!"
13
Isaiah 53; Matthew 20:28; John 1:29, 36;
Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 9:14
14
Romans 8:11; Colossians 2:13-15
15
Mark 16:19; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 12:1-2
Pastor Chris Lawson
Reynolda Church, EPC
16
Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:27;
Ephesians 1:22
17
Romans 8:17; Galatians 4:7
10
March 10, 2013
Daniel: A Favored Foreigner
Part 10: Reading the Writing
All Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.
Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles,
a division of Good News Publishers.
Chris Lawson
is Executive Pastor at Reynolda Church.
He is married to Merri and they have two children, Adam and Ellie.
Pastor Chris may be contacted at [email protected].
Reynolda Church, EPC
2200 Reynolda Road
Winston-Salem, NC 27106
www.reynoldachurch.org
Phone: 336-723-0716