Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Daniel 5:1-6
Belshazzar was actually the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and he was co-regent with his father Nabonidus who was gone for 10 years of his reign of 17 years.
He decided to make 1000 of his lords and their wives happy so he threw a great feast and he drank wine before the thousand. He ordered the golden and silver vessels (which had been dedicated to the service of the Lord God in the Temple in Jerusalem) brought in and began to drink toasts to the gods of the Chaldeans. These were the pagan gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood and stone. This was a serious mistake because that which is dedicated to the service of the Lord, no matter how far away it is from the place of its dedication, is still holy dedicated to the Lord.
As they were drinking to their gods there was the appearance of a hand that was seen by Belshazzar and it began to write on the plaster of the wall. When Belshazzar saw the hand and the writing his legs became like rubber and his knees pounded against each other. If something has ever scared you so much that you felt as though your legs were collapsing under you then maybe you can understand how Belshazzar felt. He was downright scared out of his gourd (but I digress). Never use what is dedicated to God for profane use—that is the message we need to get here. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says,
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”
If the vessels that were dedicated to be used in the Holy Temple were holy how much more are we to be holy vessels who have been bought with the precious blood of Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are never to yield ourselves to be used for unclean and profane things. We are holy unto the Lord. Serve the Lord with joy and be blessed in all things. Amen!
