Truth Matters: The Sovereignty of God

This is Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Today, Dr. Davis discusses the sovereignty of God, His awesome power and absolute control of everything in heaven and on earth, and that nothing can happen without His permission. While man has been given freedom to choose and to plan, those plans are always subject to God's will. While we may plan, it is God who directs our steps through life. Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was slow in understanding this truth after falling under the judgment of God. Instead of repenting and seeking the truth, seeking God's mercy, he continued to make his own plans.

Here's Dr. Davis and Truth Matters. Verse 12, verse 10, it says, In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. We serve a gracious and merciful God who holds our breath, owns all our ways, and loans it to us so that we can glorify Him. All He asks is that we glorify Him. But in this case, it's obvious that Belshazzar had not.

He had clearly seen the life of his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, but really, sadly, had not learned a thing. Moving on to verses 25 through 30. The hand starts writing on the wall and was sent from him, and this is the inscription that was written. Mene, mene, tekal umparsen.

This is the interpretation of each word. Mene, God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. Tekal, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Peres umparsen, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

That very night, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. Notice that the handwriting on the wall was written in Aramaic. Mene, God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

As he was speaking, Cyrus was coming underneath the walls of the city. Tekal, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Weighed on the scales and found to light. You know, whenever we look at judgment in judgment, whenever you weigh things as far as the balance, you've weighed on the scales and you've been found to light, you've been found wanting. Babylon failed to meet God's standard. In Job 31, 6, the Bible says, Let me be weighed on honest scales, that God may know my integrity. In 1 Samuel 2 and 3, the Bible says, Talk no more, so very proudly.

Let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. Whom parsons means your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and the Persians. So at that point, Belshazzar gives the command in verse 29, and they clothe Daniel with purple and put on a chain of gold around his neck and made a proclamation concerning him.

They should be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel basically tells him, You've been weighed, you've been found wanting, your kingdom is going to be divided and given over to the Medes and the Persians. But he's still acting as if he is king and making Daniel a ruler over a kingdom that's not even his. And we'll find in later chapters of Daniel that Daniel had sought the Lord continuously and envisioned he knew that this was going to happen. So even early on, whenever Belshazzar offers him a reward, he tells him, Keep your gifts for yourself. I don't need them, because Daniel knew at the time that Belshazzar's reign was coming to an end. When we make plans that are outside of God's will, we'll be walking in the wrong direction, as did Belshazzar, king of Babylon. He had not learned the lessons of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, of putting God first. He thought he had everything, power, wealth, women and pleasure. But what he did not have was God's blessing. When we exalt self over God, we are on the highway to destruction as pride goes before a fall. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, as the prophet Daniel did, the Lord will bless and open doors that no one can shut.

If you are struggling with pride, ask the Lord to forgive and deliver you from this yoke, freeing you to live a more godly life. If Dr. Davis and her team can be of help, please email her at CherylDavis at ProjectTruthMatters.com or connect with her on Facebook at Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis. Or you can write to her at The Truth Project, P.O. Box 159, St. Paul's, North Carolina, 28384. Truth Matters with Dr. Cheryl Davis is a ministry of The Truth Project.