THE PON-SHOT

A weekly editorial by Bob Ponchot

dealing with the issues of the day from a Biblical perspective.

January 14, 2012

PARTIES THAT SLAP GOD IN THE FACE

Daniel 5:4 says, "As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone." Such was the feast of Belshazzar. It was a drinking party. Most parties are. Most people in our society today, think you can’t have a good time unless you have a Budweiser in one hand and a high ball in the other. The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:19-21 that "drunkenness" will keep one from inheriting the kingdom of God.

Belshazzar’s party was a slap in God’s face because they were using the things of God, things that were consecrated to God and the worship of God, in their drunken orgy. When the Babylonians destroyed the temple in 586 B.C., they took all the furnishings out of the temple. These things were to be used by the priests in the worship of Almighty God. But that didn’t mean anything to Belshazzar. His actions were an "in your face" sort of thing to God. It’s no different today. Thousands desecrate the things of God all the time. In the New Testament, Sunday is the Lord’s Day. It’s the day when Christians gather for worship and to partake of the body and blood of the Lord through the emblems of the loaf and the cup. But that doesn’t mean anything to most people. They refuse to worship on the Lord’s Day. They won’t tithe. Some even party on Saturday night then try to make it up to God on Sunday morning.

There was something else they were doing at Belshazzar’s party. They praised the gods of materialism, the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. In our day, many make their houses and lands their god. Millions praise the god of sport and pleasure. Belshazzar’s party came to an end with "the handwriting on the wall." He was weighed on God’s scales and came up short! One day the party will be over and then comes "weigh in" day. Will you be ready? Or will you be found wanting?

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