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The Writing on the Wall · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy
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  Speaker 1: gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another.
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  Speaker 1: Yet I will read the writing unto the king, and
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  Speaker 1: make known to him the interpretation. Dear Heavenly Father, through
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  Speaker 1: today's reading, I can see that the writing is on
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  Speaker 1: the wall. It is evident that through the life of
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  Speaker 1: King Belshazzar, that you desire nothing less than my complete
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  Speaker 1: devotion as I live my life. I declare that I
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  Speaker 1: will not give in to drunkenness of pleasure and self-gratification.
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  Speaker 1: I will not choose short-term satisfaction in exchange for long-term pain. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: I will set my priorities on things above. I will
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  Speaker 1: dedicate my life to honor you in all that I do, Lord.
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  Speaker 1: I choose to activate the same willpower that Daniel possessed
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  Speaker 1: when he had the choice to choose the riches of
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  Speaker 1: this world, but chose the riches of your word instead.
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  Speaker 1: Daniel understood that it is better to be blessed by
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  Speaker 1: the Lord than to compromise for the blessings of man.
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  Speaker 1: With all of this truth in Daniel 5, I make
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  Speaker 1: the conscious choice to live it out through my life.
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  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. The writing on the wall.
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  Speaker 2: In our last story, we witness the madness of King Nebuchadnezzar.
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  Speaker 2: He fled like a beast to the wilderness and lived
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  Speaker 2: on the land for seven years. In that time, the
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  Speaker 2: great tyrant king was reduced to the identity of a
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  Speaker 2: mere animal. It was humbling. He needed to truly see
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  Speaker 2: God with a clear and sober mind. Nebuchadnezzar then ruled
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  Speaker 2: with righteousness to the end of his days and leaned
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  Speaker 2: on Daniel for guidance. In this story... we get a
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  Speaker 2: glimpse into the character of Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar. Unlike his father,
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  Speaker 2: he lacks discipline and courage. However, he inherits the pride
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  Speaker 2: of his father, and it proves to be his downfall.
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  Speaker 2: God will send him a special message, a message of
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  Speaker 2: doom and judgment, inspired by the book of Daniel.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Jack Graham with today's episode of the Bible
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  Speaker 3: in a Year podcast. But before we begin, I want
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: to let you know about a unique e-book that's yours
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: to download absolutely free today. It's called Breaking Free from Stress.
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: And my prayer is that it will help you conquer
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: the daily tasks and pressures and burdens that bring stress
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: in your life. Download your free copy of Breaking Free
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: from Stress today by visiting jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org
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  Speaker 3: slash stress. In our previous episode, we heard of King
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar's seven years of madness, living like a beast in
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  Speaker 3: the wild until he humbled himself before God. His journey
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  Speaker 3: to faith was a long one with ups and downs,
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  Speaker 3: successes and failures, just as our journeys often are. But
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  Speaker 3: in the end, he did surrender his life to God
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  Speaker 3: and serve the Lord as a righteous king until the
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  Speaker 3: end of his days. What a turnaround. Today, we will
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  Speaker 3: meet a new king. Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor, Belshazzar. Though
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  Speaker 3: he will struggle with pride just as his father did,
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  Speaker 3: Belshazzar's heart will not bend to God and he'll never
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  Speaker 3: be the righteous ruler his father lived to be. God
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  Speaker 3: will once more speak to the ruler of Babylon, this
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  Speaker 3: time not through dreams, but in a public spectacle that
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  Speaker 3: terrified everyone who saw it. It is a riveting story.
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  Speaker 3: Let's listen to the reading of God's word.
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  Speaker 2: The age of King Nebuchadnezzar had faded into history. The
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  Speaker 2: tyrant king had conquered nearly all of the known world
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  Speaker 2: and taken captive every surrounding nation under his boot. However,
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  Speaker 2: all men, no matter how strong, ultimately returned to dust.
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  Speaker 2: So Nebuchadnezzar passed, and along with him, the reverence for
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  Speaker 2: the God of Israel. His son Belshazzar became king in
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  Speaker 2: his place. Belshazzar was a wily man. He loved to
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  Speaker 2: drink and revel rather than battle and conquer. He rested
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  Speaker 2: comfortably on the bed of his father's accomplishments. The god
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  Speaker 2: of heaven and earth was but one god of many
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  Speaker 2: to him. He would soon learn to know and fear him.
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  Speaker 2: One day Belshazzar made a large feast for thousands of
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  Speaker 2: his lords and leaders. Together they drank and sang. They
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  Speaker 2: soaked in every single pleasure they could come up with.
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  Speaker 2: They withheld nothing from themselves. Belshazzar was surrounded by thousands
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  Speaker 2: of his friends, wives, concubines, and prostitutes. Flirting with every
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  Speaker 2: form of debauchery, Belshazzar ordered for the golden vessels his
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  Speaker 2: father had taken from Jerusalem to be brought. These vessels
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  Speaker 2: were taken from the temple before it was destroyed, and
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  Speaker 2: Belshazzar used them to fill his gut with more wine
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  Speaker 2: and exotic drinks. Belshazzar and his companions danced and drank
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  Speaker 2: the night away. but the festivities were abruptly interrupted by
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  Speaker 2: a strange figure on the palace walls. Belshazzar wiped his
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  Speaker 2: eyes to make sure what he was seeing was real.
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  Speaker 2: Then he looked over to his companions. They were all
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  Speaker 2: staring at the same image. What appeared to be a
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  Speaker 2: human hand was hovering over the palace wall. Its fingers
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  Speaker 2: were writing into the plaster walls strange words. All color
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  Speaker 2: left the king's face as he watched the hand methodically
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  Speaker 2: write a message.' Enchanters!' he yelled. He called for the
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  Speaker 2: wise men of Babylon to come and inspect the strange writing.'
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  Speaker 2: Whoever can decipher this writing on the wall will be
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  Speaker 2: the third ruler in my kingdom!' the king shouted. Magicians, enchanters,
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  Speaker 2: and wise men from the nation came to the king
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  Speaker 2: and inspected the words written on the wall. Yet they
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  Speaker 2: could not understand the writing, nor come up with an interpretation.'
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  Speaker 2: King Belshazzar's mother watched as her son grew mad over
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  Speaker 2: the words. She remembered his father being tormented by similar issues,
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  Speaker 2: messages given yet not understood. She approached her son and said,'
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  Speaker 2: In the days of your father, he too was disturbed
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  Speaker 2: with strange messages.' In his day, a man of light
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  Speaker 2: and wisdom stood beside your father to guide him in
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  Speaker 2: these matters. He can interpret dreams, solve riddles and possesses
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  Speaker 2: and understanding beyond all the wise men here. Call for
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  Speaker 2: that man named Daniel. It had been a while since
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  Speaker 2: Daniel stepped foot in the palace walls. He had grown
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  Speaker 2: close to King Nebuchadnezzar and counseled him often in matters
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  Speaker 2: of the heart. However, since his son assumed the throne,
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  Speaker 2: Daniel had been forgotten. He looked at King Belshazzar. He
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  Speaker 2: looked like his father, yet lacked his strong presence. He
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  Speaker 2: was weaker, more anxious, and clearly more given to strong drink.
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  Speaker 2: Daniel stood before the king and gave a slight bow.'
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  Speaker 2: You are Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, are you not?'
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  Speaker 2: the king asked. Daniel nodded and gave a slight smile.'
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  Speaker 2: I heard you possess the spirit of the gods.' Tell me,
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  Speaker 2: can you read what has been written on my wall?
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  Speaker 2: If you can, I shall shower you with great gifts
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  Speaker 2: and influence. Daniel shook his head. Please keep your gifts
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  Speaker 2: to yourself, my king. I do not need them. However,
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  Speaker 2: I will tell you what the writing means. Daniel made
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  Speaker 2: his way to the wall. He ran his hands against
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  Speaker 2: the plaster and inspected it carefully. Well, Belshazzar snapped impatiently.
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  Speaker 2: What does it mean? Before Daniel read to him the writing...
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  Speaker 2: He turned and spoke. Daniel looked at him intently. My king,
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  Speaker 2: your father was a great and mighty man. He conquered
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  Speaker 2: many kingdoms, and he kept nothing from himself. This made
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  Speaker 2: him proud. However, he was eventually humbled by the God
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  Speaker 2: of heaven and earth, the God of Israel. You share
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  Speaker 2: your father's pride, but you have not yet shared in
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  Speaker 2: his humility. Daniel spoke with authority. Belshazzar was taken back
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  Speaker 2: by Daniel's forwardness. Daniel looked back at the wall and said, Mene, Mene, Tekel,
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  Speaker 2: and Parson. The king was confused. What does it mean,
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  Speaker 2: he asked timidly. Mene, Daniel said, God has limited your
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  Speaker 2: days as king. They are numbered and they are coming
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  Speaker 2: to an end. Daniel placed his hand on the second word. Tekel,
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  Speaker 2: you have been judged and weighed. Your worth is not
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  Speaker 2: what you thought it was. The king began to worry
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  Speaker 2: as Daniel spoke. He continued. Parsin, your kingdom is going
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  Speaker 2: to be divided and given to another, the Medes and
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  Speaker 2: the Persians. Despite the king's fear of losing his kingdom,
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  Speaker 2: he knew he needed to reward Daniel. He made him
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  Speaker 2: ruler over a third of his kingdom. Daniel was clothed
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  Speaker 2: in purple and given a gold chain to be worn
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  Speaker 2: around his neck. After this, the king retreated to his
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  Speaker 2: bed to sleep in peace. That night there was a
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  Speaker 2: stirring in the city. Like a rising tide, the Persians
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  Speaker 2: swept up the city of Babylon. It was a silent
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  Speaker 2: yet brutal overtime. Swords were slid across the throats of
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  Speaker 2: Babylonian men. Before Belshazzar could wake up to the news
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  Speaker 2: that his city had been captured, he had a dagger
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  Speaker 2: driven into his side. He lay there lifeless as the
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  Speaker 2: bed soaked with his blood. Standing over him was King
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  Speaker 2: Darius the Mede under Persia.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading with a changing of power. Nebuchadnezzar
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  Speaker 3: reached the end of his life having lived the last
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  Speaker 3: part of his reign as a humble, God-fearing king. The
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  Speaker 3: empire that he built was vast. The lands he conquered
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  Speaker 3: stretched throughout the known world. It's into this incredibly wealthy
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  Speaker 3: and prosperous kingdom that his son Belshazzar stepped in to rule. Sadly,
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  Speaker 3: the new king did not share his father's commitment to
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  Speaker 3: the God of Israel. Belshazzar looked much more like the
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar of old, given to pride and living for his
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  Speaker 3: own pleasure and glory. He enjoyed all the spoils of
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  Speaker 3: war his father had amassed and spent much of his
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  Speaker 3: time drinking and partying with his friends. Belshazzar did not
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  Speaker 3: acknowledge the Lord as the one and only God, but
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  Speaker 3: he went further. He actively disrespected the Lord, taking golden
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  Speaker 3: goblets brought from the temple in Jerusalem and using them
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  Speaker 3: at his drunken parties to praise the false gods. As
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  Speaker 3: we've seen again and again, God is a patient God,
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  Speaker 3: a loving God, but ultimately does not allow mockery of
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  Speaker 3: his house and his name to go unanswered. The Bible says,
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  Speaker 3: God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he
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  Speaker 3: will also reap. What happened to Belshazzar is truly shocking.
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  Speaker 3: In the middle of one of his parties, everyone witnessed
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  Speaker 3: something like a hand scrawling on a wall. leaving unrecognizable
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  Speaker 3: writing for all to see. The king was arrogant and foolish,
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  Speaker 3: but not impervious to fear. And what he saw absolutely
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  Speaker 3: terrified him. The color drained from his face and his
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  Speaker 3: knees were knocking against each other. So he summoned someone,
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  Speaker 3: anyone who could interpret the writing to give him insight.
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  Speaker 3: But just as his father experienced with his dreams, none
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  Speaker 3: of the pagan magicians or diviners had a clue. They
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  Speaker 3: were at a total loss. But the king's wife remembered
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  Speaker 3: the man Nebuchadnezzar had made chief among all the seers
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  Speaker 3: and wise men of the nation. His name, Daniel. Daniel
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  Speaker 3: was certainly the man for the job. God had kept
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  Speaker 3: him there for a reason and sustained him. And when
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  Speaker 3: he was called upon, Daniel was ready to serve again.
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  Speaker 3: He had no interest in any of the rewards the
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  Speaker 3: king offered, but he agreed to interpret the writings. He
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  Speaker 3: then told the king that Nebuchadnezzar had once been just
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  Speaker 3: like him, powerful yet proud. God had humbled him, and
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  Speaker 3: he turned to God and had been restored. And then
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  Speaker 3: Daniel said, as we read in Daniel 5, 22 and 23,
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  Speaker 3: But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though
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  Speaker 3: you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up
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  Speaker 3: against the Lord of heavens. While we don't know if
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  Speaker 3: Nebuchadnezzar actively shared his faith with his children, we do
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  Speaker 3: know that he provided an example at the end of
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  Speaker 3: his life. He did make God's name known, and Belshazzar
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  Speaker 3: had a choice to make. He could follow God or
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  Speaker 3: follow his own way. He chose his own pride and
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  Speaker 3: in his arrogance rejected God. There's no more dangerous place
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  Speaker 3: in your life than the place that Belshazzar found himself.
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  Speaker 3: You have set yourself up against the Lord. God has
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  Speaker 3: no rival. He has no equal. No matter how powerful
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  Speaker 3: a man may be or how vast a kingdom he
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  Speaker 3: may rule, God is the ruler of all rulers. He's
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  Speaker 3: the God above all. And he was about to show
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  Speaker 3: this to Belshazzar. The news Daniel gave him was tragic.
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  Speaker 3: God had numbered Belshazzar's days. His kingdom was going to
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  Speaker 3: come to an end. and it would be divided between
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  Speaker 3: the Medes and the Persians. Daniel was given a third
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  Speaker 3: of the kingdom to rule. God was keeping him in
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  Speaker 3: a position of influence because there was work yet to
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  Speaker 3: be done in that place. But what about Belshazzar and
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  Speaker 3: his kingdom? That very night, the Persians attacked and overtook Babylon.
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  Speaker 3: The king was killed in his bed by Darius the Mede.
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  Speaker 3: We'll learn more about the new king the next time
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  Speaker 3: we're together. Dear God, we thank you for including this
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  Speaker 3: startling revelation in your word. We know that you will
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  Speaker 3: not be mocked and we can never stand against you.
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  Speaker 3: May your sovereign and supreme power rule in our hearts
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  Speaker 3: through Jesus Christ, our Lord. We commit our ways to you.
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  Speaker 3: We do trust in you. We thank you for the
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  Speaker 3: cross of the Lord Jesus and the resurrection. And we
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  Speaker 3: believe and receive you as our Savior and Lord. We
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  Speaker 3: humble ourselves before you. And we thank you for your
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  Speaker 3: grace in our lives. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 3: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. Before
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: we go, I want to let you know about a
• 15:21
  Speaker 3: unique e-book that's yours to download absolutely free today. It's
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: called Breaking Free from Stress. And my prayer is that
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: it will help you conquer the daily tasks and pressures
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: and burdens that bring stress into your life. Download your
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: free copy of Breaking Free from Stress today by visiting
• 15:40
  Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash stress. That's jackgram.org slash stress.