Preschool
I will hear what God the Lord will speak (Psalm 85:8).
Sinful Living Judged
Memory Verses
Primary
I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints (Psalm 85:8).
Junior
I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly (Psalm 85:8).
Background Scripture: Daniel 4–5
Lesson Scripture: Daniel 5:2–6, 17–18, 20–23, 26–28, 30
Introduction
“Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Sin arrived in the garden of Eden through disobedience, and as a result, every human being has been born in sin. Sin is not only an action but is also the evil disposition of the heart itself. The Scriptures speak of the sin of commission, an act of disobedience, and the sin of omission, a failure to perform a required act. Whether done in secret or openly, sin is the transgression of God’s will. To truly appreciate God’s great mercy, we must understand his abhorrence for sin.
Key Verse
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezek. 18:4).
Lesson Scripture
Daniel 5:2 Belshazzar, whiles 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.
3 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.
4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
6 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.
17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:
21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.
Studying the Lesson
Not much is known of Belshazzar, a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar and a Chaldean ruler of the Babylonian empire. Babylon was under siege of the Persian army at this very time. Seemingly impervious to the danger and feeling quite secure in this well-fortified city, Belshazzar gave a great feast for a thousand of his lords and called for the use of the sacred, golden vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Glorifying his pagan gods using the vessels from the temple of the Lord revealed a gross disrespect for the true God. The Lord did not wait long to bring this affront to judgment. In the midst of their revelry, an astonishing thing happened. A visible hand appeared, writing upon the wall. The king’s whole countenance changed and he physically shook with fear as he correctly suspected this was a message directed toward him. When the king’s own wise men and astrologers could not reveal the message, the queen reminded him of Daniel, the man who had interpreted dreams for King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was called for and revealed a sobering message of judgment.
The Lord has had to deal with perverse, rebellious people since Adam and Eve. After the fall of man, the world fell into deeper and ever-more-blatant sin. Finally, there were only eight souls who worshipped and obeyed the Lord. God’s cup was full, and the world was destroyed. Only Noah and his family were preserved to begin again. It did not take long for sin to arrive once more. Ham, the son of Noah, sinned by dishonoring his own father. God’s judgment was sure once more. Ham and his descendants were placed under a judgment of servitude to his brothers.
Man’s inclination to selfishness and sin is recounted throughout the Bible. Many heroes of faith, such as Jacob, Moses, and David, experienced God’s judgment of sin and suffered the consequences in their own lives.
In the New Testament, we read of Ananias and Sapphira, who conspired to deceive the apostle Peter by telling an outright lie. By trying to deceive man, they were actually attempting to deceive the Holy Spirit. “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?” (Acts 5:3). God’s judgment was swift and stunning. First Ananias and then his wife fell dead at the apostle’s feet. Ananias and Sapphira had the opportunity to be honest but chose not to be.
Practical Truths for Today
“The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Sin pays in wages of strife, unhappiness, selfishness, and, finally, spiritual death. The terrible consequences of sin are visible as we travel the streets of our cities. We see the tragic scenes of the wasted lives of men and women living on the street, swallowed up by addictions and debauchery. Crimes are committed in desperate attempts to attain money for ever more destructive habits and other vices.
On the other hand, we may appear to live a successful life, actively involved in doing good things. However, if this is done for honor and recognition, it cannot take the place of true repentance and thus will never bring us into the grace of God. We can try to avoid complete submission to Him by doing good, but as long as we feel righteous and do not recognize our sinfulness, the Lord cannot help us. The wages will still be eternal death.
If human existence ended with physical death, indulging in the things that give pleasure to our flesh becomes justifiable. However, death is only the end of our earthly existence. We will face the judgment of our Creator and bear the eternal consequences of how we chose to live. The just judgment pronounced by the great Judge will reflect the state of our heart and the deeds of our life. The gate into heaven can only be entered by those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb of God. We will all stand before a righteous God and hear his judgment upon our lives. We will either stand alone or with an advocate, Jesus, who will speak for us.
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). A choice is before us. When we realize how hopeless life is without the Lord and we turn to Him, He responds. “That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:21).
Mankind has been born in sin; our default condition demands eternal punishment. However, God in his wonderful mercy prepared a plan for the redemption of sinful man. He sent his Son, Jesus, to bear the sins of man and redeem us from the death penalty. God gives us the choice to accept or reject redemption. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again” (John 3:7). When we give our heart and our all to the Lord, He washes us with his blood, our sins are forgiven, and we step forth with a new heart, being born into a new life. If we are faithful in our service and live for our Lord, He does not judge us as sinners but as redeemed from eternal death and welcomed into eternal life with Him.
Although the Lord understands each one of us and knows our circumstances, temptations, and capabilities, He does not excuse sin. Sin is disobedience and is a choice. Salvation is free but requires complete submission of our will to our Lord.
Let us allow God to judge our lives today so that we will be ready for his final judgment.
Questions
- How can we understand how much God hates sin yet not become disheartened by our own tendencies and failures?
- Do we tend to categorize sins instead of considering our sinfulness?
- How does the Holy Spirit help us deal with temptation and sin?
Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).