Weighed On The Scales

“God gave your [nation] sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave [it], all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him…But when [it] became arrogant and hardened with pride, [it] was deposed from [its] royal [position] and stripped of [its] glory…until [it] acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.” (Daniel 5:18–21, NIV 1984). 

“But you…have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven…you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your [nation] and all [its] ways.”  (Daniel 5:22–23, NIV 1984). 

“God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end…You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting…Your kingdom is divided and given to [others].” (Daniel 5:26–28, NIV 1984). 

My Musings – Taking a few liberties with the text concerning Belshazzar and his father Nebuchadnezzar.  Their pride, arrogance and failure to honor the God who put them in their royal position (a very dangerous thing to do), resulting in the fall of Babylon, a once mighty nation.  But a nation that forever afterward would be the archetype of evil and corruption — Godlessness.

Fast forward to today.  “If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.” (Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State).  “We are,” the plural of “I am.”  We certainly are full of ourselves.  But do we really “see the danger here to all of us?” Arrogance and failure to honor God.  It has not always been this way.  But if things continue on the same trajectory, I am afraid that “we are” will give way to “we were.”  That we will be “weighed on the scales and found wanting.”  The fall of a modern-day Babylon.  A fall from the “high position [God] gave [it].”  He gave it and He can take it away.  The sad repetition of human history in a fallen world.

My Advice– Pray for our country.  That it will acknowledge once again “that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men.”

Author: thebrewisamusing

I was raised in a Christian family and my earliest childhood memories include regular Sunday school and Church attendance as a family. I was taught that our Judeo-Christian values were not just a part of our Sunday routine they should be part of our character and influence all aspects of our lives. I was also taught that as important as these values were they could not save us. We must also be “born again” by accepting Christ. View all posts by thebrewisamusing