Introduction

Percy Bysshe Shelly is famous for writing a poem called Ozymandias

He was inspired by hearing the tale of a ruined statue of the great King Ozymandias (also known as Pharaoh Rameses II) that had been recently uncovered in archaeological digs in Egypt. It says

I met a traveller from an antique land Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand, Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed: And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

The poem mocks the pretension of the king who sought to immortalize his greatness in a statue. With the passage of time, the statue’s most obvious quality became its decay.

Shelly was really observing that, in the end, even the works of the proud and mighty come to nothing.

Despite all our striving, we humans can never be as great as our hearts desire.

This is God’s design, but we refuse to accept it and try to make names for ourselves.

Over and over in Israel’s story, we see the haughty pretensions of great men coming to nothing, while God mocks the pretensions of the proud.

A story that clearly illustrates this point than the collapse of Babylon.

Babylon went from a province in the Assyrian empire to an empire in its own right in the historical blink of an eye.

Its first king Nabopolassar (Na bo po LAS sar) (who reigned for 21 years) made establishing the country as a military powerhouse

His son Nebuchadnezzar (who reigned for 43 years) turned Babylon into a regional superpower.

But upon Nebuchadnezzar’s death, power struggles and inept rulers sent the kingdom on a downward spiral, allowing it to fall to the Persians without a fight a mere 23 years after the great king’s death.

Nebuchadnezzar was the key to his empire’s success. But In Daniel 4 we read a story of how, during his reign, God humbled him.

In the story, Nebuchadnezzar surveys the greatness of his capital and congratulates himself on what he’s built.

God strikes him with madness and he lives with the animals for seven years until at last he gives glory to God.

He concludes by stating the lesson he learnedDaniel 4:37NIV

37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Though the great king learned this lesson, his successors chose to ignore this insight.

When that happens, the writing is on the wall—literally—for for the doom of BabylonThe Stench of Pride

After Nebuchadnezzar’s death, things got unstable

The king’s son, Amel Marduk, reigned for about 2 seconds before his throne was usurped by his sister’s husband Neriglassar (ner ig LAS sar).

He reigned for four years before dying and passing his throne to his son Labashi-Marduk.

He reigned for a few months before he was murdered and his throne usurped by Nabonidus (Na bo NEED us).

After Nabonidus reigned a few years and then sort of checked out, perhaps to ‘find himself’, spending his time at an oasis in Arabia.

His Son (bell SHA zar) Belshazzar took up day to day operations of Babylon, as a steward who pretended to be the legitimate king.

It’s in this context that the story in Daniel 5 takes place.Daniel 5:1–6NIV

1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. 5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak [lit. the knots of his loins loosened – i.e. he pooped his pants] and his knees were knocking.

What the text doesn’t say is that Belshazzar must realize he is in trouble.

His capital is surrounded by the Persian Army, so he throws a feast for his nobles.

Maybe he’s shoring up morale or going out with a bang? (Let’s eat and drink for tomorrow we die!) We don’t really know.

He had undoubtedly had too much to drink when he had a really bad idea.

When Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he looted the temple, taking its vessels back to Babylon and putting them in the temple of his god Marduk.

The ancients believed when one nation defeated another, the god of the victorious nation had defeated the god of the conquered nation

So most contemporary observers would have assumed Marduk had defeated (and was, therefor greater) than Yahweh and that God’s stuff—the loot from the temple—now belonged to Marduk.

Belshazzar took the cups from that loot and used them.

This is scandalous even for the Babylonians, who would have seen this as a challenge to Marduk (They are his treasure now)

It seems that Belshazzar and his father weren’t so keen on Marduk, instead they were devoted to different Babylonian diety—Sin.

By slighting Markduk, he might be trying to invoke the help of Sin.

What he doesn’t realize is that these still belong to God (who was never defeated) and that their use would offend him.

Belshazzar should have known that God was not defeated.

Even Nebuchadnezzar had come to this conclusion:

In the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Nebuchadnezzar learned that God could save people from his hand

In his bout with madness, Nebuchadnezzar had learned that God was easily able to humble even him.

But Belshazzar had failed to heed the costly lesson learned by his much more capable predecessor.

He insults God, and God publicly shames him, writing about his pending downfall on a wall where everyone can see it.

The story is a bit long, so I’ll summarize what happens next.

Belshazzar calls in the wise men to interpret the inscription

Though he promises riches and honour if they can do it, they’re stumped.

Despite Daniel’s high place in Nebuchadnezzar’s court, he’s not among those summoned. He may be retired, or not welcome because of his Jewish heritage

The Queen (probably Belshazzar’s mother, not his wife) tells him that Daniel, one of Nebuchadnezzar’s advisors should be able to figure it out. So they summon Daniel.

Belshazzar offers him riches and honour if he can interpret the writing

Daniel is unimpressed by the offer, but nonetheless agrees to interpret the writing for Belshazzar.

But first, he starts with a lecture putting Belshazzar in his placeDaniel 5:18–24NIV

18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes. 22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

Daniel is Saying Nebuchadnezzar was a far greater king than Belshazzar could ever be, but when he got too proud, God put even him in his place.

Nebuchadnezzar, who—humanly speaking—had a lot more to be proud of, wouldn’t dare do what Belshazzar did.

He should have learned his lesson from what God did to Nebuchadnezzar, but instead Belshazzar ignored the lesson and exalted himself

So Daniel is saying: You aren’t nearly as great as you think, Mister poop-in-your-pants!

After this little lecture, Daniel goes on to read and interpret the inscription on the wall.Daniel 5:25–31NIV

25 “This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin 26 “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. 30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

God pronounces judgment on Belshazzar.

He has been found wanting, so he will die.

History tells us that Babylon fell to the Persians basically without a fight.

The deposed Belshazzar would have been executed and Daniel’s prophecy was confirmed.

In this story, we see how God opposes the proud, and brings them to nothing. The Aroma of Humility

So God is great, and doesn’t take kindly to mere humans pretending to be greater than him. Does this mean God is an insecure control freak?

Not at all. God could simply be saying, I really am great. Humans just pretend to be great.

But while God would be justified in saying this, when he reveals himself in Jesus, we see something very different.

When God takes on flesh, he comes as a humble man, Jesus of Nazareth.

This isn’t Jesus pretending to be humble, this is God showing us that he is humble

As Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9)

So the God who effortlessly put Nebuchadnezzar in his place certainly has the right to be proud, but he isn’t.

If God is humble, it really wouldn’t do for his people to be proud.

Even though God demonstrates that true greatness is found in humility, we have a hard time humbling ourselves.

Look at the contrast between Jesus (who is humble) compared with his disciples who are ambitious.

One story really illustrates this point

James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, slyly ask Jesus to promise them the positions of highest honour when he comes into his kingdom.

When they find out, the other disciples are furious with the brothers, because they feel they deserve to be the big shots.

Jesus does a face-palm and then tries to reframe our understanding of importance:Mark 10:42–45NIV

42 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus, who humbly serves, should be the standard by which we judge true greatness.

This flies in the face of worldly greatness, where those who are considered great are those who dominate others

When Jesus talks about the rulers of the Gentiles, he has in mind people like Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar

The legacy of such people is one of destruction

The Misery brought on the Jews by the series of empires that dominated them—Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome—show what happens when proud humans are unchecked in their pride.

But God’s reign—his plan for the maximum flourishing of his creation—comes when people (especially those with power) humble themselves like Jesus humbled himself.

Human pride works against God’s plan to redeem creation.

That’s why God is so bothered by pride.

Like Belshazzar, we may desire to seem important, but it’s only by humbling ourselves before God, that we unleash his kingdom power in our lives and communities.Humbling Ourselves in Practical Detail

“Humble yourself” is a rather abstract idea. Let’s look at some practical examples of how.

This is, by no means, a comprehensive list.Own Up To Your Need for Mercy

The sin that doomed Belshazzar was his arrogance before God.

His made himself out to be greater than God, when he should have asked for mercy.

like him, we are sinners in need of mercy.

In Luke’s gospel, Jesus told a parable that helps us understand the humility God requires of usLuke 18:10–14NIV

10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Better a sinner with genuine humility than a pious churchgoer with toxic pride.

The Pharisee isn’t asking for anything from God: He’s merely telling God how great he is

Pride like this takes us out of a posture of receptivity to God.

When we loose sight of our need for mercy we don’t seek it.

The Tax collector knew he had done evil, but his humility placed in a posture where he could receive from God.

He finds that God delights to give mercy to those who have open hands to receive it.

Admitting our need to change is hard to do because it deconstructs our mask of self-sufficiency, but it is necessary.

At the very least, we need to be willing to admit our faults to God.

It’s also important that we can be willing to share who we are with others

This doesn’t mean we tell everyone who will listen our greatest indiscretions, but it does mean that we need to confide in other Christians

It also means that we refuse to wear the mask of ‘having everything together.’

If everyone pretends to be well put together, then those who aren’t, feel the need to pretend, so they can belong.

So pride leads us to become isolated, fearful, lonely and fake.

We are all broken.Treat Those Around You With Dignity

Another way we display appropriate humility is in treating others, especially those in places of weakness and powerlessness with the dignity they deserve.

While we are all broken, we are also bearers of God’s image. So all of us have inherent dignity.

Also, we must remember that when God walked among us, he came as a poor man.

Men like Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar achieve their ‘greatness’ on their ability to dominate other people

But Jesus demonstrates his greatness in serving others

When we realize and can admit our wretchedness before God, it means we see in the weakness of others a reflection of our own weakness.

So by treating them with respect, we admit that we need God’s mercy just as much as they do.

So when we encounter weak, broken people—even those whose weakness and brokenness we can chalk up to their foolish decisions—we show them the respect due a bearer of God’s image.

It’s easy to become contemptuous of certain people, but humility reminds us that they are bearers of God’s image and people for whom Christ died.Treat God with the Reverence He Deserves

The scientific revolution has meant we see the world as far less mysterious than people in the past did.

The sence of mastery over the physical world this creates, reduces our capacity to perceive the mysterious and spiritual.

So our culture has no notion of the idea of sacredness.

So we see blasphemy (being irreverent to God) and sacralige (treating holy things with disrespect) as no big deal.

In the Second Temple period, Jews were so worried about blasphemy that that started to refuse to say God’s proper name. Even today, they say Adonai (My Lord) or HaShem (the Name) instead.

Maybe the Jews take it a bit far, but we undoubtedly don’t take it far enough.

When we talk about God, is our conversation reverent and humble? If not, we must remember that God deserves our respect. This is a deeply counter-cultural value

It’s not just that God that needs to be treated with appropriate respect, but things that are set aside for his use too.

Belshazzar misused cups. But it was sacrilegious because those cups were set apart for use in God’s temple.

He treated what was holy as common.

In the temple system, it was the curtain that separated holy from common.

The Curtain was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross. This shows us that God had redeemed all of creation, making everything set apart for his purposes.

That means that the world we live in, and everything in it is now properly used to honour and worship God.

We may desire to treat religious things (like church buildings or bibles) as sacred, while everything else can be used however we see fit.

But if we understand that God is king of the whole world, we understand that we should treat everything as a gift from God and use it for his purposes in the world.

For believers, there isn’t a sacred part of our lives, over which God exercises authority, and a secular sphere of life that is outside of that authority, rather everything we have belongs to God.

This planet is a sacred trust given to us to steward by God, and so we should treat it with respect and care, not as something just to exploit.

Everything belongs to God. Our possessions are set aside for his use. Our abilities and talents as set aside. Our time is set aside. Everything we have and everything we are belong to God.Conclusion

So in conclusion: Pride is toxic.

It can be the pride that leads tyrants to build statues in their own honour, or the pride that leads us to seek status and power from people.

No one but God has reason for pride, and yet God is humble.

If God is humble, how much more ought we to be.

Belshazzar’s actions showed he thought he was pretty important. But God said otherwise.

He was a mere human, lowly and sinful in need of God’s mercy, which God would grant if only Belshazzar would humble himself and ask.

Though we’re not kings, we can become arrogant like Belshazzar, and this places us in danger

because an arrogant heart is not receptive to the mercy God freely gives.

Instead, God invites us to humble ourselves and come to him, where we will find mercy:Matthew 11:28–30NIV

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”