Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket and are counted as a speck of dust on the scales; Behold, He lifts up the coastlands like fine dust. Isaiah 40:15 LSB
Our Bible study group has begun the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel is a wonderful read. I can’t go into all of it in this one blog, but I encourage you to read the book for yourselves. A good companion to the book of Daniel is the book written by Dr. David Jeremiah and C. C. Carlson, The Handwriting on the Wall.
Daniel was a captive taken from his homeland in Jerusalem. While this doesn’t sound so good, we are told early on that Daniel feared God and not the king of Babylon. He obeyed God. This served him well and God saw to it that he found favor with those in high positions.
Babylon was a rich fortified city. The city was surrounded by a huge wall. The wall was so wide that chariots could be ridden up on the top of the wall and they were said to have even had chariot races up there.
God humbled King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had made some half-hearted commitments to God but refused to let go of his pride. God sent him out to live in the wilderness like a wild beast. This humbling experience finally helped Nebuchadnezzar to accept that God is the one true God.
His grandson Belshazzar learned nothing from all of this. He was prideful and a drunk. He worshipped false gods. He drank too much and one night at a drunken orgy, handwriting appeared on the wall. Simply put, it was God letting him know that his time was up. God killed him that night and the kingdom of Babylon was divided between the Persians and the Medes.
Interestingly enough, according to historians, this occurred on about October 11th or 12th. We have an election coming up in two days. Before you cast your vote, I encourage you to do some research. Are there any good, Christian candidates running for that office?
Sadly, I think many of our elected officials don’t do much better than Belshazzar. They fail to worship the one true God but instead worship money and power. We have political leaders making decisions that are an abomination to the Lord.
Our Scripture passage tells us that the nations are like a drop from a bucket and counted as a speck of dust on the scales. God will not spare a leader or a nation that does not honor Him. We need to pay attention to who we vote for. Ultimately it is God who decides who leads our nation, our states, our parishes or counties, and our cities. God is sovereign and you can be assured His will, will be done.
Belshazzar and his guests were drinking it up and having a good old drunken time. They crossed the line when they brought in the vessels or the wine goblets from the temple of Jerusalem and began to drink from them. God said enough is enough. That very night He took Belshazzar’s life and gave the great fortified, wealthy city of Babylon over to the Medes and the Persians.
As an individual, I cannot control who gets into office. I can only control my one vote. I trust God is in control. I do, however, ask Him for wisdom and discernment in choosing the right candidate. I trust whoever God chooses will win the election. He is in complete control. This in no way negates your need to vote. We need Christian men and women to get out and vote.
Research your candidates. If they have experience, look at the jobs they have done. If they have voted, look at how they vote. Do their votes indicate godly principles? Then pray to God for wisdom and discernment as you choose your candidate.
I pray God will put good, Christian men and women into office as we go through this election season. I pray you will allow God to help you choose when you go to the polls. Most importantly, I pray our communities, our states, and our national government will not continue to suffer because of those who have been put into office. I pray for godly change. I ask you to do the same.
Have a great day!