Reflecting the Glory

We’ll be getting a bit further down the road in Daniel today. Okay, not much, but you’ll be glad we stopped.

We left yesterday looking at the fact that God dwelt in His temple and much of what was in it was taken into captivity along with the people.

We’ve come upon a party with King Belshazzar and his nobles. They’re drinking out of God’s goblet and praising other gods…not a good idea.

Verse 5-6

“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. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.”

In other words, it scared the bejeebers out of him. Just as his father before him, King Belshazzar called in all the smart guys to tell him what the writing meant. Fast forward to verse 13…same song for Daniel. He is called in at the last minute to tell them what it all meant.

I’m not trying to cut our huge chunks of scripture, but we’ve covered much of the concepts concerning being used by God because of integrity and being positioned by God for purpose. Again, we find Daniel is used for the right thing and the right time.

But, for now I want to focus on the point where the hand came in. Look at verse 5 again. Where did the hand show up?

Near the lampstand.

Hmmm, why there? Why not over the throne or near an exit? Why near the lampstand?

I got curious, so I looked up more information about the lampstand in the temple. This was one of the articles of the temple that was taken. Here’s a little FYI concerning it.

-The oil to light and keep the lampstands lit at all times was supplied by the people.

-The light represented the glory of the LORD reflected in the consecrated lives of the Israelites.

-The light also was Israel’s glory answering to God’s glory in the tabernacle.

So, if the light of the lampstand represented the Lord’s glory, it makes sense that the hand began writing by it. The King and his people were claiming glory for other gods by worshipping them right there with God’s temple articles. He wasn’t going to let that slide.

What even adds to the coolness of this is in Zechariah 4. Zechariah is having a vision of a gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. When he asked about what it meant, the angel with him said this, “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty.”

The bowl represents an abundant supply of oil, symbolizing the fullness of God’s power through his Spirit.

Keep coming with me…

Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ.”

And…

Ephesians 1:13, 18 “Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit…I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know…his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,…”

Are you trackin’ with me?

We have not only become the temple of God, but each piece in the temple is now reflected in us…therefore, we are the lampstand of God.

Follow the reflection of the lampstand as described above---

-The oil, the Spirit is the ever-flowing power of God in us to fuel the flame of hope in us for the world. We keep it lit by staying in Christ and He in us. What did Christ call us in Matthew 5:14. Go ahead, take the time to read it…

“You are the light of the world….let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

-The light now represents the glory of the Lord reflected in our lives. Any time God changes you and refines you is another reflection of Him, His glory. Just having Christ in us is the reflection of His glory!

-We as the light of God also respond to Him. We praise Him with our lives thus reflecting back to Him His own glory.

And that, my friends, is precisely what He is after…His own glory!

Tomorrow we’ll see that His glory is why we jumped the party!