McNairy County independent. (Selmer, McNairy County, Tenn.) 1902-1969, 1922-07-14

AAAeO JAN6hShtB WAN CfOiJ SoSASh
thing. whether it be good, or whether it
be eVil-Eccl 12:4
REFERENCE MATERIAL-Gen. ISL
Is; Exod. H:21-3l; Eek. s1:1-14: Acts II:
1923
PRIMARY ToPIC-Danie, Tells the
King of His Wrong-Dong.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Belshazzar's Feast
and Fate.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Judgment Against King Alcohol.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
How to Enforce the Judgment Against
Strong Drink.
!. BeIshazzar's lmpous Feast wv.
1-4).
l. Who attended wv. 1, p. Bel
shazzar, his wife and concubines and
thousand of his lords.
2. Behavior thereat wv. 3, ~.
~ They drank wine; they engaged
in revelry. (2) They committed sac
rilege. In their drunken revelry they
drank wine out of the sacred vessels
which had been taken out of the
temple, of the house of God. which
was at Jerusalem. When men are I'M
der the influence of intoxicating
liquors they lose all regard for sacred
things. (3) They worshiped idols.
They prayed to gods of gold and of sill
YER Of brass, of iron, wood and stone.
II. The Handwriting on the Wall
wv. 5-16).
l. The time of ". 81. 1t occurred
in the same hour in which they were
engaged in their drunken revelry.
2. The effect upon the king ". 81.
He was greatly disturbed; he was
seized with CONSERVATION. "The joints
of his loins were loosed, and his knees
smote one against another"
3. The kings behavior wv. 7-16).
"a He called forth astrologers and
soothsayers, offering rewards OF gold
and position ". 7-9). Their utter in
ability to interpret the writing left
the king even worse perplexed.
(2) Daniel brought at the suggestion
of the queen wv. 1910. The queen
here was perhaps the wife of Nebu-
chadnezzar who remembered Daniels
service in interpreting his dream. For
that reason he was sent for anc prom
ised great reward.
III. Daniel Interprets the Writing
wv. 1929.
l. Daniels address to the king wv.
17-24). He brushes aside his prom
ised gifts ". ~. He would not have
his speech limited by the kings gifts
1t requires great strength of charac-
ter and courage to thus speak in the
presence of great king. He knew
that this was no time for bribery. He
knew that his would be the last words
ever to fall on this poor sinners ears.
(2) He reviewed before him the his
tory Of ACKNOWLEDGMENT and applied
the lesson to the behavior of Belshaz.
Ear Wv. 1924. He showed clearly
that BelshaZzar should have profited
by the experience Of his father.
2. The Interpretation of the writing
wv. 25-2S). ~ "Mene" means mum
bered" ". 26). "God hath numbered
thy kingdom and finished It," (2) "Te-
KEEL" means weighed" ". 27). "Thou
art weighed in the balances, and art
found wanting" (3) "Peres" means
divided ". 2S). "Thy kingdom is
divided, and given to the Modes and
Persians."
w. The Judgment Executed wv.
29-31).
In that night was Belshazzar slain
and Darius the Medean took the king
dom.
The Chaldean dynasty ended with
Belshazzar. So we may interpret this
whole scene as pointing to the con-
ditions at the close of the times Of
the Gentiles and as adumbrating the
prevailing conditions. Let us note:
!. The stupidity of men. They, like
people today, would not learn by ex-
ample. Nebuchadnezzar's fate should
have deferred Belshazzar from such
frivolity. The driftwood Of wrecked
humanity cast upon the shores of
time seems to do but little good to
posterity. The awful issue of the
drunkard's life and all kinds Of sin
should deter men and women from
practicing sin.
2. The magnificent spiendor.s This
great feast was characterized by
pomp, display, parade. How charac-
teristic of this age
3. Luxury. The famous hanging
gardens of Babylon were a noteworS
thy example. Signs of luxury today
are on every hand. n,
A. Licentiousness. The king with hin
wives and concubines. This Is notoy
riously prevalent today. Ill
s. Blasphemous sacriiege. And may
not the sacrilege Of today be in 3x-
cess of theirs, exposing itself In ND
profession of religion for pecunYhry
gain, social and political preferments
(2) use of the pulpit and of the3min-
istry for display and notorietyj even
for the propagation of false doctrine;
| CD uniting with the church, attend
ing the communion, so as to cover up
secret sins; (4) the use of the WORD
Of God TO give point to joke; G5) de-
nyiDg that the Bible is Gods Word
mailing 1t book of errors, myths and
legends; go sneering at the Virgin
birth, repudiating Christ's deity and
setting aside His yicarious atonelnent,
6. Drunken carousals. The band.
writing is on. the wall. God via not
endure this forever: His judgment
shall fall. Conditions in the gorld
i =.