Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
This week there was a fool of a man who called himself a scientist who claimed that the only way to end the forest fires plaguing parts of Canada was to stop using fossil fuels. He was suggesting that fossil fuels were causing the climate changes and thus we need to stop driving cars to stop this supposed tragedy.
I don’t suppose this man would want to give up his pens our his computer nor his fancy house with its appliances, many of which involve fossil fuels in their manufacture. I don’t suppose he would want to give up the jet travel so that he could go to the various conferences where he could continue to spout his lies and where he could find inspiration to continue his foolish ideas.
A few days ago the president of the U.S. suggested he might raise tariffs on Canada to help pay for their expenses caused by the smoke from forest fires in Canada. For years Canada has spouted its allegiance to “mother nature”. There are those who worship the trees, and others who worship the sun or the moon. There are a multitude of other false gods that people worship. There are even those who worship the foolish government that claims to be in charge of this country.
There are examples in the Bible of men who were just as foolish as our P.M. There was a man named Belshazzar who was in charge of Babylon for a time. He thought he was a big man and he called for the vessels that his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Those vessels were supposed to be used in the worship of the true God. That foolish king thought he could take those vessels and turn them into vessels to hold his liquor so that he and his buddies could get drunk.
The Bible tells us that while they were partying, a hand appeared and the finger of that hand began to write on the wall in that place. The writing was such that this foolish king could not read it. He did not know what it said, but we are told that he was so afraid that his knees were shaking.
Daniel 5:6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.
Belshazzar understood he was not in charge like he had assumed he was. This hand appeared and those fingers began to write on the wall of his palace and he could not do anything about it.
The king called for his so-called counsellors and none of them could read the words written on that wall either. The chief men of the empire were in big trouble. They had built their lives on a foolish imagination and they had ignored the reality of a true and living God.
The queen came to the king and told him she knew who could read those words. That man was an old man now, but she remembered him from the time when Belshazzar’s father had been king. That man had interpreted some dreams for him. That man’s name was Daniel. He not only knew about the true God, but he believed in Him and trusted Him for his life.
Belshazzar was in a state of panic and he called for Daniel to come and read the writing.
The king had ignored history. God had blessed Babylon with a few Jewish captives who believed in the true God. They were not ashamed to identify with that true God. God had used them to show Nebuchadnezzar that he needed to turn to the true God. Belshazzar ignored all of that and lived a life of debauchery. His kingdom was running along fairly well and it did not need a sober king for the moment. However, a nation that does not have good leadership will not last for long.
Daniel was not ashamed to come before this careless, arrogant, and now scared king. True to his nature, Daniel reminded Belshazzar the most High God was in charge. Daniel was not afraid to remind this wicked man of this fact.
Daniel reminded this king of what the problem was:
Daniel 5:22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
Belshazzar could have known better than what he was doing, but he chose not to know better. He was the epitome of a fool.
Daniel interpreted the writing that the king saw on the wall. He was not afraid to tell the king the truth. Daniel was not the author of Truth. God had written the Truth on that wall, and all Daniel needed to do was to read it before the king. God was in charge and He had a message for the king.
In summary, the king’s time was up and his kingdom was going to be taken from him that very night.
Belshazzar was such a fool that rather than repent, he honoured Daniel with the promise he had made, but that night the Medo/Persian army entered the city and killed the king and many of the people. Babylon fell that night. Daniel was spared. He was not the problem and God would use him to influence the king of this new world empire as well.
A nation that chooses to build itself without submitting to the true God cannot be blessed of God. It will crumble. Canada is not two hundred years old yet. When the Europeans came here, they found Indians living here. We do not know how long they had been here. They claim they are the “first nations” people, but that is highly unlikely. They lived as pagans here. They fought among themselves and never amounted to much because of their paganism.
Some of the Europeans that came here knew the true God and others that came had been influenced by those who knew the true God back in their homeland. They were industrious people and they developed this land. They built houses and factories and stores and banks, etc. Canada was growing and booming. However, the majority of the people born here chose to reject the true God. Now we have pagans from other countries being welcomed into this land. They have come here to destroy what was here. They want to bring their paganism from their former lands into this country. They are succeeding.
Canada cannot survive under its current model. The politicians will try to tell us they have a plan. They just need some time to work it out. The more time they are given, the worse they make it. There is no hope to be found in our political system. It is deteriorating into a dictatorship. That should be obvious, but seemingly many are willfully ignorant of the facts.
The God of Creation still wants to bless individuals. He cannot bless this country. He is still blessing Israel because He made a promise to Abraham. God never breaks His promises.
He promises eternal life to those who will trust in Him. That is what each person reading this needs to be sure you are doing. If you trust in Him, you should be willing to be like Daniel. You should not be ashamed to speak up and remind your fellow man of Who is in charge. All people will answer to the true God one day. His peace is available for those who will put their trust in Him. Daniel could be at peace with God in spite of the foolishness of Belshazzar. He trusted in the true God. Who are you trusting in?
Pastor Bartel