The Slave Rebukes

Daniel 5:22-24 “But you his son, O Belshazzar, 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 rebukes Belshazzar. To rebuke is to scold, to reprimand. The servant scolds Belshazzar, listing the king’s sins of unbelief, idolatry and immoral life. Belshazzar had no regard for God, even rejecting the evidence of God’s work in Nebuchadnezzar’s life. These words are another sign of Daniel’s unwavering faith. At the risk of his life, Daniel calls the king to account because he is accountable to God.
     How do you feel about rebuking someone for their neglect of God? We have been taught in the modern church that to rebuke someone’s sin is unloving and judgmental. It is, in effect, not Christian. After all, God loves everyone. We each have our sins, but God will forgive us, right? Love one another!
    But wait a minute. Jesus rebuked the disciples he loved in one of the most critical moments of their relationship with him: Mark 16:14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. Jesus scolded his disciples. They did not believe the testimonies of Mary and others who had seen him risen from the grave! Not only that, Jesus had repeatedly told his disciples he would die and rise. Jesus’ closest disciples are similar to Belshazzar. They had heard and seen the Lord God work wondrous signs and miracles. Still, they sinned. The difference is, though, the disciples repented and began to live in faith. Belshazzar did not. He died in sin.
    Know then, that to rebuke is a means of protecting the church. Paul instructs in 1 Timothy 5:20 Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning. And Peter writes we are to rebuke those who have wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. (2 Peter 2:16) Read Matthew 23:13-29, and you will understand Jesus’ great rebuke to the Pharisees, who had pridefully rejected God’s true Word for their lives and ministry to the Jews.
    Good parents find it necessary to rebuke a disobedient child. Our Father in heaven knows we sinners need a good scolding at times to awaken us onto his true pathway. If our Lord allowed us to remain in our sin, we could not say, “God loves everyone.” Failing to rebuke someone’s obvious sin neglect, not love for them. Even worse, you become part of the sin if you neglect to correct it.
    Daniel faithfully speaks to Belshazzar. The result of his words is in God’s hands.
 
Leviticus 19:17 “Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.”