Under the Influence

In Daniel 5 there's a new king. Nebuchadnezzar has been dead for quite some time, and his son Belshazzar has taken over, and here's what we learn of his character right off the bat:

"King Belshazzar gave a great banquest for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzarr his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone" (Daniel 5:1-4).

Read back through that and see if you can find the one verb that's repeated several times for emphasis.

{waiting}

Find it? King Belshazzar apparently likes to drink, doesn't he? The writer mentions it five times in four sentences.

The church in which I grew up did not condone drinking at all -- not even wine with dinner. In fact, I remember the scandal that erupted when one of the girls in our youth group let it slip that her parents enjoyed a little vino every now and again. Drinking was universally understood by everyone in our church as out of bounds. It was one of the ways you knew someone was serious about their faith. If they had any alcohol in the house, they were nominal Christians -- people you wouldn't trust with your kids with. That person was automatically disqualified from a leadership position at church.

So, we didn't talk much about some parts of the Bible. For example, the Psalmist says that God makes "wine that gladdens the heart of man" (Ps. 104:15a). We didn't read that psalm during our Sunday morning assembly. Or Deuteronomy 14 -- where it says that if you live so far away from the Tabernacle or Temple that you cannot carry your tithe, "Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice" (Deut. 14:26).

We didn't talk much about those places in the Bible, and we explained away the whole notion of wine being wine. It was grape juice. I've actually got books in my library that jump through amazing hoops to explain how wine didn't have any alcohol in it back then -- even though people could somehow get drunk on it. Maybe it was some kind of sugar buzz.

The Bible does not say it is sinful to drink wine. But the Bible does warn people very strongly about the dangers of drinking too much wine.

In Daniel 5:2 we read, "While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them."

That first phrase could be translated, "While he was under the influence of wine...." The implication being that alcohol prompted him to do something he wouldn't have done otherwise.

I'm not going to say that Belshazzar's problems started with his alcohol consumption. I think it's pretty clear that there was a larger pattern at work here, which we'll see in the next few days.

But the booze didn't help.

I don't know everyone who reads my blog. But statistically speaking, someone who reads my blog has a drinking problem. I don't know who, but that person probably does. If that's you, get some help. Too often, Christians and churches don't talk openly about this, and I know folks who have suffered quietly in fear. Don't let your fear keep you from getting the help you need. There's help available for you if you want to crawl out from under the influence.