MONDAY, APRIL 30
Daniel 5:1-4
Luke 12:22-31

“… seek ye the kingdom of God;
and all these things shall be added unto you.”

WINE, WOMEN AND SONG

Let us take a peek into the goings on in the king’s great hall. With traditional Oriental pomp and extravagance, we see endless bands of servants waiting and attending on the thousand lords, together with the king’s wives and concubines. No doubt food and wine flowed freely amidst great merriment.

Uplifted in spirit, the king exalted his gods and began to desecrate the gold and silver vessels taken by his father Nebuchadnezzar from the Temple of Jerusalem. He commanded that those vessels be used for serving wine to his guests, aggravating the insult to the God of heaven.

So the thousand lords wined and dined, and “… praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone” (Dan 5:4), with the great gathering singing to the accompaniment of the royal orchestra. Classical writers and historians recorded that such festivities were occasions for wanton immorality, attended by the inferior class of women from the harems.

From the world’s viewpoint: wonderful and pleasurable! Enjoy yourself, it is later than you think!

From God’s viewpoint: abominable! “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:16-17).

THOUGHT: “… Take no thought for your life …” (Luke 12:22). Can I? Why?
PRAYER: Father, forgive me for my self-will. May I always seek to do Thy will that I may please Thee with my life which Thou hast given me.