Deeper Reflection
The “gold and silver vessels” taken out of “the house of God” by Nebuchadnezzar belonged to God (vv.2-3). And these holy vessels which were consecrated by God “represented the God of Israel”⁵⁷ . So, when Belshazzar and his party guests “drank the wine” with God’s holy vessels and “praised” their idols (v.4), they were in reality using God in idolatry.We can commit the same evil as Belshazzar, although not in the same way. We can misuse and abuse the things of God. “Just as Belshazzar used the temple vessels to praise his false gods, so too we take the things that belong to God and use them to feed our lusts and idolatries.”⁵⁸ God is the Creator of all things, and thus, all things belong to God. Money belongs to God. God says, “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine” (Hag 2:8). The pagans use the silver and gold that belong to God to make “gods of gold and silver” and worship them. We can make money, which belongs to God, to become gods that we worship. When Jesus warns us, “You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matt 6:24), He is implying that money can very easily become a god that we will serve. And why does Jesus exhort us, “Do not worry about your life”, in a long discourse (Matt 6:25-34) immediately after His warning, “You cannot serve God and wealth”? Worry about life can lead to worshipping money. The safeguard is: Seek first the kingdom and the righteousness of our Heavenly Father who knows our needs and provides them (Matt 6:32-33).

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⁵⁷ Christopher J. H. Wright, 110 ⁵⁸ Iain M. Duguid, 85