Daniel 5

This story is scary in that one man, Nebuchadnezzar was given time and opportunity to repent. One man, his grandson, was not.

What is the difference? I believe that God, in His sovereignty, knew the hearts of both men. He knew one would repent and that one had hardened his heart past the point of no return. In fact, Jeremiah had prophesied in Jeremiah 27:5-7 that Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom would last only until his son's son. God knew exactly what would happen.

While it may seem unfair, I believe God knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our hearts and although He is not willing that any should perish, He also knows that we are a wicked generation. Many will reject Him until the day they die. They, like Pharaoh, are given over to a hard heart from which there is no return.

Hebrews 10:26-30 says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. "

But that is not a fear for us. We who are seeking Him and studying His Word are in the group that He will patiently and continuously work with until the day we see Him face to face. He has mercy on those that seek Him and that press on to do His will. Praise God!