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Daniel

Daniel 5

The Writing on the Wall

Nebuchadnezzar fades from the story as this chapter beginsAbout seventy years had passed since the conquering of Jerusalem.  Daniel had advised Nebuchadnezzar in 2:39, in the interpretation of the dream of the statue, that "after you will come another kingdom inferior to yours."  That time was approaching.

 

There were about 23 years between chapter 4 & 5;  Nebuchadnezzar had died in 562B.C. 

His son Evil-Merodach took the throne, but only for two years when he was murdered by his brother in law Neriglissar.  He reigned for four years (Nebs son in law).  His son Labashi-Marduk, Nebuchadnezzar's Grandson took the throne.  He only reigned a few months when he was murdered.  Nabonius then took the throne from 556B.C. to 539B.C. ruling when conquered by Medes. 

 

So, who was Belshazzar?  For many years, no one knew.  The fact that there was no king named Belshazzar was used in an attempt to discredit the book of Daniel.  But that changed, James Boice put it this way:

In this case, in 1854 a British consul named J. G. Taylor was exploring some ruins in southern Iraq for the British Museum and came across several small cylinders inscribed with sixty or so lines of cuneiform writing. It turned out that the inscriptions had been written at the command of Nabonidus, who ruled Babylon from 555 to 539 b.c. They commemorated the repair of a temple tower at Ur, and they contained a prayer for the long life and good health of Nabonidus and for his eldest son Belshazzar. [1]

 

Daniel 5:1-4

All the surrounding area had already been captured by the Medes, the city fortress of Babylon, with its walls and fortifications, was all that remained.  King Nabonidus had taken his army to fight the Medes and Persians in an effort to save the kingdom.  As the surrounding provinces fell, he had been captured.  As the vice-regent of Babylon, Belshazzar was acting as king while his father was away.  It seems as thought it would be a strange time for a party.  However, if you hope only in this world and it appears that its all about to end, then a party is a final opportunity for a brief respite of joy before it all ends.  Belshazzar trusted only in his strength, in the kingdom, in Babylon.

 

I Isaiah 22 the Assyrians were drawing near to Jerusalem.  Hezekiah made preparation and trust the Lord, but Isaiah spoke of the people who didn't look to the Lord for their protection and care.  They trusted their ways and when they Assyrians came.  The Lord called to them to repent, to put on sackcloth and ashes, to mourn over their sin.  Instead, they threw a party, a feast; they said, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!"

 

Belshazzar chose to eat, drink and be merry as the Medes and Persians approached.  The party may have been driven by one or more thoughts:

  1. A final celebration, resigned to death
  2. He assumed he was comfortable and safe behind the wall and he was thumbing his nose at the enemy.
  3. The celebration was a feast to show confidence in their gods; to bolster their courage, a pep rally. 

 

Belshazzar invited a thousand guests to this party.  These kinds of feasts were common at the time, so this is not abnormal in size or scope.  The storehouse was still full, so food and drink were still plentiful.  "While dinking" in verse two should be understood as 'in his drunkenness, he gave orders….'  The intoxicated king wasn't thinking too clearly when he gave the order to bring out the gold and silver goblets from God's temple.   Not even Nebuchadnezzar did this.  Capturing the objects and placing them in the temple of his god was a sign of defeat over Judah, Jerusalem and their God.  But to drink from them the goblets was in the least disrespectful.  The act of using them in drunken revelry was sacrilegious, an offense against God Most High.  Belshazzar was now taunting God and daring Him to act.

 

The beginning of verse three is a new duplicate of the end of verse two.  This repetition is done for emphasis.  They drank wine from the holy vessels, praising their gods as they did so.  They praised their worthless gods while offending the God of infinite value and worthiness.  This act of worshiping their gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone was simple idolatry.  This offense is great in the eyes of God by itself.  The offense is compounded by the profaning of the holy vessels in idolatrous worship.

 

Daniel 5:5-9

Archeologists have uncovered a large throne room in the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace.  It is 56' wide and 173' long.  This is probably the scene of Belshazzar's banquet.  At the midpoint along the wall opposite the entrance is a niche built into the wall.  The is may be where the king's throne was placed.  It's been discovered that the wall in the back of this niche was covered in white plaster. 

 

The fingers of a hand became visible and wrote on a plaster wall near the lampstand.  The lampstand was presumably a source of light for the room.  It is interesting that this is just the fingers and not a hand also.  This an eerie image if think about it.  The proximity to the lampstand may have made the hand look even more ominous. 

 

The party ended abruptly with the writing on the wall.  The king and his nobles believed in omens; this dark omen would have been the most terrifying thing they'd ever seen.  The terror of this sight gripped the king and he was sobered by his fear.  We are given his appearance, pale and frightened, he became weak in the knees.  In any other setting, this might feel like a comical sight, to think of this arrogant king who mere seconds before was toasting his gods and mocking the Most High God now quaking as his knees knock together.  It is indeed a serious event.

 

We can imagine the panic and fear and desire to immediately know what this writing said.  The king called his wise men; the enchanters, astrologers and diviners.  He promises what would be a handsome reward if the enemy weren't about to overtake them.  Whoever could read this writing would be given the royal colors to wear, a gold chain showing authority and be the third high in all the land (Nabonidus first, Belshazzar second).  Once again, the wise men are shown useless and unworthy of the attention given them.  Their failure sets the scene for Daniel's success. 

 

Belshazzar is gripped with terror and the physical affects of it. 

 

Daniel 5:10-12

The queen heard the all the excitement in the throne room, or maybe she the heard the silence of a party that had died.  Either way, she came to find out what was going on.  There a couple possibilities regarding the identity of the queen:

  1. Herodotus, an ancient historian, described her as Nebuchadnezzar's wife.  He said she was a woman of superior wisdom and political skill.  Some scholars believe she is the Belshazzar's mother.
  2. Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes the queen as Beshazzar's grandmother.  This could be the same as Nebuchadnezzar's wife.
  3. Nabonidus wasn't of the royal line, yet he had a claim to the throne.  Some think he came by this claim by being married to Nebuchadnezzar's daughter. 

 

Regardless of her identity, she enters the banquet hall and gives the standard greeting to the king.  She proceeds to instruct him, as a mother might.  His alarmed state and visible fear was obvious to her.  She knew of Daniel from his previous dealings with Nebuchadnezzar; he was known as a man filled with the Holy Spirit (known as the 'spirit of the gods' to the polytheist Babylonian); a man of insight, intelligence and wisdom that was likened to the gods.  He was known to have a keen mind, knowledge, understanding and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems.  You get the sense that there are a lot more stories about Daniel we don't know.  Was there a great riddle he solved for the king?  Did he find a solution to a great problem in the land?  This is quite a resume and reputation for Daniel. 

 

When verse eleven speaks of 'your father' to Belshazzar, he's not necessarily talking about his biological father.  This is like a forefather, the king before.  The great king Nebuchadnezzar had appointed Daniel to a high position.  We don't know why Daniel wasn't at this festival, or why he didn't come with the other wise men.  Daniel is now an eighty-one-year-old man. 

 

Daniel 5:13-16

To Belshazzar Daniel was just one of the exiles from Judah.  The queens glowing introduction did nothing to bring a kindness or grace toward Daniel, only an indifferent politeness.  It seems the arrogance was not put in check by the fear of the situation and the ethnic tension and disrespect for someone of a lower class was prominent in this meeting. 

 

The king repeated Daniel's qualifications in a way that make it seem as a challenge, as if he didn't believe all this, or would only believe if he saw it.  Belshazzar offered the same reward to Daniel; an opportunity for an exile to earn respect and authority.  Most would be thrilled, impressed and excited at the prospect.

 

Daniel 5:17-21

Daniel seemed to have no patience for the situation.  The king, in his drunkenness, had crossed a line when using the golden goblets.  Daniel had no interest in the gifts and rewards; the instruction to 'keep them' was a rebuke to the king by this eighty-one-year-old man of God.  Daniel wanted it known, the Lord's counsel could not be bought, it would be given, only at His will.  You have to think that Daniel was more than happy to deliver this message as the king sat in his banquet hall, having his sacrilege interrupted by the writing on the wall.

 

The standard address to the king would have been, "You Majesty, live forever."  Daniel only addressed him with 'Your Majesty.'  From the beginning Daniel established his God was God Most High, superior over all other gods of Babylon or anywhere else.  He details what God had given to Nebuchadnezzar:

  • Sovereignty – this is the authority to reign, dominion.
  • Greatness – this is the property possessed by someone in authority
  • Glory – the state of high honor
  • Splendor – the quality of a person that brings others to respect and awe
  • People – the kingdom was nations and languages made up by people

 

The second half of verse nine shows how the king used what was given to him.

  • He put to death those he wanted put to death.
  • He spared those he wanted to spare.
  • He promoted those he wanted to promote.
  • He humbled those he wanted to humble.

All of these came into play as the king conquered Jerusalem and Judah and brought them into exile.  We know that all this was done by the will of the Lord as punishment for Judah.  Nebuchadnezzar was a tool of the Most High God, his kingdom was a creation of God.  But the king began to think it was him, that he had built it all, that he single handedly built a kingdom.  It was then the Lord drove him from the throne and stripped him of the glory and splendor (5:18).  His mind was changed to that of an animal; he acted as an animal until such a time as he acknowledged the sovereignty of God.

 

Daniel 5:22-24

Nebuchadnezzar had seen God's hand move twice before and was given a warning about the third. 

  • Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream – The king was introduced to the God Most High who was sovereign over all.  "There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come." (Dan 2:28)
  • In the blazing furnace – "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." (Dan 3:25)  
  • The dream of the tree – Daniel interpreted the dream as a warning to the king that he would be removed from the throne and that his mind would be changed.  Daniel advised, "Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed." (Dan 4:27) 

 

It was a year after the tree dream that Nebuchadnezzar declared his own sovereignty and the Lord changed his mind and humbled him.  Belshazzar was given no such chances because he knew of these things.  He knew of God's sovereignty and the lessons taught Nebuchadnezzar but didn't apply those lessons to himself.  Nebuchadnezzar himself had declared God's sovereignty and ability to humble who He will in chapter four.  He said, "….everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble." 

 

Belshazzar set himself against the Lord.  The failure to humble himself was a rejection of the sovereignty of the Lord, a sovereignty he was fully aware of.  He had taken the goblets the Lord's temple and drank from them in this act of disrespect and outright mockery of God.   This was made even worse when he praised his manmade gods of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone.  All of these so called gods were incapable of hearing, seeing or knowing anything; this is quite a contrast to the God who sees all, hears all and knows all.  Belshazzar should have known the Lord held his life in His hand.  His failure was that his life, actions, thoughts and praise did not reflect the knowledge of God, a knowledge he possessed.  It is because of this, He sent this hand to write the message. 

 

He could have ended Belshazzar's life in an instant.  The very second he defiled a golden goblet could have been his last second alive.  By the Lord waiting and letting it play out, Daniel was able to point to the Lord and make it very clear what was going to happen.  This wasn't for Belshazzar, the Lord certainly didn't owe him an explanation.  This was for all those who were watching and those who have heard and read of this event across all of time.  We should learn the lesson Belshazzar failed to learn:

God is sovereign over all the affairs of man.  We are His people.  We have a responsibility to the One who created it all.  

 

Daniel 5:25-29

The message was:

  • Mene Mene Tekel Parsin
  • The message is 'a mina, a mina, a shekel and two halves'. 

All three words are units of measure.

  • Mene means numbered or counted out.  The years of Belshazzar's reign had been counted out and were about to end. 
  • Tekel was a weight, Daniel used it as passive, to be weighed.  The king was weighed and found to come up short.
  • Parsin means to divide.  Daniel translated it to a division of the kingdom, divided from Belshazzar and given to the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar responded to Daniel's unfavorable interpretation by promoting him.  This may have been an attempt to win favor with the Lord.  Daniel reluctantly received the award he did not want. 

 

Daniel 5:30-31

The fall of Babylon was predicted in Isaiah 13-14; 21 and 47 as well as Jeremiah 50-51.

57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,

her governors, officers and warriors as well;

they will sleep forever and not awake,"

declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty.

58 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

"Babylon's thick wall will be leveled

and her high gates set on fire;

the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,

the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames." (Jeremiah 51;57-58)

 

At this my body is racked with pain,

pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor;

I am staggered by what I hear,

I am bewildered by what I see.

My heart falters,

fear makes me tremble;

the twilight I longed for

has become a horror to me.

They set the tables,

they spread the rugs,

they eat, they drink!

Get up, you officers,

oil the shields!

This is what the Lord says to me:

"Go, post a lookout

and have him report what he sees.

When he sees chariots

with teams of horses,

riders on donkeys

or riders on camels,

let him be alert,

fully alert."

And the lookout j shouted,

"Day after day, my lord, I stand on the watchtower;

every night I stay at my post.

Look, here comes a man in a chariot

with a team of horses.

And he gives back the answer:

'Babylon has fallen, has fallen!

All the images of its gods

lie shattered on the ground!' " (Isaiah 21:3-9)

 

The year was 539B.C. and the day was the 16th of Tishri.  The conquering of Babylon was engineered by Cyrus, the king of Persia.  Who was Darius?  There are many theories and thoughts.  He may have been a general for Cyrus or this may have been another name for Cyrus.  Having multiple names wasn't unusual.  The story of the fall of Babylon is found in several ancient historians and writings.  As the army approached, the Babylonians felt safe behind their thick and high walls and strong gates; the guard towers saw to their safety.  But he army wasn't going through or over the walls, they were going under.  The Euphrates river flowed through Babylon.  The army diverted the river and went under the city gates. 

 

Cyrus gave this account on an inscription of a clay barrel:

Marduk, the great lord, a protector of his people/worshipers, beheld with pleasure his (i.e., Cyrus') good deeds and his upright mind (lit.: heart) (and therefore) ordered him to march against his city Babylon… He made him set out on the road to Babylon… going at his side like a real friend. His widespread troops—their number, like that of the water of a river, could not be established—strolled along, their weapons packed away. Without any battle, he made him enter his town Babylon,… sparing Babylon… any calamity. He delivered into his (i.e., Cyrus') hands Nabonidus, the king who did not worship him (i.e., Marduk).[2]

 

Ancient Babylon had fallen.  It stands as a type of the world's system, a system that stands apart from God.  Its idols are of gold, silver, brass, wood and stone; they cannot see, hear or understand, but they are worshiped nonetheless.  This system honors its achievements and trusts in its value system and has become very adept had ignoring what is plainly known.  Mystery Babylon is alive and well in our world today.  It too will fall, and it will surprise many who have ignored their responsibility to acknowledge the authority, power and sovereignty of God Most High.   Many will be like Belshazzar who knew all this but failed to humble themselves.

 

It's not something we like to consider, but, like Belshazzar, your days are numbers.  If you are weighed on the scales you would also be found wanting, for all have sinned and fall short of God's glory.  This is why we need a Savior.  Jesus Christ paid the penalty of your sin that might be a citizen of His kingdom.  It's an eternal kingdom and it's coming.

 

©2018 Doug Ford

 

[1] Boice, J. M. (2003). Daniel: an expositional commentary (p. 59). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

[2] Walvoord, J. F. (2008). Daniel: The Key To Prophetic Revelation (pp. 130–131). Galaxie Software.