Daniel 5: Then Writing on the Wall.
·
Setting
o Nebuchadnezzar had died around 562 BC and approximately 25 years had
passed since his vision of the Great Tree, his insanity, and his restoration to
the throne.
§ Merodach, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, succeeded him as king and he reigned for
only 2 months. His brother in-law, Neriglissar murdered Merodach in
560 BC and he ruled for 4 years. Next, Labashi-Marduk held the
throne for 2 months before his assassination which leads to Nabonidus taking the
throne from him. Nabonidus was married to the daughter of
Nebuchadnezzar and they had a son named Belshazzar. Nabonidus ruled
Babylon from 556 BC until 539 BC.
§ In ancient times, the phrase grandfather or grandson did not exist, so
Belshazzar was referred to as a son of Nebuchadnezzar.
o Chapter 5 of Daniel was written around 539 BC. Belshazzar
was serving as a co-reign with his father, Nabonidus. Since
Belshazzar served as a co-regent, he was second in charge to his father,
Nabonidus, who would be first in charge.
§ Nabonidus was currently away from Babylon trying to reopen the trade
routes that had been taken by Cyrus. Belshazzar was left behind to
take care of the affairs of Babylon.
o Cyrus was the ruler of the Medes and Persians.
§ His name was recorded around 200 years earlier by the prophet Isaiah.
(Isaiah 44:28, 45:1-3).
§ Cyrus’s intent was to conquer Babylon. Babylon had decided not to
enter the battlefields, but to fortify their city instead. Cyrus
had stationed half of his men on the north end of the city and the other half
on the south end. He then built a canal to divert the water around
the city. He drained the river so that they could walk in the water
and still pass under the gates.
§ Josephus wrote that when Cyrus entered Babylon, Daniel presented him
with a scroll indicating that he had been named by the prophet Isaiah who had
died 150 years before Cyrus was born.
o Daniel was now around 80 years old and no longer held the position he
had held under Nebuchadnezzar. Typically when a new King was put in
charge he would dismiss the previous King’s officials and appoint his own.
The Mother Queen, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, recalls the dream
interpretations Daniel made for her father and asks her son to call for Daniel
to interpret the handwriting on wall.
§ Notice that Daniel was not present during either King’s dreams or
vision. He was not present with the original wise men who were unable to
make the interpretations. He was used as a last resort by both Kings.
Daniel had respected Nebuchadnezzar, while he had rejected
Belshazzar. Daniel used his sermon to show how Belshazzar had
fallen into the same shoes as Nebuchadnezzar.
o The conquest of Babylon had been predicted by the Prophets Isaiah
(Chapters 13, 14, 21, and 47) and Jeremiah (Chapters 50 and 51).
§ Jeremiah predicted the fall of Babylon many years before it occurred.
Jeremiah was known for his bringing of bad news and the foretelling
of his predictions to be true as well.
·
Babylon will be conquered - Jeremiah 50:1-3.
·
The Medo-Persians - Jeremiah 51:28-29, Jeremiah
51:11
·
How Babylon was to be taken - Jeremiah 51:57
·
How the Military victory would be won -
Jeremiah 51:36-37
·
Overview
o Belshazzar was holding a great feast with his wives, concubines, and
1000 notable guests. At the same time of the feast, the Medes and
Persians were at the city gates, ready to invade. Babylon had
boasted that it was strong enough to resist any attack because of its great
wall surrounding the city. It also had stored away enough food to feed
its people for 20 years.
§ Belshazzar was known to be addicted to wine, woman, and song.
§ Drinking in public for a King was beneath their dignity. He
also tossed protocol to the side by inviting women to drink as well.
§ Belshazzar did as he pleased. (Proverbs 31:4-5, Isaiah
5:22-23)
o Belshazzar shows contempt for the living God and taunted God as well by
ordering the temple goblets seized from the Temple of Solomon be taken from
storage and be used for drinking wine at his party. He and his
guests then begin praising the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and
stone.
o An armless hand writes a message on a wall at Belshazzar’s party..
§ Aramaic was the official language of Babylon.
§ This terrified the King as he could not understand its meaning.
The King then relies on his wise men and enchanters for its
interpretation, which they are unable to provide.
o The person who could interpret the handwriting on the wall would be
given the third position in the Babylonian Kingdom.
o Belshazzar was “weighed on the scales and found wanting”.
The Medes and Persians would overtake Babylon that very night.
·
Breakdown of the Verses.
o Verse 1: The Indulgence of Belshazzar.
§ Kings in this region of the world took great pleasure in hosting large
banquets in order to display their wealth and splendor.
Archeologists record there were many halls in the city of Babylon
to host such gatherings. The focus of this feast was to focus on
the pride of life and the lust of the flesh and eyes.
o Verse 1: The Indifference of Belshazzar.
§ Belshazzar knew the army of the Medes was outside of the city walls and
the Persians were also encamped outside of the city. He was
indifferent to the threat they possessed. He trusted the complex
walls and defense towers that sat on the wall would defend the great city of
Babylon. He trusted no army could break through the thick walls.
They had plenty of water as the Euphrates River ran through the city and
they had also stored enough food to last 20 years to feed its people.
He was proud of his achievements and basked in his self-confidence.
(I Thessalonians 5:3)
§ Belshazzar was indifferent to the information God had given his
grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon was the head of gold in
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and told the kingdom would fall to another.
This will be further verified by Daniel’s vision in Chapter 7 where
the Lion (Babylon) is defeated by a bear (Medo-Persians). This
vision that Daniel had occurred in the first year of reign of Belshazzar.
o Verses 2 - 4: The Irreverence of Belshazzar.
§ Was the King drunk when he ordered the servants to bring the consecrated
vessels which were taken from Solomon’s Temple? (2 Chronicles
36:9-21).
§ Nebuchadnezzar had proclaimed in Chapter 4 that all peoples were to give
respect to the God of the Jews.
§ The people at the feast used the consecrated vessels as drinking cups
for their wine while praising the false gods of Babylon. The
Babylonians felt their gods defeated the God of the Jews, so who could defeat
them.
o Verses 5 - 9: The LORD Declares his Judgment.
§ Job 20:4-7.
§ Without warning, the fingers of a human hand appear in the area of a
plastered wall and it is illuminated by a light for all to see.
·
Can you imagine how quiet it must have gotten
and the amazement of the people as they watched?
·
The handwriting was a miracle from God that
could not be duplicated by the false gods. (Psalm 115: 1-8)
o The finger of God defeated Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
(Exodus 8:18-19).
o The finger of God wrote the Holy Law on the tablets of stone.
(Exodus 31:18)
o Jesus said he casts out demons with the finger of God. (Luke
11:17-20)
§ Belshazzar’s face begins to turn pale, his heart is overcome by terror,
and his knees begin knocking together. God had turned the banquet
hall into a courtroom and the King was about to be declared guilty for his
arrogant self-confidence caused by his exalted position.
§ Belshazzar then calls for his wise men and commands them to interpret
the handwriting and its meaning. He also offers them a reward
declaring that this person shall wear a royal robe and a golden chain, he would
also become the third ruler under Nabonidus and Belshazzar. History
repeats itself once again as the wise men are unable to make the interpretation
for the King. (Ecclesiastes 1:9)
·
Once again God exposed the ignorance of the
world and the futility of human power to explain the will and mind of God.
·
Mene - a unit of measure of money (Mina)
·
Tekel - another unit of money (Shekel).
·
Peres - a half shekel.
o Verses 10 - 12: The Queen Mother - Judgment Disregarded.
§ The mother of the King went immediately to console her son with her
words ‘Don’t be alarmed, don’t look so pale’. She was certain once
the handwriting was interpreted that everything would be fine. She
then asks for Daniel to be summoned, who was Nebuchadnezzar’s greatest advisor.
When Daniel arrives, he tells’ Belshazzar about his grandfather’s
dream.
·
The Queen Mother describes Daniel as bringing
light and wisdom into every situation and that Daniel was able to explain and
solve mysteries. He was also able to unravel hard problems. She
also mentions Daniel’s interpretations proved to be correct and his prophecies
were always fulfilled.
·
The Queen mother was the daughter of
Nebuchadnezzar and the mother of Belshazzar.
o Verses 13 - 29: Daniel - The Judgment Described.
§ The King only knew Daniel by name, as it appears he did not know Daniel
personally. We see Daniel did Belshazzar’s business in his third
year of reign. (Daniel 8:1).
§ Daniel was familiar with this scene, a revelation from God, a fearful
and frustrated ruler, incompetent counselors, and a servant of God coming to
the rescue. Daniel also refused the King’s reward, he was to serve
his God and he was not for sale. (I Peter 5:2)
§ Daniel was respectful of the King and he was not afraid to tell him the
truth.
·
Even if we do not respect the official and the
way he lives, we must respect the office. (Romans 13:1-5)
·
We should exercise humility and tact when
dealing with authorities. God blessed Daniel because of this.
(Titus 2:7-9).
§ Daniel reminded Belshazzar of Nebuchadnezzar’s proclamation that ‘the
Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men’.
·
Nebuchadnezzar showed his pride for his
greatness and his kingdom and he was judged and condemned.
Belshazzar shows his pride by desecrating the high vessels of God
from Solomon’s Temple to praise the false gods of Babylon. The King
was guilty of blasphemy and idolatry. He was ignorant of his
grandfather’s declaration to the Most High God and he forgot a part of
Babylonian history.
·
History will tend to repeat itself if you are
unmindful of the past.
§ Since the words were in Aramaic, everyone in attendance could read the
handwriting, but only Daniel was able to interpret it. The words
did not signify money, instead they contained a warning for Belshazzar.
·
Mene (Mina) - God had determined and numbered
the days of Belshazzar. The kingdom was to end shortly.
·
Tekel (Shekel) - The King himself had been
weighed by God and the King was found wanting, so his days would be numbered.
·
Peres (Half Shekel) - This word contained a
double meaning, divided and Persia. Babylon would be divided
between the Medes and Persians. Their armies were at the city gates
that very night.
§ The King still kept his promise even though Daniel did not want the
rewards. Daniel did not protest as he knew the city would fall that
very night.
o Verses 30 - 31: Darius - The Deliverer of Judgment.
§ Belshazzar was slain that very night. The Head of Gold was
now replaced by the arms and chest of silver per Daniel’s interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar's dream in Chapter 2.
§ The conquest was engineered by Cyrus, King of Persia, God’s servant for
the task. (Isaiah 44:27-28, Isaiah 45:1-4).
§ Darius (or Gobara) was an important officer in the army whom Cyrus made
ruler of the Province of Babylon. He is not the same Darius I who
ruled in Babylon from 522 BC until 486 BC and encouraged the Jewish remnant to
restore their temple in Jerusalem.
§ Because of the walls which surrounded Babylon, the people felt very safe
from the enemy. By diverting the flow of the Euphrates River, which
ran through the north and south of Babylon, the Medo-Persians were able to go under
the city gates and into the city.
§ The prophecies concerning Babylon were now fulfilled.
·
The mystery of Babylon still exists.
(Revelation 17:5 & 7, Revelation 18:2 & 10)
·
Babylon is referred to as a rebel city
throughout the Bible.
o Babylon was founded by Nimrod, who was a rebel against God.
(Genesis 10:8-10). Babylon is also referred to as the
great city of this world where Jerusalem symbolizes the eternal city of God.
·
Revelation 17 and 18 refer to the rise and fall
of “the mystery Babylon” in the end times. It describes a satanic
system that seduces the world’s people and entices them to reject God and live
the sinful pleasures of life.
·
There are many similarities between Jeremiah 50
and 51 when compared to Revelation 18. They look at the
similarities between the ancient Babylon and the Babylon of future prophecies.
The future Babylon will help the Anti-Christ rise to power in this
world. The Anti-Christ’s kingdom will be destroyed when Jesus
Christ returns to reign this world. (Revelation 19:11-21).
·
From a book written by Dr. Harry Rimmer -
Straight Ahead Lies Yesterday : The world has seen its great
cities, its mighty empires, and its powerful dictators, but the Most High God
still reigns in Heaven and Earth and God still accomplishes his purpose.
·
Conclusion
o How many people will use the phrase ‘the handwriting on the wall’
without knowing or knowing very little of its origin or the prophet Daniel?
o In verse 17, Daniel states, ‘You may keep your gifts for yourself and
give your rewards to someone else.
§ Whose rewards are we seeking? (John 12:42-43, I Corinthians
3:11-15)
§ Do we want praise from others or praise from God?
(Colossians 3:23-24)
o People can defy the will of God and blaspheme his name only so long
before the hand of the LORD begins to move.
o Why would the King ignore one of the great men of Babylon’s history and
only turn to him in the last hours of his life? (I Kings 12:1-12).
o God does giver warnings to people.
§ Jonah the Prophet (Jonah 3).
§ Nebuchadnezzar was given 1 year to repent and become humble.
(Daniel 4).
o Babylon had been chosen by God as an instrument to chasten his chosen
people, the Israelites. The Babylonians had carried things too far
and mistreated the Jews. God also punished them for destroying his
temple. (Isaiah 50:33-34, Isaiah 50:28, Isaiah 51:11)
o Can you see any parallels between our current government and the elected
officials of Babylon?
§ Our elected officials claim that America cannot be attacked from the
outside.
§ Our elected officials who party at our national capital.
§ We pride ourselves of the American accomplishments. (2
Timothy 3:1-5)
o Babylon the Great City - Revelation 17:4-6.
o A poem by an Anonymous author:
At the feast of Belshazzar and
a thousand of his lords,
While they drank from golden vessels,
As the book of Truth records,
In the night as they reveled in the royal palace hall,
They were seized in consternation at the hand upon the wall,
So our deeds are recorded,
There’s a hand that’s writing now.
Sinner, give your heart to Jesus to his royal mandate bow,
For the day is approaching,
It must come to one and all,
When the sinner’s condemnation will be written on the wall.
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