Daniel: Faithfulness In Exile - Week 5
Daniel 5:1-31
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Daniel 5:1-31
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Daniel 5:1-31 〰️ Daniel 5:1-31 〰️
The idiom "the writing is on the wall" is one that we've likely all heard at one point or another. For generations, the phrase has been used in movies, books, literature, and music. The phrase means that there are clear signs that something bad will happen. The origin of this idiom comes from this week's passage in Daniel. In this week's passage, we'll read of Belshazzar's offense against the LORD and how his fate has been announced and sealed through God's writing on the wall. In the opening verses of Daniel 5, the scene is set. Belshazzar,Nebuchadnezzar's son, is hosting a feast "for a thousand of his lords." (v1). At this time, the enemy was on Babylon's doorstep, preparing to take siege. Belshazzar very likely knew this and threw one last "hoorah" before the inevitable end of the Babylonian kingdom. He then commands his servants to bring the sacred vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. If you recall from Daniel 1, we read that, when taking the Israelites into captivity, "The Lord handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to him, along with some of the vessels from the house of God. Nebuchadnezzar carried them to the land of Babylon, to the house of his god, and put the vessels in the treasury of his god." (v2).
Now, in Chapter 5, Nebuchadnezzar's son has taken these vessels to be used for drinking wine in their feast. This feast is a representation of the debauchery that took place in Babylon, culminating with complete disregard for the sacredness of the LORD's vessels. Verses 3 and 4 tell us that "they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them...and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone." Belshazzar has yet to learn from the divine events that Nebuchadnezzar experienced. We talked a little about it last week, but the stories in Daniel 4 and 5 are tied together, with about twenty years separating the two. In Chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar is confronted, yet again, by the LORD over his pride. It closes with Nebuchadnezzar acknowledging the LORD as "the King of the heavens," with "works [that] are true," "ways [that] are just," and able "to humble those who walk in pride." (4:37). We don't know for sure if Nebuchadnezzar was truly and wholly repentant, turning to the LORD of Israel and away from his gods, but that isn't the point of the book of Daniel. We can close each chapter in Daniel by learning that God can (and does) humble the prideful as he establishes kings and kingdoms. The LORD alone is ruler over all, even us, in the individual kingdoms of our hearts, relationships, and lives.
Unfortunately, Belshazzar did not learn from his father's missteps, as he's also the recipient of an encounter with the LORD. "At that moment," we're told in v5-6, "the fingers of a man's hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of theking's palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the hand that was writing, his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that he soiled himself and his knees knocked together."
Unsurprisingly, Belshazzar turned to his own human sources for an answer as to what the writing means. After they could not provide an interpretation, the queen suggested that Belshazzar request that Daniel, his father's trustworthy interpreter, interpret the writing. Belshazzar offered extravagant gifts to Daniel in exchange for the interpretation. However, in v17-24, Daniel responds with a lengthy monologue, condemning Belshazzar for his arrogance and ignorance. Daniel reminds the king that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, was "driven away from people, his mind was like an animal's, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them. But you his successor, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of the heavens." (v21-23a). In the book of Acts, Luke would refer to this as being "stiff necked." Resisting explicit correction, conviction, and instruction from God (Acts 7:51).
Daniel then provides the interpretation for the writing on the wall:
"Mene' means that God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.
'Tekel' means that you have been weighed on the balance and found deficient.
'Peres' means that your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians" (v26b-28).
Mene is written on the wall twice, again, emphasizing to the king that the LORD establishes kings and kingdoms. The days of every empire are numbered, and He knows how many we have left on this earth. Daniel Chapter 5 closes with verses 30-31: "That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of sixty-two."
This is where we can find application for the Psalmist's writing: "Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts." (Psalm 90:12). The Psalmist knows that humility is the beginning of wisdom (see also Proverbs 11:2). The LORD alone has authority over our lives, and to believe and act otherwise is to live in arrogance. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar both lived in the pride of their own work, but the LORD is humbled them, one way or another. All good things come from God, whether it be a weekly paycheck, a job, a family, a church community, or anything else. God is unchanging, and humility begins with recognizing that God is the source of blessings, not merely our own hard work (James 1:17).
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
How do you see Jesus in this passage?
Reread v1-4. How does Belshazzar repeat the sins of his father, King Nebuchadnezzar?
How does the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4 contrast that of Belshazzar in Chapter 5? How do the kings' responses compare? How does God's patience compare?
How do Belshazzar's actions serve to mock God and his glory? What are some other ways we implicitly mock God's glory?¹
How is discipline from God also an act of mercy and grace? How does God show His love for us through discipline?
1. Question adapted from Daniel L. Akin's Exalting Jesus in Daniel (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), 67.