In Daniel chapter 5, King Belshazzar threw an arrogant feast in the face of God and the enemy army that surrounded Babylon. God announced his judgment by writing on the walls by a hand.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now, on to today’s episode.
This is episode six in our Daniel Bible Study podcast. This episode is entitled The Writing on the Wall, where we’ll discuss Daniel 5:1-31. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, this is one of the most dramatic chapters in the Old Testament. It is an act of direct judgment on a wicked, pagan king who is flaunting his blasphemy against the God of the Jews, and God brought judgment down on him that very night. I think it’s a living example in the Bible of the statement, God cannot be mocked. It is impossible to mock God, and so there should be a fear in anyone who, whether powerful or not, but especially powerful people who use their positions of power to mock the God of the Bible. So, we’re going to see in Daniel 5 the writing on the wall, the judgments that came down on Belshazzar, and the truth of the fact that in God we live and move and have our being.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read Daniel 5 as we begin:
“King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver, that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lamp stand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “Oh, king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father-your father the king- made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king, my father, brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now, the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. Oh, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
“Then from his presence, the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.”
Andy, what does this passage teach about human arrogance and spiritual pride given the fact that the Medo-Persian army was surrounding the walls that very night, and how does this passage display the eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die mentality of the world?
Andy
Yeah, there’s a lot to say about all this, isn’t there? The Medo-Persians had risen to enough power to topple almost all of the Babylonian empire, but what was left was the citadel of Babylon itself. And it was considered unconquerable. Its walls were 350 feet high according to the ancient historian, Herodotus, 87 feet thick at the bottom, thick enough at the top for a four-horse chariot to be driven. It had the Euphrates River flowing under it, so it was a limitless supply of water, so they believed. It was 14 miles square. There was farmland inside, so you can never starve the city out. And whenever you’re doing a siege, there’s one of three ways that you can defeat an army or a population within the citadel. You can go over the wall, you can go through the wall or under it, that kind of thing, or you can starve the city into submission.
So, you’re either going to breach the wall through it, to under or through it, you’re going to go over it or you’re going to starve it. And none of those seem possible with the city of Babylon. It was just no way. It takes a long time to starve a city into submission, so you have to equip your own army the entire time. You have to feed your own army and keep them interested in a siege. You’re not going over a 350-foot wall. That’s not happening. You’re not going through an 87-foot thick wall either.
They just didn’t seem any way. And so therefore the Babylonians were arrogant, and they believed it could never be conquered. So even though they’d lost most of their empire to the ascendant Medo-Persians, they felt confident that the city would hold out forever. And so ordinarily when you’re besieged, you’re going to ration food and water, but they didn’t feel any need to do that. And so, they had a party. They had an eat, drink, and be merry mentality. Their god is their stomach. They’re living for a good time. And we also see blasphemy because of specifically what they did with their feast.
Wes
What was it that motivated Belshazzar to call for the vessels from the Lord’s temple in particular, and what was it that was particularly offensive about this toast to the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone?
Andy
Well, I have to ultimately ascribe his actions to Satan, to demons. I think Satan put the idea in his mind. Keep in mind that Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar’s grandfather, was the king of many kings and the lord of many lords, and there were many gods, so they believed, that the Babylonians had conquered. The God of the Jews was just one of them. But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Daniel specifically, had distinguished himself above all the other gods by the miracles that had already happened in the first four chapters of the book of Daniel. And so there was a uniqueness to the God of the Jews, a uniqueness to the God of Daniel. Satan very well knew it, the demons definitely knew it, but the Babylonians I think had seen the amazing things that Daniel had been able to do, the miracles of telling Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was and interpreting it.
And then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego miraculously delivered from a fiery furnace. And then the decrees at the end of chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, to honor and worship and reverence the God of Daniel, the God of the Jews. And so, God, at that point, the true God was singled out for focus but not for belief on the part of Belshazzar and his unbelieving pagans, his Babylonian pagans. And so, I think there was a motivation to stick a finger in the eye of this God, to go after him and to mock him. So, they specifically call for the vessels, the holy, sacred vessels taken from the temple so that they can drink from them and drink toasts to the gods of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. And so, they are defying God here in a very specific way.
Wes
What does the way that God interrupted this feast in verse five show about God’s character, and how does the warning here relate to the role scripture plays in warning us all about coming judgment?
Andy
Well, to some degree we see in this prophetic warning, we see kindness in the part of God. So, before the sword actually falls, there’s the word of warning. So, there’s one last chance for Belshazzar and his nobles to repent and to fall on their faces. And God is merciful. When the wicked king Manasseh was hauled off into a personal exile, the wicked king of Judah, Hezekiah’s son, who had sacrificed one of his own sons in the fire to a pagan God, when he humbled himself and sought the Lord’s favor, God forgave him. And so even at a very, very late stage like the thief on the cross, God can be merciful. So, the first thing I learned about God here is He’s merciful, but he’s also filled with a holy indignation at their defiant blasphemy, and He’s zealous for His own name. And so, he’s going to move out here and be zealous for his name by taking these wicked people out.
Wes
And so, in that way, scripture serves to show us that judgment is coming, but also that God is merciful for those who will acknowledge their sin and repent. He is warning us mercifully of this judgment to come.
Andy
For sure. And the book of Daniel and Daniel 5 in particular is a timeless warning to the entire world. We can all read the book of Daniel, we can read Daniel 5, we can say, “Hey, don’t mock the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t mock him. Don’t fight against Him.” Because you’re talking about Almighty God here. So, this is a warning to everybody.
Wes
What was the effect of the writing on Belshazzar and what does this teach us about the bravado human beings put up against God, acting like they’re not afraid at all of dying and facing judgment?
Andy
Well, that ended instantly when the writing on the wall came. It’s a disembodied, spectral hand kind of thing that comes and start writing in the plaster in the wall above the throne. And so, we imagine that Belshazzar had his throne seated up high on a dais or something like that, and he’s drinking, they’re mocking God and they’re drinking to the gods of the Babylonians and all that. And they’re doing all this, and it’s a thousand nobles, so the room is packed with people, it’s noisy and all that. But according to the account, when the hand shows up and starts writing these mysterious letters on the wall, everything stops. It gets quiet and you can hear the king’s knees knocking.
If you’d been close enough to him, you would’ve been able to see his color change. He’s terrified so, so much for somebody saying, “I’m not afraid.” God is able to make us afraid. He knows who we are and there’s nothing we can do to make God afraid. The nations are a drop from the bucket and dust on the scales, Isaiah 40 tells us. There’s nothing we can do to make God terrified or afraid, but God is able to make sinners like this afraid. And so, they are terrified when they see the hand and the writing on the wall.
Wes
How does the king respond to the mysterious writing in verse seven?
Andy
Well, he’s terrified and his thoughts trouble him. And he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t understand the words. He just knows that there’s something significant there. And so, he summons his counselors, the usual individuals who come in and are never able to help him, and they can’t read the writing on the wall.
Wes
It raises a question you mentioned- they’re never able to help. We’ve seen this before. This is not a novel theme. We’ve seen this come up in Daniel already. Why weren’t the king’s counselors able to help him, and what was the king’s reaction to their failure?
Andy
Yeah, I don’t know if there was something about the script that was incomprehensible. Imagine the average American trying to read a Chinese or Japanese script. We just don’t know what it says. We just can’t read it, or Arabic script or something like that. And so it could be that the letters themselves were incomprehensible or it could be that they were able to sound out the words, but they didn’t know what they meant. Or it could be that even if they had an inkling of what it had to do with, because again, the walls are surrounded by the Medo-Persian army. It’s not like they don’t know that doom might be imminent, and so they just don’t want to face the truth. But I think it’s more likely they just literally could not read the writing on the wall. They didn’t know what it meant.
Wes
What’s the significance that Daniel seemed to be unknown to Belshazzar until the Queen introduced them? And how old would Daniel have been at this time?
Andy
Yeah, this is toward the end of Daniel’s life. So, my guess is he might be in his seventies or eighties. And the fact that he had to be introduced by the queen mother, she’s got to come in and say, “Oh, by the way, there’s this individual named Daniel whom your father,” she calls him your father, but it’s his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, named Belteshazzar. He’s got to introduce him. And he clearly doesn’t recognize his face. He says, “Are you that Daniel?” Dot, dot, dot, et cetera.
So, he doesn’t know Daniel personally and given Daniel’s incredible prominence in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, I think he probably ran the empire for the seven years that Nebuchadnezzar was insane. It wouldn’t surprise me. He certainly is capable of doing it as we see in the next chapter in chapter six, where he effectively does run the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel’s a capable individual, but he’s effectively in retirement. He is not esteemed at all. Now, there’s a lot of Babylonian politics that we know about from Herodotus and other historians that I’m not going to go into. But Nebuchadnezzar died, and there was a struggle for power, and eventually Belshazzar, his grandson, arose to the throne, but he was a weak man. He was a co-regent along with another individual. And so, there’s a lot of politics that have gone on and somewhere in that shuffle, somewhere in all those politics, this great man Daniel got shelved, he got put off to the side.
Wes
So, Daniel is unknown to Belshazzar, but not to the queen clearly. How does the queen regard the writing on the wall and how does she describe Daniel?
Andy
Well, she says, “Don’t be troubled by this,” which was foolish. He had every reason to be troubled. But that’s her statement. It says, “There is a man in your kingdom.” And she introduces him, as I said, with his name Daniel and his Babylonian name Belteshazzar and, “to him was given keen insight and the ability to interpret dreams and riddles and all kinds of mysteries.” And Daniel was a unique individual. So, I don’t think she’s overstating the case. Of course, she neglects the fact that it was God that gave Daniel that special ability, and he’s going to do that again here as well. So, she is the way by which this forgotten man, this great man Daniel, is ushered back into the hall of power. Daniel’s not in that room when that drunken feast is going on. Based on Daniel 6 he’s off praying and praying for God to restore Jerusalem and praying for the redemptive purposes of God, but in he comes, this holy man of God.
Wes
So, in verse 13, Daniel’s brought in. What does Belshazzar say to Daniel? And do you think he respected Daniel?
Andy
Well, he doesn’t know him. He says, “Are you that Daniel who was able to do this and that? Are you able to interpret this dream?” Or I’m sorry, “Are you able to interpret the writing on the wall?” So, he’s clearly getting to know Daniel, and he wants to know if Daniel is going to be able to read the writing. And so, as he introduces the problem and the writing, he says, “Look, there’s this writing on the wall and none of my nobles, none of my counselors, none of them can read it. But if you’re able to do it, I’ll make you the third-highest ruler in the kingdom, and I’ll give you a purple robe and a gold chain to put around your neck.” So, this is what Belshazzar, this weak, sensual, blasphemous, pagan idolatrous king is offering to this godly man, Daniel.
Wes
How does Daniel’s attitude toward Belshazzar compare with his attitude toward Nebuchadnezzar? We spoke about the relationship that Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar had. How is it different here with Belshazzar?
Andy
Well, let’s keep in mind Daniel knew right away what the writing was. As he walked in he knew it, and I’m sure God prepared him, and Daniel knew what was going on that very night. So, think what was just offered to him. “I will make you the third-highest ruler in the kingdom.” Keep in mind that Belshazzar was a co-regent along with another man. So, Daniel will be second to them. Would you want that role the very night that that empire is toppled by the sword? You don’t want to be the third highest ruler in that kingdom. Furthermore, Daniel has nothing but disdain for Belshazzar, and he’s going to explain why, because of the history of Nebuchadnezzar and what Belshazzar is doing that very night and what he has been doing. So, he has nothing but disdain. He says, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else, but I’ll read the writing on the wall. But before I do that, I’m going to give you a little history lesson.” And that’s what he’s going to do.
Wes
Why does Daniel recount the history of Nebuchadnezzar? It’s interesting, Daniel is unknown to Belshazzar, and Daniel recounts this history. It seems like there’s a gap of knowledge here that is being filled in for this king. Why does Daniel recount the history and how should Belshazzar have reacted?
Andy
Well, it shows how incredibly important history is. The book I wrote on heaven is foundational. History is foundational to our worship of God in heaven. God is going to unfold to us many things that we never understood so that we can see His greatness. It’s not all we’re going to worship God for in heaven. The new creation will be worthy of worship and the new things we’ll be doing with God. But we’re going to look back and history matters and clearly in the Bible, so much of the Bible is history. And so, context, let’s understand the story. God worked in a mighty way with your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. And he goes back over that history. He says, “God established Nebuchadnezzar as the king of kings and lord of lords.” He established him as a mighty ruler of the mightiest empire on earth. He did whatever he wanted. Whom he wanted to promote, he promoted. Whom he wanted to kill, he killed. God made even the wild beast subject to him.
“History is foundational to our worship of God in heaven. God is going to unfold to us many things that we never understood so that we can see His greatness.”
But when he became arrogant, God humbled him and changed his mind to that of an animal. And for seven years his mind was humbled until he finally realized, and he learned the lesson that the sovereign God is most high over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone that he pleases. So, he’s going back over the history. That’s what the entire Babylonian empire, not just Nebuchadnezzar, but the whole world should have learned from the situation with Nebuchadnezzar. He was a famous man and this thing that happened to him was made famous by God. And the lesson was God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men, but you Belshazzar his son, grandson, you have not humbled yourself before this mighty God, though you knew all these things.
And so foundational to my answer, Wes, is that our judgment is based on our knowledge. The more we know and still don’t repent and believe, the worse it will be for us on judgment day. And so here, this man Belshazzar knew all these things, and yet look what he’s doing. He’s openly defying the God who did all this to his grandfather. He’s openly defying God.
And the statement that he makes here is so significant. And I think what Daniel says, it often moves me emotionally. I think about it often. I preached about it recently as an illustration. He says, “But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways.” I think every single one of us needs to understand that it’s just like Paul said in Athens, “In him, we live and move and have our being.” We exist in God. Our very existence, Satan’s existence, every demon’s existence, every angel’s existence, everything that exists depends on God for its continued existence. And we need to honor that God who holds in his hand our life and all our ways. And so, I think this is foundational to our understanding of our existence. And yet Belshazzar is defying him.
Wes
Yeah, Belshazzar misses this, right? That’s Daniel’s message, “You should have done this. You should have humbled yourself, but you did not.” Why is it so important for us? And you’ve just alluded to this, but why is it so important for us to humble ourselves and honor God who holds in His hand our lives and all our ways?
Andy
I just think Wes, wouldn’t it be beautiful for us to say this to God regularly, even daily? I think it would be a good thing. We get on our knees and have our quiet time and we say, “God, I know that scripture teaches me that in you I live and move and have my being, that in your hand is my life and all my ways. Everything I have is yours. Every decision I make should come back to you. Everything in you, I live and move and have my being from you and through you and back to you are all things.” I think it would help us the way we live. We think like autonomous beings, like we don’t really need to ask God’s permission, or we don’t need to do anything. We’re so independent. We’re not that much different from Belshazzar. And so, I want to be convicted by this. I want to say, “You know what? There’s some ways that I do not honor the God who holds in His hand my life and all my ways.”
Wes
And verse 24 makes clear that this warning unheeded was the cause of this hand coming from the presence of God. What was the inscription and what did it mean?
Andy
The inscription was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PEREZ or PARSIN. There’s different ways of translating it. And so that’s what the words say. It’s not a full explanation, but God knew when he wrote those words he was going to bring in Daniel to interpret. It reminds me of the Ethiopian eunuch, and he’s reading Isaiah and Philip asks him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” He says, “How can I unless somebody interprets it for me?” And so, God in his kindness not only gives the inspiration, the actual writing, but then brings in the interpreter and in comes Daniel to do it. So, MENE is said twice- numbered, numbered. So, your days are numbered. Your days are numbered. The repetition is emphasis. Your days are numbered, your days are numbered. So, it’s like Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Your days are numbered, your days are numbered, and then brought to an end. This is your last day on earth.
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. That’s related to the word for shekel or other weights. So, there’s a weighing here. You’re a lightweight. I think it reminds me very much of Romans 3:23, “For all of sin and fall short of the glory of God.” The word ‘fall short’ is hystereo, which means to lack. The home base of that word is lack. We lack glory.
We don’t esteem rightly, the glory of God, and we do not glorify God ourselves. And so, we are not glorious because we have not honored God who is glorious. In heaven, however, the redeemed will shine like the sun. We will be weighty with glory in heaven. We will not only see glory, but we’ll be glorious ourselves because we’ll esteem properly the God who is glorious. But Belshazzar clearly doesn’t. He’s a lightweight. He’s nothing. He’s a wispy nothing. And so therefore he’s weighed on the scales and found empty, wanting.
And then PEREZ, it’s related to the word for divided, but also related to the word for Persians. And so, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. It’s cut off from you, chopped off, out of your hand, and given to someone else. So that’s basically the writing on the wall. And it’s a terrifying message of doom that has come down on this man and on his empire.
Wes
What does this inscription teach us about God’s judgment and God’s patience?
Andy
Well, in the statement made in Genesis 15 to Abram, when He said He was going to give to him and to his descendants that very land, He effectively said, however, “Not yet.” He says, “Know for certain your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own. They’ll be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. But I’ll punish the nation they serve as slaves. And afterwards they’ll come out and worship me in this place, for the sin of the Amorites,” which is the pagan dwellers in that land, “has not yet reached its full measure.” So, God’s measuring out the amount of wickedness he’s going to put up with. He gives people time to repent. And so, he had given the Babylonians time to repent. Those days were measured out. But now those days have come to an end. And so, it’s a sense of, if today you hear His voice and he’s calling you to repent of your sins, heed it and repent immediately, you don’t know that you’re going to have tomorrow.
Wes
You mentioned Psalm 90 that says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” How did those two passages, maybe specifically Psalm 139 that we haven’t really talked about yet, how does that relate to verse 26 in this passage?
Andy
Well, first of all, in general, the sovereign plan of God encompasses every atom in the universe, every single human being, every moment in history. Everything’s been thought of, everything has been worked out. God has predestined everything that happens, and that doesn’t in any way thwart our free choices that we make or any of that. It’s a deep and infinite mystery. But Ephesians 1:11 says, “In Him, we’re also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity to the purpose of His will.” So, it’s not just Christians, but it’s everyone. All the days ordained for every person were written in God’s book before one of them came to be. So not just their number, but what those days will contain. And so fundamentally, all of our days are numbered. And so, Psalm 90:12 says, “We should number our days,” though we cannot do it. We don’t know how many days we have. We should know that they are numbered by God, and they’re limited, and we should make the most of the brief time that we have.
Wes
So, in verse 29, Belshazzar makes good on his promise. Though we mentioned earlier Daniel was not impressed by these gifts and probably not interested in being third or second, as it were, in command with what’s on the horizon here. How does the story end for Belshazzar in verses 30 and 31, and what final thoughts do you have for us today?
Andy
Well, he did give him the rewards. And it is amazing because Daniel went from being officially the third-highest ruler in the Babylonian kingdom to being officially the second-highest ruler in the Medo-Persian empire, or maybe third behind Cyrus and Darius. So, it’s hard to find out how those two relate to each other, et cetera. But Daniel’s clearly a powerful man. That is utterly unique in history. I don’t know any other example where high-ranking official in the last empire is moved over to the exact same high-ranking position in the next empire. Usually they’re killed outright. And so those rewards were given to Daniel, but Daniel didn’t take them much to stock. His life was preserved in the hand of God, similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel walked through the fiery night of the Medo-Persian destruction of Babylon without being harmed at all.
God protected him and kept him safe. And then it says that very night Belshazzar died, and the kingdom was turned over to Darius at the age of 62. And it’s really a fascinating thing. It reminds me very much of that rich fool whose land had produced the bumper crops. And he said, “What shall I do? I don’t have place to put everything. I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and I’ll build bigger barns because I’ll have plenty of stuff to store it up for years to come and I’ll eat and drink and take life easy.” And in the parable of the rich fool, it says, “‘You fool,’ God said to him this very night, ‘Your soul will be required of you. Who then will get everything you have stored up for yourself.'” Now, that’s a haunting statement. This very night, your soul will be required of you.
When God demands your soul, you have no choice but to give it. And so that very night Belshazzar died. He was slain. And all of that was in direct fulfillment to the very thing that God had said that he would do in Jeremiah 51. We don’t have time to get into it, but I would commend to you reading the specific predictions of the fall of Babylon made decades before that night through the prophet Jeremiah. God said very specifically, “I will cause the Euphrates River to dry up. I’ll make all of Babylon’s springs grow dry.” That’s how the Medo-Persian army crawled in under the walls and unlocked the gates so that the armies could storm in. And then God said, “I’ll make Babylon and her nobles, and all of her officials and soldiers drunk, and they will fall asleep and never wake up again.” They’re going to die in their beds.
“When God demands your soul, you have no choice but to give it. And so that very night Belshazzar died.”
It was the very thing God said he would do. He said specifically how he would kill them, and that’s what he did. And so, this is the specificity of the word of God. What lesson do I take from this? I think it goes back to that verse 23, recognize with all of your heart and being that in God you live and move and have your being. In His hand is your life and all your ways. So, honor him. Do not be idolatrous. Do not be wicked in idolatry as they were. They were drinking to the gods of bronze, iron, wooden stone. And we have our own idols like money and success and pleasure. Let’s not be idolaters as they were and they died that night, but instead, let’s honor God.
Wes
Well, this has been episode six in our Daniel Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode seven entitled God Rescues Daniel from Lions, where we’ll discuss Daniel 6:1-28. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Wes
Welcome to the Two Journeys Bible Study podcast. This podcast is just one of the many resources available to you for free from Two Journeys Ministry. If you’re interested in learning more, just head over to twojourneys.org. Now, on to today’s episode.
This is episode six in our Daniel Bible Study podcast. This episode is entitled The Writing on the Wall, where we’ll discuss Daniel 5:1-31. I’m Wes Treadway, and I’m here with Pastor Andy Davis. Andy, what are we going to see in these verses that we’re looking at today?
Andy
Well, this is one of the most dramatic chapters in the Old Testament. It is an act of direct judgment on a wicked, pagan king who is flaunting his blasphemy against the God of the Jews, and God brought judgment down on him that very night. I think it’s a living example in the Bible of the statement, God cannot be mocked. It is impossible to mock God, and so there should be a fear in anyone who, whether powerful or not, but especially powerful people who use their positions of power to mock the God of the Bible. So, we’re going to see in Daniel 5 the writing on the wall, the judgments that came down on Belshazzar, and the truth of the fact that in God we live and move and have our being.
Wes
Well, let me go ahead and read Daniel 5 as we begin:
“King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver, that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
Immediately, the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lamp stand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “Oh, king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father-your father the king- made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king, my father, brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now, the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. Oh, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
“Then from his presence, the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the matter: MENE, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; TEKEL, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, and a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.”
Andy, what does this passage teach about human arrogance and spiritual pride given the fact that the Medo-Persian army was surrounding the walls that very night, and how does this passage display the eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die mentality of the world?
Andy
Yeah, there’s a lot to say about all this, isn’t there? The Medo-Persians had risen to enough power to topple almost all of the Babylonian empire, but what was left was the citadel of Babylon itself. And it was considered unconquerable. Its walls were 350 feet high according to the ancient historian, Herodotus, 87 feet thick at the bottom, thick enough at the top for a four-horse chariot to be driven. It had the Euphrates River flowing under it, so it was a limitless supply of water, so they believed. It was 14 miles square. There was farmland inside, so you can never starve the city out. And whenever you’re doing a siege, there’s one of three ways that you can defeat an army or a population within the citadel. You can go over the wall, you can go through the wall or under it, that kind of thing, or you can starve the city into submission.
So, you’re either going to breach the wall through it, to under or through it, you’re going to go over it or you’re going to starve it. And none of those seem possible with the city of Babylon. It was just no way. It takes a long time to starve a city into submission, so you have to equip your own army the entire time. You have to feed your own army and keep them interested in a siege. You’re not going over a 350-foot wall. That’s not happening. You’re not going through an 87-foot thick wall either.
They just didn’t seem any way. And so therefore the Babylonians were arrogant, and they believed it could never be conquered. So even though they’d lost most of their empire to the ascendant Medo-Persians, they felt confident that the city would hold out forever. And so ordinarily when you’re besieged, you’re going to ration food and water, but they didn’t feel any need to do that. And so, they had a party. They had an eat, drink, and be merry mentality. Their god is their stomach. They’re living for a good time. And we also see blasphemy because of specifically what they did with their feast.
Wes
What was it that motivated Belshazzar to call for the vessels from the Lord’s temple in particular, and what was it that was particularly offensive about this toast to the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone?
Andy
Well, I have to ultimately ascribe his actions to Satan, to demons. I think Satan put the idea in his mind. Keep in mind that Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar’s grandfather, was the king of many kings and the lord of many lords, and there were many gods, so they believed, that the Babylonians had conquered. The God of the Jews was just one of them. But the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Daniel specifically, had distinguished himself above all the other gods by the miracles that had already happened in the first four chapters of the book of Daniel. And so there was a uniqueness to the God of the Jews, a uniqueness to the God of Daniel. Satan very well knew it, the demons definitely knew it, but the Babylonians I think had seen the amazing things that Daniel had been able to do, the miracles of telling Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was and interpreting it.
And then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego miraculously delivered from a fiery furnace. And then the decrees at the end of chapter two, chapter three, chapter four, to honor and worship and reverence the God of Daniel, the God of the Jews. And so, God, at that point, the true God was singled out for focus but not for belief on the part of Belshazzar and his unbelieving pagans, his Babylonian pagans. And so, I think there was a motivation to stick a finger in the eye of this God, to go after him and to mock him. So, they specifically call for the vessels, the holy, sacred vessels taken from the temple so that they can drink from them and drink toasts to the gods of bronze, iron, wood, and stone. And so, they are defying God here in a very specific way.
Wes
What does the way that God interrupted this feast in verse five show about God’s character, and how does the warning here relate to the role scripture plays in warning us all about coming judgment?
Andy
Well, to some degree we see in this prophetic warning, we see kindness in the part of God. So, before the sword actually falls, there’s the word of warning. So, there’s one last chance for Belshazzar and his nobles to repent and to fall on their faces. And God is merciful. When the wicked king Manasseh was hauled off into a personal exile, the wicked king of Judah, Hezekiah’s son, who had sacrificed one of his own sons in the fire to a pagan God, when he humbled himself and sought the Lord’s favor, God forgave him. And so even at a very, very late stage like the thief on the cross, God can be merciful. So, the first thing I learned about God here is He’s merciful, but he’s also filled with a holy indignation at their defiant blasphemy, and He’s zealous for His own name. And so, he’s going to move out here and be zealous for his name by taking these wicked people out.
Wes
And so, in that way, scripture serves to show us that judgment is coming, but also that God is merciful for those who will acknowledge their sin and repent. He is warning us mercifully of this judgment to come.
Andy
For sure. And the book of Daniel and Daniel 5 in particular is a timeless warning to the entire world. We can all read the book of Daniel, we can read Daniel 5, we can say, “Hey, don’t mock the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t mock him. Don’t fight against Him.” Because you’re talking about Almighty God here. So, this is a warning to everybody.
Wes
What was the effect of the writing on Belshazzar and what does this teach us about the bravado human beings put up against God, acting like they’re not afraid at all of dying and facing judgment?
Andy
Well, that ended instantly when the writing on the wall came. It’s a disembodied, spectral hand kind of thing that comes and start writing in the plaster in the wall above the throne. And so, we imagine that Belshazzar had his throne seated up high on a dais or something like that, and he’s drinking, they’re mocking God and they’re drinking to the gods of the Babylonians and all that. And they’re doing all this, and it’s a thousand nobles, so the room is packed with people, it’s noisy and all that. But according to the account, when the hand shows up and starts writing these mysterious letters on the wall, everything stops. It gets quiet and you can hear the king’s knees knocking.
If you’d been close enough to him, you would’ve been able to see his color change. He’s terrified so, so much for somebody saying, “I’m not afraid.” God is able to make us afraid. He knows who we are and there’s nothing we can do to make God afraid. The nations are a drop from the bucket and dust on the scales, Isaiah 40 tells us. There’s nothing we can do to make God terrified or afraid, but God is able to make sinners like this afraid. And so, they are terrified when they see the hand and the writing on the wall.
Wes
How does the king respond to the mysterious writing in verse seven?
Andy
Well, he’s terrified and his thoughts trouble him. And he doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t understand the words. He just knows that there’s something significant there. And so, he summons his counselors, the usual individuals who come in and are never able to help him, and they can’t read the writing on the wall.
Wes
It raises a question you mentioned- they’re never able to help. We’ve seen this before. This is not a novel theme. We’ve seen this come up in Daniel already. Why weren’t the king’s counselors able to help him, and what was the king’s reaction to their failure?
Andy
Yeah, I don’t know if there was something about the script that was incomprehensible. Imagine the average American trying to read a Chinese or Japanese script. We just don’t know what it says. We just can’t read it, or Arabic script or something like that. And so it could be that the letters themselves were incomprehensible or it could be that they were able to sound out the words, but they didn’t know what they meant. Or it could be that even if they had an inkling of what it had to do with, because again, the walls are surrounded by the Medo-Persian army. It’s not like they don’t know that doom might be imminent, and so they just don’t want to face the truth. But I think it’s more likely they just literally could not read the writing on the wall. They didn’t know what it meant.
Wes
What’s the significance that Daniel seemed to be unknown to Belshazzar until the Queen introduced them? And how old would Daniel have been at this time?
Andy
Yeah, this is toward the end of Daniel’s life. So, my guess is he might be in his seventies or eighties. And the fact that he had to be introduced by the queen mother, she’s got to come in and say, “Oh, by the way, there’s this individual named Daniel whom your father,” she calls him your father, but it’s his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar, named Belteshazzar. He’s got to introduce him. And he clearly doesn’t recognize his face. He says, “Are you that Daniel?” Dot, dot, dot, et cetera.
So, he doesn’t know Daniel personally and given Daniel’s incredible prominence in the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, I think he probably ran the empire for the seven years that Nebuchadnezzar was insane. It wouldn’t surprise me. He certainly is capable of doing it as we see in the next chapter in chapter six, where he effectively does run the Medo-Persian Empire. Daniel’s a capable individual, but he’s effectively in retirement. He is not esteemed at all. Now, there’s a lot of Babylonian politics that we know about from Herodotus and other historians that I’m not going to go into. But Nebuchadnezzar died, and there was a struggle for power, and eventually Belshazzar, his grandson, arose to the throne, but he was a weak man. He was a co-regent along with another individual. And so, there’s a lot of politics that have gone on and somewhere in that shuffle, somewhere in all those politics, this great man Daniel got shelved, he got put off to the side.
Wes
So, Daniel is unknown to Belshazzar, but not to the queen clearly. How does the queen regard the writing on the wall and how does she describe Daniel?
Andy
Well, she says, “Don’t be troubled by this,” which was foolish. He had every reason to be troubled. But that’s her statement. It says, “There is a man in your kingdom.” And she introduces him, as I said, with his name Daniel and his Babylonian name Belteshazzar and, “to him was given keen insight and the ability to interpret dreams and riddles and all kinds of mysteries.” And Daniel was a unique individual. So, I don’t think she’s overstating the case. Of course, she neglects the fact that it was God that gave Daniel that special ability, and he’s going to do that again here as well. So, she is the way by which this forgotten man, this great man Daniel, is ushered back into the hall of power. Daniel’s not in that room when that drunken feast is going on. Based on Daniel 6 he’s off praying and praying for God to restore Jerusalem and praying for the redemptive purposes of God, but in he comes, this holy man of God.
Wes
So, in verse 13, Daniel’s brought in. What does Belshazzar say to Daniel? And do you think he respected Daniel?
Andy
Well, he doesn’t know him. He says, “Are you that Daniel who was able to do this and that? Are you able to interpret this dream?” Or I’m sorry, “Are you able to interpret the writing on the wall?” So, he’s clearly getting to know Daniel, and he wants to know if Daniel is going to be able to read the writing. And so, as he introduces the problem and the writing, he says, “Look, there’s this writing on the wall and none of my nobles, none of my counselors, none of them can read it. But if you’re able to do it, I’ll make you the third-highest ruler in the kingdom, and I’ll give you a purple robe and a gold chain to put around your neck.” So, this is what Belshazzar, this weak, sensual, blasphemous, pagan idolatrous king is offering to this godly man, Daniel.
Wes
How does Daniel’s attitude toward Belshazzar compare with his attitude toward Nebuchadnezzar? We spoke about the relationship that Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar had. How is it different here with Belshazzar?
Andy
Well, let’s keep in mind Daniel knew right away what the writing was. As he walked in he knew it, and I’m sure God prepared him, and Daniel knew what was going on that very night. So, think what was just offered to him. “I will make you the third-highest ruler in the kingdom.” Keep in mind that Belshazzar was a co-regent along with another man. So, Daniel will be second to them. Would you want that role the very night that that empire is toppled by the sword? You don’t want to be the third highest ruler in that kingdom. Furthermore, Daniel has nothing but disdain for Belshazzar, and he’s going to explain why, because of the history of Nebuchadnezzar and what Belshazzar is doing that very night and what he has been doing. So, he has nothing but disdain. He says, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else, but I’ll read the writing on the wall. But before I do that, I’m going to give you a little history lesson.” And that’s what he’s going to do.
Wes
Why does Daniel recount the history of Nebuchadnezzar? It’s interesting, Daniel is unknown to Belshazzar, and Daniel recounts this history. It seems like there’s a gap of knowledge here that is being filled in for this king. Why does Daniel recount the history and how should Belshazzar have reacted?
Andy
Well, it shows how incredibly important history is. The book I wrote on heaven is foundational. History is foundational to our worship of God in heaven. God is going to unfold to us many things that we never understood so that we can see His greatness. It’s not all we’re going to worship God for in heaven. The new creation will be worthy of worship and the new things we’ll be doing with God. But we’re going to look back and history matters and clearly in the Bible, so much of the Bible is history. And so, context, let’s understand the story. God worked in a mighty way with your grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. And he goes back over that history. He says, “God established Nebuchadnezzar as the king of kings and lord of lords.” He established him as a mighty ruler of the mightiest empire on earth. He did whatever he wanted. Whom he wanted to promote, he promoted. Whom he wanted to kill, he killed. God made even the wild beast subject to him.
“History is foundational to our worship of God in heaven. God is going to unfold to us many things that we never understood so that we can see His greatness.”
But when he became arrogant, God humbled him and changed his mind to that of an animal. And for seven years his mind was humbled until he finally realized, and he learned the lesson that the sovereign God is most high over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone that he pleases. So, he’s going back over the history. That’s what the entire Babylonian empire, not just Nebuchadnezzar, but the whole world should have learned from the situation with Nebuchadnezzar. He was a famous man and this thing that happened to him was made famous by God. And the lesson was God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men, but you Belshazzar his son, grandson, you have not humbled yourself before this mighty God, though you knew all these things.
And so foundational to my answer, Wes, is that our judgment is based on our knowledge. The more we know and still don’t repent and believe, the worse it will be for us on judgment day. And so here, this man Belshazzar knew all these things, and yet look what he’s doing. He’s openly defying the God who did all this to his grandfather. He’s openly defying God.
And the statement that he makes here is so significant. And I think what Daniel says, it often moves me emotionally. I think about it often. I preached about it recently as an illustration. He says, “But you did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways.” I think every single one of us needs to understand that it’s just like Paul said in Athens, “In him, we live and move and have our being.” We exist in God. Our very existence, Satan’s existence, every demon’s existence, every angel’s existence, everything that exists depends on God for its continued existence. And we need to honor that God who holds in his hand our life and all our ways. And so, I think this is foundational to our understanding of our existence. And yet Belshazzar is defying him.
Wes
Yeah, Belshazzar misses this, right? That’s Daniel’s message, “You should have done this. You should have humbled yourself, but you did not.” Why is it so important for us? And you’ve just alluded to this, but why is it so important for us to humble ourselves and honor God who holds in His hand our lives and all our ways?
Andy
I just think Wes, wouldn’t it be beautiful for us to say this to God regularly, even daily? I think it would be a good thing. We get on our knees and have our quiet time and we say, “God, I know that scripture teaches me that in you I live and move and have my being, that in your hand is my life and all my ways. Everything I have is yours. Every decision I make should come back to you. Everything in you, I live and move and have my being from you and through you and back to you are all things.” I think it would help us the way we live. We think like autonomous beings, like we don’t really need to ask God’s permission, or we don’t need to do anything. We’re so independent. We’re not that much different from Belshazzar. And so, I want to be convicted by this. I want to say, “You know what? There’s some ways that I do not honor the God who holds in His hand my life and all my ways.”
Wes
And verse 24 makes clear that this warning unheeded was the cause of this hand coming from the presence of God. What was the inscription and what did it mean?
Andy
The inscription was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PEREZ or PARSIN. There’s different ways of translating it. And so that’s what the words say. It’s not a full explanation, but God knew when he wrote those words he was going to bring in Daniel to interpret. It reminds me of the Ethiopian eunuch, and he’s reading Isaiah and Philip asks him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” He says, “How can I unless somebody interprets it for me?” And so, God in his kindness not only gives the inspiration, the actual writing, but then brings in the interpreter and in comes Daniel to do it. So, MENE is said twice- numbered, numbered. So, your days are numbered. Your days are numbered. The repetition is emphasis. Your days are numbered, your days are numbered. So, it’s like Psalm 90:12 “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Your days are numbered, your days are numbered, and then brought to an end. This is your last day on earth.
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. That’s related to the word for shekel or other weights. So, there’s a weighing here. You’re a lightweight. I think it reminds me very much of Romans 3:23, “For all of sin and fall short of the glory of God.” The word ‘fall short’ is hystereo, which means to lack. The home base of that word is lack. We lack glory.
We don’t esteem rightly, the glory of God, and we do not glorify God ourselves. And so, we are not glorious because we have not honored God who is glorious. In heaven, however, the redeemed will shine like the sun. We will be weighty with glory in heaven. We will not only see glory, but we’ll be glorious ourselves because we’ll esteem properly the God who is glorious. But Belshazzar clearly doesn’t. He’s a lightweight. He’s nothing. He’s a wispy nothing. And so therefore he’s weighed on the scales and found empty, wanting.
And then PEREZ, it’s related to the word for divided, but also related to the word for Persians. And so, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. It’s cut off from you, chopped off, out of your hand, and given to someone else. So that’s basically the writing on the wall. And it’s a terrifying message of doom that has come down on this man and on his empire.
Wes
What does this inscription teach us about God’s judgment and God’s patience?
Andy
Well, in the statement made in Genesis 15 to Abram, when He said He was going to give to him and to his descendants that very land, He effectively said, however, “Not yet.” He says, “Know for certain your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own. They’ll be enslaved and mistreated for 400 years. But I’ll punish the nation they serve as slaves. And afterwards they’ll come out and worship me in this place, for the sin of the Amorites,” which is the pagan dwellers in that land, “has not yet reached its full measure.” So, God’s measuring out the amount of wickedness he’s going to put up with. He gives people time to repent. And so, he had given the Babylonians time to repent. Those days were measured out. But now those days have come to an end. And so, it’s a sense of, if today you hear His voice and he’s calling you to repent of your sins, heed it and repent immediately, you don’t know that you’re going to have tomorrow.
Wes
You mentioned Psalm 90 that says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 139:16 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” How did those two passages, maybe specifically Psalm 139 that we haven’t really talked about yet, how does that relate to verse 26 in this passage?
Andy
Well, first of all, in general, the sovereign plan of God encompasses every atom in the universe, every single human being, every moment in history. Everything’s been thought of, everything has been worked out. God has predestined everything that happens, and that doesn’t in any way thwart our free choices that we make or any of that. It’s a deep and infinite mystery. But Ephesians 1:11 says, “In Him, we’re also chosen having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity to the purpose of His will.” So, it’s not just Christians, but it’s everyone. All the days ordained for every person were written in God’s book before one of them came to be. So not just their number, but what those days will contain. And so fundamentally, all of our days are numbered. And so, Psalm 90:12 says, “We should number our days,” though we cannot do it. We don’t know how many days we have. We should know that they are numbered by God, and they’re limited, and we should make the most of the brief time that we have.
Wes
So, in verse 29, Belshazzar makes good on his promise. Though we mentioned earlier Daniel was not impressed by these gifts and probably not interested in being third or second, as it were, in command with what’s on the horizon here. How does the story end for Belshazzar in verses 30 and 31, and what final thoughts do you have for us today?
Andy
Well, he did give him the rewards. And it is amazing because Daniel went from being officially the third-highest ruler in the Babylonian kingdom to being officially the second-highest ruler in the Medo-Persian empire, or maybe third behind Cyrus and Darius. So, it’s hard to find out how those two relate to each other, et cetera. But Daniel’s clearly a powerful man. That is utterly unique in history. I don’t know any other example where high-ranking official in the last empire is moved over to the exact same high-ranking position in the next empire. Usually they’re killed outright. And so those rewards were given to Daniel, but Daniel didn’t take them much to stock. His life was preserved in the hand of God, similar to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Daniel walked through the fiery night of the Medo-Persian destruction of Babylon without being harmed at all.
God protected him and kept him safe. And then it says that very night Belshazzar died, and the kingdom was turned over to Darius at the age of 62. And it’s really a fascinating thing. It reminds me very much of that rich fool whose land had produced the bumper crops. And he said, “What shall I do? I don’t have place to put everything. I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and I’ll build bigger barns because I’ll have plenty of stuff to store it up for years to come and I’ll eat and drink and take life easy.” And in the parable of the rich fool, it says, “‘You fool,’ God said to him this very night, ‘Your soul will be required of you. Who then will get everything you have stored up for yourself.'” Now, that’s a haunting statement. This very night, your soul will be required of you.
When God demands your soul, you have no choice but to give it. And so that very night Belshazzar died. He was slain. And all of that was in direct fulfillment to the very thing that God had said that he would do in Jeremiah 51. We don’t have time to get into it, but I would commend to you reading the specific predictions of the fall of Babylon made decades before that night through the prophet Jeremiah. God said very specifically, “I will cause the Euphrates River to dry up. I’ll make all of Babylon’s springs grow dry.” That’s how the Medo-Persian army crawled in under the walls and unlocked the gates so that the armies could storm in. And then God said, “I’ll make Babylon and her nobles, and all of her officials and soldiers drunk, and they will fall asleep and never wake up again.” They’re going to die in their beds.
“When God demands your soul, you have no choice but to give it. And so that very night Belshazzar died.”
It was the very thing God said he would do. He said specifically how he would kill them, and that’s what he did. And so, this is the specificity of the word of God. What lesson do I take from this? I think it goes back to that verse 23, recognize with all of your heart and being that in God you live and move and have your being. In His hand is your life and all your ways. So, honor him. Do not be idolatrous. Do not be wicked in idolatry as they were. They were drinking to the gods of bronze, iron, wooden stone. And we have our own idols like money and success and pleasure. Let’s not be idolaters as they were and they died that night, but instead, let’s honor God.
Wes
Well, this has been episode six in our Daniel Bible study podcast. We want to invite you to join us next time for episode seven entitled God Rescues Daniel from Lions, where we’ll discuss Daniel 6:1-28. Thank you for listening to the Two Journeys podcast and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
