Daniel 5
God Rules!
Open your Bible to…
Dan. 4:17 “This decision is by the decree of the watchers,
And the sentence by the word of the holy ones,
In order that the living may know
That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
Gives it to whomever He will,
And sets over it the lowest of men.’
Pray
A new king (vs. 1-4)
Dan. 5:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
Dan. 5:2 While
he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver
vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had
been in
Dan. 5:3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
Dan. 5:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
√ A new king
At the end of chapter 4 the king of
“Belshazzar (is) the king” ~ vs. 1
What happened!
There’s a big gap of time between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5…
…about 23 years!
Chapters 1-4 pertain to the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, a reign of 43 years!
He was used by God to punish the people of
He expanded the Babylonian kingdom and united its people.
He enlarged the city of
He was lifted up in pride so that God had to judge him.
But, as we saw at the end of chapter 4 he learned his lesson!
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” ~ 4:37
History tells us that he died soon after making that proclamation and that in the years following his death that the Babylonian kingdom quickly deteriorated, morally and spiritually.
Evil-Merodach became king after his father died and ruled for 2 years before being murdered by his brother-in law, Neriglissar! (ref. 2 Kings 25:27-30 & Jer. 52:31-34).
Neriglissar ruled for 4 years before he died (AKA “Nergal-Sharezer ~ Jer. 39:3).
His son, Labashi-Marduk, ruled for 2 months before being assassinated!
Nabonidus took over and ruled for the next 17 years,
but spent most of that time away from
So, Nabonidus appointed his eldest son, Belshazzar to rule
over the kingdom from the capital city of
Ap. Not Nebuchadnezzar’s son
Don’t be confused the word “father” and “son” as used in reference to Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar.
Remember, chapters 2-7 are written in Aramaic!
There isn’t a specific word to distinguish between father, grandfather, and uncle. The same word is used of all those relationships and simply means “a relative”.
So, Belshazzar is not Nebuchadnezzar’s son, rather, he is his grandson.
√ A stupid king
Belshazzar was a stupid king!
Not in the sense that he lacked a strong intellect or a good education…
…rather, his pride led him to act stupidly toward both God and Man!
We see in verses 1-4 that he threw a huge drunken party that
demonstrates his complete contempt
toward God and
Ex. His name means…
“Bel (another name for the false god Marduk) has protected the king”
And his actions certainly prove that he thought that was true!
He, his wives and concubines drank toasts to their false
gods from the holy vessels of the
Stupid because he knew from his grandfather’s experience that there was only One God and it isn’t smart to challenge Him to show His power! (ref. Vs. 22)
Secondly, what the text doesn’t reveal is that while he and pals are getting plastered…
…the massive Persian army had
Stupid because he was trusting in the walls of the city and their stored supplies (20 years worth!) to protect him from Man.
The point is that his arrogance led him to act stupidly because he believed that neither God nor Man could hurt him!
Ap. My stupidity (one example anyway!)
My two bike wrecks ~ the only times I crashed in my racing career!
The real king (vs. 5-9)
Dan. 5:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
Dan. 5:6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.
Dan. 5:7 The
king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of
Dan. 5:8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
Dan. 5:9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
√ The real King
Remember the “Crawling Hand”! This is the real deal!!
I love the irony! While the pretend king is getting “plastered”…
…the real King sends a hand to write on the “plaster”!
Kind of a Godly Graffiti thing! The result is that the mood of the party changes!
Everyone is astonished, and Belshazzar becomes so frightened that his legs give out ~ indicating that he may have stood up to see the hand…
…then collapsed from fear!
Ex. The airplane lights J
√ The king’s reward
Daniel tells us that Belshazzar immediately called for his counselors to interpret the writing and offered a great reward for doing so.
“(he) shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ~ vs. 7
Why “the third ruler in the kingdom” and not the second?
Nabonidus was the king
Belshazzar was the co-regent
The best he could offer was the number 3 spot!
Despite the great reward that was offered by the pretend king, none of the king’s counselors could help him.
Just like Nebuchadnezzar’s experience with his two dreams!
Reminding us again that God’s revelation can only be understood by those who have His Spirit.
Ap. God speaks
Unlike the false gods and goddesses of the Babylonians, the one real God in the universe speaks to people! He communicates through…
Dreams ~ chaps. 2 & 4
Visions ~ chaps. 7-12
Word ~ chap. 9:2
Signs & wonders ~ chap. 5
A hand, writing on the wall would be a “sign and a wonder”, not a vision because it left a physical evidence ~ the hand writing.
The Queen’s wisdom (vs. 10-12)
Dan. 5:10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change.
Dan. 5:11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And 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, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
Dan. 5:12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
√ The queen’s wisdom
First of all this is not Belshazzar’s wife as we’ve already read that his “wives and concubines” were all at the party (ref. Vs. 3).
Rather, this is probably his mother, or grandmother, the “queen mother”.
She was apparently not at the party (vs. 10) but heard all the commotion and the king’s shouting for his counselors so she comes down to check things out.
After sizing up the situation she makes a great suggestion…
“Get Daniel!”
…as she remembered that he had previously been of great service to Nebuchadnezzar when no one else could help because he actually knew the real God!
√ Out of retirement
While it is probably true that Belshazzar didn’t immediately call Daniel because he didn’t acknowledge the God of Daniel…
…it may also be that Daniel was simply no longer an active member of the king’s court.
The year is 545 B.C. ~ would make Daniel at least 75 years old! (Captured as a teen in 605 B.C.)
He was probably enjoying retirement!
The old king (vs. 13-21)
Dan. 5:13 Then
Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are
you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king
brought from
Dan. 5:14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
Dan. 5:15 Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing.
Dan. 5:16 And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. 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.”
Dan. 5:17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
Dan. 5:18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor.
Dan. 5:19 And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
Dan. 5:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
Dan. 5:21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
√ The first king
Before Daniel interprets God’s message to Belshazzar he
takes a moment to give a history
lesson about the first
and greatest king of
…Nebuchadnezzar.
Remember, he’s got an audience of 1,000 people including the
most influential leaders in
Daniel’s going to use the opportunity to tell them about his God!
He simply recounts the public record of Nebuchadnezzar’s own pride and the trouble it brought into his life but which ultimately brought him to acknowledge…
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” ~ Dan. 4:37
Remember, chapter 4 is a copy of the official proclamation of the king to all his subjects…
…so that everyone in the kingdom would know that there is only One real God!
Yet, Belshazzar and his cronies ignored his testimony and
insulted God by treating the Holy vessels of the
So, Daniel uses this opportunity to “preach” a message of warning to the assembled guests.
Ap. Don’t miss an opportunity to teach
You never know when you might get an opportunity to tell people about your God!
Be ready, and be creative!
Ex. Sharing with Siobhan’s middle school
√ Keep your gifts
Before we move on did you notice that Daniel tells the king he can keep his gifts?
“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another” ~ vs. 17
Why wasn’t Daniel interested?
Because he knew what God’s plan was and that any gift or promotion promised by Belshazzar wasn’t going to last very long!
Belshazzar would be dead before the night was over!
The last king (vs. 22-29)
Dan. 5:22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
Dan. 5:23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house 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, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
Dan. 5:24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
√ The last king
Ouch! Daniel applies the history lesson to Belshazzar’s life and disobedience.
The root of his sin was pride ~ vs. 22 & 23
His sin was deliberate (not done in ignorance) ~ vs. 22
He was not thankful to God his Creator ~ vs. 24
So, God judged him unworthy of the throne and life that He gave him!
Therefore, he would be the last king in the line of Nebuchadnezzar, the “head of gold”…
…and would be replaced by a new king and kingdom, the “chest of silver” ~ the Medo-Persian’s even as God had shown Nebuchadnezzar in his dream.
√ The interpretation
The words inscribed by the hand were written in Aramaic, while the other wise men may have been able to read the words…
…they were not able to interpret the meaning of the words because they didn’t form a sentence. Rather, it was just a string of nouns!
The meaning could only come from God by way of the gift of interpretation!
So, Daniel interprets the message…
Dan. 5:25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
Ex. “Dollar, dollar, penny, half-dollar”
Now you know why the wise man couldn’t interpret the meaning!
Dan. 5:26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
“Mene” is Aramaic noun referring to a weight of 50 shekels.
It’s root is a verb meaning “to number”
God alone numbers the days of a person’s life, or the duration of their kingdom…
…God set the appointment for Belshazzar’s death and that of his kingdom.
Dan. 5:27 TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
“Tekel” is a noun referring to a single shekel.
It’s root is the verb that means “to weigh”.
The idea is that payment was weighed on a balance. If the payment placed on the scale was light…
…then the seller would reject it as insufficient.
God had weighed Belshazzar’s life on the balance of righteousness and found his life unacceptable.
He was morally and spiritually bankrupt and did not meet the standards of God’s “balance”.
Therefore, God rejected him as an insufficient payment to redeem his life.
Dan. 5:28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Dan. 5:29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Notice that Daniel doesn’t use the word that was written on the wall…
… “UPHARSIN”, which is the noun for “half-mena” (25 shekels) and means “to divide” (i.e. half a mena).
Instead, he uses the word “peres” which is the singular form of the upharsin.
It seems that Daniel intended a play on words as simply changing the vowels in the word “peres” gives us the word “Persian”…
…the people outside the gates of
Ap. Our days are numbered
Another king, a good king, acknowledged what Belshazzar refused to recognize…
…that God has numbered the days of our lives.
David wrote…
Psa. 139:16 Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them.
The author of Hebrews wrote…
Heb. 9:27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
One lesson of history is that all of us will die (unless we’re in that generation the Lord Raptures!), that is, we have a limited number of days to live.
Since none of us know what number the Lord has allotted to us, we ought to use them wisely so that we don’t find ourselves called to give an account like Belshazzar…
…and be found light on God’s scale!
The only way to ensure that we’ll balance out on God’s scale of righteousness is to place our trust in Jesus the full-payment for our sins!
Another King (vs. 30-31)
Dan. 5:30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
Dan. 5:31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
√ Another king
Just as Daniel predicted, Belshazzar, lost the kingdom to the Medo-Persians.
They blocked the
The Babylonians were so confident in their walls and gates that they didn’t station guards on top of the walls.
So, once the water level dropped the Persian army was able to enter the city under the sluice gate at night without anyone knowing!
They went to the palace and killed Belshazzar!
They took the kingdom on October 12, 539 B.C. without a fight!
Ap. God rules
Daniel chapter 5 reminds us that…
“That the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men.” ~ Daniel 4:17
That is, God is sovereign and moves according to His predetermined plans.
Great comfort to us, like Daniel, who have placed our faith and trust in God.
Because we know that regardless of how ungodly, or wicked a king, a president, or a dictator may be…
…God is going to get His will done and that includes bringing the kingdoms of Man to an end and establishing His Kingdom on Earth as predicted by Daniel!
Close
√ Are you in the Kingdom?
Your only hope to balance out on God’s scale is to have Jesus on there with you!