Daniel 5

CHAPTER 5THEME: Feast of Belshazzar; fingers of God write upon the wall; failure of the wise men to read the handwriting; Daniel spurns the king’s gifts; Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall; fall of Babylonfulfillment that very nightThe events recorded in chapter 5 took place a great deal later than those in the previous chapters. Again, this is just a page lifted from the historical records of Babylon, and much has taken place since the events of chapter 4.

Daniel 5:1

FEAST OF BELSHAZZARNow who was Belshazzar and how did he get to the throne? In the previous chapter the king was Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar has been a controversial figure in history, so we do need to take a moment to look at him. Even Dean Farrar said, “There was no such king as Belshazzar.” John Walvoord in his book Daniel, the Key to Prophetic Revelation, p. 114, states: “Until the discovery of the Nabonidus Cylinder, no mention of Belshazzar, whom Daniel declares to be king of Babylon, had been found in extrabiblical literature. Critics of the authenticity and historicity of Daniel accordingly were free to question whether any such person as Belshazzar existed. Since the publication of Raymond Dougherty’s scholarly research on Nabonidus and Belshazzar, based on the Nabonidus Cylinder and other sources, there is no ground for questioning the general historicity of Belshazzar …” The name of Bel-shar-usur (Belshazzar) has been found on cylinders in which he is called the son of Nabonidus. It is now generally accepted that Belshazzar acted as a regent under his father, Nabonidus. A resume of the events which succeeded Nebuchadnezzar’s reign would be helpful at this point. At the death of Nebuchadnezzar his only son, Evil-merodach, succeeded him, in about 561 B.C. (see 2Ki_25:27). Evil-merodach was murdered by Nergal-sharezer who had married one of Nebuchadnezzar’s daughters and now replaced him on the throne in about 559 B.C. Nergal-sharezer was succeeded by his young son who reigned only a few months before he was murdered by Nabonidus (the husband of another of Nebuchadnezzar’s daughters). Nabonidus, the last ruler of the Babylonian empire, spent much of his time away from the kingdom on foreign expeditions, and Belshazzar his son remained at Babylon as his co-regent. All this reveals the accuracy of what Jeremiah the prophet had said: “And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him” (Jer_27:6-7). In other words, the Babylonian kingdom would last through the reign of a son and a grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, and then the reign of the Babylonian kingdom as the head of gold would end. We have further evidence of Belshazzar from a prayer of Nabonidus to the moon god for his son which was discovered on a clay cylinder: “My son, the offspring of my heart, might honor his godhead and not give himself to sin.” Herodotus, the Greek historian, also mentions this and confirms it. During the time of the events recorded in chapter 5, Nabonidus was on the field of battle while Belshazzar his son remained in Babylon. We will notice that when Belshazzar offers Daniel a position in the kingdom, it is to be the third ruler in the kingdom. Why not second to Belshazzar? Well, Belshazzar himself was number twohis father was really the king. During the feast of Belshazzar introduced here in verseDan_5:1, Gobryas, the Median general, was besieging the city of Babylon from without. Xenophon, the Greek historian, describes how they took the city by detouring a canal of the Euphrates River back into iss main channel and then letting the army flow under the walls of the city. Therefore the events of this chapter, which for many years had been discounted by the critics, have today been confirmed by secular history. I would rather say that secular history has been confirmed by the Word of God. We know that historians are sometimes liars, and we cannot always depend upon their writings. However, here the historical research does agree with the account of Scripture. “Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.” Note the arrogance of this young upstart Belshazzar who puts on this lavish affair while the armies of Gobryas were in full view of the city. Perhaps Belshazzar thought the city was impregnable. Nebuchadnezzar had built it to withstand any siege. The city wall was actually fifteen miles square and was constructed of brick. It was three hundred feet high and wide enough for four chariots to travel abreast around the city walls. In other words, they could have put a freeway around the top of the city. He had supplies of grain and water to last for yearsin fact, there was a canal channeled off the Euphrates River which went right through the city. Belshazzar’s feast may have been in defiance of the enemy on the outside, or perhaps he wanted to build up the morale of those within. We are told here that it began with a big cocktail party. Liquor today is a temporary prop for weak men and women, and alcohol is still the number one drug problem in the United States. I thought it rather ironical when a group of well-meaning citizens in Los Angelesleaders from the schools, the churches, and politicsmet together to discuss the drug problem among young people. You know how they opened their meeting? With a cocktail party! How hypocritical can you be? My friend, there are far more alcoholics in this country than drug addicts.

Do you know that more than half of those killed in traffic accidents each year have alcohol in their blood at the time of the accident? Many billions of dollars are spent annually by Americans for alcoholic beverages. Alcohol is doing great damagein automobile accidents and in homes being absolutely wrecked. The liquor problem is an alarming problem, and it is a problem common to all of mankind. Many nations have gone down because of liquorand not because of marijuana. Don’t misunderstand meI am not supporting the use of marijuana.

I just cannot get enthusiastic about these reformers who want to solve the drug problem but will not give up their alcohol; I don’t care for that hypocrisy. Old Belshazzar started off with a big cocktail party to get his guests high so they would enjoy the banquet that he was going to put on for them.

Daniel 5:2

This man is not only defying the enemy outside, but now under the influence of alcohol he does an audacious thing which his grandfather would never have done. When Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem, he was an old, pagan, heathen king, and he took the vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. But when he came to the knowledge of the living and true God, he had them stored away. To Belshazzar as a boy growing up in the palace, I guess they were a no-nohe had to leave those vessels alone. Now he drags them out and is going to serve his guests with them. The vessels were no longer holy vessels. Holy means “that which is set aside for the use of God.” However, Belshazzar is defying God by this act. And men today are defying God by their actions. We are prompted to speak out and to wonder why God doesn’t deal with such people. My friend, God has plenty of time. He will take care of the situation, just as He is going to take care of Belshazzar. Belshazzar knew that his grandfather had come to the knowledge of God and had praised and honored Him (see v. Dan_5:22); yet he deliberately defied and profaned God. Pro_29:1 says, “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.” Everyone at the banquet was now beastly drunk. It was a scene of real debauchery and licentiousness. Ever since I was a boy, I have heard preachers preach on this banquet of Belshazzarit must have been a real banquet according to some of them! One of the preachers talked about the dancing girls and the drinking and the laughter and all that sort of thing. If the truth were told, the sermon was like a vicarious trip to a nightclub, and we all enjoyed it. However, Scripture gives us no such details.

Daniel 5:4

They toasted the gods, and it would have taken more than one night to toast all they had in Babylon. They cloaked their sin as an act of worship and veiled their blasphemy in the name of religion.

Daniel 5:5

FINGERS OF GOD WRITE UPON THE WALLGod now directly intervenes. He does not speak by dream or vision because this is a man whom He doesn’t intend to reach. God would not endure this impious insult to heaven, so He writes on the wall of the banqueting hall. Is it done in anger? Very frankly, I think it is, and I believe the One who wrote this is the same One who wrote in the sand when they brought a sinful woman before Him (Joh_8:1-11). At that time it was a message of forgiveness; here, for Belshazzar, it is a message of doom. He has ignored the God of heaven, as Daniel will soon make clear to him.

Daniel 5:6

Belshazzar couldn’t stand up. A few moments ago he had been too drunk to stand up. Although he’s suddenly sober he still cannot stand up. What he has seen on the wall has scared him nearly to death; he is overwhelmed with fear.

Daniel 5:7

Notice that the reward was to be “the third ruler in the kingdom.” How accurate Daniel is! The man who wrote this book had to have been there and understood the circumstances: Nabonidus was the real king, and Belshazzar was only second in the kingdom.

Daniel 5:8

FAILURE OF THE WISE MEN TO READ THE HANDWRITINGWhen Belshazzar finally got his senses back he had the wise men trotted in, and he asked them to give the interpretation of the writing on the wall. Although he offered them a handsome reward, they could only stand there looking at him. They didn’t know the answer, and they didn’t know what to do. This is the third time the wise men of Babylon have failed. On the third strike, you’re out, you knowI think maybe this incident put them out of business.

Daniel 5:9

You can imagine the change which took place in that banquet room. A few moments before they all had been laughing and drunk. Now they are sober and perplexed and troubled.

Daniel 5:10

The “queen” here is the queen mother, the wife of Nebuchadnezzar. She heard what had happened at the banquet, and she came in to speak to the king.

Daniel 5:11

“Nebuchadnezzar thy father"relationships were indicated with one word; therefore “father” could refer to a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, or a great-great-grandfather.

Daniel 5:12

The queen mother has come to help her grandson out of his predicament. She tells him there is a man in his kingdom by the name of Daniel, a Spirit-filled man, who can decipher the writing.

Daniel 5:13

DANIEL SPURNS THE KING’S GIFTSDaniel is now brought in. He evidently had been set aside and pushed out of office after the death of Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel 5:15

Belshazzar butters him up and tells him that if he can give the interpretation which the wise men have failed to give, then he will be made the third ruler in the kingdom. Thus Daniel is offered the same reward which had been offered to the wise men.

Daniel 5:17

Daniel spurned these gifts. He was absolutely contemptuous of Belshazzar. I am sure that if the king had not been so filled with fear, he would not have ignored Daniel’s insult. After all, why did Daniel need this reward? He would not have had it but for a few hours. Before Daniel interprets the handwriting on the wall, he gives to this young king who is reigning under his father the best sermon he probably ever could receive. Daniel is not the young man who went into the presence of old King Nebuchadnezzar; he is now an old man going into the presence of a young king. There had been no generation gap with Nebuchadnezzar, and there is not one now. Listen to what Daniel tells Belshazzar:

Daniel 5:18

Nebuchadnezzar had been an absolute ruler on this earth. I believe there has not been another ruler like him and there will not be another until Antichrist rules. Daniel recites for Belshazzar how God had dealt with his grandfather. God had put him on the throne and had given him a world kingdom. Then he tells Belshazzar of the experience Nebuchadnezzar had had:

Daniel 5:20

Daniel preaches a very pointed and powerful sermon to Belshazzar. God had given the kingdom to Nebuchadnezzar, and he had been an absolute sovereign whom no man could question or hinder and whose wishes and whims were the law of the realm. However, when Nebuchadnezzar became filled with pride, God humbled him to a tragic episode. When Daniel reminds Belshazzar of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliating experience, you wonder if Daniel is rubbing it in. Perhaps he is. He is reminding this young proud king that if he is lifted up by pride, it is either because of his drinking or because he is insane. Belshazzar was a proud and vain man. Although he knew of his grandfather’s insanity and of his descent to the level of a beast, he had not profited by this experience. Instead, he had committed sacrilege in using the vessels taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem. He had defied the living and true God; and, by the profane use of that which had been holy, he had mocked God and insulted Him. Knowing the truth, he yet rejected it. God destroys only those who have known the truth and have refused it. During the Great Tribulation period those who will be deluded are those who have rejected the light. Paul writes in 2Th_2:9-12, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Daniel is telling Belshazzar the principle by which God operates and which Paul has also since confirmed. The Lord Jesus also made this very clear when He said: “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Joh_5:43). The people in Germany who accepted Hitler were the same people that had rejected the Word of God in Christ. When you turn your back on the truth, you are wide open for any cult or ism which comes along. Why is it that cults and isms are growing today? Why is it that we hear so much about demonism and the worship of Satan? These things are being manifested in our nation because it is a nation that has had the Word of God and has rejected it. We desperately need the teaching of the Word of God. We have enough preachingwe have enough people telling us what they think. What does God say? What difference does it make what you or I think? What God thinksthat is what is important. Daniel concludes his sermon by stating that the handwriting was from God whom Belshazzar had spurned and ridiculed and blasphemed. Some people wonder if he had committed an unpardonable sin. I’ll let you answer that. I just know that he had an opportunity here to receive the truth, and he turned it down.

Daniel 5:25

DANIEL INTERPRETS THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALLI can’t resist telling you the story of a man who was a foreigner in this country and was finally persuaded by his daughter to go to church, although he had great difficulty understanding English. However, he agreed to go with his daughter, Minnie, on the Sunday the preacher had unfortunately chosen for his text the account of this writing on the wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. As soon as the preacher mentioned this, the man grabbed Minnie his daughter by the hand and took her out of the church. “Father, what in the world is the matter?” she asked. With a very heavy accent, he replied, “Did you hear what the preacher said? He said, ‘Minnie, Minnie, come tickle the parson’!” Well, that is not the interpretation of this writing upon Belshazzar’s wall. Daniel gives the interpretation:

Daniel 5:26

MENE is translated “number,” and it is repeatedNumber, Number. It meant that God had numbered the kingdom of Babylon. We have a common colloquialism today, “His number is up.” That is an accurate expression of the idea here. Also, in Psa_90:12, we read, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Only God knows when “our number is up"when our earthly journey is over. There was a young man who had never flown on a plane before, and his friends were encouraging him to take a trip to California. Well, he didn’t want to go because he was afraid the plane might go down. His friends assured him, “It doesn’t matter where you areif your number’s up, it’s upwhether you’re on a plane or not.” But the boy said, “I’m not worried about my number being up. I just worry whether it’s time for the pilot’s number to be up. If it is, I’d rather not be on that plane!” “MENE, MENE” means that God had numbered the days of the Babylonian kingdom. He keeps track of every moment of every day. He determines beforehand the length of our days, and we cannot change that.

Daniel 5:27

TEKEL simply means “weight.” Babylon had been put on the divine scales and had been found wanting. The people of Babylon didn’t weigh enoughthey were lightweight. God had raised up Babylon, and now He is going to put it down. Why? Because Babylon had not measured up to God’s standards. We read in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation about the seven churches of Asia Minor. There we see the Lord Jesus in the midst of the lampstands which represent the churches. He trims the wicks, pours in the oil, and snuffs out those which fail to light. He also judges the church today. Now we may weigh out at sixteen ounces to the pound on the Toledo scales we have down here, but Christ weighs us on the divine scale, and He had to say to every one of the churches, “Repent. You haven’t measured up.” He says the same thing to you and me today.

Our righteousness is not only insufficient, it is filthy rags. Only His righteousness is going to stand the test and weigh out at sixteen ounces to the pound. Rom_3:21-23 says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” You see, God weighs the actions of mankind.

Daniel 5:28

PERES is the singular form of UPHARSIN (as it was given in verse Dan_5:25), and it means “divisions.” The kingdom of Babylon is now to be divided and given to the Medes and Persians. In other words, the head of gold is to be removed; it is now time for the arms of silver to come into place. God is in supreme command of the kingdoms of the earth. Ezekiel wrote, “I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Eze_21:27). God will continue to turn over kingdoms until Christ comes. I think He is doing a pretty good job.

I remember a few years ago when Mussolini and Hitler and Stalin were real terrors to the worldall that crowd is gone now. God is still in charge, and Christ is that “stone …cut out without hands” (Dan_2:34) who is going to establish His Kingdom down here someday.

Daniel 5:29

Again, note that it is “the third ruler in the kingdom.” How accurate the Book of Daniel is. Nabonidus was really the king, and Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was second in command.

Daniel 5:30

FALL OF BABYLONFULFILLMENT THAT VERY NIGHTAt the very time this banquet was being held, the Medes were marching underneath the walls of Babylon where the waters of the canal had flowed. As I mentioned earlier, underneath the wall of that city had been a canal which had brought water through the city, and now the waters had been cut off and channeled back into the main stream of the Euphrates River. This man Gobryas was marching his army into the inner city where the palace was located. History records that he and his men were on the inside of the inner city before the guards had even detected that anything was wrong. It is Xenophon, the Greek historian, who recorded for secular history the way in which the Persians took the city. Belshazzar was slainhe had been weighed and found wanting. God does that, and He uses His scale and His standards. He says to you and me, “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom_3:23). You and I are not 100 percent wool, a yard wide and warranted not to wrinkle or unravel. We just do not measure up to God’s standard. We are not on trial today; we are lost, and God is offering us salvation. Belshazzar had rejected God, and he was slain. Darius the Median became the ruler of the kingdom of silver. He came with a sudden attack and destroyed Babylon. Isaiah had prophesied the fall of Babylon in Isaiah 21. In a future day another Babylon will fall by the hands of God (see Rev. 18)thus will end man’s vaunted civilization.