Daniel 5

Today we continue on with our series on Daniel being up to chapter 5.

In chapter 1, Daniel and his friends were taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar over 1000 km away  as the crow flies to Babylon. They were indoctrinated into the Babylon culture and religion but they vowed to be loyal to the Lord their God no matter what even though they were just teenagers.

In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar had his 1st terrifying dream of the statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay and heard its interpretation, how 5 kingdoms would come before a great rock would finally come and smash them all, very applicable to us today while we wait for Jesus to soon come again.

In Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar rebelled against his dream and built the great gold statue of himself and required the whole world to worship himself.

But in Chapter 4 God taught him who really ruled and humbled him, causing him to go insane and live like an animal for 7 years until just like in the story of the prodigal son, he came to his senses, repented and went home. And because of the Lord’s mercy and kindness he was fully restored in his royal household.

No more is heard about the life of Nebuchadnezzar. His reign ended with his death in 562 BC. His final years were in peace and security and his son Belshazzar eventually came to the throne as the 5th and final king to reign in Babylon during the 23 year period afterwards. Daniel was now in his 80’s. It’s interesting that the kings son Belshazzar had a very similar name to Daniel’s new name Belteshazzar. It makes me think that Nebuchadnezzar had named his son after Daniel. What high hopes we have for our children ! But Belshazzar was not a good man as it turned out. He became the consummate playboy, living a life of opulence and debauchery off his inheritance.

Chapter 5 tells the story of the last day in the life of Belshazzar. History tells us it was October 14th 539 BC, 23 years after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. By this very day, the Medes and the Persians had already laid siege on the city. They were outside and Belshazzar knew it but he showed no concern whatsoever. Why did he feel so safe and secure?

1. The Greek historian Herodotus claimed that "Babylon surpasses in wonder any city in the known world" and specifically praised the walls which he said were 56 miles (90 kilometres) long, 80 feet (24 metres) thick, and 320 feet (97 metres) high.

2. The Ishtar gate for example was 50 feet (15 metres) high, and the original foundations extended another 45 feet (14 metres) underground.

3. All the gates of Babylon were made of solid bronze 

4. The river Euphrates ran underneath and through the city so it had an endless supply of water

5. Among other buildings, the city contained the king’s palace. This was protected on one side by the Euphrates and on the other side by high walls. It was a fort inside a fort.

6. Babylon had enough food supply and storage to feed the city for 20 years.

Before we get too impressed by the size of Babylon, we should mention the size of the Holy Jerusalem in comparison which will descend out of Heaven from God.

Revelation 21:14-18

Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

One cubit (length from elbow to tip of middle finger) = 18 inches / 45.7 cm 

One furlong = 1/8 of a mile / 201.168 metres.

12000 furlongs  = 1500 miles

New Zealand is about 1000 miles long.  

Therefore the dimension of the Holy Jerusalem is 1500 miles cubed, 1.5 times the length of New Zealand in every direction. 

If the walls of Babylon were 56 miles long, the walls of the Holy Jerusalem are 1500 x 4 miles = 6000 miles. And it is 1500 miles high !

And the thickness of the walls of the Holy Jerusalem is;

144 cubits = 216 feet / 72 yards /  66 metres which is approximately 3 times the thickness of the Babylon walls.

You can read about the rest of the Holy Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22, about the walls being made of jasper and the gold city, the 12 jewel foundations, the river of life and the tree of life. 

But back to Babylon 2500 years ago and the last day in the life of Belshazzar.

Daniel 5:1-4

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. 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 Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 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. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

Notice the extent of Belshazzar’s arrogance. He showed contempt for man and God.

Firstly contempt for man, throwing a great drunken party while the Medes & Persians were already outside laying siege at the gates. His thinking was, this is the safest city in the World, I am the greatest, party on!

He had a false sense of security because he placed his trust in what man had made. Do not put your trust in what man has made, instead put your trust in the Lord.

This was the great flaw in his thinking as there always is whenever we place our trust in things that are made by man. At the time of Babylon's fall in 539 BC, the King of the Medes and Persians was Cyrus and he had a simple plan. Ever played chess against a better player and suddenly found yourself checkmated to your great surprise? Cyrus diverted the waters of the Euphrates so that his troops could march through the riverbed into the unsuspecting city. Thus, the waters of the Euphrates were 'dried up' and Babylon was conquered in one night.

But secondly and even worse was his contempt for God. Can you imagine the state of his mind in bringing the holy vessels from the temple of Jerusalem to his drunken party. The holy vessels were stored away but he gave the command to bring them out to use for his drunken  party of debauchary. He had no respect for Israel’s God. The vessels were used in the worship of Lord. To use holy things for unholy purposes is to mock God. He knew the prophecy of the fall of Babylon but he rejected it publicly.

We should fear the Lord. You and I are vessels of God. We are to use our bodies as holy vessels not for unholy purposes.

Are we overconfident in ourselves with a solid house, a good job, plenty of food to eat, friends, a pension fund. We also can be deluded into thinking we are secure in the things we have. We can be relying on those things and not on God.

Daniel 5:5-9

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. 

In the middle of a drunken party,  sobriety comes suddenly. A gigantic hand appears in the spotlight of the lamp stand and a finger begins writing on the wall. This is where we get our phrase the writing is on the wall, which means that the future is not good and plain for everyone to see.

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. 

We’ve all seen the cartoon where the character is so afraid that we hear the sound of their knees knocking. The idea is that he wet himself with fear. He was so afraid he cried out loudly.

The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.

But the wise men of Babylon couldn’t understand the words that God had written. The Bible tells us the natural man cannot understand the things of God, they are foolishness to him. We are so blessed when we can understand the Bible. To the unsaved person, it sounds like gobbledegook. The ability to understand spiritual truth only comes from the Holy Spirit. It does not come from human intellect. This can be a warning for Bible Theologians who think the knowledge they have learned makes them superior to other Christians. The Holy Spirit is in every Christian. We should respect every Christian because the Lord gives them understanding of the Bible and of spiritual things and may well want to teach us something important through them.

Because of all the commotion, the Queen comes in. Even she appears not to be joining in his night of debauchery up to this point.

Daniel 5:10-12

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. 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. 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 knew all about Daniel and advised Belshazzar to call on Daniel. Daniel wasn’t at the party, he probably wasn’t invited and wouldn’t have wanted to go anyway. It is quite likely Daniel was retired from active service as he was now in his 80’s.

Daniel 5:13-17

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 Judah? 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. 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. 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.”  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.

Daniel may have even thought his life and influence were over. But here he is called out of retirement. In times of quietness in our lives, we should still be faithful to the Lord in the small things. We don’t know when next the Lord will call on us, it can be when we are very old. I saw a wonderful video this week of an elderly woman with dementia. She couldn’t remember anything, about the last meal she had, or close family members but as soon as she was asked who Jesus is, she spoke so beautifully about him and how she loved him. Daniel told the King he could keep his gifts and title, he wasn’t interested. His only interest was in serving the Lord. The king had no authority over him ! 

Daniel 5:18-21

O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. 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. 

Daniel reminded Belshazzar that his inheritance was only because it was the most High God who had appointed Nebuchadnezzar and all his success was just because the Lord purposed it. It was nothing to do with Nebuchadnezzar or Belshazzar ! But Nebuchadnezzar at first rejected that lesson and soon learned the hard way as we heard last week. Pride comes before a fall.

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. 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.

This had all happened more than 23 years ago. Sin / rejection of God is a very serious thing. Sin brings death to a nation and to an individual but the free gift of God is eternal life. God had restored Nebuchadnezzar once he had been humbled and acknowledged that God is God.

Daniel 5:22-28

“But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 

Belshazzar’s rebellion was very great. God gave Nebuchadnezzar 12 months and then 7 years. Belshazzar had 23 years to think about the testimony of his father and he had only developed contempt for God and man. His time was up. You don’t know the day you will die. Today is the day of salvation. If you haven’t ever done so, you need to humble yourself today before the Lord, it is a very serious thing to refuse the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

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. 

Our heart can stop at any moment.  The Lord has our very breath in his hands. There is a path that people who reject God follow and it begins with a lack of fear of the Lord. 

Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. “And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

What a horrifying moment for Belshazzar. The Lord’s judgment has been passed and couldn’t be reversed. Because he wouldn’t glorify God, he had been found wanting.  He had lost it all. All he would have for all eternity was regret. 

Daniel 5:29-31

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. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

Belshazzar made an empty proclamation. Like Esau, he had lost it all. His life was over.

The Medes and Persians built a dam to stop the river Euphrates flowing through Babylon. They were able to march in to Babylon on the dry waterbed underneath the walls. Babylon was completely unprepared ans easily defeated, Belshazzar was executed and Darius the Mede took over the Kingdom.

The Bible says;

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Many people are like Belshazzar. They show contempt for God, waste their inheritance and live their lives in rebellion to what God has said. But eventually, they pay the price. In fact the Bible says we all have fallen short of the glory of God. None of us have done what we could have with our lives. We are all facing a horrendous judgement for our sins. The wages of sin is death. But there is a way out. The Gospel is good news. The free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He has paid the penalty for our sins. By his stripes we are healed.