Lesson for July 6, 2022
The Book of Daniel
Chapter 5
Belshazzar’s Feast
Verses 1-9
“Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand. When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing. Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together. The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.”Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his face grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed.”
Between the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar there were three men who ruled briefly and were all killed after a short reign as king. Then Nabonidus, a Babylonian noble, and husband to Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter, became king. Nabonidus, though the rightful king, spent most of his time away from Babylon, so his son Belshazzar ruled in his absence. Once thought not to have actually existed, Belshazzar was found in archaeological records by name in 1856 by Sir H.C. Rawlinson, confirming the accuracy of the Bible.
In biblical times, a grandfather is often referred to as father, simply indicating a family relationship. So, Nebuchadnezzar is called Belshazzar’s father, even though he was actually his grandfather.
Belshazzar was a corrupt and immoral king and indulged himself in all manner of decadency. The story in our passage tells of a night when he had thrown a big party for all the nobles in the kingdom which included the king’s wives and mistresses. He was so depraved that he had the gold vessels used for the Jewish rituals brought to him for wine glasses. Furthermore, the king apparently began toasting the images of pagan gods of the Chaldeans made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. There were at least four gods of the Chaldeans: 1) Marduk the god of the city of Babylon and the sun god 2) Nebo or Nabu the god of wisdom, literature and education 3) Nerga the god of war 4) Ishtar the goddess of fertility.
This display of arrogance and decadence by Belshazzar showed his rejection of the God of Israel, Jesus Christ. He knew the stories of King Nebuchadnezzar’s experiences and his conversion to faith in Jehovah (Jesus Christ). He knew how God had humbled the great king Nebuchadnezzar by removing him from the throne and sending him to live with the beasts of the field. Because of Belshazzar’s defiance of God, God sent him a wakeup call in the form of a hand writing on the wall which caused the king to tremble and become weak in the knees. Calling on his advisers, he had no success in getting an interpretation of the writing on the wall. Belshazzar either did not know about Daniel (no longer being in a position of authority under this king) or had forgotten about the one person in the kingdom who could interpret the writing. However, there was one person who did remember Daniel, the queen.
Verses 10-12
“The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners. This was because an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and insight, interpretation of dreams, explanation of enigmas and solving of difficult problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Let Daniel now be summoned, and he will declare the interpretation.”
The queen was Belshazzar’s mother and would have known about Daniel, as the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. Hearing the commotion in the banquet hall, the queen mother came to investigate. In a calming spirit she told the king that there was a man in whom the spirit and wisdom of God resided and that he had interpreted dreams for Belshazzar’s grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. Once again, God’s faithful servant Daniel was prepared and ready to do the will of God.
Verses 13-16
“Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the exiles from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? Now I have heard about you that a spirit of the gods is in you, and that illumination, insight and extraordinary wisdom have been found in you.Just now the wise men and the conjurers were brought in before me that they might read this inscription and make its interpretation known to me, but they could not declare the interpretation of the message. But I personally have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read the inscription and make its interpretation known to me, you will be clothed with purple and wear a necklace of gold around your neck, and you will have authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”
These verses clearly indicate that Belshazzar did know the story of Daniel and how he had been used by God to interpret dreams in the past, though he was somewhat skeptical (by saying “if you are able”). He also knew the consequences of defying the Most-High God, the God of Israel. Trying to solve a spiritual problem with a human solution, the king called all the so-called wise men to help him. As before, they were unable to either read or interpret the writing on the wall. Human wisdom can never understand the wisdom of God. Trying to solve problems through the counsel of others with only human viewpoint is a total waste of time and effort. Bible doctrine resident in your soul and the Ten Problem-Solving Devices will help you solve any issue, if and when you apply them properly.
As with the previous king, Daniel was offered one of the highest ruling positions in the kingdom for his service to this king. Third in command of a nation was the highest position a non-royal could have in any kingdom. Belshazzar’s father was still number one in the kingdom, Belshazzar being number two and Daniel’s position would be third. Quite an honor for Jew in a Chaldean kingdom.
Verses 17-24
“Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ‘Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him. O king, the Most-High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most- High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified. Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out.”
Daniel made it clear that his gift was not for sale and turned down the kings offer to give him royal clothing and gold jewelry. Compatible with the grace gift that Daniel had been given by God, he agreed to interpret the writings of the wall. As always, Daniel took no credit for the ability to read and interpret the writing, giving all the credit to God. Colossians 3:17, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
Belshazzar had not learned from the stories of his grandfather that it is God Who sets up a ruler and God Who takes him down. In his arrogance, he ignored the truth and exalted himself instead of God. God’s timing is always perfect, a principle that the king did not know. He failed to realize that his life was in God’s hands and that God would accomplish His purpose.
The fact that he knew all the story of Nebuchadnezzar indicated he knew about his grandfather’s faith in Jehovah, which he obviously rejected. Bringing the vessels from the temple and desecrating them demonstrated Belshazzar’s arrogance in challenging God’s sovereignty.
Verses 25-29
“Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENĒ, MENĒ, TEKĒL, UPHARSIN.’ This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENĒ’—God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. ‘TEKĒL’—you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.‘PERĒS’ [upharsin]—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.’”
The Hebrew words were unfamiliar to Belshazzar. In God’s plan for history and the Chaldean nation, Daniel was once again to play a major role. Forgotten by this king but not forgotten by God, it was time for Daniel to interpret the writing. The Hebrew word “mene” means numbered as to a certain amount of time. The repeat of the word “mene” indicates that God was including the entire kingdom under Belshazzar’s rule. The Hebrew word “tekel” means to weigh as on a balance or scale. The Hebrew word “upharsin” (from the verb form “peras”) means to divide or to shatter.
The conclusion of the interpretation was that the Chaldean Empire had come to the end of its reign and was going to be terminated by God’s divine judgment. Belshazzar’s rejection of Jehovah (Jesus Christ) for salvation was on one side of the scale and on the other side was God’s grace. The scales were not tipped in the king’s favor because he was found lacking or deficient of a relationship with the God of Israel, the Most-High God that his grandfather finally came to know. Therefore, God would apply the fifth cycle of discipline against this nation, and it would be divided and taken over by another nation, the Medes and Persians.
Verses 29-31
“Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom. That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So, Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.”
Though Daniel had refused to “sell” his spiritual gift to Belshazzar for material wealth and power but stayed true to God, he was given the rewards anyway. But it was short lived because that very night the king was killed. We are not told who killed him, but it was most likely the army of the Medes who were just outside the walls of the city ready to attack. The kingdom had come to an end and a new king named Darius of the Medes took the throne.