Scripture
Today I would like to continue in my sermon series in the book of Daniel. Please listen as I read Daniel 5:1-31:
1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
10 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “O king, live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king, I say—appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”
13 So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 15 The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. 16 Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
18 “O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.
22 “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
25 “This is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN
26 “This is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. (Daniel 5:1-31)
Introduction
What would happen if someone gave a party—and God crashed it?
In the first verses of Daniel chapter 5, we find a description of a rather wild party thrown by a king named Belshazzar. Then we are told how his party was crashed. Right in the middle of the party, at what was probably the loudest and wildest part, an unexpected and unusual guest suddenly appeared that brought the party to an abrupt end.
The uninvited visitor was a disembodied set of fingers. In view of all the astonished party revelers, the uninvited hand wrote a mysterious message on the palace wall that no-one understood.
The meaning of the message to those people—and to us—is what we are going to look at today. But in order to understand the full meaning of the message, we must start with the historical setting.
King Nebuchadnezzar ruled over Babylon for almost forty-five years. By the time of Daniel 5, he had been dead for about twenty-five years.
The fourth king after him was Nabonidus. Nabonidus had a son named Belshazzar. Belshazzar and his father Nabonidus were co-regents over Babylon for about twenty years. From 559-539 BC they reigned together. It’s believed that Nabonidus was presently living in North Arabia, where he had been for the last ten years. During this time, his son Belshazzar remained in Babylon.
Belshazzar seems to have been a very insecure man, the kind of man who indulged in very wild and loose living as a way of covering up his many insecurities.
At this time, the great kingdom of Babylon was just about to fall to the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. In fact, the capital city was now surrounded by the Medo-Persian armies. And Belshazzar knew it. So why was he going ahead with this big feast? Because he and his people thought they were invincible.
In its prime, the city of Babylon was second to none. 1.2 million people lived in Babylon. The city was 60 miles around and surrounded by a wall 350 feet high and 87 feet across. Historians tell us that four full chariots would race abreast on top of the wall.
Guards were constantly on watch as if they were guarding a prison wall. The Euphrates River ran through the center of the city. There was a 30 foot mote outside the wall that ran around the city. The city was considered to be virtually impregnable. It was believed that no military strategy could ever break through that wall.
At the time the city was under siege, it had twenty years of supplies. If they never grew another crop, they could have lived twenty years off the surplus. There was a prevailing smug of sophistication, an air of superiority, among the people of Babylon.
Belshazzar was so sure of himself that in his smug, pseudo-security he went ahead with his great feast in which he showed that he did not fear the army that surrounded his city.
Lesson
In our lesson today we shall see what happens when God crashes a party.
I. The King’s Party Described (5:1-6)
First, let me describe the king’s party.
The king’s party is described for us in Daniel 5:1-4. This party was unashamedly blasphemous. It was designed to exalt the gods of Babylon and mock the true God of Israel. They even dared to drink their wine out of the sacred Jewish vessels, which had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem years before under king Nebuchadnezzar.
Picture the scene: The slave that had been sent for the holy vessels finally arrived back in the banquet room. The dancing stopped. The musicians put down their instruments. The house lights were turned up. Belshazzar took the goblet. He filled it with his own private wine and then, smirking with arrogance, slopped the wine to his inebriated lips. As it dribbled down his beard, a thousand people looked on in amazement at such a daring act. The place was then filled with cheering and loud applause. The music and dancing started up again, but now with a new fervor.
Then there was a startling interruption of the party. “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote” (5:5).
I don’t know if anyone has every kept a record of the shortest period of time it took for someone to sober up, but this instance would have to be in the running!
Verse 6 describes the king’s reaction: “His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.” Belshazzar was so overcome by what he saw that he went totally limp.
The application for us is this: God has a way of getting our attention and bringing things back into focus when we need it.
Do you remember Black Monday back in October 1987? On that day, literally thousands of people throughout our country were dumbfounded to find that the Dow Jones Average dropped an unprecedented 508 points. In the course of just 6 hours, one publication reported, the richest man in the USA lost several billion dollars. It had taken him years and years to accumulate that wealth. And then, in half a day, one half of his fortune was suddenly gone.
Those of us who are not at such a pinnacle of wealth can still face similar crises. Daniel’s message is simple. In Galatians 6:7 Paul put it this way, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked.”
Be very careful not to misread the silence of heaven after you have sinned to think that somehow, because you were not struck by lightning, you can get away with your sin before God.
Always remember: Slow justice is not no justice, but a gracious display of God’s patience.
II. The King’s Cry for Help (5:7-17)
Second, observe the king’s cry for help.
In verse 7 we read, “The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.’”
The reason he said third highest ruler is because he and his father were first and second. The man who read and interpreted these words would be just beneath the authority of the co-regents.
The next verses show that none of these wise men in Babylon could read or interpret these words—in spite of the great rewards. This caused the king to become even more alarmed than before.
Then the queen came on the scene (5:10). She was probably Belshazzar’s mother, and the daughter of king Nebuchadnezzar. She entered the banquet hall and told Belshazzar that Daniel would be able to read and interpret these letters.
Daniel was now well in his 80s. He had been through many experiences as the Prime Minister of Babylon. He had served under five Babylonian kings by the end of his life. And yet Daniel’s life remained untainted by the ungodly culture of Babylon. Through it all, he maintained a deep devotion to God.
When Daniel was brought before Belshazzar, the king told him that if he could read and interpret the inscription on the wall, he would be given all the perks of royalty, receive a gold necklace, and be given authority as the third highest ruler in Babylon.
But Daniel could not be bought! Verse 17 says that Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.” Daniel refused to give in to the pressure put on him by the king.
The pressure of the influential is a pressure every one of us has to face. As you seek to live for Christ in this life, you will inevitably come face to face with very real temptations to prostitute your convictions and principles as a disciple of Christ.
You see, the wealthy and the influential may sometimes make you promises—if you will only do as they please or request. The larger the influence, the greater the pressure. Being under the pressure of an ungodly influence is a very difficult place to be.
Some of you may be there now. People are trying to make promises and bargains with you, if you will only do what they want. As a Christian, this is something you must learn to deal with. You must determine whose approval really matters—the living Christ or people.
In Galatians 1:10 Paul says, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Daniel gave up trying to win the approval of men years earlier. I’m afraid many of us are still in bondage to the approval of others. There is no freedom like the freedom from intimidation.
III. The King’s Answer (5:18-31)
Finally, notice the king’s answer.
Daniel began his interpretation in verses 18-21 by reminding Belshazzar of the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. The key verse of this section is verse 20 where Belshazzar was reminded that when Nebuchadnezzar became proud “he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory.”
Daniel then said, “But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this” (5:22).
Although Belshazzar knew very well the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and his humbling before God, the tragedy of his life was that he did not humble his own heart.
Let me remind you that there is nothing necessarily mature about knowing truths about God and his Word. You may know a great deal about what the Bible says concerning the coming judgment of God. But if it doesn’t impact your life for righteousness’ sake, what good is that?
Some of you have heard truths from the Bible for most of your lives. But it has still not yet captured your life. It has not made a dent in those areas of your life that really need attention. Learn from Belshazzar’s example that this is a terrible way to live.
Now for the interpretation of this strange inscription, beginning with verse 25, Daniel said, “This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.”
The first word was “Mene,” which means “numbered.” “God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end” (5:26). The word was repeated to denote intensity.
The second word was “Tekel,” which means “weighed.” “You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting” (5:27).
The third word was “Peres,” which means “divided” or “separated.” “Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians” (5:28).
The ancient Greek historian Heroditus tells us that on the eve of the overthrow of Babylon there was a great city-wide banquet. And during that banquet, the Medo-Persian military commander ingeniously devised a way to divert the Euphrates River that ran into the city so that the water levels around the moats sank just enough to allow his armies to wade across, thigh deep, under the cover of darkness. Babylon, supposedly secure behind massive walls was now being conquered at the very moment Daniel was talking to Belshazzar.
Belshazzar thought he was safe. But he was killed that very night. His city was conquered. The party was over. The fall of this great Babylonian Empire is simply recorded for us by the last two verses which read, “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two” (5:30-31).
Conclusion
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. Numbered. Weighed and found wanting. Divided and cast down. Secure in the world. Sinful before God. Judged!
What is God saying to us here? It’s an age-old message.
King Solomon summarized it this way, “God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). The names change. The situations vary. But ignoring this truth has always led people into bitter consequences.
Like Belshazzar, there are walls we try to erect to hide our sin from the eyes of God. But we must see the walls for what they are—foolish defenses that must be abandoned for our own ultimate welfare.
There is no wall so high, no fortress so secure, no activity so hidden that it can protect us from the judgment and wrath of an all-powerful, all-knowing, holy God who will one day bring every dark thing to light and judge sin.
Through Belshazzar’s experience, God is strongly warning us not to forget that one day we too will all be judged by him.
The apostle Paul made this same point saying that one day “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
But the good news is that Paul goes on to tell us that the reason why God warns us so strongly is because he loves us so completely. And God demonstrated the extent of his love for us at the cross of Jesus Christ.
There is no warning like the cross of Jesus Christ. The message of the cross completes all the Old Testament warnings about judgment. The cross warns us of the type of destruction and awesome wrath that a just and holy God must pour out on sin—because of who he is.
But the Scriptures tell us the real glory of the cross is that it does more than warn us of sin’s penalty. It also saves us from it! The blood of Jesus blots out the handwriting of condemnation that has been written across all of our lives—if we will simply come to Christ in sincere repentance and faith.
Then we are promised by God himself that on that final judgment day, when we stand before his throne, he will see all of our sin as having been covered by the royal robe of Christ’s righteousness that has been freely given to us through faith.
What a wonderful thing to know that in spite of all our sin, we stand completely forgiven before God! What a joy it is to know and to rest in God’s solemn promise given to us in Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Amen.
