Daniel 5
-The power packed book of Daniel moves on to the reign of
Belshazzar, Nebuchadezzar’s son, and his great feast with wine for a thousand
of his nobles. During the course of this event he sent orders to bring out the
gold and silver vessels retrieved from their conquest of the Temple in
Jerusalem. They wanted to use the holy vessels in celebrating with pagan
worship in the praise of “the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and
stone (Daniel 5:1-4).” Suddenly and miraculously the fingers of the hand of God
appeared and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of
the king’s palace. Belshazzar saw the back of His hand as It wrote making his
face grow pale with alarmed thoughts in his mind, as we could all imagine. Further,
the king’s hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together. In
delirium he summoned the conjurers of his kingdom and the diviners offering
purple (royal) clothing with a golden necklace along with authority as third
ruler in the kingdom if they could read the inscription and interpret its
message (Daniel 5:5-7). None could do the job, which alarmed the king all the
more and gave greater consternation and perplexity (Daniel 5:8-9). Then the
queen entered the narrative with some calming assurances to the king and a
recommendation for seeking out Daniel, or in his Babylonian name Belteshazzar. We
can tell from the text that He came highly recommended and respected at this
point, and with good reason from his reputation under Nebuchadnezzar. He is
described by the pagan Babylonians as having the spirit of the holy gods with
all illumination, insight, wisdom, knowledge, interpretation of dreams, explanation
of enigmas, and solving of difficult problems. He displayed in their eyes “an
extraordinary spirit (Daniel 5:10-12).” They were confident in going to him for
bringing clarity to the situation.
-Daniel was indeed brought before the king and introductions
were made as to his place and rank as a captive of the kingdom from Judah. The
sovereign king promised Daniel all the gifts and rewards he previously made to
his own conjurers and diviners. Daniel however showed no fondness for material
gain or authority. He was only interested in making the proper interpretation
from the LORD. After extoling Belshazzar’s father for his acknowledgement of
the Most High God after His intense discipline, Daniel informs the king of his
knowledge of the self-exultation of himself, the degradation of the Temple
vessels, and the idol worship, which was against the Lord of heaven. He then
interpreted the inscription: “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin= God has numbered
your kingdom and put an end to it—you have been weighed on the scales and found
deficient—your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and
Persians (Daniel 5:13-28).” Surprisingly, Belshazzar orders Daniel to be given
the purple clothes of royalty, the golden necklace, and authority as the third
ruler in the kingdom (Daniel 5:29). This is probably indicative of Daniel
respect and submission to the king even in giving bad news. “That same night
Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Mede received the kingdom
(just as prophesized, Daniel 2:39; 5:28) at about the age of sixty-two (Daniel
5:30-31).”
-*Application* Sometimes we humans have a short memory, and
find ourselves reverting back to idolatry even after the LORD has shown Himself
all-powerful and extremely gracious. Don’t let time fade or even erase your
acknowledgement and reliance on the God on this universe. Remember Him, this is
a biblical command (Ecclesiastes 12:1). Not for just a little while, but for a
lifetime.
Verse to Memorize:
Daniel 5:23
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