The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5

There is an old saying we are all familiar with, “The writing is on the wall.” Maybe you have used that phrase before when talking with friends about a sporting event, or maybe you have used it at work describing a co-worker’s future. We all know what that means. It means the outcome has already been determined. What most people don’t know is, that familiar saying comes right from Daniel chapter five.

Because what you have described in this chapter is a party being thrown by a king named Belshazzar. He has a thousand of his nobles there. His wives and his concubines are there. There is a lot of wine flowing, a lot of drinking, and partying going on. Meanwhile, outside the city walls, the Persian army is encamped about. In fact, a siege has been laid on the city of Babylon for several months.

So, a party is going on inside, while disaster looms outside. Destruction is eminent, but those who are about to be destroyed have no clue. They are oblivious to it, while they are satisfying their desire for pleasure. This very night would be the end of the Babylonian dynasty. This very night Belshazzar would not only lose the kingdom, but he would lose his life. And the determination had already been made. The writing was on the wall, and it was written by the hand of God.

Now it is important we understand, we take a leap into the future between Chapter four and chapter five. King Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest king in Babylonian history, has been dead now for 23 years. There has been an upheaval. A battle to claim the throne by his relatives. His son, Evil Murdoch claimed it after his death, but only briefly.

A man named Nabonidus finally solidified the throne. Interestingly though, he was a common man, who never wanted to be the king. He reigned in Babylon for 17 years, but he only spent three years in the city. He left his son, Belshazzar to rule in his place. As we read through this, you will see the scripture calls Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar, but he was not. He was only a descendant of the former king. He probably wanted to be identified this way because of the power and popularity of Nebuchadnezzar.

The point of this passage is that Belshazzar was a fool. He was a wicked leader who rejected God. He had all the position, power and authority but didn’t have the character to lead, and it cost him the kingdom. We see that in our world today, don’t we? We see that weak leadership can be the downfall of a powerful nation, and any empire who foolishly rejects God is in danger of God’s judgment.

What we learn from this story is God’s people need not be afraid, our God is sovereign, and the writing is on the wall for the wicked of this world. The outcome has been determined. The Victory belongs to the Lord and eternity belongs to His people.

The first thing I want you to see in this passage is the kings feast and its interruption, Vs. 1-9. Notice Vs. 1-4, King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. 3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. 4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Immediately, chapter five begins with the king of Babylon throwing a huge party, even while an invading army is camped outside the city. However, this is no dignified black-tie event. Even calling this a great feast is an understatement. A better term would be a drunken orgy, because in addition to the thousand prominent men in attendance, the king brought all his wives and concubines to the feast.

Now, that wouldn’t have happened unless there was sexual immorality taking place. And the king is pictured at the center of it all. He is setting the example. He wants this night to be remembered. He wanted to be the life of the party, even though his own life would soon come to an end.

Things began to escalate in a hurry, as they always do, when you are drinking and lose control of your inhibitions. All the debauchery and sexual immorality wasn’t enough anymore. The king decided to add Blaspheme and mockery of the one true God to the list.

So, he commands the vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem be brought to the party. This is a way of saying, “Our gods are better than your gods” This is an attempt to comfort the nobles into not worrying about the army trying to invade the city.

What Belshazzar didn’t realize is these vessels were holy. They were set apart to use only for the worship of Yahweh, and Vs. 3 tells us they began to drink their wine from the sacred vessels of the house of the Lord.

I am reminded of 2 Samuel 6 when King David defeated the Philistines in battle. He wanted to bring the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem. However, David and his men didn’t know the proper way to carry the ark, and when the oxen slipped, one of the men reached out and touched it. God struck that man dead. Well, Belshazzar has taken the holy vessels of the house of the Lord and is using them like common kitchen utensils.

Notice how they were not just drinking from the sacred cups, but they used them to toast their false gods. Vs. 4 says they, “praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone.” This sounds like an Olympic ceremony to me, with all of the gold, silver, and bronze on the podium. However, there is nothing noble about this. In fact, this is the epitome of foolishness and pride.

What a warning this is for us to avoid situations of drunkenness and immorality. It always leads to lowered standards that weaken the morals and leaves the door wide open for bad decisions. Proverbs 6:12-15 says, “A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; therefore, calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.”

This is a perfect description of King Belshazzar because now, not only does the king have an invading army trying to get into the city but he has made himself the enemy of God inside the room. Bryan Chapel says, “There is no human wall so high, no human accomplishment so great, that it is secure against the judgment of God” (The Gospel According to Daniel, 97). Belshazzar is about to learn this the hard way, and it is a lesson we should all learn before it is too late.

Notice Vs. 5.” Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.”

The word “Immediately” means there is no delay in God’s judgment. God is not going to chase the heart of Belshazzar the way he did Nebuchadnezzar, the time for judgment had come. And you can bet Belshazzar set a world record for the amount of time it took for a person to go from drunk to sober.

The king was shocked by these fingers. they appear out of nowhere and begin to write on the wall. Don’t miss the fact that it takes place “opposite the lampstand” because God wanted everyone to see it.

The same fingers that wrote the Ten Commandments are now poking the king in the chest. Notice the king’s response in Vs. 6, “Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.”

This is the reaction of sheer terror. He lost the ability to even stand up. The text literally says, “the knots of his loins were loosened.” Or in other words “the king peed his pants.” We don’t know for sure but what we do know is the atmosphere of the party changed in a hurry. The drinking ceased, the dancing stopped, and the instruments were silenced by the hand of God.

The king can’t even speak as he tries to regain his composure. He cries out like a small child, and you can only imagine who he calls for. He wants the usual suspects. He wants the wisemen of Babylon. Vs. 7, “The king called loudly for the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wisemen of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Interestingly, the king promises them honor, status, and wealth in a kingdom that is getting ready to collapse. The kings’ promises are as worthless as the wisemen ability to interpret the writing. And for the third time the intellectually elite of Babylon need to be bailed out by the Hebrew slave Daniel. I think that God must be a baseball fan because this is the third time the wisemen have been given a chance to interpret for the king, and once again they strike out.

What is amazing to me is, how prideful people who have no regard for God, quickly turn to religion in times of fear. Even here in the church, our commitment to God grows when we face difficult circumstances in life. And God uses that to teach us. Everything we put our trust in is pointless without Him. (Psalm 91) That is where I want to abide. That’s where I want to stay.

The next thing I want you to see in this passage is God’s faithful and the Interpretation. Vs. 10-29. The King’s grand feast had been interrupted and now we see a familiar face brought in to give the interpretation. But before we get there, it seems Daniel is a forgotten man in this new generation of Babylon.

Notice Vs. 8-12, The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. 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, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Now the crisis has spread throughout the palace and the queen comes in. this is probably Belshazzar’s mother. She couldn’t be his wife because, his wives and concubines are at the party. However, the queen proves to be wiser than all the wisemen of Babylon because, she knew who to trust. And she points him to Daniel. She points him to the one who has the Spirit of the Lord in him.

What a great way for people of the world to describe you. What a witness Daniel was to the world. They could recognize there was something special about him. He had a closer walk with God than most people, and it inspired confidence in him. We could only pray that would be our reputation in the world. Even unbelievers can recognize the presence of God inside of you.

So, without delay Daniel was brought in to interpret the handwriting on the wall. At this point, Daniel has been in Babylon for 70 years. His role in the government has diminished. Perhaps, that is because of his age, or perhaps its because his Godly council is not appreciated anymore. But you can tell Belshazzar is skeptical of Daniel and treats him with contempt.

Notice Vs. 13 and the beginning of 14, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah whom the king, my father brought from Judah, I have heard of you.” The king reacts this way because he has been showing contempt for the God of Judah, why would he trust one of their people.

But, regardless of the way the king felt about Daniel he is all out of options. So, he offers Daniel the same deal the wisemen got. If you can tell me what this handwriting means, you get the gold, the silver, and status of Babylon. And once again we see how bold and uncompromising Daniel is, look at what he says, Vs. 17-23

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O king, the Most- High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.

20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most -High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.

22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in 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, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

So, the king brought Daniel in to interpret the writing on the wall, but he got more than he bargained for. He got a history lesson in humility. Daniel said you can keep your stuff, I don’t want it. Daniel knew it was worthless because Daniel knew the scripture. It was Jeremiah that said they were going to be in Babylon for 70 years and Daniel knew the time had come.

Daniel does a little bit of preaching here. He says, I’m going to tell you what the writing means but first, you should have learned a lesson from Nebuchadnezzar. You should have humbled your heart before the Lord but instead your heart was lifted, and now God is going to humble it.

Daniel hasn’t even read the writing on the wall yet but he knows what it is going to say. It is going to say, Belshazzar you are going down and the kingdom of Babylon is going with you.

The lesson in this for us is that time and sin might have a way of distancing us from God’s truth, but God’s truth doesn’t change. Daniel had to remind Belshazzar that the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar all he had, and it was the Most High God who humbled him in his pride.

Notice Daniel says, “You knew this.” In other words, “you are responsible for what you have done.” Belshazzar not only mocked God in his pride but he led others into mocking Him as well.

So, after Daniel gives the king an earful, he is ready to answer his request and interpret the writing. Notice Vs. 24-25, “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.” Numbered, numbered, weighed and divided. That’s what that means.

What is interesting here is, we don’t know why the wisemen couldn’t interpret this. It is written in Aramaic the common language of the day. Perhaps it was written in some form of script they didn’t understand or perhaps God was hiding the interpretation from them, we really don’t know.

Vs. 26-28, This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” These are words that describe measurements. And what God was saying is, Belshazzar your kingdom doesn’t measure up. It was time to close the doors. How fitting is it that it comes and this great party, a kind of last call before we shut the lights out for the last time.

So, how did the king respond to this message from God? Did he fall to his knees and ask for forgiveness? No, that is what is so amazing. Notice Vs. 29, Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

Despite the message of God’s coming judgment, the king acts like he doesn’t even care. There is not a hint of remorse or repentance, but instead I believe we see tremendous amount of pride.

He commands Daniel to be blessed with the gifts he has promised, and then maybe, the party even continued on, we don’t know. What we don’t see is, a change of heart. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Belshazzar was a king who lived like a fool.

That brings us to the final thing I want to show you in this passage, God’s Judgment, and the implementation, Vs. 30-31. Belshazzar’s feast had been unexpectedly interrupted by the hand of God. God’s faithful interpreted the writing on the wall, and now we see God’s judgment implemented on Babylon. Vs. 30-31 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.”

That very night was October 12th 539 BC. King Cyrus of Persia (called Darius here probably a title for the king) Had been camped outside the city gates for months. The Babylonians believed they were secure. There were massive walls protecting Babylon. They had huge iron gates that fortified the city. They had more than twenty years’ worth of food stored up. There was an ample water supply because the river Euphrates ran beneath the walls and through the city. That probably explains why Belshazzar acted so foolish and through a party.

What Belshazzar didn’t know is, while he was partying with his lords and nobles, the Medes and the Persians were digging a canal north of the city. They diverted enough of the water from the river to sneak in under the walls, and they managed to take the city of Babylon without a fight.

This was God’s judgment on Babylon, and it was predicted by Isaiah 200 years earlier. 47:10-11, “You felt secure in your wickedness; you said, “No one sees me”; your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, “I am, and there is no one besides me.” But evil shall come upon you, which you will not know how to charm away; disaster shall fall upon you, for which you will not be able to atone; and ruin shall come upon you suddenly, of which you know nothing.”

So, what do we learn from this story? First of all, we learn that God’s Word is true and unchanging. God told the Hebrews, through Jeremiah, they were going into captivity for 70 years and He would bring them home. That is exactly what happened. God told Nebuchadnezzar, through Daniel, his kingdom would come to an end, and that is exactly what happened.

Today we can believe God’s Word and trust it because, it is true and unchanging. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and if God said it, it doesn’t matter how much time passes, you can take it to the bank.

And God’s Word tells us He loves us, and He will never leave us. That He sent His only Son to die for us that we might live forever. He tells us the momentary afflictions of this life will pass and there will be a homecoming in heaven.

God’s Word tells us not to act in pride and foolishness the way Belshazzar did. But to trust in the Lord with all our heart, and lean not to our own understanding. In all our ways acknowledge Him and He will make our paths straight. The things of this world are temporary but a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is everlasting.

The question is, Are you living for today or are you living for eternity? Are your trusting in yourself or are you trusting in the cross of Jesus Christ? because God’s grace and forgiveness comes only through Jesus. That is true today, that will be true tomorrow, and that will be true forever.”

What we learn from this story is God’s people need not be afraid, our God is sovereign, and the writing is on the wall for the wicked of this world. The outcome has been determined. Victory belongs to the Lord and eternity belongs to His people.