The Writing on the Wall

Introduction

Undoubtedly, you witnessed our president’s high handed rebellion against God last week when he declared Easter Sunday the Transgender Day of Visibility

It was an open attempt to subvert true religion by replacing it with a new national pagan religion

It was a complete disregard for what is sacred.

It was sacrilege. And it is as old as the hills.

Our text this evening shows us that prideful and rebellious kings and rulers regularly do this kind of thing

And it never goes well for them.

Read text: Daniel 5 Pg. 742

Thesis:

The arrogant, the sacrilegious, and the blasphemers will be judged and condemned, but the humble and repentant will find mercy

Narration

We read in chapter 5 of a new king in Babylon, with no reference to the passing of the old king, Nebuchadnezzar

Which is somewhat odd, given Nebuchadnezzar’s central place in the story thus far.

The new king, Belshazzar, throws a lavish feast, for 1,000 of his lords

Less feast, more drinking party

In the course of their drunken revelry, Belshazzar decides to bring out the sacred vessels that were taken from the Temple in Jerusalem

He and his lords foolishly and blasphemously use these vessels to continue their debauchery and even utilize them in the worship of their pagan deities

At this point, Belshazzar is horrified to see a ghostly, disembodied hand writing on the wall opposite him

He cant make out what the words say, but he is terrified

So he, like Nebuchadnezzar before him, calls all his magicians and wise men to interpret the writing for him

None are able to do it until the queen reminds him of Daniel the Jew who had unraveled many mysteries for his father

So Daniel is summoned and Daniel informs the king that the hand is from the God of Heaven and it has spelled out his doom on the wall

Then, the text says, that very night, Belshazzar was killed and the Babylonian empire put to an end

Who is Belshazzar?

This text is fascinating for a multitude of reasons

First, it is very well known for the ghost like hand and the judgment that pronounces on Belshazzar

But second, it is of great historical interest

For centuries, skeptics have pointed to Daniel 5 as proof that the Bible cannot be inerrant because of all the perceived historical inaccuracies contained therein

There is no reference to a King Belshazzar in any of the Babylonian kings lists or historical chronicles. Yet Daniel 5 clearly refers to him as a king

In fact, until recently, historians thought he was a fictitious character in Daniel’s story

But Belshazzar was a real historical person

Archaeological discoveries since the 19th century have revealed that he was the son of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon. He was made regent over the empire while his father was out of town.

Nabonidus spent 10 years of his reign in Arabia for various reasons, leaving his son, Belshazzar as ruler for more than half his reign.

This makes sense of vv. 7, 16, and 29. Belshazzar’s reward to whomever could interpret the words of the writing was that they would become the third ruler in Babylon. Nabonidus was first. Belshazzar second. Daniel would be third.

If he is not king, why is he called king?

He is king in all respects but in title and in Babylonian religious significance.

It is not inaccurate for Daniel to call him king. This does not contradict the historical record.

How was Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar’s father?

Daniel chapter 5 seems to go out of its way to assert that Nebuchadnezzar is the father of Belshazzar. Given what we know from texts written in this period, Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, not Nebuchadnezzar.

V. 11 and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king

Furthermore, Nabonidus was not the descendent of Nebuchadnezzar either.

Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduke (known as Evil-Merodach in 2 Kings 25:27). He only reigned for a short period before he was put to death by Neriglissar, his successor. Neriglissar was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduke who ruled for only a few months before he was put to death by Nabonidus, Belshazzar’s father.

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

It is unknown what Belshazzar’s exact relation to Nebuchadnezzar was. He may have been grandfather on his mother’s side.

But we do know that the Bible often uses the word father to refer to more than merely someone’s biological father.

And indeed, there is no word in Aramaic or Hebrew for grandfather or great grandfather.

The word father may be used in this text to simply mean predecessor, which Nebuchadnezzar certainly was.

Similar to how we refer to Benjamin Franklin as our founding father.

The Bible is Historically accurate

In any case, Belshazzar could rightly be said to be the king of Babylon

And he could rightly be said to be the son of Nebuchadnezzar

Even if both of these things are not true in their strictest, most literal sense, they are true in a general sense

The point is this, at every point in which the skeptics have tried to disprove the reliability of the scriptures, they have been proven wrong.

Something we must keep in mind when we come to our next chapter.

The Wickedness of Belshazzar

Whoever Belshazzar is, we see in this story that he is a wicked ruler

Frivolity and debauchery

He prepared a feast for 1,000 of his subjects in which the main entertainment was merely him drinking

He got so drunk that he decided it was a good idea to use the sacred instruments from the temple of the God of Heaven for his party

Drunkenness

Many a man has done that which he would not otherwise have done and has brought great guilt upon himself that he would not otherwise have born in drinking himself into a stupor.

We should all be temperate in our drinking

Drunkenness robs men of reason

And without reason to restrain them, drunken men become a murderers, adulterers, liars, and blasphemers

Sacrilege

These cups and bowls were kept in the royal treasury and so were safe from misuse

They meant for use by the priests of YHWH, in the temple of YHWH, in the worship of YHWH

Any other use of them would be sacrilegious, blasphemous, and highly offensive to God

Belshazzar not only uses them in a common manner, he profanes them further by using them to worship pagan deities

The Scriptures are clear that YHWH is jealous for His own glory and He does not suffer lightly those who defile the things which represent His holy splendor

Consider Nadab and Abihu Lev. 10

Consider Uzzah 2Sam. 6

Belshazzar partook of the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner

We too ought to beware

We live in a World in which nothing seems to be sacred anymore

As illustrated by President Biden’s heinous actions last week

The Lord does not overlook those who profane His holy things

His church, His gospel, His Word, His Name, His ministers, His Sabbath

Beware lest you come into His house of worship in a flippant and profane manner

Do not take His name unto yourself, calling yourself Christian, all the while living in rebellion against Him. That is sacrilege

Do not treat His holy day as you would treat any other day

Do not associate with His church as if it were just another social club

We are, together, the temple of the living God. And the way we worship and live together is not to be taken lightly

Do not profane the holy things of God

Pride

How does a person get to this place?

The debauchery, sacrilege, and idolatry?

They give themselves over to that vice which we have already seen as so destructive in this book

Enemies at the Gates

We know from history, and we get a glimpse of this in v. 31, that the armies of Persia were camped outside the city of Babylon this very night.

Belshazzar was so arrogant and so confident of his position, that he decided to have himself and the whole elite class of his city drink themselves under the table

Apparently, he was so unintimidated by the enemy that where other kings would spend time readying the defenses, encouraging the troops, and fortifying the walls; he would party

Proverbs 21:29 “A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways.”

His pride was overwhelming, it led to foolish decisions, which led to drunkenness, which led to an abandonment of reason, which led to a full declaration of war against the God of Heaven

When we follow the road of pride, it always deposits us directly in idolatry and destruction

Proverbs 15:25 “The Lord tears down the house of the proud.”

James 4:6 “God opposes the proud.”

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Pride

There is a reason that Daniel places this story directly following the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and humiliation

He wanted to contrast Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel himself contrasts the two kings in the story in vv. 18-24

He relates the story of Nebuchadnezzar and tells Belshazzar, “you have not humbled your heart, though you knew this.”

Nebuchadnezzar was prideful and he was disciplined for it until He humbled himself and recognized God as the Most High who rules over the kingdoms of men (vv. 18-20)

But Belshazzar did not humble his heart, even though he knew the story of Nebuchadnezzar.

Belshazzar lifted his heart against the most high (vv.22-23)

But Nebuchadnezzar lifted his eyes to heaven for help

Their response to the chastisement of the Lord made all the difference

The Writing on the Wall

Belshazzar was light hearted and carefree

He was celebrating, he was partying

Then he saw the writing on the wall

He had just profaned the holy things of God, and now a hand from another world spells his doom in front of his eyes

Terror

In that moment terror gripped his heart. His thoughts alarmed him

And his body responded violently to his fear

His knees knocked together. His color changed.

“God’s written word is enough to put the proudest, boldest sinner in a fright.” -Matthew Henry

Never be ashamed to speak the truth of God’s Word to even the proudest of sinners

If anything will break down their pride, it is the warnings and promises of the gospel

Daniel

All the wise men and enchanters are called to interpret the writing, but only Daniel can

Daniel does not show the same respect for Belshazzar that he showed to Nebuchadnezzar

And from what we can tell from the historical sources, the people of Babylon did not have the same respect for him either

They disliked him so much that they opened the doors of the city for Cyrus the Persian

He had the same flaws as Nebuchadnezzar and none of his charm

And Daniel probably despises him for his sacrilege

The King offers Daniel Wealth and Power

Daniel refuses them.

Daniel 5:17 “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another.”

Daniel cannot be bought. He is no Simon Magus

Treasure and prestige is of no import to him

What he is most concerned with here is speaking the truth that God has given him to speak

He also likely knows already what is going to happen

What good is it to be made a prince in a kingdom whose fall will happen by sunrise?

Can you be bought?

Are the things of this world precious to you?

Do they tempt you to slow in your race? To change your message? To lower your eyes from your heavenly reward to the temporary things of this world?

The treasures of this life are a temptation to all of us.

They cause us to lose steam and to take our eyes off the prize and to be about our own work rather than our father’s work.

We get lazy, content, and are very little use in the kingdom. All because the things of this world are precious to us.

But Daniel is right. The highest treasures and the highest powers, and the highest honors that we receive in this life will not last

In his case, less than a day

And we will look really silly wearing the royal robes of this earthly kingdom when the Great King comes to consummate His own reign over this world.

The Judgment of God

What are the words written?

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsim

Your days have been numbered

God knows the days of your life and he has determined that this is your last

You have been weighed and Found Wanting

The inscrutable eye of almighty God, who knows all things has placed you on the scale and has found you worthless

Your Kingdom is Divided

The Reason for this judgment?

Daniel 5:23 “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.”

You worship things which are deaf and dumb and have no knowledge

Yet you despise the One who has all knowledge

You dare to dishonor and blaspheme the very One who holds your life in His hands?

You dare to use His sacred things to give the honor which belongs to Him to deaf and dumb statues made of stone and wood?

Belshazzar, God is and always has been upholding your very life, and you have spit in His face

This is the position of every sinner in rebellion against God.

He has created us, He continues to grant us life and protection, yet we despise Him and blaspheme Him with every breath

Jonathan Edwards illustrates this point well

The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you were suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell. -Jonathan Edwards

Strong words, true words.

Only the patience and longsuffering of God keeps God from dropping sinners into the eternal fiery pit.

Yet unholy men profane His holy things, blaspheme His name, and commit unspeakable sacrilege

Conclusion

Is this you?

Perhaps your life resembles Belshazzar’s in some ways

You have thought yourself well protected in the world you have built around yourself

Your walls are thick and your position is secure

Perhaps you have thought that, because of your supposed safety, you can behave any way that you choose, you can worship whatever you choose, you can blaspheme whomever you choose.

Perhaps you know deep down, as Belshazzar knew, your pride, arrogance, and sacrilege are unacceptable and will lead to your destruction

Perhaps, like Belshazzar you are seeing the writing are the wall

Like Belshazzar you have been forced to come to terms with the judgment of the Lord.

Like Belshazzar, your thoughts alarm you, you have a twisting in your gut

Unlike Belshazzar, you have a chance.

Your walls and your efforts will not protect you. But you can escape the certain judgment

The only protection against that wrath is Jesus Christ.

And if you would repent of your sins and believe in Him, He will build such walls and gates around you that no enemy, not even death can find you