Weighed and Found Wanting

Bible Reading

Service Notes

James Wilson will be with us tonight.

VBS - thank you to you all that made it a wonderful week

Prayer for Persecuted Christians

Today you will hear more than a story, you will learn history.

you’re looking at a historical event that happened in what is now central Iraq, in the heart of the Middle East.

You will hear a story where God intervenes in this world.

You are hearing a story that was recorded and preserved by the will of God to be read and taught in gatherings like this.

The Medes and Persians, who conquer Babylon at the end of Daniel 5, came from territories that are now part of Iran. (In 3 weeks we will be in Sushan - modern Iran)

You are going to here a fascinating story.

This story is told in contrast to last weeks story in chapter 4

This isn’t speculation or good commentary on the passage it is a simple fact

Seen in a review of chapter 4

Let’s look at that together before we look at an overview and pray.

Daniel 4 is undeniably a story of a man broken by pride, confronted by God, and transformed by an encounter with divine authority.

Daniel 5:18–21 (KJV)

18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:

19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.

20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.

Belshazzar was to learn from this.

Daniel 5:22 “22 And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;”

Belshazzar did not learn, will we.

Summary Statement: Ignoring what you know is right eventually catches up with you.

Sermon

The party was loud. The wine was flowing. But heaven was watching.

Have you ever had a moment where everything seemed fine—until it wasn’t?

That’s Daniel 5.

It begins with gold and laughter, and ends with silence and blood. A king throws a feast. God sends a hand. And a kingdom falls before midnight.

It’s more than a story—it’s a warning. A mirror. A verdict we all must face.

Belshazzar knew the truth about God from the history of Nebuchadnezzar, but he rejected it. And when the truth is rejected, judgment follows.

We all know what it's like to see a warning and ignore it.

A weird engine sound… and we keep driving.

A text we shouldn’t send… and we send it anyway.

A red flag in a relationship… and we pretend it’s orange.

We often don’t need more information—we need more obedience to what we already know.

What do you do with the warnings God gives you?

Scene 1: The king’s drunken feast in his palace

The king threw a feast, but God was not impressed.

(Daniel 5:1–4)

A. Careless indulgence in the face of danger

Daniel 5:1 “1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.”

Belshazzar throws a feast while Babylon is under threat.

A reckless display of defiance and false security.

This was deliberate blasphemy. Not ignorance. Not accident.

History tells us the Medo-Persian army was outside the city. Yet the king partied, believing the walls could save him.

B. Blasphemous use of sacred things

Daniel 5:2 “2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.” — repeated 3 times. Everyone is there!

Belshazzar orders the gold and silver vessels from the Jerusalem temple to be used for his drunken feast.

He not only defies Yahweh—he mocks Him.

This ravenous act of Belshazzar was more than drunken recklessness. It was blasphemy against the God of Israel, whose Temple is in Jerusalem.” Daniel 5:3 “3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.”

C. Where did this king come from?

Six times the narrator calls Nebuchadnezzar Belshazzar’s “father” in this context, his predecessor.

We ended with Nebuchadnezzar.

Unbelieving historians also said for years that there was no king Belshazzar. (slide)

Twice the narrator repeats the list of gods Belshazzar praised: “the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone”

Summary of what he is doing: Daniel 5:23 “23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:”

Application: Many today are feasting while the world trembles. They mock what is holy. They celebrate indulgence. But even when God is silent, He is not absent.

When we take the holy things of God—His name, His Word, His gifts—and use them for selfish purposes, we walk the same path.

Galatians 6:7 “7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

You may throw a feast in Babylon, but the walls are never thick enough to keep God out.

Scene 2: The king seeks an interpretation of the writing

In the middle of their pride, God interrupted with a message.

(Daniel 5:5–12)

A. Divine interruption in the midst of pride

Daniel 5:5 “5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.”

Suddenly, a hand appears and writes on the wall.

Human pride can be loud, but divine judgment does not need to shout.

Modern people suppress the knowledge of God (Romans 1), but moments of crisis reveal we always knew we were not ultimately in charge. Our foundations crack.

Every heart knows deep down there is a higher judge. The hand that wrote on the wall writes on every human conscience.

B. The one who mocked God with a gold cup is now shaking like a leaf.

Belshazzar’s fear is physical—the joints of his hips loosened and his knees knocked—revealing his conscience was already accusing him.

Daniel 5:6 “6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.”

C. Earthly wisdom is powerless

Daniel 5:8 “8 Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.”

The king's wise men are helpless. Once again, Babylon’s best minds can’t read the writing.

We have technology and science, but we don’t understand the soul.

God had already spoken through Nebuchadnezzar’s story. Belshazzar’s ignorance is willful. He didn't need more revelation. He needed repentance.

Application: The world celebrates its autonomy until it needs answers beyond itself. But no human power can decode God’s message unless God gives the insight.

Scene 3: Daniel before the king

Everyone else was silent or confused—but Daniel spoke with courage.

(Daniel 5:13–29)

A. Daniel is remembered and called

Daniel 5:12 “12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.”

Now an old man, Daniel is summoned by the queen mother’s advice.

He has not been in the king’s court under Belshazzar

This reflect how the king disregarded faithful voices.

B. Daniel rebukes before he interprets

Daniel does not flatter. He reminds Belshazzar of Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling, a warning that was clearly known.

“Thou…knewest all this” (v. 22)—and still did not humble thy heart.

Daniel was not for sale. Daniel 5:17“17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.”

C. The core sin: arrogant rebellion against the known God

Belshazzar knew better, but used sacred vessels to praise false gods.

It is not ignorance that condemns Belshazzar, but arrogance in the face of knowledge.

Daniel 5:23“23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:”

Application:

Faithful Witnesses May Be Forgotten—but They Are Never Useless.

Daniel had been sidelined for years. He wasn’t invited to the king’s table.

But when crisis came, they remembered the one who walked with God.

You may feel overlooked, especially for staying faithful when the culture turns.

But when truth is needed, God will position you to speak.

Be the kind of person who is worth remembering when Babylon runs out of answers.

Don’t Muzzle the Messenger—Even When His Words Are Hard.

Daniel didn’t flatter the king. He didn’t fear rejection. He told the truth, even when it hurt.

Some of us need to speak with Daniel’s courage—with love, but without compromise.

Others need to listen like Belshazzar failed to—receiving rebuke before it becomes ruin.

Rebellion Against God is Most Dangerous When It’s Informed.

Belshazzar wasn’t judged for what he didn’t know—but for ignoring what he did.

This applies directly to churchgoers today. Hearing the truth without heeding it only hardens the heart.

James 4:17 – “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

What are you doing with what you know to do?

You may not drink from temple vessels, but have you misused what God has entrusted to you?

Your words, your body, your money, your Sunday mornings?

Belshazzar lifted himself up against the Lord of heaven. What part of your life is doing the same?

Scene 4:God fulfills the writing on the wall

God had weighed the king—and he came up empty.

(Daniel 5:30–31)

A. The words interpreted: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PERES

MENE – God has numbered your kingdom and finished it.

TEKEL – You are weighed in the balances and found wanting.

PERES – Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

These are the last words Belshazzar hears from God.

a final, irreversible judgment—swift and just.” His kingdom ends that night.

B. No resistance—just judgment Daniel 5:30 “30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.”

God’s judgment needs no army. His word is enough.

Not just Belshazzar, has been “weighed” and falls short of the glory of God (Romans 3). God’s justice is not arbitrary but fair.

The party didn’t save him. The gods of gold and silver didn’t save him. His status didn’t save him. The justice of God caught up with him.

The judgment of God is often God simply giving us what we wanted all along—life without Him.

C. The man who mocked God at sunset met God before sunrise.

The Persians didn’t conquer Babylon—God handed it over.

This moment proves:

God can’t be mocked (Gal. 6:7)

God is never late

God keeps His Word

D. The courtroom sentence.

Read together. Daniel 5:27 “27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”

Imagine God weighing your life—not your intentions, but your heart. Would you pass?

Application: God is patient—but not permissive. Judgment delayed is not judgment denied. And when God’s justice falls, it needs no warning shot.

Conclusion: Will you be like Belshazzar—fooling yourself into thinking judgment won’t come?

Will you be like Belshazzar—fooling yourself into thinking judgment won’t come?

One king was proud but responded to God’s mercy. The other was proud and ignored it. One looked up and praised. The other looked down and perished.

Daniel 5 urges every reader: Don’t ignore the warnings of grace. Don’t party your way into spiritual ruin.

“The only safe place from the judgment of God is in the arms of the One who bore it for you.”

Will you be like Belshazzar—mocking truth and silencing conscience? Or like Daniel—faithfully standing, even when truth is unwelcome?

Gospel Connection

Belshazzar was weighed and found wanting. So would we all be—if not for Christ.

He was numbered with the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12).

He was weighed down with the sin of the world.

He took the division—so we might inherit the kingdom of God.

When we trust in Christ, the handwriting of judgment is replaced with a new name written in heaven.

Personal Reflection:

What’s your “writing on the wall”?

Is there a behavior you know is wrong but keep justifying?

Is there a voice you’ve been ignoring—a friend, Scripture, your own conscience?

What are you pretending not to know?

Application:

Write it down.

Own it.

Take one step today in the direction you already know is right.

Ignoring God’s warning signs doesn’t remove the consequences—it only delays them.

Run to the cross. Lay down your pride. Surrender your crown. Because the handwriting is on the wall—and only Jesus can erase it.

Prayer

Imagine if we were a church that didn’t just wait for the writing to show up— but listened to God early—when He whispers, not when He shouts.

We’d be wiser.

We’d avoid so much pain.

And we’d have a testimony to share—not just of rescue from disaster, but of faithfulness that prevented disaster.