The Constant Amid Chaos
Notes
Transcript
Tonight is the Superbowl. The Seahawks and the Patriots are going to face off in a game that really doesn’t matter, but I enjoy watching every year. And if you ask me who I am going to root for… I don’t like either team, so I am going to borrow my dad’s line and say that I am cheering for the referees.
You can go onto Google or any search engine you prefer and type in “who is going to win the superbowl” and you will get predictions. If you watch the pregame show, some old football players are going to tell why they think a specific team is going to win, and the reasons why.
And by the end of the game, half of America is going to be wrong. Except for me, because the refs always win.
So many people put so much on an unpredictable game.
But, in life, they root for the wrong side, or they just don’t care.
In a world of uncertainty, there is a constant which is always there. God is in control and he keeps his promises.
Let’s read our text:
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 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. 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. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
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. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he 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.”
Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 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. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. He did this because 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.”
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? I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 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. 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.”
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.
“Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples 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. But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
“But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 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. Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.
“This is the inscription that was written:
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
“Here is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
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.
That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
Today, we are going to see that God keeps his promises: he judges, he blesses, he glorifies.
Before we dive in, will you pray with me?
1. God Judges
1. God Judges
First, we see that when God promises to judge, he judges.
Belshazzar is an interesting person. He is actually the son of the king of Babylon. Nabonidus. Nabonidus didn’t stay in Babylon very much. He would leave for years at a time to worship a lesser known God in Babylon. When he was away, Belshazzar would be in charge.
Interestingly, for centuries, there was no historical evidence for the existence of Belshazzar. Because of this, many people said that the Bible wasn’t true. And then, people starting finding all sorts of evidence for Belshazzar, including the timeframe around this. Nabonidus is away. The Persians actually take over the town that Nabonidus is at and then start heading to Babylon.
We have record of this attack, when the Persians sneak into the town through the aquaduct system while a festival is going on.
Before I keep geeking out on history, let’s dive back into the text.
Belshazzar is the son of the king, but he is no relation to Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar was succeeded by his sun Evil-Merodach, who was executed by Neriglissar who became king. He was succeeded after a few years by his son Labashi-marduk, who was himself executed by the supporters of Nabonidus. All that occured in 6 years. Nabonidus has been reigning, sometimes through his son for 17 years. Most of those years, he was away from Babylon.
We are now 23 years from Nebuchadnezzar. A man who probably died as a worshipper of the one true God. This faith was not passed to the other ruling families of Babylon.
We see this in Belshazzar who takes the vessels that had been stolen from the temple in Jerusalem and uses them for drunkenness and for worship of false gods.
Bad move, Belshazzar.
This is a classic act to show dominance over a conquered god. Nebuchadnezzar tried to do this and he was humbled, ending by declaring himself a follower of God.
Belshazzar never learned that lesson. Instead, he gets the message:
“Here is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
In Aramaic, each of the words are actually three letter. Three words of three letters, each with three levels of meaning, as nouns, passive participles, and phrases. Ending up with a statement referring to Belshazzzar’s being appointed, evaluated, and punished.
The story ends with the simple thought:
That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain,
Though simple, this was prophesied 70 years before by Jeremiah:
This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
“But when the seventy years are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate forever.
Again,
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled
and her high gates set on fire;
the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”
God promised to bring judgment on Babylon for what they did against Israel and for following false gods. And in the fulness of time, after God had proven himself over and over again, for 70 years of Daniel’s faithless ministry in the government of Babylon, God kept his promise, bringing judgment on the Babylonians.
God keeps his promises.
2. God Blesses
2. God Blesses
Second, we see that when God promises to bless, he blesses.
We see this in two ways.
First, Daniel who has faithfully served God in Babylon for 70 years, so he is probably around 83 or 84 years old at this time. He was not part of Nabonidus’ inner circle, as he was for Nebuchadnezzar. So, when the hand appeared on the wall, he wasn’t initially called.
But, then the queen.
The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 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. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. He did this because 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.”
Babylon had a queen mother position. This was probably one of Nebuchadnezzar’s wives, one we know was still alive at this point. She saw Nebuchadnezzar’s repentance at the direction of Daniel. She had seen Daniel’s dream interpretation. She knew. And she praise him.
Belshazzar, however, ridiculed him. He doesn’t address him as anything worthy. He is just “one of the exiles my predecessor the king brought from Judah.”
Well, he ends up promoting Daniel to the rank of 3rd highest ruler in the kingdom. That was the highest he could go, because Belshazzar was #2 under his father.
In Deuteronomy 28, God promises two things. If Israel obeys God, he will bless them. If Israel disobeys God, God will curse them.
70 years before this passage, Israel reaped the curse. They suffered desolation and horror as Babylon committed genocide against them. Daniel experienced this as he was ripped out of his homeland and forced to learn the ways and culture of a pagan nation.
But, throughout Daniel’s life, Daniel obeyed God. He was holy, as we will talk about next week. And God blessed him, according to the blessings in Deuteronomy.
God promised to bless, and he did.
We also see God’s blessing to Israel.
Through Isaiah and Jeremiah, God promised to restore Israel back to the Promised Land if they repented and turned back to God.
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
God had promises, all the way back in his conversations with Abraham, and then with Isaac, and then Jacob, and then down the line, that Israel would be his special possession. That he would bless them as they follow him.
Daniel 5 is the start of the process of fulfilling this promise. Persia takes over Babylon, and Cyrus is the one God prophesies by name through Isaiah to use to restore Israel back to the promised land. Belshazzar’s judgment is Israel’s blessing.
God keeps his promises.
3. God Glorifies
3. God Glorifies
Third, we see that when God promises to glorify himself, he glorifies himself.
That is the point of the Bible, showing God’s glory so that humanity might worship him. That glory is shown in so many ways, but it boils down to God’s judgment and God’s blessing. Both show his glory.
That day, when the hand wrote those words on the wall, people saw the glory of God. They either rejoiced or they wept, but they saw the glory.
That same God is still working today.
A. In Judgment
A. In Judgment
He is glorifying himself in judgment.
Some people pick up the Bible and see a contrast between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament. They see a God of judgment and a God of grace. However, that is the same God. The New Testament teaches that God, in Jesus, judges evil and condemns the wicked.
But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”
And that judgment is fearful. Jesus says:
There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
The condemnation is hell. And everyone how is thrown into that Lake of Fire glorifies God as making a just decision.
God is glorifying himself.
B. In Blessing
B. In Blessing
God is glorifying himself in blessing as well.
Because the judgment hasn’t happened yet. As we keep reading in Daniel, we are going to read about the end, the time leading up to the judgment and we will see that it isn’t here yet.
God has a plan, because he has left us. We are the blessing for the world, until one day we enter into paradise, our blessing.
We are here to seek the redemption of the godless people around us. Just as Daniel did. We are not morally neutral as we live in this world of injustice, oppression, and immorality. But, we are not here to judge the world in pride, but in humility, acknowledging the depth of our darkness, we reach out to transform the world in our Lord’s name.
Some will respond like Belshazzar, and they will curse God until they die eternally in his judgment. God is glorified then.
Others will respond like Nebuchadnezzar, praise be to God. And God is glorified when he holds out his hand and says: “welcome home good and faithful servant, enter into your master’s rest.”
And the blessing of that day, who can imagine it? Daniel sees it now.
God keeps his promises. He judges. He blesses. He glorifies. Which part of the equation are you on? Which part are you living?
Are you under his judgment or his blessing?
If you are under his blessing, are you living as if God keeps his promises? Are you interacting as if God keeps his promises.
