Daniel 5: Strangers in a Strange Land
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Two equally evil kings demonstrate two equally vital messages: God’s complete pardon for the humble and God’s sure judgment for the proud.
The Message in
God pardons the repentant.
God pardons the repentant.
The Message in
God judges the proud.
God judges the proud.
Grace is amazing when we see it against the backdrop of judgement.
Grace is amazing when we see it against the backdrop of judgement.
Please Remember this message
1 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.
It is dangerous to treat God with contempt.
It is dangerous to treat God with contempt.
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.
6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men 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.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.
9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
Dan 5:
The hand symbolizes God’s powerful action of judgement.
The hand symbolizes God’s powerful action of judgement.
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah.
14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter.
16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
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.
24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed.
25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.
26 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.”
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.
30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Dan 5:13-
It is terrifying when God pronounces judgement on your sin.
It is terrifying when God pronounces judgement on your sin.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
19 But I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go unless compelled by a mighty hand.
20 So I will stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all the wonders that I will do in it; after that he will let you go.
Ex
Mene, Tekel, Peres.
“Mene” means numbered out.
“Mene” means numbered out.
“Tekel” stands for weighed and found wanting
“Tekel” stands for weighed and found wanting
“Persin” warns of being divided and cast down.
“Persin” warns of being divided and cast down.
CSB Study Bible: Notes Chapter 5
The third word on the wall (PARSIN) has the same letters as the Aramaic word for “Persian.” It was a play on words, indicating that the kingdom would fall to the Persian army.
Though secure in the world, those who are unrepentant before God will ultimately be identified, weighed, and judged.
It is so easy to build a false sense of security.
It is so easy to build a false sense of security.
Belshazzar dismissed the amassed army outside the city. His response to the threat was to through a party.
Outside the walls of his capital a foreign army challenged the king’s dominion, but Babylon’s ruler was unperturbed. Belshazzar was secure. The Persian invader had been kept at bay outside the city gates for two and a half years. The walls of Babylon were as much as 350 feet high, 87 feet wide, and impregnable to any war machine of that day. The metropolis surrounded by these mammoth walls was itself so spacious that food could be cultivated within the walls. The river Euphrates even flowed through the city, supplying a fresh and ample source of water for people, cattle, and crops. Historians tell us that the Babylon had stocked enough grains to feed the entire population for 20 years. Babylon could not be starved into submission. Belshazzar was secure.
Historians tell us that the Babylon had stocked enough grains to feed the entire population for 20 years. Babylon could not be starved into submission. Belshazzar was secure.
The Persians diverted the course of the river Euphrates and penetrated Babylon’s defenses by funneling troops under the city’s walls through the drained riverbed. The city was conquered. Belshazzar was killed. The party was over. The prophet’s words rang true and echo still: “God is not mocked” (); “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness” ().
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (p. 95). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
There is no wall tall enough, thick enough, or strong enough to shield us from God’s judgement.
There is no wall tall enough, thick enough, or strong enough to shield us from God’s judgement.
Power, position, prestige, peer approval, wealth, wisdom, wonderful potential, amazing accomplishments, even esteem in the church will not shield us from an all-powerful, all-knowing, holy God who brings every dark thing to light and judges sin.
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (p. 96). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (pp. 94-95). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (p. 94). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (p. 94). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
Chapell, Bryan. The Gospel according to Daniel: A Christ-Centered Approach (p. 94). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.