Words That Endure

Josh Clink

Fear Less: Faith That Endures • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Repent & trust in God; He sees our sin and rebellion, if we refuse, He will bring His judgment on us.

Notes

Transcript

ME: Writing on the wall intro

In 1940, in response to Britain’s involvement in WW2

Nonviolent activist Gandhi warned all British people that “if nobody reads the writing on the wall, man will be reduced to the state of the beast, whom he is shaming by his manners.”

What Gandhi was implying was that this war being declared on behalf of democracy against Nazi Germany

would result with no democracy left to represent democracy even if democracy won

He argued that the war descended upon mankind as a curse and a warning

the warning being the writing on the wall

That men who engage with Nazi Germany in war, will end up becoming the very enemy they seek to defend against

Gandhi felt strongly about his position, which is what inspired him to use the phrase, writing on the wall

This phrase is an idiom, or a saying, and it is still used in our culture today

Webster’s dictionary summarizes it as meaning “an omen or a sign of one’s unpleasant fate”

It has been used figuratively in dozens of songs

In movies, books, and shows

Commentators in sports will also use it figuratively often referring to a losing team needing to read the writing on the wall when the game gets out of reach

But this morning, we are going to see a literal instance of handwriting appearing on the wall giving prophecy about a king’s unpleasant fate in

Which also happens to be the inspiration behind this often used phrase

As we look at , you will probably notice it feels very out of place in the book of Daniel

However, the very end of serves as an introduction to chapter 5

Daniel 4:31 ESV

While the words were still in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you,

Daniel 4:37 ESV

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

And we are going to see an example of this in Daniel 5

So as we continue to worship God by growing in His Word this morning

I’d like to invite you to join me in prayer

WE: God Sees Our Sin (vs. 1-4)

Before beginning to read chapter 5, let’s develop some more timeline of the life of Daniel to help bridge chapter 4 and chapter 5 in a way that helps us to best understand

As I mentioned last week, Chapter 4 is the last we see of Nebuchadnezzar as a present character in Daniel

The time frame occurred somewhere between 575 and 563BC

And historical records indicate that Nebuchadnezzar died in 562BC, having reigned for 43 years

His son, Evil-Merodach, inherited the throne for two years before being assassinated by his brother-in-law, Neriglissar

Neriglissar took the throne reigning for four years before his son, Labashi-Marduk succeeded him,

However, he only lasted a month before a group of conspirators managed to seize the throne

placing one of their own, Nabonidus as king in 555BC

Now Nabonidus did not seem to want to be king

Which has led many to believe the real conspirator was his son, Belshazzar

Because Nabonidus spent majority of his reign as king 500 miles from Babylon at an oasis in the North Arabian Desert

Leaving, his son, Belshazzar, as the de facto king in Babylon from 553-539BC

Spoiler alert, meaning this chapter takes place in the year 539BC

Which also means, Belshazzar is the final king of the Babylonian empire

So there is a multi-decade gap between and that helps explain the scenario in which we find ourselves when we begin reading

Which helps explain why it feels like Belshazzar came out of nowhere

and why Nebuchadnezzar just disappeared

If you remember this structure of Chapters 2-7

You see from Chapter 4 to chapter 5 is the pivot point

This also explains why chapter 5 will even have a bit of a hurried feel to it

but it is also important to remember

However, we are going to see significant differences between these two kings

The Book of Daniel was not written to be a history book

But a book of prophecy and encouragement that demonstrates the unparalleled sovereignty of God for God’s people while under ungodly reign.

So just like in chapter 4, we are going to see a proud king humbled

but it will be important we recognize the differences between these two kings

because, as the Book of Daniel has continuously communicated

God raises up kings and God removes kings

And the writing is on the wall for King Belshazzar

So follow along in , where we see that God Sees Our Sin

Daniel 5:1–4 ESV

King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. 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. 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. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

I have already mentioned King Belshazzar in preparation of reading chapter 5

Not to be confused with Daniel’s Aramaic name, Beltheshazzar

Bused with Daniel’s Aramaic name, Beltheshazzar

Belshazzar means Bel, a name for the chief Babylonian God, protect the king.

Now that we have a better understanding of who this King Belshazzar is

We see him, at the start of chapter 5, having a great feast

Now feasts aren’t that uncommon in this Babylonian culture

However a feast would usually occur in celebration of something or as a reminder of something

Yet, we see no indication of either of these things

Some historians believe that Belshazzar got news that the Persians had just defeated his father, Nabonidus’s army just 50 miles out and were now coming to invade Babylon

Mitchell Chase comments, “Belshazzar was aware of this defeat, yet he held the banquet in a brazen display of invincibility—and, as it turned out, delusion.”

So it is very possible this defeat inspired the party in some shape or fashion

But all we see in the text is that the king just had a feast, and he is just drinking wine in front of everyone coming to his party

Which was also not common for a king to do

All of these things combined, communicates to us that Belshazzar is privileged and arrogant

and vs. 2 says, when he tasted the wine

other english translations say, when he was under the influence of wine

so this isn’t simply implying that he took a sip

This is saying, he is impaired by the alcohol in his system now

starting in vs. 2

So now that the king is getting drunk, what does he do?

Well just like all people do when they get drunk

He makes bad decisions

He decides to do something sacrilegious, something idolatrous

He has the vessels of gold and silver that, not his biological father, but the predecessor to his throne, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem when he besieged it in

And what does he do? he has all the guests at his party drink from them

occurred in 605BC, Nebuchadnezzar died in 562BC

Though he took these vessels, in 43 years of possession, he never took them out to drink from them

And in another 23 years after his death, no one took them out and drank from them

Yet here Belshazzar is aggressively blaspheming the God of Israel in a way no other king, even the proud Nebuchadnezzar ever did

Not only that, they were praising idols, gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone

while drinking from the vessels that took up residence in Yahweh’s temple

The same description is given in

Revelation 9:20 ESV

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,

these vessels that are meant to be used to worship the Lord are instead being defiled, used for idolatry

But the same can be said about our actual bodies when we participate in sin

The vessels that are meant to be used to worship the Lord are instead being defiled when we sin, when we participate in idolatry

So this sin is a disgusting level of defilement

And God sees when we do

Don’t overlook the actions of these party-goers here

The vessels that are meant to be used to worship the Lord are instead being defiled

It is a clear message seeking to mock the God of Israel

while celebrating their perceived superiority of the Babylonian Gods

Led by the one who’s name means may the chief Babylonian God protect the king

All the while this party of idolatry and blasphemy and defilement is going on

Don’t let the irony of that statement be lost when we see how this chapter ends

being instigated by Belshazzar

In other words, does Bel protect the king when Yahweh judges the king’s idolatry

The king is setting a wicked example of drunkenness, sensuality, and arrogance for his people

What a fool Belshazzar was being

, prophesied the fall of Babylon more than 100 years before this feast

and look how appropriate is for the night of this banquet;

Isaiah 47:10–11 ESV

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.

God is fully aware, seeing the sin and idolatry of Belshazzar and his guests

God is fully aware, seeing the sin of Belshazzar and his guests

And I have been referring to this as a party, but the list of attendees in vs. 2 and 3, without getting too graphic, imply this is more of an orgy than a party

So this sin is a disgusting level of defilement

It’s almost like Belshazzar is the teenager entrusted to watch the house while his parents are away

so he throws a huge party, gets drunk, tries to hook up with a bunch of people, then breaks his parents most valuable objects

But also forgetting that his parents have a security system so they are sitting on their phones seeing everything that there son is doing

and evil shall come upon him that he won’t know how to charm away

disaster shall fall, and he will be unable to atone

and ruin will come suddenly and he will know nothing about it

Likewise, when we revel in our sin and participate in idolatry or defilement

And choose to continue in rebellion with unrepentant hearts as Belshazzar and his guests have

God sees all of it

and the same fate will await

GOD: God Confronts Our Sin (vs. 5-9)

And we see in , that God Confronts Our Sin;

Daniel 5:5–9 ESV

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. Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together. 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.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.

Sin has dulled the mind of the king and his guests

As it has the tendency to do in us all when we participate in sin

We become desensitized to the danger and destruction of our sin

Then, immediately in the midst of this sinful gathering, vs. 5 shows God showing up and confronting Belshazzar’s sin

Suddenly the mood of the party changes

Though we don’t actually see what the handwriting on the wall is yet

We are told a hand appears as it was writing

And the king sees it

Now remember, he is still intoxicated and the phrase, “his limbs gave way” in vs. 6

Most literally translates as “The knots of his loins were loosed

In other words, he soiled himself out of fear while being intoxicated

The king is a drunken mess, making a fool of himself

Last chapter, we saw God humble a proud king by driving him to live like an animal

a very humiliating experience

now, we see God again humble a proud king by driving him to such great fear that he either wets himself or loses control of his bowels

in front of his party of a thousand people

a very humiliating experience

Then very likely out of a combination of fear and embarrassment

“Belshazzar’s demeaning of Yahweh’s vessels was his way of demeaning Yahweh. Belshazzar was not simply a drunken slob but a profane slob. God brought him to almost instant sobriety, however. Belshazzar came unglued—he was seeing the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the palace wall. He became deathly pale, his thoughts terrified him, and his lower body lost all strength. The clear sight and sheer spookiness of those writing fingers produced paralyzing terror (5-6)…Some think that

Then very likely out of a combination of fear and embarassment

the king shouts, yells, or as the ESV translates it, calls loudly

For the same group of wise men Nebuchadnezzar use to call on

asking them to interpret the writing on the wall

offering them honor, wealth, and status as rewards

Don’t worry I won’t keep you in suspense

Dr. Daniel Akin summarizes their contribution well;

“This brain trust, these cardinals of counsel, these intellectual elitists, these PhDs who commanded the respect of the common man proved once more to be totally useless! These supposedly ‘wise men of Babylon’ could not interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2 and had to be bailed out by Daniel. The same thing happened again in chapter 4! Now, for a third time, ‘all the king’s wise men’ are brought in and once more strike out (v. 8).”

Or as Dale Davis says;

“[The king] hollered for the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers (vs. 7) to come in and interpret the mysterious text. So these losers came traipsing in again. Once more they fail (vs. 8).”

They weren’t able to interpret it

They couldn’t even read it

You know, with all their failure, It’s a wonder these guys even had a job still

But their inability to interpret it just alarmed the king even more

God has confronted Belshazzar with his sin

It was quite a sobering experience

Dale Davis continues;

“[Belshazzar] is the object of God’s terror, but in one sense it is a kind terror. God does Belshazzar the favour of leaving him without any recourse, in utter helplessness—and hence with a huge opportunity. Whenever God brings a man to the end of himself, smashing all his props and wasting his idols, it is a favourable moment indeed. If he will but see it.”

The king saw the handwriting

He knew it was in response to his wicked sinfulness

But it still had not been made clear

YOU: God Exposes Our Sin (vs.10-28)

Then, in we see God Exposes Our Sin

Daniel 5:10–28 ESV

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. 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, 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.” 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. 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. 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. 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.” 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. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 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. 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. 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. And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 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. “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. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

We see at the start of this section this queen, not likely the wife of Belshazzar

since vs. 2-3 mention his wives are already in attendance

It is possible she is Belshazzar’s mother

However, she is most likely a woman who has significant power in the royal court

known as the queen mother

And it is likely she held this office back under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar

Which would explain her knowledge of this man

whom she described, just as Nebuchadnezzar did,

as a man in whom is the spirit of the holy gods

Laying out his impressive resume under Nebuchadnezzar

Then in vs. 12-13 we see a shift in this chapter

Did you notice something missing in vs. 1-11

that now makes an appearance for the first time?

It is the presence of Daniel

Who is still exiled in Babylon, likely in his 80s now

Having been brought to Babylon as a young man, 66 years earlier in 605BC as we saw in

Some propose that perhaps he is retired from his duties as a wise counselor due to his age and the change in regimes

If it were true it could also help explain why Belshazzar did not know of Daniel

So Daniel is brought in to interpret the dream

And the king goes on to tell him what he knows about him

and how he brought in all these wise men to interpret something and they failed

And you can only imagine the shock and dismay Daniel must be thinking when he heard that

So Belshazzar offers the same reward to Daniel

a reward of honor, wealth, and status

represented by a purple robe, a gold chain, and the position of third ruler

Now Daniel’s response is interesting

Looking back at his interactions with Nebuchadnezzar he seemed to respect and potentially even endear Nebuchadnezzar

But here, from the start by expressing no desire for the reward

He seems much more cold and distant from Belshazzar

Though he is still obedient to the king, willing to interpret the writing on the wall

Perhaps, as he shows how God exposes sin in the verses that follow

It also reveals the reasoning for his cold demeanor toward the king

But beginning in vs. 18, Daniel recounts Nebuchadnezzar’s past encounters with the Most High God

Both of Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness, as well as his humiliation

He says both of which were given by God

Which of course, Belshazzar would know of Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness

So Daniel leveraged that to show Belshazzar how that greatness postured the king for his humiliation that followed

Daniel is teaching the king about history and about theology

Repeatedly referencing God in these verses

The Most High God in vs. 18 and 21

The Lord of Heaven in vs. 23

And my personal favorite, The God in whose hand is your breath in vs. 23

But what Daniel is saying in vs. 22-23 is not that Belshazzar failed to know about the Lord of heaven

He failed to apply the lesson to be learned from Nebuchadnezzar’s encounter with the Lord of heaven

See, Belshazzar did not humble his heart in light of God’s sovereign demonstration

Instead he was reckless and brazen as if he were invincible

But Daniel reminded Belshazzar of his vulnerability

That his very breath is in God’s hands

Then, Daniel went on to interpret the writing on the wall

exposing Belshazzar’s sin

Rebuking the king for his pride and arrogance that he did not learn from the example of Nebuchadnezzar

Historical records indicate that Belshazzar was an adult when Nebuchadnezzar was king, meaning he should be fully aware of what happened to Nebuchadnezzar

Daniel, as well continued to drive home the theme of Daniel,

how the absolute sovereignty of God operates in the affairs of all nations

Contrasting the king’s attempt to exalt himself to a level of sovereignty,

meant only for the Lord by blaspheming the vessels from the temple

By doing that, Belshazzar essentially challenged God

The writing on the wall was God’s response to the challenge

Going all the way back to the interpretation of the dream from chapter 2, R.C. Sproul writes;

“History is not under the control of other gods, nor can its mystery be discovered by human manipulation. History is under the control of the God who is utterly free to direct it and to reveal it as He pleases (). According to His sovereign pleasure He will intervene among the kingdoms of this world and establish a universal kingdom that will endure forever.”

So God writes words that endure as a judgment upon Belshazzar

He writes these words on the wall for this wicked king in the midst of his defiling idolatry

Exposing the king’s sin, specifically listing out pride, blasphemy, idolatry, and failure to glorify the one true sovereign God

and contrast the ending of the Babylonian kingdom with His universal kingdom that will endure forever

The words, Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin are the words on the wall

Daniel interprets it to mean; Numbered, Numbered, weighed, and divided

Which he goes on to tell the king that God has numbered the days of his kingdom

This interpretation again shows that God raises up rulers

and tears down rulers

and for Babylon, the countdown has reached zero

Then God weighed weighed Belshazzar, and has found him wanting

meaning Belshazzar has not quite measured up to God’s standard of righteousness

Therefore, the judgment is that the kingdom will be divided

Dr. Daniel Akin summarizes;

“God is closing the books on Belshazzar’s kingdom. God’s measuring standard proves the king to be a lightweight, a loser. He challenged the Most High God and lost. He crossed the line, and the gig is up. God saw his sin just as He sees everyone’s sin, and the time of reckoning has come, as it will for all who refuse to bow and humbly submit to the ‘Most High God.’”

And Daniel actually ties the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream from chapter 2 here

By mentioning that the Medes and Persians are the ones who will take over the kingdom

Now the Medes had been conquered by the Persians in 550BC so they were a joint kingdom with much of the Mede kingdom still operating under Persian rule

WE: God Judges Our Sin (vs. 29-31)

All of this sets the stage for us to see God Judges Our Sin in ;

Daniel 5:29–31 ESV

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. That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

It’s interesting

Daniel told the king to keep his reward and give it to someone else

Yet Belshazzar continues to demonstrate he does what he wants

and He commands that Daniel still be given the reward

An empty promotion if there ever was one

Seeing as the kingdom ends that very night

What is worth noting though, is how Daniel serves as an inspiration for faithfulness to God’s people

In the generations to follow after Daniel

They will be hearing the testimony of Daniel when they are living under Gentile reign

These people will also know of a significant Hebrew figure, Joseph

And in , we see;

Genesis 41:42 ESV

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck.

Joseph received a similar reward, from a similarly ungodly ruler, for performing a similar task as Daniel

You see, Daniel is intentionally being represented in such a way to show the similarities between him and Joseph

Which lifts him up in the minds of God’s people who are desperate to have their faith strengthened

But Belshazzar is not the first Babylonian king to honor Daniel

Back in , Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel when

Daniel 2:48 ESV

Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

So what is the difference between what Nebuchadnezzar did and what Belshazzar did?

Well, look at the verses that preceded back in ;

Daniel 2:46–47 ESV

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

Nebuchadnezzar did not just honor Daniel

He honored Daniel’s God

Belshazzar honors Daniel

But he gives no recognition to Daniel’s God

He does not pay the God of all any homage

Then the end of Belshazzar is as quick and anticlimactic as his entire story in

That night, he was killed

Similarly to King Herod in

Acts 12:20–23 ESV

Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king’s country for food. On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

Acts 12:20–24 ESV

Acts 12:20–25 ESV

Between Herod, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar

We have seen 3 kings who have the power and authority they have because God has given it to them

2 of the three sought to challenge God and a lack of honoring God and recognizing God resulted in their immediate demise

Now we’re not given details of what happened to Belshazzar

But Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon from the 5th century BC

Have records that show in 539BC Babylon fell when the Persians attacked by surprise at night, listen to this, while a party was going on at the royal palace

The records say in reference to the Persians;

“They diverted water from the Euphrates River (which ran under the walls of Babylon) into a marsh. With the level of the water lowered, the soldiers were able to wade the river under the walls and enter the city. Xenophon added that the city was invaded while the Babylonians were feasting in a time of drunken revelry…As a matter of fact, Xenophon cited the festival as the reason the Persians chose to attack Babylon on that particular night.”

Again, it would be fair to presume that Belshazzar felt invincible because of the great fortress in the city of Babylon

So even though his father’s army fell not far out of the city recently, he could still party the night away

no one could get past their fortress, he presumed

Belshazzar challenged and mocked God, and it was no contest

God confronted and exposed the king’s sin

yet the king demonstrated no signs of repentance

Then at the end of the chapter, we are told, Darius the Mede receives the kingdom

And we will spend more time next week getting to talk about this Darius the Mede guy

But at this time it is worth noting why his age is mentioned in this chapter

No one else in the book of Daniel has their age mentioned

While I will confess, there is not universal agreement amongst biblical scholars on this interpretation

It seems too much of a coincidence to not be intentional

The Babylonian kingdom fell this night to a 62 year old king

and we only know he is 62 because God’s Word tells us his age

The year is 539BC, 62 years prior to this event places us in 601BC

Where in the book of Daniel does this put us?

and what happened in again?

Well we have already mentioned it this morning

Nebuchadnezzar had a dream about a statue which interpreted that eventually the Babylonian kingdom would fall

Now at that time, no one knew the details of how it would fall, how long till it would fall, and who it would fall to

So we looked back at history now to see that it was the Medo-Persian empire in 539BC

But our timeline shows that the same year God gave the prophecy to the Babylonian king

was the same year the king that eventually fulfilled the prophecy was born

then 62 years after the king’s dream and Darius’s birth

God writes on the wall of the idolatrous Babylonian king

that God has numbered the days of the kingdom of Babylon and has brought it to an end, time is up

God used Darius’s life as the counter

It is not known, but it wouldn’t shock me one bit if God gave Nebuchadnezzar his dream the exact same night that Darius was born

Now as I said, it is not agreed amongst all Christian scholars

but Come on! What else would be the reason that God would have Darius’s age included here

and with the number of dates we don’t know in the book of Daniel

You are trying to tell me that the dates we do know lining up perfectly with this king’s age, the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and the end of Babylon are all coincidence

I don’t know, I guess it could be

But it is pretty convincing to me of another testimony to the incredible sovereignty of God

Down to the finest of details

So it could be, or it may not be

Fortunately, it is not the only example of God’s sovereignty in Daniel

Our parents or others who have gone before us often caution us to learn from their mistakes

Belshazzar did not practice that wisdom

For us now, we have the mistakes of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Herod that caution us to repent, to trust God

They teach us that God sees our sin, He will confront and expose our sin

And God is fair, He will rightly judge our sin

So don’t fool yourself into thinking you are invincible

says, you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes

We are all in the hands of a sovereign God and that makes us all dependent on Him

So He is worthy of our honor and our worship

He is holy

He is wise.

He is glorious

He alone is God and He will not tolerate sin

So be eager to glorify and obey Him

He has charted the events of the past and is equally directing the future

He keeps His promises

So allow the character of our almighty God to compel us to fear less and to trust His words that endure

Our idolatrous hearts seek to entice us away from Him

So be on guard for subtle pride that seeks to justify itself

Belshazzar refused to humble his heart

and it was ultimately his undoing

But Mitchell Chase offers a glorious reminder for us idolaters;

“The good news for idolaters—for all who, like Belshazzar, have exalted their hearts and gone astray into false worship—is Jesus. Paul reminded the Thessalonians of the gospel’s power among them as they ‘turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come’ ().”

Before subtle pride tempts you to disassociate yourself from Belshazzar

Recognize, if you did not have that idolatry in your heart, you would not need Christ

May we all humble ourselves and gain Christ!

Otherwise, we will lift ourselves up against the God of heaven

and like Belshazzar, we will incur his wrath

God holds our breath, so let all who has breath fear and praise the Lord!

Please join me in prayer

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