Daniel 5 - God Humbles another King

Today we are embarking on the fifth message in a series of messages from Daniel. We’ve taken a chapter each week and this week is no different. You may have already guessed, but our chapter this week is chapter 5. While you open your Bibles to that passage, I want to give a quick recap of what has happened so far...

In chapter 1, King Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem and takes back to Babylon captives that include many young men. Daniel is one those and he is likely in his mid-teens. The king sets up a program up to train those captives to eventually serve the king. Daniel and his friends do not compromise their faith in God and find favor very early on.

In chapter 2, the King has a dream and no one can tell him the dream or interpret it, so he orders all the wise men killed until Daniel and his friends plead with God to provide and God does. After interpreting, the king again promotes Daniel.

Chapter 3 happens just a few years later and it recalls the events of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego being tossed in a blazing furnace only to survive and again the King recognizes the one true God.

Last week, chapter 4 jumps ahead 30 years and is told from the perspective of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king recalls another dream that Daniel interprets for him again. Ultimately, the dream is about the king being humbled due to his pride and then restored when he finally humbles himself before God. The events of this chapter last around 8-9 years and go up until the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign.

According to historical documents, chapter 5 again jumps ahead another 30 years and it is believed that Daniel is now close to 80 years old. The king of Babylon is Nabonidus, with his son Belshazzar acting as king as his father lived outside of Babylon. Essentially, Belshazzar is seen as king by all who were present. Many historians up through the early 1900’s believed Belshazzar was a fictional king as there were no records of his reign. This text in Daniel was the only reference to him. It was an argument used to refute the reliability of the Bible, but texts discovered from Nabonidus’ reign reference his son Belshazzar acting as king while Nabonidus lived outside of Babylon. Again God’s Word can be trusted even when the world would believe something different.

We’ll divide this chapter into a few sections, the first being the party:

Daniel 5:1–4 NIV

1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 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. 3 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. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

We have the benefit of hindsight on this…but what did he think was going to happen? Didn’t he know the stories of king Nebuchadnezzar? It’s like when the music changes on a tv show or movie and you predict it…something bad is about to happen…It’s The Handwriting on the Wall:

Daniel 5:5–6 NIV

5 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. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

It’s like a jump scare in a movie. You know it’s likely going to come, but somehow it still catches you off guard and you spill your popcorn all over. There is no doubt, God has Belshazzar’s attention, but Belshazzar does what others did before him…He Seeks Worldly Advice:

Daniel 5:7–9 NIV

7 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.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

And with wordly advice come the limitations of wordly advice. God wrote the message supernaturally and natural means will not help understand the supernatural. Fortunately, someone remembers who the previous king turned to…Now the call on a godly man:

Daniel 5:10–16 NIV

10 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! 11 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. 12 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.” 13 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? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 15 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. 16 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.”

Does history repeat or what? People can be so stubborn. A couple of things to note here is Belshazzar’s contempt for God’s people. He didn’t call Daniel by his given Babylonian name and made sure to mention that he was an exile from Judah. It is a subtle jab before asking for help.

Belshazzar must have known what Daniel stood for and yet he still sought to by Daniel’s cooperation by offering a reward for his help. Notice this mention of the third highest ruler. Belshazzar was number two with his dad as number 1. He was offering Daniel the highest position under him, but watch Daniel’s response:

Daniel 5:17 NIV

17 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.

Daniel turned him down, because he knew that God’s gifting to him to interpret dreams was a gift. It was not something he earned and he didn’t want to profit from that gift as he gave The Interpretation:

Daniel 5:18–24 NIV

18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 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. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 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. 22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 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. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

Daniel says your father - a word that also means fore-father - was a proud man until God humbled him. When Nebuchadnezzar recognized his place, God restored him. You should know this, but clearly you forgot. Your pride and contempt for God caused you to dishonor God and He is getting your attention.

I can imagine Daniel pointing his finger at Belshazzar every time he says you...

You have not humbled yourself.

You have set yourself up against God.

You got items from God’s temple and drank wine from them.

You praised other gods

You did not honor God.

Daniel did not mince words with Belshazzar. He knew the history and yet decided to thumb his nose at God. Daniel did not confront him with his own ideas, this was an inspiration and message direct from God and Belshazzar asked for Daniel to tell him. Here are the word written and what they mean:

Daniel 5:25–29 NIV

25 “This is the inscription that was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin 26 “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 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.

Finally the king got his answer and although it was bad news, he had to follow through with the reward whether Daniel wanted it or not.

Interestingly, Balshazzar would have known these words, but only the basic meaning.

Daniel 5:26 NIV

26 “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

Mene is directly translated numbered. Daniel knew this meant that the king’s days were numbered.

Daniel 5:27 NIV

27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

Tekel means weighed. Just like a merchant selling a 1lb bag with less than 1lb, Belshazzar was lacking in integrity and qualities of a good king. He was being judged.

Daniel 5:28 NIV

28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Perez is divided. Daniel saw that the Babylonian kingdom would be divided. Bad news for the king…sooner than he probably imagined:

Daniel 5:30–31 NIV

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

This event took place on October 11 and was completed October 12 539 B.C.

The fortification around Babylon was impressive - 25 ft thick walls, 40 ft tall. Internally large enough to grow food and the river Euphrates ran right under the walls. The king thought he was secure and safe. His pride was so great…The armies of the Medes and Persians diverted the river briefly into a marsh to make the river shallow as it went under the wall. It was shallow enough for them to walk under and attack them as they partied away oblivious to their weakness. They were blinded by their pride.

What is our lesson to take from this?

God can humble anyone

God can humble anyone. No one is beyond the reach of God. I’ve thought at times that it is my place to put someone in their place and God reminds me that he’s got it under control and that I need to just leave it up to him. We need to pray for truth to be revealed and for wisdom and discernment in our part if any. If you don’t have a clear instruction from the Lord, don’t do it. It’s not our job to humble…it’s Gods. If we are so proud to think we are needed to humble someone, guess what is likely to happen…God will humble us.

Worldly wisdom lacks when compared to godly wisdom

Worldly wisdom lacks when compared to godly wisdom. It doesn’t mean we don’t seek out information from experts - like doctors and lawyers and financial advisors - but it does mean that we depend ultimately on God’s wisdom. There is not a simple formula I can give you, but I will say that godly people can provide godly wisdom.

Humbling yourself is a path to joy and peace

Humbling yourself is a path to joy and peace. Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling by God resulted in turmoil and confusion. When he humbled himself before God, he was restored and his kingdom grew. Belshazzar was humbled by war and was killed because of his pride.