The Writing on the Wall

Our Theme for 2021 is “Redeeming the Time.”

We have been going through the book of Daniel and talking about how God preserves His people and guides them through difficult times.

We have talked about Daniel’s faithfulness to God and God’s faithfulness to Daniel.

We saw his three friends Hananiah, Azariah and Mishael were willing to go into the fiery furnace rather than bow to a false image.

God was with them in the fire, literally!

And then last time we saw how King Nebuchadnezzar, after seeing all of this still had to go through a time of literally losing his mind until he recognized that everything that he has and is comes from God.

We are at a turning point in the book of Daniel.

Remember last chapter seemed to have a repeating style where the first part and the last part were like bookends to highlight what’s in the center.

It’s called a Chiasm and it is frequently used in Hebrew poetry.

The whole book of Daniel is a Chiasm and we are right now at the center of it.

Chapter 4 and 5 are similar stories, each with a king who is faced with the truth of God’s sovereignty; one acknowledged God, the other does not.

Chapters 3 and 6 each have to do with a test of faithfulness to God; one is a fiery furnace, the other is a lion’s den.

Chapters 2 and 7 each have dreams and interpretations where God is revealing Himself as the One who writes history.

At the very center of this mirrored pattern is the central question - who is going to be in control of your life?

Are you made in God’s image or do you make a god in your image?

Is God an idea that you can manipulate and control or use to control others?

Or does God have a plan and a purpose for our lives that we must both find and follow?

It’s easy to believe God when times are good, but how do we find faith in difficult times?

When times are tough we can either turn to God or try to control our own circumstances.

It comes down to the question of who will be God: you or the One who made you?

Time and Providence will show that there is only one God.

Courting disaster

Our main character in this story is another King named Belshazzar.

Once again, another 30 years has gone by since Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

We are bout 17 years into the reign of Nabonidus who is the last king of Babylon.

Until about a hundred years ago historians and commentators where not sure who this Belshazzar was.

But thanks to research and archeological evidence, we know him to be the son of Nabonius and co-regent.

That explains why Daniel is offered the third position in the country.

Nabonius took the throne from Nebchadnezzar in 555 BC.

He likely took one of the kings daughters as a wife (she would be the queen who shows up in verse 10).

Daniel probably went into retirement, as most officials did when a new king took over. But the Queen remembered him and brought him into our story.

The passage mentions Nebuchadnezzar as being the father of Belshazzar; but that term can also mean grandfather (on his mother’s side) or predecessor.

Nabonius is off fighting wars, especially in the last three years of his reign and his son is running the country… and partying.

Daniel 5:1–3 ESV

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.

We know the date of this feast October 11, 539 BC.

Three days earlier, Nabonius lost a battle at Sippar (about fifty miles away) and fled for his life.

The city of Babylon is under seige by the Persian army.

Why do we know the date? Because historians tell us that Babylon’s officials were feasting when when the city fell on October 12, 539 BC without any resistance.

What do we learn from this?

Don’t make decisions while intoxicated.

When you know the historical background, it makes you wonder why Belshazzar was throwing such a big party at a time of crisis?

The likely answer is that he wanted to make it look like everything was under control.

Remember last week I told you that Babylon has a 17 mile perimeter wall.

Well they also had a fresh water source, a river flowing right through the center of town.

And commentators believe that they probably had enough food stored to last for months, maybe even years.

It could be that Belshazzar was really that confident, or perhaps he just wanted to look confident.

In politics we have taken to using the word “optics” to refer to things that are either done or not done for the sake of appearance.

You can tell everyone that Babylon is going to be fine, we have plenty of food and water or you can throw a party with the king drinking in front of thousands of people .

People will think, “if he’s not worried, then I shouldn’t be worried.”

“Don’t believe the rumors, Babylon is indestructible!”

The text implies that the king is visibly intoxicated.

Intoxicated people don’t make good decisions.

So he gets this idea that it would be cool to drink from the ceremonial goblets taken from the temple in Jerusalem. (Hold my ale)

Most of the scholars that I have read say this was a bad idea, even for a pagan king.

Being a world leader is about diplomacy, respecting and assimilating other cultural practices into your own agenda -like invoking Yahweh’s favor by offering a ceremonial “toast” to the God of Israel.

But a priest should do it, or at least someone who understands how these vessels are supposed to be used.

This was not that… This was nothing short of a provocation.

Don’t invoke what you don’t understand.

Daniel 5:4–5 ESV

4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 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.

Historian tell us that Belshazzar was not devoted to a particular god, like his father was a worshipper of the moon god.

Belshazzar worshipped many gods.

But those who worship many gods don’t worship any god.

They have no devotion; they don’t follow a particular belief, but use whatever beliefs exist to do what they want to do.

Belshazzar was his own god.

Sure they praised the gods of gold wood and stone; but that is another way of saying that they covered the whole pantheon.

He’s giving lip service to all the gods but not actually following any of them.

Superstition ascribes power to causes that one does not understand.

We have a lot of them (crossing fingers, knocking on wood) and we don’t understand why we do them.

What if I told you that many of these superstitions were designed to invoke supernatural spirits?

What would you do if one of them actually showed up!?!

That’s what happened to Belshazzar.

They are playing around with the supernatural, invoking supernatural beings and provoking the God of Israel and guess who shows up!

God! Or not all of him; just a hand.

And the hand is writing on the white plaster wall.

We use the phrase “ the writing is on the wall” as an idiom because of this story.

Here’s another idiom “let me spell it out for you.”

In Danish we say , “I’ll cut it out for you in cardboard.”

It’s a way of saying, “what do I have to do to make you understand me?”

In this case, God decides to give Belshazzar a message, literally, in writing because he is not going to receive it any other way.

Be sure that you get the message.

Daniel 5:6–9 ESV

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.

I think he got the message.

King Belshazzar thought he was invincible until he saw the writing on the wall.

What is described here is a kind of panic attack where he literally loses control of his lower extremities.

Now he realizes that he doesn’t know everything.

In fact, he doesn’t even know what the message says - it looks like a nursery rhyme.

Mene - Mene - Tekel - Parsin

Except it was just consonants because that how you write in Aramaic or Hebrew.

Last time I said that most of the time God gives a word because there is still a chance to repent and change.

This was not one of those times.

There comes a time when God says, “enough!”

And the reason He says it is for those who are observing that they might know it was God and not repeat the mistakes that led to that moment.

Learning from history

It is sometimes said that the thing we learn from history is that we have not learned from history.

That is why God commanded his people to remember:

Deuteronomy 15:15 ESV

15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today.

This phrase is repeated five times in the book of Deuteronomy - do you think God wants them to remember?

Remember what God has spoken in the past.

Daniel 5:10–12 ESV

10 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. 11 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, 12 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.”

So Daniel was enjoying retirement, but God calls him back into service -why? - because Daniel remembers what everyone else seems to have forgotten.

That image that Nebuchadnezzar built was because God showed him that his grand kingdom was only a small part of God’s master plan.

When he turned it into an idol that would serve as a test of peoples loyalty to the king; God showed up in the fire to show His faithfulness to those who remained loyal to Him.

And after all that, when some time had passed and Nebuchadnezzar was feeling proud of the utopia he had built without God; he loses his mind until he looks up to heaven and acknowledges God as the source of every good thing.

So what have we learned?

That God is God alone -there is none like Him in heaven or on earth.

At the heart of our fallen nature is pride; the idea that we want to be God.

The serpent lied to Adam and Eve telling them that they could be like God.

Genesis 3:5 ESV

5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

The truth is that they were already made in God’s image.

They already knew the goodness of God; what they didn’t know is evil.

The serpent deceived them into thinking that God was withholding what He had already given.

He tried to tell them that they had to strive to become what they already were.

The truth is that God loves you and wants to bless you if you will just surrender to Him.

By not trusting God, we make ourselves gods, but we never attain to what God truly meant for us to be.

So how do we turn that around? … by remembering.

Remember the stories of God’s works.

Daniel 5:13–16 ESV

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.”

So king Belshazzar say to Daniel, “I have heard about you!”

Somewhere in the back of his mind; he knew the stories of what God had done through Daniel.

God had revealed himself, but nether Nebuchadnezzar nor Belshazzar knew what to do with this information.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream is commemorated as a gold statue which twists the meaning into being about him rather that glorifying God.

Belshazzar is drinking out of the sacred cups from the temple because he has no respect for the sacred.

I have met people who could tell me stories about a time in their life when God intervened or where they encountered God and it makes me want to ask, “so what are you doing with this information?”

If you know that God is real; what difference does that make?

If you have experienced a miracle in your life, how does that change the way that you live?

Do you even remember the story?

Do you tell the story to others?

More importantly, do you relate what you have learned about God?

Remember the lessons that were learned.

Daniel 5:17–21 ESV

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.

King Nebuchadnezzar eventually learned that even though he was the king over the whole civilized world, there was King in heaven that is over everything.

The text says that Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar’s father; probably his maternal grandfather.

The stories were passed down, though practically speaking, they were mostly forgotten.

The lessons learned, however, were not passed down.

Belshazzar is even more insecure than his grandfather.

He’s trying to keep up appearances, even though disaster is literally looming all around him.

He is fooling himself, his dinner guests, and probably thinks he can fool God.

For Nebuchadnezzar it took a divine revelation, a divine miracle and personal encounter to change his mind.

Belshazzar gets a divine message miraculously written in tangible form with a very personal message; but it is not enough.

It’s over for Belshazzar and for Babylon!

This is what happens when we fail to honor God.

Honoring God

So that’s the point - we are to honor God!

It’s the point of all the dreams, miracles and God encounters; to show us who God is so that we honor Him.

It’s at the very center of this uniquely structured book - making it the point of the whole book!

So how do we honor God? What is it about God that we need to know and recognize?

Honor God’s majesty.

Daniel 5:22 ESV

22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

Majesty is another word we use to recognize another as superior in any number of qualities.

To refer to another’s majesty is to take a posture of humility.

It recognizes the other person’s rank, position and responsibility.

You are essentially saying, “we are not equals, therefore I will defer to you.”

When it comes to recognizing God’s majesty we simply confess, “You are God and I am not God.”

I don’ know everything.

I’m not all powerful.

I’m not everywhere-present.

When I act like I know better than God, I’m forgetting who He really is.

I want control, but I just can’t …not like God can.

Honor God’s sovereignty.

Daniel 5:23 ESV

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.

Belshazzar had no idea what he was doing by drinking out of sacred cups or even by invoking the names of various gods.

I don’t know what all goes on in the supernatural realm, but I know that there is a supernatural realm.

Sacred things are sacred because they are connected to supernatural realities.

God designed the temple to be a representation of something in heaven.

Hebrews 8:1–2 NLT

1 Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. 2 There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands.

Knowing that there is an unseen realm an that God is working in the earth to bring about His purpose, not just in the earth but in the entire universe, makes me realize that God’s sovereignty is far more important that we may realize.

When we think that we know better than God, we are playing right into the spiritual rebellion in the unseen realm.

We become a tool of satan to undermine God’s authority and His good plan.

We think we are just taking care of ourselves, but we are playing right into the enemy’s evil plot.

So what should we do?

Recognize that God is good and His plan is the best for us.

Even if we have to suffer some hardship or for a season, God is ultimately making everything right, because that is who He is and what He does.

Don’t fight God’s sovereignty, but align yourself with God.

To do that, you have to know God and be in relationship with Him.

Honor God’s Presence.

Daniel 5:24–28 ESV

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.”

The hand was a visible sign of God’s presence.

The words that were written were all different forms of money.

God was speaking Belshazzar’s language.

All he understood was money.

But Daniel understood the presence of God.

He knew that each of those words had a double meaning.

Count - Count - Weigh- Half!

What is more, is that he had been watching God’s dealings with the leaders of Babylon and that it was time for a change.

Daniel may have known that Isaiah the prophet had prophesied a hundred years before about a gentile king named Cyrus who would be used by God to bring justice for his people.

Isaiah 45:1–3 ESV

1 Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed: 2 “I will go before you and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron, 3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

That very night, while the writing was still on the wall, Darius the Mede who is also called Cyrus (his Persian name) would invade the capital city of Babylon and take over the throne.

He (or perhaps his son Darius) would be the one to send Israel back to their land and to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.

But first, Darius would have to learn the same lesson that was offered to his predecessors.

He, like all of us, would need to learn that there is a God in heaven who is not subject to our will, our whims or our desires, but we must align ourselves with Him.

Questions for reflection:

Do you struggle with wanting to be in control? Do you try to control things that you can’t? What would it mean for you to acknowledge that God is sovereign? Are you ready to let go and let God?

OK so maybe you are good with that. But do you find yourself drifting back into depending more on yourself and less on God? What are the words, the stories or the lessons that you need to remember? What have you learned from your history?

Perhaps it is time to tell the stories, the lessons and the words that God has spoken to you? What would it look like for you to honor God’s majesty, His sovereignty and His Presence? How can you pass on what you have learned to another generation before they see the writing on the wall?