Daniel 5
Belshazzar made a serious mistake in his use of the power that he had been granted. Perhaps we can imagine the kind of temptations that will come upon a person who thinks of himself as largely unaccountable, and who is regularly treated as the supreme authority in any community. The extent of our fall in Adam is such that none of us would be particularly safe under those conditions – not only because of the potential of danger that we face from others, but especially because of our own unguarded depravity.
This king chose to celebrate with a thousand of his lords. His mistake was in his choice of vessels for his drinking. He gave the order that the holy vessels that had been taken from the Lord’s temple would be brought to him, so that these could be used for this celebration by the lords of
The true God normally does not write things directly on a wall, but He can do that, and He did do that on that fateful day. Naturally the sight of the Hand of the Lord, and the experience of receiving an unknown message in this way was greatly alarming to the king. He was overwhelmed by the fear. He shouted out franticly for help that he hoped to receive from the group of wise men that were supposed to interpret such things. He promised them great rewards if they could read and interpret the writing. None of them could do it. On the advice of the queen, Daniel was called for, and a great reward was offered to him if only he could do what the advisors had failed to do. Daniel was recognized as one who had “the spirit of the gods” in him, allowing him to bridge the unbridgeable gap, and to interpret the words of heaven for men on earth.
Daniel’s response was instructive. Many years had apparently passed since the events in the earlier chapters in this book. At least one change of power had taken place in Babylon, and perhaps more than one, since the word “father” can be used loosely in describing an earlier generation that may not be immediately prior to the current day. We do not hear the same tone of admiration for Belshazzar that Daniel had once used in speaking with Nebuchadnezzar. There is still a respect of office perhaps, but an interesting unwillingness to take any rewards from this king. What follows is a clear rebuke. Belshazzar has not learned the lessons that he should have learned from the experiences of Nebuchadnezzar described in the previous chapter. Specifically, his use of the Lord’s vessels in such a disrespectful way is a horrible show of pride that was the point of the discipline that the earlier king had received when he was given the mind of a beast for some period of time. This man had worshipped false gods using sacred vessels taken from the temple in
He also revealed to him the meaning of the writing on the wall. It turns out that reading and interpreting this message correctly was not an easy task, since the words all had double meanings, all capable of being read as both verbs and nouns. Even after reading them correctly the interpretation was not at all self-evident. Any message that would be given would have to be tested by unfolding events. The words as nouns meant, “Mina, mina, shekel, half-shekel.” As verbs they meant, “Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.” Daniel chose the verbal meaning and interpreted it to mean that this man’s days were numbered. He had been weighed by God and found wanting. His kingdom would be divided and taken from him. The truth of the message was proven that very night with the success of Darius the Mede and the death of Belshazzar.
The story of this man’s death vindicated the message of Daniel, and said nothing good about the man himself. Why did Belshazzar live? Why did he die? What was his existence about? Like
Our great King and Savior came to be measured. A debt had to be paid out in the currency of heaven, and only He could do this. The reason is that when His life was measured on the divine scale there was absolutely nothing that was wanting in it. For this reason, by God’s justice, nothing could have ever been taken away from Him. His death had to be His own willing giving up of Himself for us. This He has done, and now He lives forever as our worthy eternal King. It is our great privilege not only to serve Him, but to worship Him forever.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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