Daniel 5

Many people who know little or nothing about the Babylonians, Belshazzar’s feast, or Daniel’s prophecies use the phrase “the handwriting on the wall.” The phrase comes from this chapter (v. 5) and announces impending judgment. Belshazzar, his wives and concubines, and a thousand notable guests were feasting and drinking while the army of the Medes and Persians waited at the city gates, ready to invade. The city of Babylon boasted that it was impregnable and that there was enough food stored away to feed the population for twenty years! But the Lord said that Babylon’s time had come. “The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Ps. 33:10–11 nkjv). The will of God shall be done, no matter what.

We shall look at the persons involved in this drama and see how they related to the plan of God.

The great King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC and was succeeded by his son Evil-Merodach, who reigned for only two years. His brother-in-law Neriglissar murdered him in 560, usurped the throne, and ruled for four years. Then a weak puppet ruler (LabashiMarduk) held the throne for two months, and finally Nabonidus became king and reigned from 556 to 539. Historians believe Nabonidus was married to a daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and was the father of Belshazzar. Nabonidus ruled the Babylonian Empire, but Belshazzar, his son, was coregent and ruled the city of Babylon.

Indulgence (v. 1). Oriental despots took great pleasure in hosting great banquets and displaying their wealth and splendor (see Est. 1). Archeologists tell us that there were halls in the city of Babylon adequate for gatherings this large and larger. This feast was a microcosm of the world system and focused on “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). “What shall we eat?” and “What shall we drink?” are the questions most people want answered as they go through life (Matt. 6:25–34), and they’re willing to follow anybody who will entertain them and gratify their appetites. Why worry about the enemy when you have security and plenty to eat?

Indifference (v. 1). Belshazzar knew that the army of the Medes and Persians was encamped outside the city, but he was indifferent to the danger that they posed. After all, the city was surrounded by a complex series of walls, some of them over three hundred feet high, and there were numerous defense towers on the walls. Could any army break through the fortified bronze gates? Wasn’t there sufficient water for the people from the Euphrates River that flowed through the city from north to south, and wasn’t there adequate food stored in the city? If ever a man was proud of his achievements and basked in self-confidence, it was Belshazzar. But it was a false confidence, not unlike what will happen to the people of this world before God declares war. “For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them” (1 Thess. 5: nkjv).

Belshazzar had been indifferent to the information God had given his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar in his famous dream (Dan. 2). It was decreed that the head of gold (Babylon) would be replaced by the breast and arms of silver (the Medo-Persian Empire). Daniel had seen this truth further verified in his vision recorded in Daniel 7, when he saw the Babylonian lion defeated by the Medo-Persian bear (vv. 1–5). This was in the first year of Belshazzar (v. 1). In his arrogant false confidence, Belshazzar was defying the will of God. “He says to himself, ‘Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble’” (Ps. 10: niv).

Irreverence (vv. 2–4). Was the king drunk when he ordered the servants to bring in the consecrated vessels that had been taken from the temple in Jerusalem? (See 1:2; 2 Chron. 36:9–10.) His grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had decreed that all peoples were to give respect to the God of the Jews (Dan. 3:29), and he himself had praised the Lord for His sovereignty and greatness (4:34–37). But as the years passed, the great king’s words were forgotten, and his grandson Belshazzar treated the God of Israel with arrogant disrespect. Both the men and the women at the feast impudently used these valuable consecrated vessels like common drinking cups, and while they were drinking, they praised the false gods of Babylon! After all, the gods of Babylon had defeated the God of the Hebrews, so what was there to fear? Belshazzar and his guests could not have behaved more blasphemously. But people can defy the will of God and blaspheme His name only so long, and then the hand of the Lord begins to move.

“Do you not know this of old, since man was placed on earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment? Though his haughtiness mounts up to the heavens, and his head reaches to the clouds, yet he will perish forever like his own refuse” (Job 20:4–7 nkjv). Zophar’s words didn’t apply to Job, but they certainly applied to Belshazzar, and they apply today to anybody who defies the will of God.

Look at the wall (v. 5). Without warning, the fingers of a human hand appeared in an area of the plastered wall that was illuminated by a lampstand, and it must have been an awesome sight. The revelry gradually ceased, and the banquet hall became deathly quiet as the king and his guests stared in amazement at words being written on the wall. Both Hebrew and Aramaic are read from right to left, and the vowels must be supplied by the reader; but we aren’t told whether the four words were written in a line or in a square to be read from the top down S L ‘ ‘

Whether the message followed either pattern or a different one, the writing was a miracle from the God of Israel that the idols of Babylon could never accomplish. “They have hands, but they handle not” (Ps. 115:7). It was the finger of God that defeated the Egyptians when Pharaoh refused to let the people go (Ex. 8:19), and the finger of God that wrote the holy law for Israel on the tablets of stone (31:18). Jesus said that He cast out demons “by the finger of God” (Luke 11:20), referring to the power of the Spirit (Matt. 12:28). Now the finger of God was writing a warning to the Babylonian leaders that the hand of God would very soon execute judgment.

Look at the king (vv. 6–7). Neither his exalted position nor his arrogant self-confidence could keep Belshazzar’s face from turning pale, his heart from being overcome by terror, and his knees from knocking together. It must have been humiliating for the great ruler to be so out of control before so many important people. God had turned the banquet hall into a courtroom and the king was about to be declared guilty. If the king couldn’t control the moving fingers, at least he could try to understand the message, so he called for his wise men and commanded them to explain the meaning of the message on the wall, offering royal honors and gifts to the one who explained the message. He would wear a royal robe and a golden chain, both of which denoted authority, and he would become third ruler under Nabonidus and Belshazzar.

Look at the wise men (vv. 8–9). History repeats itself (2:10–13; 4:4–7) as the counselors confessed their inability to interpret the message on the wall. Even if they could have read the words, they didn’t have the key to deciphering the meaning of the message. Mene could mean “mina,” which was a measure of money, or the word numbered. Tekel could mean “shekel” (another unit of money) or the word weighed; and peres (the plural is parsin) could mean “halfshekel,” “half mina,” or the word divided. It could also refer to Persia!

The ignorance of the wise men made the king even more terrified, and his lords were perplexed and confused and could offer him no help. The time had come when political authority, wealth, power, and human wisdom could do nothing to solve the problem. Once again, the Lord had exposed the ignorance of the world and the futility of human power to discover and explain the mind and will of God.

The rest of the palace heard about the crisis in the banquet hall, and when the news came to the queen mother, she immediately went to her son to offer counsel and encouragement. He first words were, “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale!” (v. 10 niv). Things aren’t as bad as they appear to be! She was optimistic about the whole situation and certain that, once the handwriting was accurately interpreted, everything would be fine. The American humorist Kin Hubbard once defined an optimist as “a person who believes that what’s going to happen will be postponed.”

Her attitude didn’t match the gravity of the situation, but her suggestion was a good one: summon Daniel, the king’s greatest adviser. Her words reveal another characteristic of King Belshazzar—ignorance. It seems incredible that he didn’t know Daniel, one of the highest officers in Babylon, and certainly the wisest counselor in the empire. Belshazzar had been told about his grandfather’s dreams and Daniel’s interpretations (v. 22), but too often younger leaders are so concerned about themselves and the present that they forget to catch up on the past. Had young King Rehoboam listened to the counsel of the elders of Israel, he would have avoided a great deal of trouble (1 Kings 12).

The queen mother’s description of Daniel certainly shows what God can do in and through dedicated people. Daniel brought “light and understanding and wisdom” into every situation and was able to explain mysteries, solve riddles, and unravel hard problems. His interpretations always proved correct and his prophecies were always fulfilled. During my many years of ministry, I have known a few men and women who were especially gifted in “understanding the times” and determining what the Lord wanted us to do. And yet every believer can claim the promise of James 1: and seek the mind of the Lord about any perplexing problem.

If he was sixteen when he was taken to Babylon in 605 BC, and Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in 539, then Daniel was eighty-two years old when Belshazzar summoned him to the banquet hall, and perhaps he had been retired from royal service for many years. However, true servants of God never abandon their ministries even in retirement but are always available to respond to God’s call “in season, out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).

The king’s offer (vv. 13–17). To the king’s shame, he knew Daniel only by name and reputation but did not know him personally. Yet Daniel had “done the king’s business” in the third year of his reign (8:1, 27), which would have been 554 BC. What a tragedy that the ruler of the mighty city of Babylon should ignore one of the greatest men in history and turn to him only in the last hours of his life when it was too late. Had the queen mother told her son about this remarkable Jewish exile and yet he paid no attention? What kept the king so busy that he had no time to sit at the feet of God’s prophet and learn from him the things that really mattered in life? “The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom,” wrote newspaper editor H. L. Mencken. But Daniel possessed much more than the human wisdom that comes from experience; he had the kind of supernatural knowledge and wisdom that can come only from God. How much Belshazzar could have learned from him!

The scenario wasn’t a new one for Daniel: a revelation from God, a fearful and frustrated ruler, incompetent counselors, and God’s servant to the rescue. He paid little attention to the king’s flattering speech, and he had no use for the king’s generous offer. Even if he had been younger, Daniel would have had no interest in either personal wealth or political power. “Not greedy for money” is one of the qualifications of a servant of God (1 Tim. 3: nkjv; see 1 Peter 5:2). Along with Daniel, servants like Moses (Num. 16:15), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:3), and Paul (Acts 20:33) exemplify this unselfish attitude. They simply were not for sale.

The prophet’s rebuke (vv. 18–24). Daniel was respectful to the king but he was not afraid to tell him the truth. Even if we don’t respect the officer and the way he or she lives, we must respect the office, for “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:1). From the very beginning of their lives in Babylon (Dan. 1), Daniel and his friends had always exercised humility and tact when dealing with the authorities, and because of this, God blessed them. “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8) is standard equipment for the obedient servant of God.

The king didn’t know Daniel personally, but Daniel certainly knew the personal life of the king! He knew of his pride and his knowledge of the history of his grandfather, but Daniel reviewed that history just the same. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it,” wrote philosopher George Santayana, and Belshazzar qualified. The lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned and that his grandson Belshazzar heard about but ignored was that “the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men” (Dan. 5:21). The God of Israel alone is the true and living God and rules sovereignly in all the affairs of this world, including the affairs of the great empire of Babylon!

Nebuchadnezzar showed his pride by boasting about his achievements and taking credit for what God had helped him accomplish (4:29–30), but his grandson displayed his pride by desecrating the holy vessels from the temple of the Most High God and treating the Lord with contempt. By using the vessels of the true God to praise the idols of Babylon, the king was guilty of both blasphemy and idolatry; by ignoring what he knew of Babylonian royal history, he displayed his ignorance. Belshazzar acted as though he was in command and his life would go on for many more years, yet the very breath in his mouth was controlled by the hand of God (5:23). “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). “This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12: nkjv).

Like King Belshazzar and his guests, many people in our world today are unmindful of the lessons of the past, unintelligent when it comes to interpreting the present, and totally unprepared for the consequences that lie in the future.

The Lord’s warning (vv. 25–29). Anyone who knew Aramaic could have read the words written on the wall, but Daniel was able to interpret their meaning and apply God’s revelation to the people in the banquet hall, especially the king. Daniel didn’t interpret the words to signify units of money (mina, shekel, half-mina, or half-shekel) but to convey warning to the king. The word mina meant “numbered,” and the repetition of the word indicated that God had determined and established the end of the kingdom and it would happen shortly (Gen. 41:32). Babylon’s days were numbered! More than that, tekel indicated that the king himself had been weighed by God and found wanting; so the king’s days were numbered. Who would bring an end to the kingdom and the king of Babylon? The answer was in the third word, peres, which carried a double meaning: “divided” and “Persia.” Babylon would be divided between the Medes and the Persians, whose armies were at the gates of the city that very night.

There are times when God gives warnings in order to bring sinners to repentance, such as when he sent Jonah to Nineveh (Jonah 3); but there are also times when His warnings are final and divine judgment is determined. When God warned Nebuchadnezzar about his pride and unconcern for the poor, He gave the king a year in which to repent and seek God’s forgiveness (Dan. 4:28–33). The king refused to humble himself and judgment fell. But when Daniel confronted Belshazzar, he offered him no way of escape.

Even though Daniel didn’t want the rewards, the king kept his promise and clothed him in royal purple, hung the golden chain around his neck, and declared that he was third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel didn’t protest; he knew that the city would fall that very night and that the conquerors wouldn’t care who was in office. They were now in command.

The phrase “that very night” (v. 30 niv) has an ominous ring to it. “He who is often reproved, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy” (Prov. 29: nkjv). Belshazzar was slain that very night and the head of gold was replaced by the arms and chest of silver. According to historians, the date was October 12, 539 BC.

The conquest of Babylon was engineered by Cyrus, king of Persia (1:21; 6:28; 10:1; and see 2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 3—5, passim), who was God’s chosen servant for the task (Isa. 44:28; 45:1–4). Who then was “Darius the Mede,” mentioned in Daniel (Dan. 5:31; 6:1, 9, 25, 28; 9:1)? Many students believe that Darius was Gubaru, an important officer in the army whom Cyrus made ruler of the province of Babylon. Darius the Mede must not be confused with Darius I, who ruled from 522 to 486 and encouraged the Jewish remnant in the restoration of the temple (Ezra 1; 5—6).

Because of the high walls, the guard towers, and the strong bronze gates, the people in the city of Babylon thought they were safe from the enemy; but the MedoPersian army found a way to get into the city. The Euphrates River flowed through Babylon from north to south, and by diverting the stream, the army was able to go under the city gates and into the city. The conquest of Babylon and its ultimate destruction had been predicted by Isaiah (Isa. 13—14; 21; 47) and Jeremiah (Jer. 50—51). Babylon had been God’s chosen instrument to chasten His people Israel, but the Babylonian army had carried things too far and mistreated the Jews (50:33–34). The conquest of Babylon was also God’s punishment for what they had done to His temple (50:28; 51:11).

The prophecies were fulfilled and ancient Babylon is no more, but “mystery Babylon” is still with us (Rev. 17:5, 7; 18:2, 10). Throughout Scripture, Babylon (the rebel city) is contrasted to Jerusalem (the Holy City). Babylon was founded by Nimrod, a rebel against the Lord (Gen. 10:8–10). It is seen in Scripture as the great city of this world, while Jerusalem symbolizes the eternal city of God. Revelation 17 and 18 describe the rise and fall of “mystery Babylon” in the end times, the satanic system that will seduce the world’s peoples and entice them to reject the message of God and live for the sinful pleasures of this life. If you compare Jeremiah 50—51 with Revelation 18, you will see many similarities between the Babylon of ancient history and the Babylon of future prophecy. The future Babylonian world system will help Antichrist, the man of sin, rise to power in this world, but his kingdom will be destroyed by Jesus Christ when He returns to reign (19:11–21).

Years ago, Dr. Harry Rimmer published a book on prophecy called Straight Ahead Lies Yesterday, a title that could well be given to the book of Daniel. The world has always had its great cities, its mighty empires, and its powerful dictators, but the Most High God still reigns in heaven and on the earth and accomplishes His purposes. No nation, leader, or individual citizen can long resist Almighty God and win the battle.

On the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, poet and novelist Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem titled “Recessional.” It wasn’t received with great applause and approval because he warned the celebrating nation (and empire) that God was in charge and that pride eventually leads to defeat. One stanza reads: The tumult and the shouting dies; The captains and the kings depart— Still stands Thine ancient Sacrifice, An humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget!

Belshazzar forgot the Word of God and the lessons of history and lost his kingdom and his life.

May we not make the same mistakes today!