Intro ! Why give this chapter the title 'Ichabod' you ask? Well, do you remember the story from a dark passage in Israel’s history, when the battled against Israel and took the ?

Biblical Background 5 As the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp. 7” 1 4:5-7

“ So the Philistines fought and Israel was [c]defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11 And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of , , died.” 1 Samuel 4:10

“When he mentioned the ark of God, [f]Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for [g]he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.” 1 Samuel 4:10

“Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she called the boy Ichabod , saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.” 1 Samuel 4:19-22

From the passage we learn Eli's daughter in law called her new born son 'Ichabod'. Nice name, although not overly popular today. It means 'no glory', for she said 'The glory has departed from Israel.' Well, Daniel chapter 5 is also about the departure of glory. Not from Israel, but from the greatest worldwide kingdom at that time - the Babylonian empire. And it is interesting to note some of the factors that lead to the fall of Babylon because it has some very valid lessons for our age as well. So in this study we will look at four things:

• The spirit of Babylon - Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die ... o The new king. King Belshazzar believed to be Nebuchadnezzar's grandson o Lacked the humility and faith of King Nebuchadnezzar Old Saying: “God only has sons, not grandsons” o 3 things that stand out in this passage concerning their attitude 1) Life was a party! They had it all… Nobles, wives, concubines, wine… these ‘parties’ were essentially drunken orgies. Live for today was the motto of Babylon. 2) Worship created things – A. They worshiped the ‘gods’ of silver and gold yet mocked the true God. B. Belshazzar had no problem in using the sacred items from the Jewish temple to worship and honor these other 'gods' while emphasising his superiority over the God of Israel! 3) Self confident smugness – A. As they partied up, the Medo-Persian empire was outside the walls of Babylon.

B. They were actually under siege as the party went on

• What God thought o We know what he thought from Isaiah’s prophecy in chapter 47 o God calls them a ‘wanton creature’.  The word wanton means ‘sexually loose, senseless, extravagant’.

• God’s Response - The Writing is on the Wall! o A hand appeared and the laughter turned to fear. o The king was so frightened that his knees knocked together! o What the armies of the Medo-Persian Empire hadn't been able to do, God now accomplished through the use of  a hand,  a wall,  four small words. It is fair to say that seeing a hand writing on the wall is a fearful thing - then and now. • The writing is on the wall for any nation that revels in the same Babylonian spirit that we see here.  The king had learned nothing from the stories of king Nebuchadnezzar, and again turns to his enchanters, astrologers and diviners. And again they prove themselves to be useless!

• Our Reaction-People saw the writing on the wall  it made them fearful,  but they didn’t know what it meant or what to do about it  Now like then we need a ‘ Daniel ’ who can not only see the writing on the wall, but also interpret the signs for the people.  Bible believing Christians should be that people. o King was clueless o Queen remembered that ‘there is a man’ who could help.  During a time of a crisis people start looking for answers!  Daniel hadn’t been consulted for some time.  Not in the reign of this king  Yet, when there is real trouble comes into town, he is called for again.  There seems to be a cycle of human behavior • abundance has lead to selfishness • selfishness has lead to apathy( towards spiritual matters). • The Question now is In America have we hit this cycle again • And is God shaking things up? o Is He allowing the current financial crisis to shake people out of their complacency? o Is recession a call to prayer?