The Study of the Book of Daniel Lesson 5

Ice breaker question – to be provided by your facilitator(s):

Questions from the last study:

Did you have any follow-up questions from Daniel chapter four?

Introduction to chapter five of Daniel: As we prepare to study this lesson we must be ready to take a hard right turn in our thinking. Without warning Daniel jumps ahead about three decades in time and introduces us to a new Babylonian king – Belshazzar. Who is this man? Where did he come from? What happened to Nebuchadnezzar? Daniel himself never addresses these questions, but we have some information from history. From archeological ruins, ancient manuscripts and some Bible references we learn Nebuchadnezzar died in Babylon between the second and sixth months of the forty-third year of his reign. He was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk ("Evil-Merodach" of 2 Kings 25:27; Jeremiah 52:31). Amel-Marduk lasted only two years from 562-560 BC. He was replaced after an army coup 2 by the commander in chief, Neriglissar (Nergal-Sharezer of Jeremiah 39:3), son-in-law of Nebuchanezzer. After frequent absences from active service, he was, in turn, ousted, and his weak son Labashi-Marduk lasted only a few months before another coup brought Nabonidus to the throne. After ruling in Babylon for three years Nabonidus led the army to Palestine and Northern Arabia to establish new colonies. He left his son Belshazzar as co-regent in Babylon. Eventually Nabonidus decided to stay in Arabia because he was very unpopular at home in Babylon, leaving Belshazzar to rule the main empire beginning in 553 BC. In 540 BC, Nabonidus returned home hoping to defend his kingdom from the advancing Persians. Belshazzar was positioned in the city of Babylon to hold the capital, while Nabonidus marched his troops north to meet Cyrus. On October 10, 539 BC, Nabonidus surrendered and fled from Cyrus. Two days later the Persian armies overthrew the city of Babylon. It was during this time, as the Babylonian dominance of the world was failing, that our lesson takes place. All of this information leads us to a second question concerning this chapter: why does Daniel call Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar when he was not? Please remember we are working with a translation. In the original language the term Daniel uses can also mean “descendant”. If you have been doing the math as you absorbed all this information you recognize that Daniel has now been in Babylon for 66 years. He is no longer the young boy we met back in chapter one. For many years Daniel served as an advisor to the Babylonian kings and a bold witness of the Jewish faith.

3 Exploring the Text

Daniel 5:1-4 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.

First things first, we need to understand what kind of banquet the king was holding. It wasn’t some drunken orgy that was common amongst so many other godless nations of the world. This was a celebration of the power and superiority of the nation of Babylon. The irony is that while the Babylonian royalty celebrated, the army of the Medes and Persians was camped right outside the city preparing to overthrow this government. Belshazzar holds this banquet because he thought such a thing as the Babylonian empire falling could never happen. As king, Belshazzar sets the tone for this celebration with flowing wine and endless praise to the many false gods of the Babylonians. In many ways this was not only a banquet, but a worship ceremony of the gods of Babylon. There are far too many false gods to name (thousands of them), so Daniel simply refers to them as “the gods of gold and silver, 4 bronze and iron, wood and stone”. By his description Daniel clearly testifies that all these false gods had no power or ability to rescue the Babylonians. As the wine takes it control of Belshazzar and as the false worship reaches a feverish pitch, Belshazzar gives orders to show the superiority of his gods over the gods of every other nation, including the God of Israel. He calls for the temple articles that had been captured during the destruction of Jerusalem and he uses them as part of his pagan worship. We can understand why he called for these items since during the past 60 plus years the only God that had showed Himself to have any kind of true power or value was the God of Israel. By drinking his worship wine from the temple articles, things that represented this God, he is making the statement that even Israel’s God was inferior to his gods.

Q: Later on in this chapter (v. 13) we learn that Daniel was not among the thousand nobles who were invited to take part in this celebration (we have no idea where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are, or if they were even still alive). Had Daniel been there, how do you think he might have reacted to all this?

What is your typical reaction when God’s name is blasphemed (review the second commandment on the concept of blasphemy)? Silence? Indignation? Speaking up?

5 Daniel 5:5-9 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 knees knocked together and his legs gave way. 7 The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and 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.

Imagine a hall full of laughing people now suddenly falling silent as they saw their great king turn pale and faint with fear. What was going on? The king had witnessed a divine revelation. What was now taking place could not be laughed off or easily dismissed. More concerning than seeing a finger write word’s on the palace wall was the fact that these four simple words were beyond the reading and interpretation of the wise men of the kingdom. Imagine the panic as each one failed to deliver to the king what this all meant even though he had promised a rich reward to the one who might do so.

Q: Understanding that these words were in common Aramaic, what possibilities are suggested that a room full of Aramaic speaking people could not read them?

6 Daniel 5:10-12 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “O 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. King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king, I say—appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 This man 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.”

We learned in the opening verses that all of the king’s wives were with him at his banquet. So an obvious question might be who is this “queen” that hears the panic rumbling through the palace? This would not have been one of the wives of Belshazzar, but rather the queen mother. Many think she may have been the actual daughter of Nebuchadnezzar himself. If so, this would explain why she had such a thorough knowledge of who Daniel was and how he had served in times past. Since Daniel had proven himself to Nebuchadnezzar she suggests Belshazzar call on him to read and interpret the inscription on the wall.

7 Daniel 5:13-17 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.” 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.

The entrance of Daniel in this non-ceremonious manner, and because the king had to be informed about his existence, might suggest that Daniel had fallen out of favor with recent kings. Or, he may have been so entrenched in a governing position that was disconnected from the king himself that their paths might have never crossed before now. Either way, Daniel’s abilities were unknown to Belshazzar. Since no one else could reveal the meaning of this strange message, the king calls on Daniel. The fact that Belshazzar was willing to ask for help from a man belonging to the people whom he had just mocked suggests just how desperate he was. When Daniel arrives the king explains his reason for summoning him and makes him the same offer he had made to all the other wise men. Daniel’s response to the king gives further evidence that he did not enjoy a close relationship with Belshazzar the way he had with Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, while not being

8 disrespectful, gets straight to the point. He doesn’t want the king’s goodies, but he will do what he was called to do.

Q: Even though Daniel “owed” this king nothing, and despite the fact that what he was about to say was bad news, why do you think Daniel was so willing to do what was asked of him? (Do you think the size and make-up of the audience had anything to do with Daniel’s decision to help?)

Daniel 5:18-24 “O king, 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 peoples and nations and men 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 cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes. 22 “But you his son, O Belshazzar, 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 9 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.

Before Daniel reads and interprets the inscription he offers a valuable lesson not only for the people in the room, but for us too. Daniel speaks the age old truth that “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”. Daniel explains that the very same lesson God had taught Belshazzar’s grandfather He now was teaching him. That lesson is this: even pagan kings are allowed to come to power and to rule only because the one, true God allows them to do so (cf. Romans 13:1-7). Daniel reminds these people that as soon as any human begins to believe they are masters of their own making, then they are doomed for destruction. To explain this Daniel summarizes his lesson based on what we learned in chapter four (now we can better understand the 30-year gap between chapters four and five). While Daniel knows that Belshazzar was an unbeliever and an idolater, at very least, based on the lessons of the past, he ought to have not so quickly or easily felt the need to blaspheme the true God. But since, in his arrogance and unbelief, Belshazzar paid no respect to God, a final lesson was about to unfold – this is why God sent this message.

Q: If this was a room full of blasphemous pagans, why did God even bother to send this message? (Do you know of any bible passages that might support your conclusion?)

Daniel 5:25-30 “This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN 26 “This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. 27 Teke: You have been weighed on 10 the scales and found wanting. 8 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. 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.

Not only does Daniel read these four simple words (really three since the first word is repeated), but he offers a word by word interpretation of them. The day of judgment had come not only for Belshazzar but also for the kingdom full of people represented in this very room. The final information Daniel provides in this chapter not only shows us the fulfillment of this vision, but if you remember, it is the fulfillment of the first part of the dream that God had given to Nebuchadnezzar back in chapter two. There God had Nebuchadnezzar dream of a tall statue consisting of differing materials. The first phase of that dream’s completion was the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persian empire.

Applying this lesson to our lives (please answer at home and be ready to discuss in class):

Q: How much exposure do you have to Belshazzar type people (unbelieving, prideful, blasphemous, superstitious)?

How do you react or interact with them? Does it challenge your faith?

11 Q: It is often easier to see pride and arrogance in others, but do you wrestle with Belshazzar type moments in your life?

- When is the last time you questioned God (describe)? - Have you ever been angry enough with God to “curse” Him? - Have you ever fallen into the thinking that “you’ve arrived” or “achieved success” because of you and not because of Him? How did that work out for you?

Q: Do you have any favorite passages or stories from the Bible that help you fight against:

- Arrogance - False humility - A poor self-image or low self-worth

Please write down any Bible references and be ready to share them with the group.

Q: Is there anything in this lesson that struck you differently from the first four lessons of this study? Can you put your finger on it and describe it to the group?

Q: Discuss … I am/I am not afraid of the day when my life is weighed in God’s scales because ______

12