Take your Bibles with me tonight and turn to Daniel 5. We're going to look at an interesting story tonight.
Now, as you're turning there, you're going to notice that we're not reading about Nebuchadnezzar anymore.
Between Daniel 4 and Daniel 5
In fact, there is about a twenty-five-year gap between Daniel 4 and Daniel 5. And in those 25 years, Nebuchadnezzar has died, and a series of kings have tried to fill his enormous power vacuum.
Several of Nebuchadnezzar's sons and descendants reign for a very short time.
- His son Evil-Marduk reigns for 2 years.
- His son Neriglissar reigns for 4 years.
- Then Neriglissar's very young son is put on the throne and within a couple of months is beaten by assassins.
- Finally, a man named Nabonidus comes to the throne and reigns for 17 years.
For some reason, Nabonidus moves his personal base of operations away from Babylon—modern-day Iraq—into Arabia, modern-day Saudi Arabia. He leaves his son, Belshazzar, in charge as the acting king and then comes back and they are both sort of kings in Babylon.
That's where Daniel 5 picks up.
The feast
Let's go ahead and read verses 1-12.
1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. 5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7 The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8 Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof. 9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied. 10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: 11 There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 12 Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation. Daniel 5:1-12
A party while the enemy is at the gates
Want to know an interesting fact? We know the exact date of the events in this chapter (for reasons I'll explain in a minute), and those events happened exactly 2,565 years and one day ago. They happened on October 13, 539 BC.
As I was studying this, I heard that fact. I'm like, “Wait a minute. It is October 13th.”
So why do we know the exact day of this event from history? Because it was one of the most pivotal, pivotal events in ancient history. If we didn't have the Bible, we would still know the exact date of this event.
What we read here is just a party.
Like, we’re just like, “Okay, there’s this big party going on. Belshazzar has got all these lords with him, and they’re having this big orgy, this big party.” They're all getting hammered.
But there's a very important piece of context that the Bible doesn't tell us until the end here: they're having this party in Babylon while the combined armies of the mighty Persian Empire are surrounding them. They are under siege by the empire that would replace them, and they're having a kegger.
Why would they do that? Well, they could do that because of the ridiculous defensive position that was built around Babylon.
Babylon famously had walls that ancient historians said were twenty-two feet thick and three hundred feet tall, going all around the city. Around those walls was a moat that was 200 feet wide.
Inside those walls were more moats and then another giant wall—not quite as impressive as the outer one—but the idea was that Babylon was completely impenetrable. Babylon was the unsinkable ship. Babylon was the undefeatable city. And they felt so comfortable in their undefeatable city that, even though they’re under siege, they have the resources and the confidence that they’re just going to have a big party.
And Belshazzar does something beyond the foolishness of having a big party. He decides it would be a good thing to go get the cups that were stolen out of the temple—the cups that were designated for the temple of God—and have them drink their wine and have their party using those holy cups. You could imagine them putting roast pig on the golden plates that were meant for the temple.
And as they are doing this—let's be honest, it's foolish to live that party lifestyle. I mean, just having this kind of debauched party, period, is foolish.
But to add to the foolishness, they're doing it while the enemy is at the gates.
And if that wasn't foolish enough, they're adding the deliberate blasphemy of God into the mix by having this wicked party with God's holy dinnerware.
The writing on the wall
And as they're having this wicked, drunken, foolish, debauched party, Belshazzar looks up and sees a hand writing on the wall.
Ever heard the phrase "the writing is on the wall"? Well, this is where that phrase comes from.
And Belshazzar is suddenly sober. He goes from drunk to sober very quickly, and he is shaking. He’s terrified, because I think he knows—though he can’t understand what he’s reading—that this is a terrible thing.
He probably knows that this is the judgment of God.
I mean, he is drinking wine out of the cups that were dedicated to the holy God. And he knows about this God. He's heard the stories of the God of Israel. He's brazenly mocking God while praising the gods of gold and iron.
So he yells for all of his wise men to come and figure out what this writing on the wall means. He tells them he'll give them a gold chain, a new robe, and make them the third ruler in the kingdom—the number three spot. Why did he say that? Probably because he was in the number two spot.
He couldn't give his dad's kingship away. He was kind of the co-king, so he's probably thinking, “You’re the next guy.”
But, surprise, surprise, the wise men are unsuccessful. They're batting zero in the book of Daniel. They have not been able to do anything.
The queen remembers Daniel
That's when the queen comes and speaks to Belshazzar. This was very likely the queen mother, the wife of Nabonidus. And our best guess is that, to help secure the kingdom, Nabonidus married one of the daughters of Nebuchadnezzar.
So the queen comes and she says to Belshazzar, “Listen, way back when, in the battle days under King Nebuchadnezzar, there was this guy—his name was Daniel—and he had this amazing ability to understand dreams. The spirit of God was on him, and he could interpret them.
And he’s still alive. You know, we need to go find this old guy, Daniel.”
Now I'm not sure how old Daniel was at this point. I've heard several preachers mention that he could have been in his 80s. I don't know where they got that number from. But Daniel's old. He's very old at this point, and he's probably kind of been put out to pasture. He's probably been ignored by several of the kings that came after Nebuchadnezzar.
And so you can kind of picture in your mind them going to find Daniel—maybe they knock on the rest home or something and say, “Daniel, you’re the guy who told Nebuchadnezzar his dreams way back when. Do you think you could still do that?”
And Daniel’s like, “I don’t know, I’m a little rusty.”
They said, “Well, come on, let’s go. We’ve got to go. Belshazzar has something he wants you to interpret.”
Daniel before the king
Let's keep reading.
13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14 I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not shew the interpretation of the thing: 16 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom. 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: 21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. Daniel 5:13-21
So Daniel comes in. He stands before King Belshazzar, and Belshazzar tries to butter him up. “I’ve heard of you.”
Of course, he just says exactly what the queen mother said and gives him the pitch: “Hey, if you can do this, I’ll give you a gold chain, a scarlet robe, and make you third in command of the whole kingdom.” I love what Daniel says.
He replies, “Let thy gifts be to thyself.” He's saying, “I don’t need your stinking gifts.”
Then Daniel gives Belshazzar a little history lesson. He says, “Remember Nebuchadnezzar. Remember how great he was—the mighty kingdom he built, the majesty he had, all the people who were afraid of him.”
But he got proud, and his throne was taken from him. He was driven out like a beast until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men and gives it to whoever He wills.
You have lifted yourself up
Then Daniel lays it on him. Let's read verses 23 to 29.
23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24 Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel 5:23-29
Do you remember when Daniel had to give a bad interpretation to Nebuchadnezzar? We talked about this last week, and it seemed like he felt very bad about delivering that harsh word to Nebuchadnezzar. It hurt him to do it.
It doesn't seem like it hurts him at all to do that to Belshazzar. It's like "this punk has all this coming to him."
He says, “Here’s your problem, Belshazzar. You’ve lifted yourself up.”
The sin of pride
Do you know what is interesting? It's interesting how often the Bible speaks of the sin of pride as a truly terrible sin. You know, when we rank sins, we probably put murder up there, maybe some sexual sin, maybe demon or devil worship - but when God ranks sins he seems to put pride very high on His list.
Pride is the original sin. It was pride that drove Satan and the demons from heaven.
In 1 Timothy 3:6 it talks about qualifications for pastors, and one of the qualifications is that he not be a novice. He can't be a new Christian, lest he be lifted up with pride and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
I always thought that meant the devil would condemn the pastor, but that's not what it's saying at all. What it's saying is the devil himself couldn't handle pride. The devil is condemned because of pride.
And if you look at any big fall that anybody has ever had, you don't have to peel that onion back very far before you find pride.
Every big-time preacher who experiences a public scandal first falls to the very private sin of pride.
18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. James 4:6
When I was 14 my pastor ran off with a woman in our church who was 30 years younger than him. He'd been married for 40 years. His children were older than his mistress. It was a surprise to everyone.
But do you know what was obvious to everyone? He was proud.
And this isn't just a pitfall for preachers.
Can I share something that has been troubling me lately? Whenever I deal with very critical people, whether they are criticizing pastors or criticizing other Christians, I've learned the hard way that there is probably a fall coming. Because you cannot be a critic without being proud. Without thinking you are better than.
It is a proud heart that says "look at what is wrong with him, look at all the ways she doesn't measure up" because the next layer down from that phrase is "I'm so glad I'm not like him."
I'm coming up on 15 years of ministry here. In just a few weeks it will be 15 years. Do you know what I'm thinking about? I'm thinking about all of the ways I don't measure up. All the people I've failed. I'm thinking about how I've been a poor soul-winner and a poor leader and a poor friend and sometimes a poor preacher. I feel my shortcomings every day.
I'm guessing Brother Adam feels the same way. We are so far from perfect it isn't even funny. We've given you plenty to criticize over the years - and we ought to be open to constructive criticism.
But can I warn you - and I promise I'm doing this out of love - I've seen what happens when the spirit of criticism takes over a person - it's not good. It's so much better to realize that we are all imperfect, we are all struggling, we are all trying imperfectly to serve the Lord. And to approach each other with that humility.
There are Christians in our area who won't put themselves under the authority of any church - because they have a heart of pride and they think they are better.
If they had Charles Spurgeon or Jack Hyles or Lee Roberson or Adrian Rogers or John MacArthur as their pastor, they would find something to criticize about them too.
Beware of pride. Pride leads to so many sins.
It is the proud heart that steals - because "I deserve this."
It is the proud heart that cheats because "I'm better than her - don't I deserve to be happy?"
It is the proud heart that despises parents.
It is the proud heart that rejects God and makes other gods before Him.
Weighed in the balances
Back to the story, the writing on the wall was Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. It was in a language that Belshazzar couldn't understand. Maybe it was in Hebrew.
But the words were clear to Daniel - You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting and you will be given over to the Medes and the Persians.
You know what a balance is, right? One of those scales where you put a weight on one side and then you put something else on the other to try to determine how heavy it is.
God was weighing Belshazzar and the Babylonians in a great balance - and they came up short.
That night
The last two verses say:
30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31 And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Daniel 5:30-31
That's why we know the date. Famously, the Persians are said to have dammed up the Euphrates river that ran under the city and walked right in and taken over the kingdom.
God weighed Belshazzar and the Babylonians and they were found wanting.
We all come up short
Church, can I tell you something? If God weighed any of us - me, you, any of us - we would all be found wanting. We would all come up short.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
Or as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes
20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not. Ecclesiastes 7:20
Every one of us wouldn't pass God's balance. So what should we do? Well, for starters, we should be humble about it. We are just sinners. We all come up short.
And we should throw our humble selves on the mercy of Jesus. It is only by His grace we are saved. It is only through His righteousness we can stand before God.
And then, do you know what we should do? We should not forget that. We shouldn't get so proud that we forget we come up short too.
Let's stand and pray.
