Daniel Chapter 5

This is a study of Daniel Chapter Five

READ Daniel 5:1 -'Belshazzar the king made a great (1) _____ to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.'

No longer Nebuchadnezzar, his life is over. Next we pick up with Belshazzar, learning that feasting and drinking were something he enjoyed. Further on you'll see where Cyrus and his army obviously knew of this feasting and used it to their advantage. Do you remember that statue, the one with the golden head? Well we know the dream interpretation stated that the head of gold would give way to arms and chest of silver, the Babylonian empire would not last and this chapter shows where Babylon ends and the next kingdom begins.

READ Daniel 5:2-4 'Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the (2) ______ 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 in 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.'

Obviously the special golden and silver vessels that were stolen from the temple in Jerusalem were not on display for everyday use. They were the spoils of war, but kept elsewhere. Perhaps like good china stowed away for a special occasion? Or even more sacred than that. They were kept locked away as a show piece to a victorious war fought and won. Here Belshazzar commanded that these temple vessels be brought into the feast, these vessel the Jewish people had kept in their holy temple dedicated to the one, true God. He passed the vessels around and drank wine from them praising the gods of what? Gold, silver, brass, iron, wood and stone. Gods. Not God. He used vessels dedicated to the one true God of Heaven and Earth to honor false gods. Not a very good thing to be doing, not at all. Of course they knew what they were doing. They had those vessels brought out, not because they didn't have any fine vessels of their own, but they wanted to make a point and that being their gods were greater than the Jewish God.

READ Daniel 5:5-9 'In the same (3) ____ came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster 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 show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the (4) _____ 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.'

In the same hour that the king called for the temple vessels to profane them, what happened? The fingers of a man's hand. Not a man. There was no man standing there, just the finger of a man's hand, a man's hand without a body attached to it obviously. These fingers wrote something on the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the hand writing. Can you even imagine?! Talk about being witness to something supernatural. The king was terrified. Instantly he yelled for his astrologers, the Chaldeans, the soothsayers. Sound familiar? Nebuchadnezzar had given all his spiritual advisors first crack at solving mysteries too. Belshazzar called out for them and told them whoever reads that writing on the wall and gives him understanding of what it says shall be clothed in the finest, wear gold necklaces and will even be the third ruler in all the kingdom! Talk about incentives! All the king's wisemen hurried in but they couldn't read that writing, and if they couldn't read it they certainly couldn't understand what it said. So here we have the king celebrating using the looted temple vessels in his revelry, honoring the gods of precious metals, woods, and stones, suddenly all his partying comes to a halt and he's terrified by this hand writing something on the palace wall. No more celebration. He wants to know what's going on. He was no longer having fun. That hand wrote something and it wasn't good, he knew that it wasn't good, his actions speak loud and clear on that one. So, what happened next?

READ Daniel 5:10-16 -- '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 forever; 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 showing 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 show the interpretation. 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 (5) ______ is found in thee. 15. And now the wise men, the astrologers I have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could not show 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.'

A little history here. Daniel had obviously fallen into the realm of the unknown, at least to Belshazzar- who was in all actuality Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, but the customs of the time called any paternal ancestor, father, and too any male descendant was called son. The queen called in was Nebuchadnezzar's daughter, so the queen mother, one who would have known of Daniel, who would have remembered when his grandson could have been too young to remember him. Do you recall that Daniel was made ruler over lands and sent to tend to the kings business? He wasn't always right there in the kings palace and who knew how long he was gone away doing his duties.

Well, here we have the queen coming in and telling Belshazzar that there is one that Nebuchadnezzar used when none of his other wise men could help him. So of course Belshazzar wanted this Belteshazzar brought in, who was in fact Daniel. The king inquired of him if he were the one Nebuchadnezzar brought out of Jewry and then went on to say he knew of him and that the spirit of the gods was in him. He then went on and made the same offer to Daniel as he did his wisemen. If Daniel could help him out he'd gain all that the others would have, if they'd been able to read and interpret the writing on the wall. What does Daniel do...

READ Daniel 5:17 -- 'Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to (6) _______ ; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.'

He tells the king he doesn't want his gifts, his rewards, but he will tell him what he wants to know.

READ Daniel 5:18-21 0 thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor; 19. And for the majesty that he gave him, all peoples, 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 uses this opportunity to speak quite plainly to Belshazzer, telling about Nebuchadnezzar and how God, the most high, dealt with him. How God gave him all and then Nebuchadnezzar became prideful and God took it all away from him by taking his reason. Only when Nebuchadnezzar realized and admitted that the most high God ruled over all men and gives kingdoms to whom he wanted, only then did God give him back his reason. So Daniel gave Belshazzar a little refresher course on the history of the one who ruled before he did. All of which was in fact, history, well known history at that. If your grandfather goes crazy for seven years and then gets his reason back- this is the stuff that is known especially because of its strangeness, its uniqueness.

Daniel goes on to say...

READ Daniel 5:22-24 -- 'And thou his son, 0 Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23 But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the (7) ______ 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.'

Daniel points out that Belshazzar didn't humble his own heart at all, even though he knew what Nebuchadnezzar had gone through. He points out that Belshazzar brought the vessels from the One, True God's temple and let him and all his people drink wine in them, praising false gods, gods that mean nothing because only the true God should be honored so, and Belshazzar has not honored him at all. Daniel tells him outright, it'd God's hand that wrote that writing on the wall. The God he's neglected, forgotten, and rejected.

Daniel uses this opportunity not for personal gain, he doesn't want anything from Belshazzar. He takes time to point out who the message is from and why it was given before even revealing the meaning, impressing upon Belshazzar that even though he knew better from history, he's not learned the most important lesson the God, the most high is ruler and not the false gods that abound.

Finally Daniel tells him what it says...

READ Daniel5:25-29 '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 (8)_______ 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.

The message is not good, as Belshazzar already suspected and feared. Obviously the language was unknown or the wise men would have interpreted it. Perhaps it was written in the Samaritan, the true Hebrew a language that Daniel used prior to his captivity. We know that no one but Daniel could read this message and as in times past, God through His Spirit gave Daniel the wisdom needed.

Also obvious by the interpretation, each word is really a short sentence. Mene, numbered. Tekel, weighed. Upharsin, from the root of peres, divided.

God, the One Belshazzar defied, holds the fate of the Babylonian kingdom in His hands. He's numbered the days of Babylonian Kingdom even though it's at its height of glory, a kingdom one would thought would stand forever. Because of his pride, Belshazzar has been weighed in the balances and found wanting. The kingdom would be given to the Medes and Persians. What an interpretation!

The king immediately gave all that he said he would to Daniel if he made the writing known, even though Daniel told him that wasn't why he was helping him.

What happened next...

READ Daniel 5:30,31-- 'In (9) _____ night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.'

Wow! That night Belshazzar was killed and Darius of the Medes took the kingdom.

Historically, we know that the Persian soldiers had emptied a channel of the Euphrates River and made their way into the city, killing and fighting their way to the palace. They found the king and killed him, even though the king had been warned. With the takeover by the Persians, the Babylon rule had ended, just as foretold.

That conclude Daniel Chapter 5. May God bless us as we continue to study.

(1) feast - Daniel 5:1

(2) temple - Daniel 5:2

(3) hour - Daniel 5:5

(4) third - Daniel 5:7

(5) wisdom - Daniel 5:14

(6) another - Daniel 5:17

(7) vessels - Daniel 5:23

(8) weighed - Daniel 5:27

(9) that - Daniel 5:30