Are you someone who's able to learn from others' mistakes, or do you have to learn by making the mistake yourself? Today on Truth for Life we'll hear the tragic story of a king who failed to learn from his predecessor. Alastair Begg explains how we can avoid making the same error in judgment. We're looking at Daniel chapter 5.
Well, as we come to chapter five, let me take just a moment to say a couple of things by way of introduction concerning chronology and terminology. If you come at these chapters failing to realize the purpose of the author, and you begin to look for For a way in which you can establish a strict chronology through it, then you will inevitably be disappointed. For example, between the end of chapter 4 and the beginning of chapter 5, there is probably a gap of some 30 years. And it is clear that the author is choosing to take in one chapter the life of this particular king in order, once again, to encourage those who are the readers about the fact that while man builds his proud empires, that God in a moment is able to destroy them and put someone else in that person's place. And that is, of course, the story here in chapter 5 of the judgment of God that falls on Belshazzar, a judgment that is swift, that is sudden, and that is absolutely secure.
In in terminology, I want you just to be alert to the fact that father, the word father as it is used here, is often not used in ancient Near East and in the Bible, again in strict terms, but in terms of the fact of my father Abraham. I am one of Abraham's children by grace through faith, and so are you. I take it also that the queen whom we will meet is actually the queen mother. I can say more about that later on, but by way of introduction, let's get immediately to the text. In these opening verses, my heading was simply the king does his thing.
And what we find here as Belshazzar has this great feast is that he is essentially showing off. You will notice it says in verse 1 that he drank wine in front of the thousand. He was in the position of prominence and he was making a great display. And in the course of that, as the wine begins to take hold, he suggests that they send to the temple treasury and bring the vessels of gold and silver. which, as we've already seen, Wear emblems of both the power and presence of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and bring them out of where they have been stored.
There were some 5,400 of them, Ezra tells us in the opening chapter of Ezra, in order that they might make use of them. And that is exactly what they do. And you will notice we're told in verse 3 that they brought in the golden vessels. And the author is making the point of them having been taken out of the temple in Jerusalem. And they have been then drunk from by the king and his lords and his wives and his concubines and then even worse still, they have now used them to toast the gods that cannot see or cannot hear or cannot speak.
So it is an amazing expression first of pride and then of sacrilege and then of idolatry. And What we really have the record of is of Belshazzar leading the people under his care in proclaiming, hey, this is what we think of your God. This is how we treat your God. Not a lot has changed, loved ones. As people get together for their proud parties and boast of their achievements.
Not realizing that the God who made them is the God who holds their breath in His hands.
So the king Does his thing, and then secondly, the king's color changed. That's verse six. Because those who walk in pride, God is able to humble, and that's what He's doing now. And the fingers of a human hand, we read in verse 5, began to write on the plaster of the wall. Beside the lampstand, and suddenly the ominous nature of what is taking place knocks the proud king off his perch.
And he is described here in verse 6 as a real basket case. There's a physiological response to what has happened. His color has changed. Psychologically, he is destabilized, his head is gone, and his uh limbs have given way and his knees knocked together. Actually, the literal translation of one of these phrases is: the joints of his loins were loosened.
I'm not going to go into the details of that. You're a bright group. But it was not a particularly striking pose that he now offered to the thousand whom he was in front of. One minute he's the great king, bring the vessels, let's toast the gods, and the next minute he is a quivering mass of humanity. And so Belshazzar does what we've now anticipated will happen.
He begins to call out. He calls loudly, verse 7, for these same people again. It's quite remarkable, isn't it? You would think that after all this time, these kings, having learned from their forebears, would have come up with a different plan. He says, if you fellows can pull this off, you get a new outfit, you get new jewelry, you'll be the third ruler in the kingdom, and so on.
But verse 8, and all the king's wise men came in, but they couldn't read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. Then the king was greatly alarmed. Once again his colour changed. It would appear that the blood is draining from him. And his lords in turn were perplexed.
They say, Well, how stupid these people were 600 years BC. You don't find that kind of thing happening today, do you? As of course you do. Man in his folly turns again and again to the wisdom of fools. Man is destabilized by His circumstances, when he is confronted by his own finitude, By his own frailty?
When somehow or another the hand writes on the wall, whatever that may be, and he reaches out again and again to the same place as he went before. Only to discover that that treasury is completely empty. The hymn writer put it, remember, I tried the broken cisterns, Lord, but ah, the waters failed. I kept going back to the same broken place. Which is exactly what he does.
Now, you don't take your brains out in order to come to an understanding of God's revelation in Jesus, but there is ultimately no. Intellectual road to God. If you're waiting to analyze yourself into the kingdom, you're on a dead-end street. No, he has chosen through the folly of what we preach. The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing.
The natural response of man says, that is stupid. That doesn't make sense. That offends against my intellect. That offends against my pride. You're telling me that I can't fix myself.
Well, I'm not, but that's what it's saying. You're telling me that I can't get there through my intellect.
Well, I'm not, but that's what it's saying. And you're saying that first I need to bow my knee before this Creator God. Yes. And anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists. And that he is the rewarder of those who diligently See care.
Well, even big kings need to listen to their mom, and so in verse 10, the king listens to the queen. You remember, Esther had a dreadful time trying to get in to see Xerxes because her way was barred by the soldiers with the axes. You don't just go in and talk to the king. if you're his queen, unless of course you're his mom. And your mom can get away with all kinds of things.
And it appears that she does here. She makes a good start. Oh, King, live forever. That's nice. And let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.
To which he might have said, that's easy for you to say. Essentially, she goes in and she says, Hey, Belshazzar, Get a hold of yourself. There is a man in your kingdom. In whom is the spirit of the holy gods. I love that there is a man in your kingdom.
And when Daniel is described here, if you pay attention later on, you can follow up and you see that he's described in terms of light, understanding, wisdom, an excellent spirit, knowledge, and the ability to solve problems. In other words, he is described in messianic terminology. If you read the beginning of Isaiah chapter 11, the portrait that is given of the Messiah who is to come is a Messiah who is described virtually in these same terms.
So when it says that the spirit of the gods, which is the pagan explanation for it, is upon this man, that there was something about this man. The thing that was about him was God who was about him. The Spirit of God rested upon him, and it was a spirit of wisdom and of understanding. And when I stopped for a moment and I was thinking about that phrase, there is a man. There is a man.
I I am I immediately went in my mind uh to The statement of that lady Come see a man. Remember? Come see a man. Of course she was the woman at the well. Who had been going back to the same well for the same answer and never getting it?
She was looking for satisfaction, presumably in all the same places, and never, ever coming up with it. And in fact, in the dialogue, when you read it in John chapter 4, and Jesus says certain things to her, and she says, Well, let's just say that when the Messiah comes, he'll take care of all of this. And then Jesus says, I got news for you. I am. The Messiah.
Can I say to you that there is a man in this kingdom to whom you may go. There is a man who has come down into time, namely Jesus. Who is wisdom and might and forgiveness and peace and hope and contentment? And in this man there is the answer to the longing of your heart. It is not in a religion, it is not even in a religious expression, it is ultimately in a person.
And Daniel is set forward here by the Queen Mother as the one who foreshadows he. In whom all the answers to be found.
So The king verse thirteen Presumably says okay, mom. We'll give it a try. And in verse thirteen, Daniel is brought in.
Now bear in mind, seventy years have elapsed since these vessels and these boys were torn away from Jerusalem.
So Daniel is at least in his late 80s. Still going strong. Still going strong. And in the dialogue that ensues, once again this king is not particularly nice. He's still stuck on himself.
I find it remarkable that given the fact that his loins have been loosed, he can still approach Daniel with such arrogance. It is once again a picture of the pathetic nature of man.
Soiled by his own arrogant perspective on life, he then confronts the man who has the answer to his questions, and he treats the man as if he were a captive. He treats Daniel as if Daniel was just a prisoner, as if somehow or another that his power and his majesty was greater than that which this prophet represented. That happens all the time. It may not happen to you. In pastoral ministry, it happens when you're with successful people in different environments.
They'll often just dismiss you as the poor little pastor. The poor little fellow, obviously, he must have banged his head somehow or another. He fell out of his bed and bumped his head. Otherwise, he would have a proper job and he would have a proper place to go and he would have something worthwhile to say about himself. He's just got that same old stuff again and again.
Who would ever listen?
Well, look at how he approaches him.
So you are that Daniel. What do you mean that, Daniel? I am Daniel.
So you are that, Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. In other words, so you're just a captive slave. That that's who's c that's who I've brought in here? I've heard about you. Apparently, you have some kind of gift for giving interpretations, solving problems.
Well, I've had my wise men in, and they've done nothing at all. I've offered them these things, and I could offer the same thing to you.
Now if You can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation.
Well, then the king is confronted by the truth. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let me say a number of things immediately. Number one, you can keep the outfit. Number two. I I've got all the gold chains.
that I ever could want. And number three, A little history would help you, Belshazzar, if you just thought for a moment or two. And then he provides him with the history. In the telling of the story, This is um What do you call it in creative writing? Is retarding the progress of the drama.
He would have gone immediately to many, many techo parson. He could have gone straight there, but he doesn't go there. He says, Listen, let's think about things for a moment. God set up your father Nebuchadnezzar, that's verse 18. The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, his kingship, his greatness, his glory, and his majesty.
If he hadn't done that, Nebuchadnezzar wouldn't have been worth a button. He couldn't have done a thing. God gave it, God set him up, verse 20, and God brought him down. Uh He brought him down when his heart was lifted up, when his spirit was hardened, when he dealt proudly. He was brought down from his kingly throne.
You would expect that Belshazzar by now is putting two, two together and going, You mean like I've just been brought down from my kingly throne? Like what has just happened to me here with a writing on the wall? They presume he just listens away and the judgment comes.
Now the use of you and your is purposeful here. As Daniel drives home the implications. And you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And these vessels have been brought in before you, and you. have drunk wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver.
And you have not given honour. to the God in whose hand is your breath. And whose or all? Your ways. In other words, he says You have been guilty of pride, you've been guilty of sacrilege, you've been guilty of idolatry, and you have chosen not to honor God.
And here's the kicker, and I want you to notice this. Even though You knew verse twenty-two. And you, his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. You knew this. In other words, you can't plead ignorance.
Do you know that's what the Bible says about all of us? As we stand as sinners before God, that none of us will be able to plead ignorance. We can't plead ignorance. Once again, it is offensive to the mind of man. but it is the truth of God's Word.
You see Belshazzar's view of reality was messed up before he started drinking. It's not that he started drinking and his view of reality got skewed. His view of reality was wrong, and he drank on the back of his messed up reality. Our view of the world Because we are sinful. is wrong.
And God has revealed himself. He has made it plain. For what God has, what can be known about God is plain. To them. Because God has shown it to them.
Sean what? His invisible attributes. Namely, his eternal power, his divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. In other words, atheism is a choice. It is a rebellion against God.
The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. And God has made Himself unmistakably clear in His world and in the oughtness that is part and parse of a moral being in our conscience. That's why we say, Oh, I don't think I should do this, or we ought to do this. From whence cometh this? From the very fact that we are made in the image of God, in all of the moral consequences of that.
So he says, ever since the creation of the world these things have been made known. Here we go.
So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, They didn't honor him as God. Nor give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. And claiming to be wise, they became fools.
And then what did they do?
Well, they exchanged the glory of the mortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. That's exactly what they were doing. And what happened?
Well, when they claimed to be wise, they became fools. They exchanged the glory.
So, what did God do? He gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity. To the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions.
And it is in that context that you then have the issue of lesbianism and homosexuality addressed, whether you like it or not. That is exactly what God says. I made you. And I made you expressly for this. You now have turned your fist against me and you're going your own way.
Don't ever come to me and say that you can excuse it on the basis of ignorance, because you can't. And that is the very point that is being made here by Daniel before Belshazzar. Even though you knew this, you still did it. Belshazzar True to his promise. Gave Daniel the clobber.
It's quite remarkable that verse 29 is in here. Credit where credit is due. He's about to die, and he says, I promise you, you get a new outfit, you get a gold chain, and you'll be the third ruler in the kingdom. And after that. Uh the Chaldean king was killed.
You see, there's a backdrop to this. And that is that all the time that he's got this banquet going, The Medo-Persian soldiers Are working their way into the city of Babylon. Xenophon, one of the ancient historians, records the fact. that the soldiers dammed up a portion of the Euphrates River. which part of which ran underneath the walls of Babylon.
And they dammed it in such a way that they created a marshy area that made it possible for them to walk through without being up to their necks. And so while he is proudly proclaiming that he's in charge of everything, His demise is being prepared underneath the city walls. And they work their way under the walls. Into the city. Into the palace.
and took out the key. Tonight Yeah. Tonight. You see, the Bible is never morbid about these things. It's just very straightforward.
It makes perfect sense, doesn't it? I mean, there's hardly a day goes by you don't get something trying to sell you insurance for nothing, you know. What kind of insurance policy do you get for $9.95? Anyway, but the point of it is, you're going to die. Watch the tournament this afternoon.
If you watch any more golf this afternoon, I guarantee you'll be on there. You're getting old and you're running out of time. You're running out of money. You're running out of everything. And everybody's like, yeah, I better do something about that.
Well, the Bible actually says you're running out of time to turn to Christ. And it is only when you find in the love of God the Father the beautiful provision of his Son. Yeah. We don't have time, our time is gone. But I mean, you think about that finger thing.
When the plagues of Egypt were executed and the gnats came, and Pharaoh tried to get his enchanters again to do the gnats, they couldn't pull it off. And they came to Pharaoh and said, This is nothing other than the finger of God. Later on in Exodus, when the tablets are given with the Ten Commandments on them, they are inscribed by the finger of God. When the psalmist sits out on his balcony at night and looks up at the sky, he says, When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers. And the moon, of course, God doesn't have fingers.
That's an anthropomorphism. But Jesus steps forward and he says, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is now at hand. And he is casting out demons and is healing the sick. And what does he say?
He says, if it is by the finger of God that I do these things, it is because the kingdom of God is among you. And that's why when we think about all of our proud assertions. And we realize how arrogant we are, not dissimilar to Belshazzar. Isn't it a mystery that God would love us so much? to send His only begotten Son So that whoever would turn to him in repentance and faith may find in him.
The answer. that we so desperately require. You're listening to Truth for Life with Alistair Fegg. Daniel's story is certainly exciting and inspiring. Of course, the best part isn't Daniel's faith, it's God's faithfulness.
And I imagine when you read a book like Daniel, you might find yourself wanting to linger a little longer. And if that's the case, request the book we're recommending today. It's called Brave by Faith. This is a book Alistair wrote that explores what it means to live as a Christian in a society that is challenging your Christian beliefs. Ask for the Brave by Faith book and study guide today when you donate to Truth for Life online at truthforlife.org/slash donate or call us at 888-588-8858.
seven eight eight four. I'm Bob Lepine. Thanks for joining us today. Tomorrow, we'll meet an elderly Daniel and find out how his unwavering faith. became the source of both blessing and loathing.
The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
