Daniel 5: Being A Person Of Substance Series

Yet stupidity is no excuse, as Daniel bravely points out in verse 23: “You have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven…You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.”

God may tolerate profanity for a while, but today is judgment day for Belshazzar and the Babylonians.

(Preacher: You might want to project a picture of Rembrandt’s painting, “Belshazzar’s Feast.)

Read Daniel 5:5-12. Belshazzar’s grand banquet plans are in disarray. He calls in the “wise men” of his court, promising them anything, if they will just help him control of the situation. Yet it is the queen (probably the queen mother—his mother), who is not at the banquet (maybe the designated driver?), who is the wise one. She goes into great detail about an old man named Daniel, who has true insight and wisdom, and a divine connection.

Read Daniel 5:13-17. Belshazzar still wants to project power and control. He flatters Daniel, and offers him honor and status in his kingdom. Daniel is not interested in what Belshazzar has to offer. Instead, he tells Belshazzar a story he probably already knew: the story (which we looked at last week) of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and fall, until he humbled himself before God. Belshazzar knew the story, but in case he didn’t get the point, Daniel is in his face to make sure he gets it now:

Read Daniel 5:22-24.

Then Daniel looked up at the writing on the wall, and laid it all out for Belshazzar:

Read Daniel 5:25-26. “Numbered. Weighed. Divided.” (parsin also could mean Persia; a word play)

The game is up. Belshazzar, clothed in his royal finery, is exposed as a man without substance. His reign, celebrated by a thousand partiers, is over. His kingdom, spanning the Middle East, is already being divided among the Medes and Persians.

Belshazzar has come up empty: all show, no substance. What will he do? When Nebuchadnezzar lost his sanity, he “raised his eyes toward heaven,” and God restored his kingdom. You would think Belshazzar would reach out to Daniel for help, cry out to God for mercy and grace, and look for an answer to his dire situation.

But no—He still thinks he can bluff his way through. He clothes Daniel in purple, puts a gold chain around his neck and proclaims him the third highest ruler in the kingdom. He is still in control; just ask him.

But while Belshazzar keeps the party going, the Persian army is preparing to enter the city. Perhaps they diverted the river, or they were let in by people fed up with Belshazzar and his father. “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.” (Daniel 5:30-31)

Someone might get by on appearances for a while--sometime quite a while—but when a crisis comes, or people look closer, or they have to face up to the reality of who they are, the game is up. The boss wants results. Friends are fed up with the lies and narcissism. Family members are tired of covering up faults to support an image of a great husband or wife, dad or mom.