What is the writing on your Wall?
Daniel 5:1-31
God wants us to have faith during the silence
God wants us to grow in Faith by Remembering
God wants us to demonstrate faith in prosperity
Intro
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Good Morning.
We have been going through the Book of Daniel and so far, we have met Daniel, his 3 friends and Nebuchadnezzar.
Now during these first 4 chapters Nebuchadnezzar was the king of Babylon.
He ruled Babylon for over 40 years (605-562).
After him, one of his sons ruled for a short time (Amel-Marduk) (563-561) and after him, a brother in Law (Neriglisser) ruled for about 3 years (560-556) and then Nabonidus (556-539) came to power. Nabonidus was away a lot and his son, Belshazzar, ruled as co regent with his father from 553 until 539.
Now as we turn to chapter 5
Slide
We are going to meet Belshazzar. Realize that it has been about 25 years or so between chapter 4 and 5. Let’s read chapter 5 and seek to learn what it is that the Lord will teach us today.
Daniel 5:1-31
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.
5 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.
10 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."
13 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.
18 "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 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.
25 "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 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 28 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.
Pray
I enjoy going through some of the narrative books of the Bible because I enjoy a good story. But when we go through the narratives, the things that God wants to teach us are not always given to us in propositional form like in the letters of the New Testament, but are more to be mined for like for gold or diamonds. And to do that requires us to pray and meditate on these passages.
As I meditated on this passage over the past couple of weeks, and as I had conversations with others, and prayed about this passage, I want to share with you a few things that the Lord impressed on me and hopefully we are all able to see the writing on the wall the Lord has for us.
Slide
As we started out this message, I told you that it has been at least 25 years between chapter 4 and chapter 5. Daniel would be in his 80’s at this point.
How was God using Daniel during these 25 years that we don’t see anything happening?
Was He using Daniel?
Daniel certainly did not have the influence that he once had. Belshazzar did not even know him.
The fact of the matter is that the text does not tell us what God was doing in and through Daniel.
But we do know this. God was still Daniel’s God. Daniel was still faithful, even though there appears to be a long span of silence from God.
And that is something that I believe the Lord wants from all of us.
God wants us to have faith during the silence
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That is the mark of faithfulness. That is what separates the truly faithful from the circumstantially faithful.
Do we remain faithful even when God doesn’t seem to be speaking or doing anything extraordinary in our lives?
God certainly used Daniel powerfully during Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, but now, it seems not so much. And not only does God not seem to do anything through Daniel for a very long time, I am sure that circumstances weren’t as good for Daniel without the influence he used to have.
But even so, Daniel maintains faith during this silence as evidenced by his responses to the King when he is offered position and power again.
Daniel 5:17 - 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.
He doesn’t answer in a way that will ingratiate himself to the King. He is not looking to get his place back. He answers in a way that shows he is still trusting in God as the One true God.
Transition
Have you ever had a time in your life when God seemed to be silent?
How do we stay faithful during those times when God seems to be silent?
How do we continue to follow during long periods of not only silence, but circumstances that deteriorate, because quite frankly, that is not easy?
Well, let’s look at what Daniel says to Belshazzar to see if we can learn how we might stay faithful during the times of silence.
Daniel 5:18-22
18 "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.
At least 25 years after these events occurred, Daniel remembers the powerful works that God has done, like they were yesterday! I believe this is one of the things that helps Daniel to continue to grow in faith.
And I believe
God wants us to grow in Faith by Remembering
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By remembering the things he has done through others and in ourselves, we can grow in faith and be encouraged to remain faithful even during times of silence.
Now I don’t believe Belshazzar was ever a person of faith. But the evidence for faith was available to him, just like it is available to us.
The letter to the Romans tells us that man is without excuse because God has revealed things to us about who He is. It is our responsibility to see it and respond to it.
So Belshazzar has seen the truth of who God is and his power, not only in Creation and through his conscience, like we all have, but he knew some of the special revelation of God’s work through his family.
Daniel reminds Belshazzar of this that he knew these things but he chose not to remember this and act upon it.
What is interesting here is that Belshazzar, who is not a person of faith, has a lot of material wealth and ease of life up until this night, and Daniel, who is a person of faith, has lost a lot of influence and power over the years, but remains faithful.
We would have probably been asking what is the deal with that? Maybe even questioning if God is real. But we don’t see that from Daniel. I believe this is because he continues to remember the mighty works God has done and he is able to maintain perspective on the whole of life.
We tend to be very Myopic, or shortsighted.
We live in the moment, and lose perspective regarding life.
When we remember what God has done in our life as well as in the lives of others, it helps us to maintain perspective.
This is why it is important to know God’s word as well. These narratives, these stories of these saints, are basically testimonies that have been recorded so that we can learn and remember what God has done and how God has worked so we can remain faithful.
Apply
Maybe you are going through a period of seeming silence from God.
Maybe it seems that at a point, God was really doing some amazing things through you and now, it seems as though nothing is happening. In fact, maybe even circumstances have gotten worse in your life.
You have lost your job
You have lost your house
You have cancer
You are having issues at home
Maybe you are even asking questions like,
“What have I done?”
“Have I sinned?”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
I actually think those are good questions to ask of yourself during times of silence.
Scripture does tell us to examine ourselves.
I think it is good to ask God to reveal to you if there is something going on in your life, because sometimes we have difficulty seeing it.
But if you don’t hear a response, then stay faithful, continuing to follow after God, continuing in his word, continuing in prayer, and continuing to REMEMBER the work He has done.
When we have done that, when we have remembered what God has done and been strengthened, then we will also be able to live out our faith in times of prosperity because I believe that
God wants us to demonstrate faith during prosperity
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Now this seems a little counter intuitive. If things are going well, isn’t it easy to have faith?
I would argue that it is not. I think it is easiest to walk in faith when we neither have too much or too little.
Agur, the author of Proverbs 30, understood this and says
7 "Two things I ask of you, O Lord;
do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
and say, 'Who is the Lord?'
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God.
But even so, there will be times in all of our lives when we either have much or have little and God wants us to rely and trust in Him living in faith and demonstrating that faith.
Paul when he was in jail and writing to the Philippians, wrote this in
Philippians 4:10-13
10 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
NIV
The Philippians have opportunity to demonstrate their faith by providing for Paul, but Paul knows that it is not the Philippians or what they can give him that is what will meet his needs, but it is Christ alone, in whom he finds peace and contentment and strength.
Back to text
Belshazzar’s prosperity has exposed his lack of faith in the Lord and his faith in Himself and His stuff.
While Belshazzar knew the work of God and the power of God, he trusted in His prosperity and Daniel says that he has set himself “up against the Lord of heaven” (v. 5:23).
How did he do that? How did he set himself up against the Lord of heaven?
Well, what we see from the Scripture is that Belshazzar is having a huge party for 1000 of his closest friends and advisors. Now if we add in all their plus one’s, that would be at least 2000 people, so this is quiet an extravagant bash.
What we don’t see from the text, but we know from history, and we know that the Babylonians knew, was that camped outside the city walls was the Medo-Persian army.
Why would someone have a party when your enemy is camped outside your walls?
Because of Pride and faith in what his prosperity had provided.
Babylon – The City
You see Babylon was a pretty impressive city.
Nebuchadnezzar had built walls around the city that were massive, at least 75 feet high and wide enough that a 4 horse chariot could turn around on top of it!
There was a moat on the outside of the wall and the Euphrates river ran through the city and the wall was built over it in such a way that people or armies could not get through.
The wall of Babylon surrounded even farm land that allowed them to raise their own crops and they had supplies that would feed the city for years!
In fact, Belshazzar had so much faith in his stuff, he exalted himself and so why shouldn’t he be drinking out of goblets fit for a God!
So they get the gold and silver goblets that were taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and he exalted himself and set himself up against the Lord of Heaven!
And that’s when the writing is on the wall for Belshazzar.
He has been numbered, weighed and found wanting.
That is what the writing on the wall said.
Numbered, numbered, weighed and Divided.
Daniel interprets the writing for Him
26 "This is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. 27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."
Apply
What are you trusting in?
Fifteen years ago, I think it was easy for a lot of us to be trusting in our prosperity.
Our 401K’s were looking good. The equity in your home seemed to only go up. For many, trusting in those things has been exposed as a false god that cannot protect us or provide for us.
Even for those who still have much, who are still prosperous, you need to be examining where your faith is.
You may say it is in the Lord, but how have you demonstrated that?
That doesn’t mean you give it all away necessarily, but it does mean that we are seeking the Lord’s wisdom in this.
Instead of a party, Belshazzar should have been organizing a prayer vigil seeking the Lord’s wisdom and honoring Him.
Conclusion
If God were to be writing on your wall, what would he be saying?
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Would He write: 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' - Matthew 25:21
Or would you be seeing the words that Belshazzar saw?
Regardless, of what would be written on your wall, being that you are here, it appears that you still have opportunity to walk in a way that you can hear the words to the faithful.
Receive Christ
To hear those words instead of the words Belshazzar saw and heard, starts with believing in and receiving by faith, Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Believing and receiving is more than just knowing about. Even as Belshazzar knew what God had done in Nebuchadnezzar’s life, he I know way responded to this knowledge.
If you know about Jesus Christ, respond to what He has revealed to you by receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Remember God’s works
Be thinking about God’s work in your own life.
Be reading through the stories of the Bible so you can know and remember God’s work in other’s lives.
Ask others about how God has worked in their life.
Finally, maybe you aren’t experiencing a time of silence right now. Maybe you are having a prosperous time of God’s work in and through you and blessed with material things as well.
Demonstrate your faith by sharing with others.
Share what God is doing in and through you.
Share your testimony of God’s work with others.
This is one of the things that made our Evening of Worship so powerful. Those who attended were able to hear some of the things God was doing in other people’s lives and through the work of the church as well.
It is always a great time of encouragement to hear what God is doing and it helps us to stand strong in the faith through times of silence and to persevere in times of hardship.
And if God has blessed you with prosperity, demonstrate your trust in Him and not in your stuff, by sharing that with others too.
The best way to not rely on our stuff is to share it with others, give some away.
Pray about how the Lord would have you glorify and honor Him and demonstrate your faith during this time of prosperity.
Let’s pray that God would each of us what the writing on our wall would be and for the strength to respond to it.
Pray
