“The Writing on the Wall”
Daniel 5
INTRODUCTION
You might not want to listen to this message today. I’m serious—you might not want to know what I’m going to tell you. You may be happier not knowing, because once you know, then you are responsible for what you know. What the Scripture has to tell us today is very important. When we’re done today, we’ll know more, you’ll know more, but you will be responsible for what you do with what you know. So please don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Let’s take a journey back to 539 BC, to Babylon under King Belshazzar, a co-regent with his father Nabonidus, successor to King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar died 23 years ago, but Babylon is the world’s greatest city, capital of the world’s greatest empire. You’ll want to visit the museum and many temples, and of course the world famous hanging gardens. Oh, there are some problems, internal and external, as you might expect. But the King isn’t worried. His name, Belshazzar, means “Bel has protected the king.” Bel was another name for Marduk, one of the Babylonian gods. Not much of a god, really—none of them are when you get right down to it. They were made of gold & silver, bronze & iron, wood & stone. Oh, they make marvelous statues, no question. They had been cast with commanding faces, striking poses, and strong hands. Of course, if you pray to them they couldn’t listen; if you need guidance, they can’t speak; and if you need a miracle, they can’t deliver. So at that level, they aren’t really great gods, but they are convenient, and easy on the conscience. They make no demands. They are safe—unlike the Hebrew God. The Hebrews, captives in Babylon, were an internal problem for Belshazzar. They worship one God, the Most High, whom they claim is superior to all other gods. People like that are always hated—hated for being different, for being closed minded & intolerant, for claiming to know the truth. They had gained influence in Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar back in the day, but Belshazzar and Nabonidus had worked to undo much of that influence. Belshazzar lives for power, lives for riches, lives for glory, and so couldn’t live with this God of the Hebrews. So for many years Bel DOES “protect the king.” He protects him from Truth. But truth has a funny way of catching up with you and asserting itself, as we’ll see from Daniel 5.
SETTING
It was October—time for the religious festival of Marduk, the god after whom Belshazzar was named. But the mood in the city of Babylon was not festive. There was a significant external problem. The city was under siege by the Persian army. Now you’d think this would be cause for alarm, but Babylon was surrounded by enormous fortified walls of stone, thrusting upward from the ground 150 feet high! These defenses were ringed with 270 guard towers. The city had enough food & supplies to withstand an assault for 20 years. And the waters of the Euphrates River ran underneath the walls into the city, so the water supply was unending. Plus, they had history on their side. No army had taken the city of Babylon for ten centuries. Those Persians weren’t going to get in by force, and they weren’t going to starve them out. But still, people in the city were getting restless. King Belshazzar decided to get people’s minds off the threat outside the walls by throwing a party [READ 1-4] Belshazzar liked to party, and for this one he pulled out all the stops. One thousand nobles gathered in the palace’s grandest dining hall, where Belshazzar’s golden throne was set at one end. One after another on this October night, the Babylonian nobility arrived in their finest attire, prepared for a orgy of hedonism on the king’s tab. It was a wild night! Picture the scene, filled with all the noblemen, their wives and concubines, eating heartily, drinking heavily, dancing sensually under the eyes of Marduk and the other idols that guarded the doors and corners of the great hall. Belshazzar was in fine form, drinking down generous amounts of wine and shouting toast after toast in defiance of the Persians, and anyone else who dared defy his power. People cheered, and Belshazzar’s heart swelled with pride. Emboldened by the wine, he couldn’t restrain his contempt just to the powers of human armies, but to the power of God as well. He sent a few servants to fetch the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar had seized from the Hebrew temple years before. They had been kept under lock & key since Nebuchadnezzar’s day, but Belshazzar would have them brought out for his party. It wasn’t just that they were valuable, but also that Belshazzar wanted to make a statement—about who was king; about who was in power; about which gods would be honored this night.
PLOT
The temple vessels were brought in and distributed, and the giddiness of the evening overtook everyone. Repeatedly they dipped the Hebrew goblets into their wine, laughing and shouting praises to Marduk and the other gods assembled there. And it was then that it happened. A scream! Over the music, talking, & laughter, someone had screamed. And then others! People with shock on their faces were looking and pointing at the front of the hall. Belshazzar rose quickly from this throne, turned and saw it. [READ 5-6]. The blood drained from his face, and his body went numb with horror. A hand … an enormous human hand—but not human, for it was attached to no arm that anyone could see—was writing, carving into the plastered palace wall! People scattered away, trampling their fellow partygoers in a mad stampede to get away from this apparition. Belshazzar tried to look away, but his eyes were transfixed. He couldn’t stand, his knees gave way—literally, “the knots of his loins were loosed.” He had never known fear like this. This hand, writing its message—would it then fly across the room and seize his throat? No. It vanished. As quickly as it came, it was gone. The screaming stopped; everything stopped. Had it been a hallucination? A spiked batch of wine? No! For there on the wall were four words that had been scrawled into the plaster by the invading, vandalizing hand: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.” Huh? What was that supposed to mean? Nobody knew these words. You’d think that if some otherworldly hand was going to completely disrupt a fancy banquet it could at least have the decency to make some sense, wouldn’t you? Where does one turn in such moments? Why, to religion, of course. Belshazzar quickly called out for his enchanters, diviners, and astrologers. They moved through the crowd to appear before his throne, and Belshazzar challenged them: [READ 7b] Read and interpret the writing, and you’d get to be Belshazzar’s right hand man! (OK, poor choice of words.) The king was trying to use his power to recover from the shock of having his power violated. He needed reassuring that he was still in charge, so he set his wise men to give him understanding. But guess what? None of these losers could interpret the words on the wall. As they’d failed the king before, so now they fail again. Belshazzar yelled “Go home! Everybody go home!” His nobles were glad to comply. He appeared angry, but beneath his anger he was more frightened than he had been before. So frightened, in fact, that the royal undergarments needed changing.
TENSION
At this point, the queen, wife of Nabonidus and Belshazzar’s mother, entered and approached the throne. This was a violation of protocol, but having heard of the disturbance she knew her son needed her reassurance and help. She told Belshazzar of one who could intepret this writing on the wall. There was a man, she remembered, whom Nebuchadnezzar had appointed chief of all the wise men, one who had a special knowledge of interpreting strange visions. One who had “the spirit of the gods” in him. His name was Daniel, and he was one of those Hebrews. The queen urged her son to send for Daniel. And because Belshazzar had nowhere else to turn, and also because she was the one woman in the room he respected, he obliged and called for the Hebrew named Daniel to be found and brought before him.
Belshazzar was considerably more composed by the time Daniel arrived. Daniel was an older man than he. A grey beard wrapped around his face, and only wisps of hair remained atop his head. His body still showed the physique of a man who had been strong and vigorous, but now seemed tired. Tired, perhaps, of thinking he had won the culture war under Nebuchadnezzar, only to see all he had worked for in earlier days undone. Belshazzar, acting all kingly, decides to flatter this older Hebrew [READ 14-16]. Belshazzar sensed that he needed protection—perhaps if he could get Daniel to buy in, the hand of the Most High would support him. But Daniel wouldn’t take the bait: [READ 17].
CLIMAX
Daniel walked over to the wall, and stopped very still. Those in the room watched him bow his head and close his eyes, for just a second. Then he looked up and began to study the writing on the wall—his brow furrowed, his hand on his chin. Then, more quickly than anyone expected, he turned and approached the throne. Belshazzar bade him speak, and Daniel, surprisingly, began to talk of Nebuchadnezzar. He said, “The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar power and sovereignty and greatness and splendor. He was feared by all and he did as he pleased. But when his heart became arrogant and full of pride, he was stripped of his glory.” Daniel went on to relate what had been known to only a few among the royal court—how king Nebuchadnezzar had for a time gone mad [READ 21]. Although he remained expressionless, Belshazzar’s fear sank into dread as Daniel continued [READ 22-24]. Daniel proceeded to explain what the words on the wall meant. The words referred to Aramaic coins: [READ 25-28]. “Numbered, numbered, weighed, divided.” Daniel switched the last word from plural to singular, from “parsin” to “peres” to bring out a pun. “Peres” means “divided” but in Aramaic it also means “Persia.” Belshazzar’s heart dropped. He felt numbed, exhausted, stunned by what Daniel had said. He might have had him executed—but instead, he kept his word. He had to try what he now knew would not work, to buy off the Most High God. Daniel was given the robe, the chain, and the promotion.
RESOLUTION & APPLICATION
It would prove to be a short-lived promotion, however. That very night, the Persian army diverted the Euphrates by digging a canal upstream, and entered the city through the riverbed underneath the walls. They made short work of the city’s defenders, while the majority of Babylonians at the city center, partying on the king’s orders, were oblivious to the breach. Belshazzar and his drunken nobles were slaughtered, immediately by the hands of the Persians, but ultimately by the hand of God. “You did not honor the God who holds in His hand your life and all your ways.” God’s hand will either take you or break you, cradle you or crush you. And the decision is actually yours to make. You see, this same hand that flung stars across the night sky and carved words of judgment on a palace wall, is the same hand that was pierced by iron nails and pinned to a dogwood tree—the Lord’s open hand of love. For those of us who follow Christ, we consider ourselves blessed. For God’s hand has not written judgment against us, but has instead written our names in His book of life. Belshazzar died covered in his own blood, while we are covered in Christ’s own blood.
So now you know what Belshazzar refused to acknowledge, and you’re responsible for this truth: (Big Idea) your days are numbered, and they will be weighed. Do your days have weight, or are they wanting? I’m not talking about your time management—I’m asking what wine are you drinking from God’s goblets? Are you using or abusing the gifts God has given you? Will you use money for your own luxuries while people starve in other countries and ministries go unfunded? Will you crave sexual pleasure yet know nothing of true intimacy? Will you pay lip service to love while seeking power? Some will judge others and call it discernment. Some will babble nonsense to get attention and call it a sign. Some will do whatever they feel like and call it wisdom. God has given you wonderful resources—will you drink from the cup of His new covenant or toast the gods of this world with them?
(Big Idea) Your days are numbered—how much do they weigh? That’s another decision that’s yours to make, every day. If you want your days to have weight, let God’s hand on the scale. Invite Him in. In one day by itself we can accomplish only so much; but one day in God’s hand has weight. One life by itself can only accomplish so much; but one life in God’s hand has weight beyond what any scale can measure. God’s people understand this, and so their days have weight. Let God’s hand hold you; guide you; support you; and give weight to your days. May God’s hand hold us, guide us, support us, and give weight to our days as New Hope Church.
