©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 5:18-31 (ESV) - O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. 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 the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.
“Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
Question to consider: What is a sign that Belshazzar’s heart was hardened against the LORD?
At the beginning of chapter three, I mentioned that Nebuchadnezzar was the embodiment of Romans 1:21-23 when he made his golden idol, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”
I would argue that Belshazzar's sin was even greater than that of his grandfather, for Nebuchadnezzar’s knowledge of God was limited to a cryptic dream and its interpretation by a Judean prophet when he fashioned the idol. According to Daniel, Belshazzar had full knowledge of everything that happened to Nebuchadnezzar. Whether he heard of this faith from his grandfather or from his queen mother who also demonstrated faith, he grew up understanding the person and nature of God and willfully chose to lift himself up against the Lord of heaven. He intentionally brought out the vessels from Jerusalem and used them in a way that dishonored God with malice.
The words that were written on the wall were Aramaic for: numbered, numbered, weighed, divided. As individual words, you can see how they had not provided a complete message, and yet seeing the words weighed and divided would certainly have an ominous tone when written by a disembodied hand on a plaster wall— especially after doing something he knew to be blasphemous.
His grandfather was given a year to repent. Belshazzar was given a few hours. He fulfilled his word in giving Daniel the office of power and its accompanying treasures, but I’d argue that this was a sign that he didn’t really listen to Daniel or take to heart what he said. Daniel had specifically told him not to give him these things, and a penitent and respectful man would have honored this. Had Belshazzar actually confessed his sin and sought counsel from Daniel on how he could be redeemed from this blasphemy, I would guess that this story would have a much more favorable outcome.
Dear heavenly Father, please keep us humble and stir up in us an ongoing desire to confess our sins and receive the forgiveness given to us by Christ. Let us not get caught up in the things of this world which are of no lasting value. Amen.