April 14, 2023
Please use the comment section on this page to share insights from today’s reading OR your own personal Bible reading.
Reading along with us in Daniel? Here’s today’s reading:
Daniel 5 (NIV)
The Writing on the Wall
1 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............Continue Reading
After what I would call Nebuchadnezzar’s “training period” in Chapters 2-4, he concludes in Verse 4:37 with “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
In verse 5:22 Daniel says “But you his son (Nebuchadnezzar’s), O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.” Belshazzar knew what his father went through to humble himself before God. Despite that knowledge, he chose the arrogant and prideful way and paid dearly.
Note: An excavation of the Babylonian palace found a large room of 150 ft. x 50 ft. that has blue enamel tiles on one wall and the other three walls are white plaster. Hmmmm.
Imagine the literal writing on the wall of your pride and idolatry bringing about your destruction! Sad when we can’t learn from the mistakes of others that came before us especially parents! A good reminder for us that when we read things like this we are still making those mistakes so many years later and hopefully brings us conviction to stop that cycle and be more like Daniel faithful to God in every part of our lives despite behavior around us!
Belshazzar is the son of Neb. He is a evil king that dishonors the things of God. The vessels from the temple in Jerusalem that were holy he distained. He and others praised the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron wood, and stone. It is almost like he lived under a rock. But he did know what happened to his father. When the Hand of God appears he does what his father did by calling all the wise men. But of course they couldn`t give the interpretation. It takes the queen to remind him of the man Daniel who could interpret the meaning. It doesn`t say which queen this is. I think it might be his mother that lived through things with her husband Neb. Belshazzar is so afraid of the hand of God that he his countenance was changed And his thoughts troubled him. His knees knocked together. Daniel tells him the interpretation and rebukes him that he did humble himself even though he knew all these things. Of what had happened to his father. With all this Belshazzar still didn`t repent and he died that very night. He did make Daniel the third ruler but still died in his sins. How foolish to know all these things and still not repent. His soul was found wanting and went to hell. He had the earlier interpretations of Daniel that this kingdom would end and the Medes and Persians would be the next kingdom. He should have repented and turned to God. I guess he thought he had plenty of time. That`s like today people think that they have plenty of time to set their house in order. Whether as unbelievers waiting to come to Christ or as believers living as Jesus wants us to be.
How easy it is for us to treat God and the things of God in a familiar way until He shows His power and ability first hand (pun intended I guess…). How prideful they must have felt to be using the sacred items of the temple ( you can hear them sneering about their and their gods’ superiority over the Jews and their God), until of course His hand is writing on the wall. How prideful that Belshazzar has lead his kingdom without Daniel’s wisdom. How prideful that he did not learn His father’s lesson. We can be blind and prideful ourselves, can’t we? And yet Daniel comes to tell him the jig is up. It is clear Daniel did not have the same respect for this guy as he did for his father. He tells him to keep his reward and give it to someone else. We are never beholden on the rewards of the world. It is a good account that reminds us to learn our lessons well before the writing on the wall is for us. And when God weighs on the scale, let’s not be found to be wanting….
Daniel 5
Daniel 5
This story (and many Bible stories) made me think about politics. I think we as believers think that our (and others) spiritual lives should be separate from political policies, decisions, voting, etc. especially in America. We tolerate ungodly leaders and ungodly policies because of our separation indoctrination (separation of church and state). I consider myself a “libertarian” for the most part, letting people have the freedom to live as they choose as long as it isn’t infringing on others rights and lives, but I don’t think that’s how God will run things when He comes. I suppose we do have free will to follow Him or not, but there are consequences for that decision as individuals and as nations.
Our nation was founded on equality under the law, a part of our nation that I feel honors God and His law and is why it has worked for so long. Our own government is forsaking this lawful foundation daily: letting criminals out in the street, not protecting its citizens, violating citizens’ rights, lying before courts, etc. From this passage in Daniel and in other passages, It is pretty clear that when man separates himself from God and from acknowledging God in the affairs of nations, God will intervene. When Jesus came the first time, on the one hand the Jewish leaders were expecting a political leader and on the other hand, they rejected His spiritual authority. Even when you think of Revelation, when the anti-Christ comes, it will be the political and spiritual together that rule over people, there will be no separation of “satan and state”. When Christ returns to rule there will still be nations (political) with rulers who will ultimately rise up against Him at Armageddon.