In the Old Testament, the reigns of four powerful kings—Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus the Great—stand out as significant symbols during the Jewish people’s 70 years in Babylonian captivity.
Although each of
these kings came from a pagan background, all were ultimately used as
instruments in God’s hand, with one king freeing the Jewish people through an
unlikely decree.
Daniel 5:1-31 NKJV
1 Belshazzar the
king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the
presence of the thousand.
Belshazzar gave the
command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar
had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem,
that the king and his
lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
In the Bible,
great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and fathers are all referred to as fathers.
3 Then they brought
the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which
had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his
concubines drank from them.
They stole vessels that
belonged to God and used them for themselves.
4 They drank wine,
and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
5 In the same hour
the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lamp stand on the
plaster of the wall of the king’s palace;
and the king saw the part of the hand
that wrote.
7 The king cried
aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.
The king
spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and
tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of
gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Belshazzar was the
eldest son of King Nabonidus.
Belshazzar ruled
for him while he built pagan temples for the Bels throughout the kingdom.
Belshazzar was the
second ruler. Therefore, the interpreter would be the third ruler.
9 Then King
Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords
were astonished.
10 The queen,
because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall.
The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble
you, nor let your countenance change.
11 There is a man
in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God.
And in the days of your
father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were
found in him;
and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him
chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
The queen was the
daughter of Nebuchadnezzar herself.
She presented this advice very
carefully to Belshazzar because she feared for her own life.
Bel
is in both names.
Bel
in their language means God.
Belteshazzar, Daniel, means Bel protect the King's wife.
Belshazzar means Bel
protect the King.
They believed their
kings were God.
Judah had worshiped Baals, too.
The King's wife actually gets Daniel promoted.
12 Inasmuch as an
excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving
riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel,
whom the king named
Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
13 Then Daniel was
brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel,
“Are
you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king
brought from Judah?
This was like a put
down calling Daniel a captive not even a free man.
14 I have heard
of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and
understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
15 Now the wise
men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read
this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give
the interpretation of the thing.
16 And I have
heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas.
Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you
shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and
shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered,
and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your
rewards to another;
yet I will read the writing to the king, and make
known to him the interpretation.
Daniel relied upon God
to provide for him and not the king's gifts.
18 O king, the Most
High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and
honor.
19 And because of
the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and
feared before him.
Whomever he wished, he
executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and
whomever he wished, he put down.
Daniel reminded
Belshazzar of his place. He wanted to be the first ruler, but he was not.
20 But when his
heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from
his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him.
21 Then he was
driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his
dwelling was with the wild donkeys.
They fed him with grass like oxen, and his
body was wet with the dew of heaven,
till he knew that the Most High
God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.
22 “But you his
son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.
Again, in the Bible, great-grandfathers, grandfathers, and fathers are all referred to as fathers.
23 And you have
lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven.
They have brought the vessels of
His house 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, bronze and iron, wood and stone,
which
do not see or hear or know; and
the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not
glorified.
24 Then the fingers
of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.
25 “And this is the
inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the
interpretation of each word. MENE:
God has numbered your kingdom, and finished
it;
27 TEKEL:
You have
been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;
28 PERES:
Your
kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar
gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold
around his neck,
and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the
third ruler in the kingdom.
From the
interpretation, Daniel realized that Belshazzar's kingdom would fall.
Therefore, Daniel took the position to influence the next kingdom.
30 That very night
Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.
31 And Darius the
Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
1. Belshazzar saw but
he didn't look.
Belshazzar never
pursued a relationship with God even after seeing what God did to King
Nebuchadnezzar.
Intimacy means "into me you can see". We don't do this
because of pride.
2. He heard but he
didn't listen.
Belshazzar heard
about King Nebuchadnezzar eating grass, and Daniel interpreting dreams for
him.
It didn't impact him.
That's called
stubbornness.
Deuteronomy
32:17 NKJV
17 They sacrificed
to demons, not to God,To gods they did not know,To new gods, new arrivals That
your fathers did not fear.
3. He knew, but he
didn't learn.
Belshazzar heard, but
he didn't listen.
Stubbornness is your strong will turned to yourself and not
to God.
A strong will is not negative as long as it's surrendered to
God.
Job 42:5 NKJV
5 “I have heard of
You by the hearing of the ear,But now my eye sees You.
What is the Holy
Spirit saying to me through this message?
Robert Morris,
Gateway Church
http://gatewaypeople.com/ministries/connect/events/the-kings-of-babylon-a-gateway-series/session/2019/03/16/the-stubbornness
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