Study Focus: Dan. 5:1–31; Prov. 29:1; Ps. 75:7; Isa. 45:1, 2; Luke 12:19, 20.
Introduction: Daniel 5 stands in close parallel with Daniel 4. Both chapters portray in graphic terms God’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of the world. In Daniel 4, God took away the power from Nebuchadnezzar for a limited period of time. In Daniel 5, God removes the power from Belshazzar and brings the Babylonian kingdom to its end.
Lesson Themes:
Arrogance. One theme that pervades the book of Daniel and is graphically demonstrated here is that of the arrogance of the human powers in their rebellion against God and what stands for God in the world. When he should be more focused on defending his city against the impending attack of Medes and Persians, Belshazzar was offering a lavish banquet to his officers.
Judgment. The blasphemous gesture of Belshazzar in defiling the temple vessels, which represented the temple, amounted to an attack against God Himself. At this point, the Babylonian king and the system that he represented had filled up the cup of their iniquity. In that moment, the heavenly tribunal pronounced the sentence. A supernatural hand wrote on the palace wall the sobering message: MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN.
Life Application: What was Belshazzar’s most egregious sin the night of Babylon’s downfall? More even than hosting a hedonistic party, his worst sin was his treatment of the vessels from God’s temple. The blasphemous handling of the sacred objects epitomized Belshazzar’s contempt for the God of Israel and finally filled the cup of Babylon’s iniquity. However, the root of his faults lay in his refusal to walk in the light that God revealed through His dealings with Nebuchadnezzar. To avoid making the same mistake, we should also pay close attention to the experiences of others, both positive and negative. And most importantly, we must walk in the light that God has shed in our path through His Word.
Part II: Commentary
Arrogance. The last night of Babylon was marked by a great celebration. Xenophon and Herodotus indicate that the Babylonians were observing a regular festival. The Bible does not mention the reasons for the party, but scholars have speculated that it might have been the (spring) New Year’s Akītu Festival. Whatever feast it was, with the Medes and Persians ready to attack against Babylon (Dan. 5:29–31), we wonder why Belshazzar was partying. Most likely he felt secure within the city, which was surrounded by a wall twenty-five feet in width and a height of at least forty feet. Inside the city there were abundant water and food supplies to withstand many years of siege. So, Belshazzar harbored no fear of an invasion any time soon. The feast conveyed a sense of normalcy to the city’s inhabitants in spite of the enemies gathering outside the city walls.
At the height of the celebration, Belshazzar praised the gods “of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:23, ESV) but not the living God. Apparently, he forgot what God had done through Daniel to teach Nebuchadnezzar. However, Belshazzar’s very act of desecration indicates that he may not have been completely oblivious of the living God. By seizing the sacred vessels of the Jerusalem temple to be used as drinking cups in that blasphemous celebration, the Babylonian king demonstrated that he not only refused to honor the God of the Hebrews but exerted willful contempt against Him. By profaning the temple vessels, the king was expressing his most outrageous contempt for the reality those objects represented, namely, the worship of the true God. Such objects, though in exile, remained holy, and Belshazzar should have treated them with utmost respect.
Isaiah demanded purity from the exiles who would carry the sacred vessels back to Jerusalem (Isa. 52:11, 12). Nebuchadnezzar apparently understood the status of the temple objects when he placed them in the temple of his god. As opposed to his predecessor, Belshazzar showed no respect for the temple vessels. By defiling them in his orgiastic celebration, he challenged God Himself.
Belshazzar’s profanation of the sacred vessels stands as another episode in the long conflict between Babylon and Jerusalem, depicted in the Scriptures. The term Babylon appears for the first time in Genesis 11 (spelled as Babel in most translations), when a company of rebellious individuals begin constructing a tower intended to reach to the heavens. Thenceforth, a conflict between God and Babylon as a representation of the forces that oppose God and His truth emerges time and again in the Scriptures. When the armies of Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and razed Jerusalem and the temple to the ground, it appeared that Babylon had won. Belshazzar appears intent on reconfirming such appearances by defiling the vessels of God’s temple. In praising his gods and defiling the temple vessels, the Babylonian king intended to make a public demonstration of contempt toward the God of the Jews. This act of profanation points to the eschatological attacks of the little horn and the king of the North against God’s people and God’s heavenly temple, as depicted in the prophetic section of Daniel. Subsequently, the book of Revelation provides a broader picture of the conflict between Babylon and Jerusalem, which culminates in the annihilation of Babylon and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom from the New Jerusalem.
Judgment. At a divinely chosen moment in the lustful revelry, mysterious writing suddenly appears on the wall of the banquet room. The king immediately perceives the gravity of the situation. Although he could not read the writing, he felt it was an ominous pronouncement of impending doom. Once more the magicians and professionals of the palace failed to produce an interpretation that satisfied the king. It was only at the suggestion of the queen mother that the king requested that Daniel be brought to his presence. Some scholars identify this woman with Nitocris, daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, wife of Nabonidus and mother of Belshazzar.
One may wonder why Daniel was ignored up to that point. In this regard, we should bear in mind that Daniel had served until the third year of Belshazzar (Dan. 8:1, 27). Therefore, the old prophet was not any stranger to the king. On the basis of Belshazzar’s overall attitude and behavior, it appears that this king may have relegated Daniel to the margins for political (religious) expediency.
In his appearance before the king, the old prophet no longer used deferential language as in former addresses to Nebuchadnezzar. After making clear that he rejected the rewards the king promised to whoever interpreted the writing, Daniel spoke to the king in the most severe terms. Above all, Daniel faulted Belshazzar for not learning from the experience of Nebuchadnezzar, particularly when the latter was expelled from the throne for a period of seven years (Daniel 4). Thus, Belshazzar should have known better: “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this” (Dan. 5:22, NKJV). Therefore, the writing on the wall meant judgment for Belshazzar and Babylon: MENE, MENE (“counted”), TEKEL (“weighed”), UPHARSIN (“and divided”). Ellen G. White says that those letters “gleamed like fire,” and that the king and others seemed to be “arraigned before the judgment bar of the eternal God, whose power they had just defied.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 524. The sentence was given, the Babylonian king and kingdom were doomed. In spite of the unfavorable interpretation, the king kept his word, rewarded Daniel, and made him third ruler in the Babylonian empire, even if only for a few hours.
At that same night, the enemy diverted the river Euphrates—which ran through the city—to a marsh, and with the level of the water lowered, the soldiers entered Babylon underneath the city wall through the river bed. Belshazzar was killed, and mighty Babylon fell before the Medes and Persians, in October 539 B.C. The fall of historical Babylon—as the gold gave way to silver—symbolizes the final defeat of the spiritual end-time Babylon, as hinted at in the prophetic chapters of Daniel. In Revelation, the fall of the end-time Babylon is connected with the sixth plague, which results in the drying up of the Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings from the east (Rev. 16:12). In the end, the victorious city (Babylon) is defeated, and the defeated city (Jerusalem) is established, forever.
Part III: Life Application
1. In what ways can you prevent the fault of Belshazzar (in not learning from the past experiences of his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar) from being replicated in your life today? How can you avoid falling in the same trap of not learning from the experience of others?
2. Why is it important to know what God has done in the past history of His people? What happens to those who forget the past? How can you learn about God’s past acts?
3. In your view, what was the most offensive sin of Belshazzar? Explain your answer.
4. Imagine yourself in Daniel’s place. After being ignored, you are eventually called to solve the problem that the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers have failed to solve. How would you have felt? How would you have treated the king? Would you have accepted the rewards promised by the king? Explain.
5. Belshazzar ignored the true God and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. Which “gods” today pose a threat to your relationship with the true God? Money? Status? Education? Career?
6. Daniel indicts the king for not glorifying “the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Dan. 5:23, NKJV). How meaningful is this depiction of God for you? How do you feel about such a God? Love? Fear? Discuss.
7. In what ways can the judgment of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon give you assurance that, eventually, the forces of evil will be defeated? What picture of the judgment and of God’s character can you glimpse from this narrative?
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Key Text: Daniel 5
Study Focus: Dan. 5:1–31; Prov. 29:1; Ps. 75:7; Isa. 45:1, 2; Luke 12:19, 20.
Introduction: Daniel 5 stands in close parallel with Daniel 4. Both chapters portray in graphic terms God’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of the world. In Daniel 4, God took away the power from Nebuchadnezzar for a limited period of time. In Daniel 5, God removes the power from Belshazzar and brings the Babylonian kingdom to its end.
Lesson Themes:
Life Application: What was Belshazzar’s most egregious sin the night of Babylon’s downfall? More even than hosting a hedonistic party, his worst sin was his treatment of the vessels from God’s temple. The blasphemous handling of the sacred objects epitomized Belshazzar’s contempt for the God of Israel and finally filled the cup of Babylon’s iniquity. However, the root of his faults lay in his refusal to walk in the light that God revealed through His dealings with Nebuchadnezzar. To avoid making the same mistake, we should also pay close attention to the experiences of others, both positive and negative. And most importantly, we must walk in the light that God has shed in our path through His Word.
Part II: Commentary
Arrogance. The last night of Babylon was marked by a great celebration. Xenophon and Herodotus indicate that the Babylonians were observing a regular festival. The Bible does not mention the reasons for the party, but scholars have speculated that it might have been the (spring) New Year’s Akītu Festival. Whatever feast it was, with the Medes and Persians ready to attack against Babylon (Dan. 5:29–31), we wonder why Belshazzar was partying. Most likely he felt secure within the city, which was surrounded by a wall twenty-five feet in width and a height of at least forty feet. Inside the city there were abundant water and food supplies to withstand many years of siege. So, Belshazzar harbored no fear of an invasion any time soon. The feast conveyed a sense of normalcy to the city’s inhabitants in spite of the enemies gathering outside the city walls. At the height of the celebration, Belshazzar praised the gods “of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (Dan. 5:23, ESV) but not the living God. Apparently, he forgot what God had done through Daniel to teach Nebuchadnezzar. However, Belshazzar’s very act of desecration indicates that he may not have been completely oblivious of the living God. By seizing the sacred vessels of the Jerusalem temple to be used as drinking cups in that blasphemous celebration, the Babylonian king demonstrated that he not only refused to honor the God of the Hebrews but exerted willful contempt against Him. By profaning the temple vessels, the king was expressing his most outrageous contempt for the reality those objects represented, namely, the worship of the true God. Such objects, though in exile, remained holy, and Belshazzar should have treated them with utmost respect. Isaiah demanded purity from the exiles who would carry the sacred vessels back to Jerusalem (Isa. 52:11, 12). Nebuchadnezzar apparently understood the status of the temple objects when he placed them in the temple of his god. As opposed to his predecessor, Belshazzar showed no respect for the temple vessels. By defiling them in his orgiastic celebration, he challenged God Himself. Belshazzar’s profanation of the sacred vessels stands as another episode in the long conflict between Babylon and Jerusalem, depicted in the Scriptures. The term Babylon appears for the first time in Genesis 11 (spelled as Babel in most translations), when a company of rebellious individuals begin constructing a tower intended to reach to the heavens. Thenceforth, a conflict between God and Babylon as a representation of the forces that oppose God and His truth emerges time and again in the Scriptures. When the armies of Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and razed Jerusalem and the temple to the ground, it appeared that Babylon had won. Belshazzar appears intent on reconfirming such appearances by defiling the vessels of God’s temple. In praising his gods and defiling the temple vessels, the Babylonian king intended to make a public demonstration of contempt toward the God of the Jews. This act of profanation points to the eschatological attacks of the little horn and the king of the North against God’s people and God’s heavenly temple, as depicted in the prophetic section of Daniel. Subsequently, the book of Revelation provides a broader picture of the conflict between Babylon and Jerusalem, which culminates in the annihilation of Babylon and the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom from the New Jerusalem.
Judgment. At a divinely chosen moment in the lustful revelry, mysterious writing suddenly appears on the wall of the banquet room. The king immediately perceives the gravity of the situation. Although he could not read the writing, he felt it was an ominous pronouncement of impending doom. Once more the magicians and professionals of the palace failed to produce an interpretation that satisfied the king. It was only at the suggestion of the queen mother that the king requested that Daniel be brought to his presence. Some scholars identify this woman with Nitocris, daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, wife of Nabonidus and mother of Belshazzar. One may wonder why Daniel was ignored up to that point. In this regard, we should bear in mind that Daniel had served until the third year of Belshazzar (Dan. 8:1, 27). Therefore, the old prophet was not any stranger to the king. On the basis of Belshazzar’s overall attitude and behavior, it appears that this king may have relegated Daniel to the margins for political (religious) expediency. In his appearance before the king, the old prophet no longer used deferential language as in former addresses to Nebuchadnezzar. After making clear that he rejected the rewards the king promised to whoever interpreted the writing, Daniel spoke to the king in the most severe terms. Above all, Daniel faulted Belshazzar for not learning from the experience of Nebuchadnezzar, particularly when the latter was expelled from the throne for a period of seven years (Daniel 4). Thus, Belshazzar should have known better: “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this” (Dan. 5:22, NKJV). Therefore, the writing on the wall meant judgment for Belshazzar and Babylon: MENE, MENE (“counted”), TEKEL (“weighed”), UPHARSIN (“and divided”). Ellen G. White says that those letters “gleamed like fire,” and that the king and others seemed to be “arraigned before the judgment bar of the eternal God, whose power they had just defied.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 524. The sentence was given, the Babylonian king and kingdom were doomed. In spite of the unfavorable interpretation, the king kept his word, rewarded Daniel, and made him third ruler in the Babylonian empire, even if only for a few hours. At that same night, the enemy diverted the river Euphrates—which ran through the city—to a marsh, and with the level of the water lowered, the soldiers entered Babylon underneath the city wall through the river bed. Belshazzar was killed, and mighty Babylon fell before the Medes and Persians, in October 539 B.C. The fall of historical Babylon—as the gold gave way to silver—symbolizes the final defeat of the spiritual end-time Babylon, as hinted at in the prophetic chapters of Daniel. In Revelation, the fall of the end-time Babylon is connected with the sixth plague, which results in the drying up of the Euphrates to prepare the way for the kings from the east (Rev. 16:12). In the end, the victorious city (Babylon) is defeated, and the defeated city (Jerusalem) is established, forever.
Part III: Life Application
1. In what ways can you prevent the fault of Belshazzar (in not learning from the past experiences of his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar) from being replicated in your life today? How can you avoid falling in the same trap of not learning from the experience of others?
2. Why is it important to know what God has done in the past history of His people? What happens to those who forget the past? How can you learn about God’s past acts?
3. In your view, what was the most offensive sin of Belshazzar? Explain your answer.
4. Imagine yourself in Daniel’s place. After being ignored, you are eventually called to solve the problem that the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers have failed to solve. How would you have felt? How would you have treated the king? Would you have accepted the rewards promised by the king? Explain.
5. Belshazzar ignored the true God and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone. Which “gods” today pose a threat to your relationship with the true God? Money? Status? Education? Career?
6. Daniel indicts the king for not glorifying “the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways” (Dan. 5:23, NKJV). How meaningful is this depiction of God for you? How do you feel about such a God? Love? Fear? Discuss.7. In what ways can the judgment of Belshazzar and the fall of Babylon give you assurance that, eventually, the forces of evil will be defeated? What picture of the judgment and of God’s character can you glimpse from this narrative?