Daniel 5 P2: The Precarious Position of the Unbeliever

Bible Study Series: Daniel, Babylon and the End Times

Daniel 5 Part 2 Lesson: The Precarious Position of the Unbeliever

by I Gordon

Well, we looked last time at a rowdy old party. The king of Babylon was throwing a wild shindig and huge celebrations were in order. Or so he thought. They had the wine, the women and their precious gods of gold and silver. Everything was going swimmingly... well, until that strange creepy little hand (that wasn't even connected to an arm) showed up and started writing mysterious things in an unknown language on the wall! Talk about being a party pooper and stopping the celebrations in their tracks! You may remember that the shocked sudden silence was only broken by the sound of King Belshazzar's knees knocking together! So last time we saw how God can write 'Ichabod' (meaning 'no glory') over a nation and this is what He did with the Babylonian empire. The Most High, as Daniel often referred to Him, is able to give or remove the glory of a nation as He so determines. We also saw how nations and empires can be like people having births and deaths. This is scary stuff actually for we tend to think that things will continue as they always did and that 'our nation' won't fall like others have. But alas, we also saw that the same Babylonian spirit manifests itself today and as you look around, you can see the writing on the wall once again.

Now this lesson, which I have titled 'The Precarious Position of the Unbeliever', carries on from where the last one left off and looks at the second half of Daniel 5, verses 18-30. While the last study focused more on nations as a whole, this will focus more on the individual with particular emphasis on the following: 

• The history lesson - Before explaining what the writing on the wall meant, Daniel began with a history lesson. Why did Daniel start there?
• The writing on the wall - what was God actually saying to the king then - and humanity now?
• The warning for unbelievers - What does this chapter teach concerning the precarious position of the unbeliever?
• The exhortation for believers - What does this chapter teach concerning the importance of this life for the believer?

So let's have a look. We pick up the story with Daniel just called in before the king and he has been asked to give the interpretation of the writing from this creepy odd hand!

Why the history lesson?

Dan 5:18-21 O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. (19) Because of the high position he gave him, all the peoples and nations and men of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. (20) But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. (21) He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like cattle; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and sets over them anyone he wishes.

Can you remember when you were little and you had done something wrong, and when your Mum gave you a detailed history of what you had done then you knew you were in for extra trouble right? Well, Daniel does that. You will note that Daniel doesn't just come in and give the interpretation for what the writing on the wall means. Oh no... he needs to set the stage. So Daniel begins with a history lesson¹ of all that happened to king Nebuchadnezzar. Now why would he do that you might ask? Well, for a few reasons:

1. He is showing that the Most High God, whom they mocked, is the One who is sovereign and places kings in power
2. He is showing that when people don't walk humbly before Him, that position can be taken in an instant (like it was about to again!)
3. Most importantly, Daniel is showing that Belshazzar should have learnt from what had happened to his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. He had heard the stories. He had been given great light and should have known better.

Instead, Belshazzar mocked the God of Israel, the Most High, using items taken from the Jewish Temple on this drunken party while praising the so-called 'gods' of silver and gold. So Daniel, like a wise court prosecutor (or your mother!), starts with the facts of history, laying a firm foundation while building his case for the judgement and conclusion to come! And once he has finished laying out the facts, all will know:

1. Why the writing has now appeared
2. What the writing means
3. What the outcome will be
4. And when that outcome will take place

And did I mention that the king's knees were still knocking together as he heard all this?

You idiot! - Spurning light from God

Dan 5:22-23 But you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. (23) Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways.

When Daniel was asked to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great tree being chopped down, he did so with a sadness that the interpretation applied to king Nebuchadnezzar and not his enemies. There seemed to be a very real fondness there between Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar. Well, things are quite different for this king and Daniel is straight to the point saying 'You knew all this!' 'You knew it Belshazzar... you saw how God humbled your Grandfather and yet you still wouldn't humble yourself! You were given great revelation and light from God and you rejected it! You mocked the true God and made created things into a god!' You can just imagine the force of Daniel's words as he speaks straight to the king's actions. 

Now look at how Daniel describes the One whom they despised and turned their backs on. He is 'the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways'. The one that is being mocked and being declared irrelevant in our societies is the one who holds the very life and breath of the mocker in His hand. God could clench His fist and snuff out their life if He so wished. Now I don't want to rush past this verse too quickly as it was one of the main verses in this passage that stood out to me and we all know people in this position. There is a key Psalm that emphasizes this well. In Psalm 73:1-3 we read of Asaph, a godly man struggling to remain godly as he views the prosperity of the wicked. He describes his culture in verses 4-11 and it could well be describing king Belshazzar in the text before us. Or for that matter it could also be describing many in our own culture today. In part of it he writes:

Psa 73:3-9 I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. (4) They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. (5) They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills. (6) Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. (7) From their callous hearts comes iniquity; the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. (8) They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. (9) Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.

But while struggling to understand how the wicked seem to prosper, Asaph finally has a revelation when he comes into God's house...

Psa 73:16-20 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me (17) till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. (18) Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin. (19) How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors! (20) As a dream when one awakes, so when you arise, O Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.

After being envious of the prosperity of the wicked, Asaph gets a glimpse of their true position. They are actually standing on very slippery ground and only the goodness, grace and patience of God holds them from falling. Nothing else! And He could take His hand away and let them go whenever He wishes. The one they mock is the only one who now holds them from slipping into a Christless eternity! That is the precarious position of the unbeliever! This scary position of the unbeliever was famously given in the sermon 'Sinners in the hands of an angry God' by Jonathon Edwards.

What strange little words are these...?

Dan 5:25-28 This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN (26) This is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. (27) Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. (28) Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians."

So having given the 'why' concerning the appearance of these words written on the wall, Daniel now gives the 'what'... What did it all mean? The words written on the wall were 'Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin'. Four little words but what confusion they caused! The problem was that each Aramaic word had more than one meaning.

So as the Babylonians tried to interpret this message there were a few interpretations open to them. At it's best it might be saying 'money, money, money!' And that didn't sound too bad. Or, just possibly, it meant something more foreboding. I'm sure you know the story... they weren't coming into some quick riches. It was the latter, something foreboding! As Daniel gives the true interpretation of the writing on the wall you can only imagine the fear rising within the king. 'Numbered, numbered, weighed and divided. Your number is up Belshazzar. You have been weighed and found to be a spiritual featherweight. Your life and kingdom has amounted to nothing on the divine scales and is over. You have been found wanting.' These are important words for us all! God not only numbers our days, but he weighs our lives. And He not only weighs our lives, but He records and judges our deeds. As scripture says:

• Psa 139:16 All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
• Pro 21:2 All a man's ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart.

The Bible says that 'it is appointed unto all men to die once and then face judgement.' For the believer, this will not be a judgement of their sins, for that took place 2000 years ago as Jesus was nailed to the cross. Nor will it be a judgment concerning salvation. Jesus is our salvation. But there is a judgement of our lives and all that was based on Jesus will remain and be rewarded. For this reason scripture tells believers:

1 John 2:28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.²

But it is a different story for the unbeliever. There is no salvation there, no second chance after death. They will hear, as Belshazzar did, that you have been weighed and found wanting. And that is a scary thought just writing about it. Now before moving on, it is worth pointing out Daniel's courage here in giving the word of God. It wasn't an easy or ear tickling message that Daniel had for the king. Our Daily Bread writes:

"It took courage for Daniel to confront the king that night. The prophet had good reason to hedge a bit about the interpretation of the words supernaturally scrawled on the wall of the banquet room. A lesser man might have been bought off by the huge reward or intimidated by the threat of the king’s vengeance. It would have been easier to go along with the national council of prophets of Babylon and plead ignorance about the inscription. Or, since the king was bewildered by the writing, Daniel could have read only part of it and left out the pronouncement of death and doom. But Daniel was a profile of courage. With Belshazzar and a thousand drunken lords and dignitaries for his congregation, the brave old prophet declared God’s whole counsel. What was the source of such courage? Daniel knew that he wasn’t just standing before the king of Babylon; he was standing before the King of kings. With God as our audience and Christ as our companion, we can say and do anything we ought."
Our Daily Bread

Third in the Kingdom... for a whole entire hour

Daniel 5:29-31 Then at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.

Finally we see that for telling Belshazzar that his kingdom has come to an end, Daniel is rewarded by being made a third ruler in that very same kingdom! You can probably see Daniel just shaking his head saying 'you don't get it do you? Are you not listening... you don't have a kingdom!' Now from what I know of God, if the king had genuinely repented even at this very late stage then he wouldn't have been judged and lost his life.³ But that wasn't about to happen with this king. 

So we read in the scripture that that very night Darius the Mede took over the kingdom and king Belshazzar was killed. This was October 539 B.C. Hmmm... he was killed that very night? I thought the walls of Babylon were impregnable? Belshazzar obviously thought that was the case. So how did the Medes and the Persian army get in? 

Now the suddenness of this fall is also a picture of what will come in the last days for the spirit of Babylon is still found and will be prominent again in the coming Tribulation period (as seen in Revelation 17-18): 

Rev 18:8 Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
Rev 18:17 In one hour such great wealth has been brought to ruin!' 

This chapter (Daniel 5) reveals the blasphemous character of the end of the Babylonian monarchy. Blasphemy, rejection of God’s truth are about us on all sides. There is a “Mene, Mene, Tekel” for apostate Christendom and for that final phase of Babylon as revealed in Rev 17:1-18; Rev 18:1-24.
A.C Gaebelein

Conclusion

So as we conclude, what have we seen? Daniel, as an expert prosecutor, laid out a rock solid case against Belshazzar based on the fact that God had given the king great light and understanding... yet it had been rejected by this king more interested in his own pleasure. Thus the king had carried on living in contempt of God and His heavenly court. I'm sure you know people like that. Hopefully you are not someone like that! There is no doubt that the pull of the world and the Babylonian spirit is very strong but we don't want to be like that.⁴  Don't be that person! 

So let us remember the two important aspects that have come out of this study: 

1. The precarious position of the unbeliever
   Let us not be like king Belshazzar who knew it all but did nothing. There are, unfortunately, countless Belshazzar’s in the world today. They are unable to understand the writing on the wall and simply live like life is one big party... until it's not. They don't realize that they are, quite literally, one breath away from eternity. As Daniel said to the king, they have not honored the God who holds in his hand their life and all their ways. Think about someone you know, that doesn't know Jesus, and ask the Lord for opportunities to share the truth of the gospel with them.
2. The importance of this life for the believer
   Even as believers our lives will still be weighed and God is looking for that which He can reward. So let us learn from Daniel's ways, who set himself apart for the Lord to use, and whose life and works will stand for eternity.

So that is the end of the Babylonian kingdom in history but her spirit lives on still influencing many today. In the next study we'll see Daniel in a position of authority within the new Medo-Persian kingdom. And it seems that jealousy among his contemporaries will lead to a very close encounter with a pack of hungry lions!

Until then... God bless!

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FOOTNOTES