Writing on the Wall
Notes
Transcript
The believer, as the unbeliever, needs to be pressed with the truth. It is a matter of life and death. #savethechildren
Written, originally, from the perspective of exiles living in a foreign land. Written, as we read it today, TO exiles living in a foreign land. Whether the church in this country or any other, WE ARE EXILES. This world is not our home! We take Jeremiah, who prophesied about what we read in Daniel today (27:6-8 is very interesting); we take Jeremiah’s words from 29:7 “pray for the land of your exile. Seeks it’s peace, prosperity, welfare; because when it prospers, you too, will prosper”!
1 King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.
2 Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
3 Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
4 They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.
5 Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote.
6 Then the king’s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him; his limbs gave way, and his knees knocked together.
7 The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.
9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed.
10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.
11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. 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, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers,
12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”
13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah.
14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter.
16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. 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. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.
18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty.
19 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.
20 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.
21 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.
22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,
23 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.
24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed.
25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.
26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end;
27 Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting;
28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 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.
30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
The tools of worship from the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra says there were thousands of these vessels taken. They were on display in Babylon to proclaim their god’s power over the God of the conquered nation, Israel.
Bringing them out at this party was foolishness like pizza party on your grandmother’s fine china.
What we eventually see unfold is reminiscent of the Philistine god Dagon...
A remarkable turn of events. 4:37 to 5:1-4 The times, they were a’changin’.
The general’s discipline was followed by the lax-ness of those growing up in easy times. It is said that hard times make hard men. Hard men make easy times. Easy times make soft men. Soft men make hard times.
God was in charge during the turn. 4:17
God’s servant is always ready for action. Our circumstances may change but our charge does not. Whether we are full to overflowing or just a remnant of what you remember; whether we gather in freedom or are pushed into our houses like so many around the world; we worship, we pray and we spread the message of a Jesus who saves from the penalty of sin.
The party:
170ft x 55ft. Blue enamel brick on one end and white plaster on the other three.
But Persia had set up shop outside the walls. They had diverted the Euphrates. They were about to run through the city, the palace, the king of Babylon.
Sometimes we(I) want to bury our head in the sand. We want to cut ourselves off from society and be oblivious to what is around us. And sometimes we are successful, for a time. But such is not the call of God on our lives. We said on Sunday night a couple of weeks ago ‘the believer may retire from punching the clock, but we never retire from ministry’. ?Jimmy Carter Habitat for Humanity?
There is a world in desperate need of the message of salvation and it exists just down the street. Just outside the door for some. Maybe even just down the hall. Yet more and more, we are willing to close ourselves off, insulating and isolating and we are effectively doing what was done at that party.
The excess (inhibitions gone):
There are sacred things not to be tampered with: marriage, truth, human life.
This king was drunk the entire time. From ‘bring in the vessels of gold and silver’ to ‘that very night the king was killed’ he was hammered! The merriness of the party and the giddiness of the forbidden utensils was replaced with the fear (color drained from his face) of the finger and then the anger of the inevitable loss of the kingdom.
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
The consequences:
Remember what we are seeing is God dealing with a pagan king who had thumbed his nose at the Creator God. In the midst of this era of judgement on His own people
When we, individually or collectively, harden our hearts toward God there are natural consequences to such a choice. There are two things a child doesnt want to do: Go to bed and take a bath. If parents dont make them go to bed, they will be grumpy all the next day. Lack of sleep has consequences.
We might perceive a difference in the patience of God between Nebu and Bel. God have the first many displays of His greatness and was long-suffering toward the king. Today’s story is the only time his grandson is highlighted. But connect those dots… So when Daniel reminds Bel of the events of Nebu’s life, he was telling the king what he already knew. What he grew up watching.
Smart people learn from their mistakes. Could it be said wise people learn from other’s mistakes? If knowing history is important to keep from repeating it, then wouldn’t knowing scripture be even more valuable?
The fear of the Lord is, indeed, the beginning of wisdom. But if we are not willing to have that kind of awe and respect for Him and His Word, He will bring about the kind of fear Belshazzar found in our text today.
There is a man in your kingdom to there is a Kingdom among man.
The hope of Babylon was ‘there is a man in your kingdom’. It was true the whole time Daniel was alive. He consistently pointed people to the Lord.
The hope of today is ‘there is a Kingdom among man’. It will be true as long as God’s people walk this earth. Do we consistently point people to the Lord?
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