3. The Handwriting on the Wall

5. Your Number is Up When God Crashes the Party Dying to Have a Good Time God’s Graffiti Weighing In

6. Daniel 5 is an eyewitness account of the final night of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. The setting of the entire chapter is that one night. Daniel 5 records the historical transition from the head of gold to the arms and chest of silver.

7. Chiastic Structure in Daniel 2—7

8. I. A Night of Revelry (1-4) II. A Night of Revelation (5-29) III. A Night of Retribution (30-31)

9. I. A Night of Revelry (1-4) “Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.”

10. Who was Belshazzar? Belshazzar’s mother was Nitocris the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar. His father was Nabonidus. Belshazzar reigned as co-regent with his father for 14 years (553-539 B.C.).. 25-35 years have passed since the end of Dan 4. Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C. The year is now 539 B.C.

11. NebuchadnezzarDied in 562 B.C. Evil-Merodach Reigned 2 years, assassinated by his brother- in-law Neriglissar One of Nebuchadnezzar’s generals; reigned 4 years Labashi-Marduk Neriglissar’s son; murdered during a revolt after a 9 month reign Nabonidus Leader of the revolt; reigned 17 years. The most capable ruler since Nebuchadnezzar. A very religious man.

12. The Cylinder of Nabonidus

13. “As for me, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, save me from sinning against your great godhead and grant me as a present a life long of days, and as for Belshazzar, the eldest son—my offspring—instill reverence for your great godhead in his heart and may he not commit any cultic mistake, may he be sated with a life of plenitude.”

14. 1. The Period of the Feast Saturday night, October 12, 539 B.C. Nabonidus was defeated at Sippar on Oct. 10 by Cyrus and had fled to Borsippa being pursued by some of Cyrus’ troops. The city of Babylon was under siege by thousands of Medes and Persians. A.The Feast of Belshazzar “Belshazzar’s Ball”

15. 3. The Place of the Feast Nebuchadnezzar’s throne room in his southern palace – 173 x 56 feet (9,700 sq. ft.) 2. The People at the Feast “Belshazzar... a thousand of his nobles... his wives, and his concubines.” Possibly 2,500 people.

16. 4. The Purpose of the Feast The city was surrounded by the Medo-Persian army. The feast may have been a gesture of confidence. A great feast to build morale. The Babylonians believed their city was impregnable. In his Cyropedia, Xenophon said that they had provisions for 20 years stored up. And they had the Euphrates river running through the city as an abundant water supply. The feast was an act of sheer bravado.

17. B. The Folly of Belshazzar (2-4) “When Belshazzar tasted (began to feel the effect of) the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, in order that the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone.”

18. The night of Revelry becomes a II. A Night of Revelation (5-29)

19. A. The Fingers of God (5) “Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand (the hand from the wrist to the tips of the fingers) emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand that did the writing.”

22. B. The Fear of Belshazzar (5:6) “Then the king’s face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; and his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together.” Never did a drunk sober up so quickly!

23. C. The Failure of the Wise Men (7-9) “The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon. ‘Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me will be clothed with purple, and have the necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.’ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, his face grew even paler, and his nobles were perplexed.”

24. D. The Fame of Daniel (10-16) “The queen entered the banquet hall...” Who was the Queen? Nitocris—the daughter of King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar’s mother V. 13 “Then Daniel was brought in before the king” (Daniel wasn’t at the party). Daniel was Belshazzar’s last resort.

25. Joseph Parker “Preachers of the Word, you will be wanted someday by Belshazzar. You were not at the beginning of the feast. You will be there before the banquet hour is closed. The king will not ask you to drink wine, but he will ask you to tell the secret of his pain, and heal the malady of his heart. Just wait your time, preachers. You are nobody now. Who cares for preachers and teachers and seers, men of insight, while the wine goes around and the feast is unfolding its tempting luxuries.

26. But the preacher will have his opportunity. They will send for him when all other friends have failed. May he then come fearlessly, independently, asking only to be a channel through which divine communication can be addressed. Then may he speak to the listening trouble of the world.... O Daniel, preacher, speaker, teacher, thunder out God’s Word, it if be a case of judgment and doom, or whisper it, or rain in gracious tears, if it be a message of sympathy and love and welcome.”.

27. E. The Faithfulness of Daniel (17-29) 1. The Indictment of Belshazzar (17-23) Premeditated Sin – He sinned against the light of knowledge (v. 22) Profane Sacrilege – He deliberately defied God (v. 23a) Pagan Sacrifice – He worshiped idols and did not glorify God (v. 23b) A 3 word summary of his sin: He forgot God.

28. 2. The Interpretation of the Writing (5:24-28)

29. God gave Belshazzar A History Lesson A Theology Lesson A Spelling Lesson

30. N S R P L K T N M N M P T M M R K N N S L ‘ ‘ The message is terse. Impressionable by its brevity.

31. MENE – God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. TEKEL – you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient (a spiritual lightweight). UPHARSIN/PERES (the “U” is the conjuction “and”) – your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.

32. The Handwriting Expert Why could Daniel read the writing when no one else could? It was his Father’s handwriting!

33. Mene, MeneNumbered Your Number is Up! TekelWeighed You Don’t Measure Up! Upharsin/PeresDivided You Will Be Divided Up!

34. PERES consonants = P R S The same consonants as PERSIA God is not just saying, “your kingdom will be divided up,” but “your kingdom will be PERSIANIZED.”

35. III. A Night of Retribution (30-31) “That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain” (5:30). Saturday night – October 12, 539 B.C.

38. Vision of Belshazzar THE King was on his throne, The Satraps throng'd the hall: A thousand bright lamps shone O'er that high festival. A thousand cups of gold, In Judah deem'd divine -- Jehovah's vessels hold The godless Heathen's wine! In that same hour and hall, The fingers of a hand Came forth against the wall, And wrote as if on sand: The fingers of a man; --

39. A solitary hand Along the letters ran, And traced them like a wand. The monarch saw, and shook, And bade no more rejoice; All bloodless wax'd his look And tremulous his voice. 'Let the men of lore appear, The wisest of the earth, And expound the words of fear, Which mar our royal mirth.' Chaldea's seers are good, But here they have no skill; And the unknown letters stood Untold and awful still.

40. And Babel’s men of age Are wise and deep in lore; But now they were not sage, They saw – but knew no more. A captive in the land, A stranger and a youth, He heard the king's command, He saw that writing's truth. The lamps around were bright, The prophecy in view; He read it on that night, - The morrow proved it true.

41. 'Belshazzar's grave is made, His kingdom pass'd away, He, in the balance weigh'd, Is light and worthless clay; The shroud his robe of state, His canopy the stone: The Mede is at his gate! The Persian on his throne!’ Lord Byron

42. “So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two” (5:31).

43. Practical Lessons for Today 1. The appointment and tenure of every earthly ruler is determined by God (18-21). 2. Man honors the famous and soon forgets them; God honors the unknown and never forgets them. 3. God judges nations for drunkenness, immorality, injustice, materialism, idolatry, and pride.

44. 5. All of us have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. 4. Man’s purpose in life is to glorify God “But the God in whose hand are your life- breath and your ways, you have not glorified” (5:23).

45. The Handwriting On the Wall “So our deeds are recorded; there is a hand that’s writing now, Sinner give your heart to Jesus, to His royal mandate bow; For the day is approaching it must come to one and all, When the sinner’s condemnation will be written on the wall.”

46. ’Tis the hand of God on the wall! ’Tis the hand of God on the wall! Shall the record be Found wanting! Or shall it be Found trusting! While that hand is writing on the wall?