Daniel Five ... A Background Study
 

As the book of Daniel moves along, some of the characters change. In chapter five, for one brief moment, we meet a brash and impudent king, Belshazzar. There are a few things that we can see from the text itself. There was a party, which seems to have been extravagant. At some point, Belshazzar calls for the gold and silver utensils that were stolen from the temple in Jerusalem, and all the party guests drink wine from them, as if these worship dishes were common bar glasses.

That scene sets the stage for what is to come. Enter Daniel, as in the past, to solve a riddle that no one else can fathom. The answer will affect the king, and the scripture is clear that both the riddle and the answer come directly from the hand of God.

History adds a few notes about the characters and setting of the story. First of all, Belshazzar. Old documents from Babylon tell us that Belshazzar was the son of the last of the Babylonian kings. As the king’s son, he ruled along with his father in some sort of co-king relationship. So he is king, but less significant perhaps than he would have everyone believe. While Belshazzar died in the battle for the capital city of Babylon, his father lived for some time after.

Historians say that the city, at the time described here in Daniel, was surrounded by the army of the Medes and Persians. At the end of the chapter, scripture tells of the sudden victory of the Medes and Persians. It is not that they suddenly arrived at the scene. They found a secret way through the city walls and seized the city while the king and the nobles were at a party.

So the king and all his nobles are drinking and laughing even while the army of a very nasty enemy is parked just outside the city gates. You might take a guess at what this says about Belshazzar. Perhaps he is remarkably confident in the city defenses, or he may be foolishly boastful. Perhaps his pride will not allow him to see his failures. At any rate, he and his people are in a precarious position, which makes the party seem somewhat out of place.   

At some point, the party slid into unusual excesses. Scripture tells us that the wives were invited, along with the concubines. Historians suggest that this would have been highly unusual. Wives lived a very private life, and concubines may have been even more so. So why would Belshazzar ignore the cultural rules of his own people? Perhaps this again is evidence of his boasting. There is little evidence that he would have invited the wives as an honor to them, or as a favor. This is a night of personal vanity and exhibition.   

When Belshazzar brings in the bowls and candlesticks that were taken from the temple in Jerusalem, he praises the gods that had brought him his victories, the little silver and gold idols that represented the power of Babylon. His ancestor, Nebuchadnezer, had learned that God still exercised an enormous control over Babylon and exacted a measure of obedience, even from these ruthless kings. The line of succession from Nebuchadnezer to Belshazzar has been brief, so the current king must have been familiar with the lessons of his predecessor.

Here the lesson will be learned again, but with a more serious tone. At the height of the revelry, a message appears on the palace wall. Scripture says that the king saw a hand appear, and that he could watch as the message was written. Even before the translation, the king is noticeably shaken. He turns white, stunned by this appearance of the hand of God.

The writing is near the candlestick, which some would take to describe a lamp stand stolen from the temple in Jerusalem. This would certainly be appropriate. It seems that the kings of Babylon have dragged a presence of God along with the pilfered artifacts. As the lamp stand shed light on the worship of the children of Israel, it also shines a light toward the king of Babylon.  

The message appears in a kind of secret writing. Scripture suggests that the words were well known, but the writing may have been too faint or too unclear to read. The pattern is similar to the way God has worked in Daniel’s life. God has planned that the message to Belshazzar would wait for Daniel. The word of God, in this case, requires a messenger from God. There is a theme here that Belshazzar is helpless apart from God. So God must provide the reader, even as he has provided the message.

There is a suddenness to the fulfillment of the writing. The message is announced and completed in the same night. As the prophecy is proclaimed, the answer waits at the gates of the city. Contrast this with Nebuchadnezzar, who learned to respect the sovereignty of God. His rebuke fell upon a willing heart. But Belshazzar is not so willing and not so fortunate. His lesson will follow him to the grave.