Thursday
As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way. The king called out for the enchanters, astrologers and diviners to be brought and said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled. The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “O king, live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father — your father the king, I say — appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. This man Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means. - Daniel 5:4-17
If you read the earlier chapters of the book of Daniel, you find that every time something strange or unusual happens, they wheel in the enchanters, astrologers, and diviners. This does not mean that the king wanted a magic show for his amusement, these are the experts, the wisest men in the kingdom, the ones you went to for answers. It is kind of like CNN today, whenever something interesting happens in the economy, or politics, or internationally, they bring in the PhDs, the economists, the political scientists, etc. to tell us what it all means.
The really interesting thing is that these experts are absolutely stumped. They cannot make any sense of the writing on the wall. They cannot even read it, let alone tell the king what it means. I think the same thing is true with the so-called “experts” of today. Now some people might object by saying that you cannot compare modern scientific knowledge with ancient superstitions (I agree). However, the point is that when it comes to questions of ultimate significance; Why are we here? What is the purpose of this life? What happens when we die? When it comes to answering these kinds of questions, modern expert opinion is just as inadequate as ancient expert opinion!
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. - 1 Corinthians 1:25
So, when Daniel comes on the scene to interpret the writing on the wall, he is not offering the king his educated human opinion or insight, he is giving him the very Word of God! This is what we all need to find answers to the really big questions, we need the Word of God.
One of the many things I love about Daniel is that he is not intimidated by this whole deal at all, nor is he interested in being a third ruler in the kingdom. Who wants to be a third ruler in a kingdom that's got a few hours to last? The higher up you go in the ranks, the more likely you are to get killed when the takeover happens. He wasn't intimidated by any of these monarchs when he was a teenager and he wasn't about to be intimidated by them now that he is in his 80s. He says to Belshazzar, “Keep your purple robe and gold chain, or give it to somebody else. I don't want your crummy stuff." Oh, the character and the courage of Daniel!
Just as a little aside here, I love the fact that Daniel is never hanging around the royal court, he always has to be called in. He is not trying to win anybody’s favor or make them like him, he really never fooled with any of them. He just waits for his moment and God’s timing.
What a tremendous need there is for Christians of the same kind of integrity and courage in our day! So many people are looking for ways to get close to the rich, and powerful, and famous to find some significance. Most people are telling you what they think you want to hear. It is a very rare thing to find a truly honest person, someone who knows what they believe and why they believe it and it unafraid to say so, someone who absolutely cannot be bought. Daniel was that kind of person...but where did his courage come from? Was it because he was older now and he had seen it all before? Was it because he had some secret knowledge about the Medes and the Persians plans to destroy Babylon? No, his courage came solely from his trust in God. He knew that God’s Word was absolutely certain.
I have had people come to me and say that they believe some of the stories are true in the Bible, and they believe that there are some very good moral and spiritual lessons in the Bible, but they simply cannot believe that the Bible is inspired Word of God. They ask, how can I trust the Bible when it is full of historical inaccuracies and errors (though they rarely come up with any specifics). Ironically, the story of Belshazzar in Daniel 5 is very helpful on this issue. For years, skeptics used this story as evidence that the Bible is not historically accurate. You see there was no historical evidence that a king named Belshazzar ever ruled in Babylon. Even worse, historical records tell us that the last king of the Babylonian empire before the Medes and the Persians took over was a guy named Nabonidus. So, how can we trust the Bible on the big issues of life and death if it is not even reliable in the little things like who was the last king of Babylon? Ah, but in 1853, a group of archaeologists uncovered some small clay cylinders at Ur in Mesopotamia, inscribed with accounts of the rebuilding of Ur’s ziggurat (temple tower) by King Nabonidus. The inscriptions concluded with prayers for Nabonidus’ health — and for his eldest son and co-regent, Belshazzar!
The point is that God’s Word is true! God’s Word can be trusted in the smallest detail, and with the biggest questions in life! If we are to be men and women of great faith and courage, it will only be because we know and trust the power of the Word of God!
Jeff Frazier
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1 comment:
I was raised in a tradition of being a "true person"; it seems to just come very naturally to me. As I further mature in my Christian faith, it becomes even easier. We may "fake out" the world and other believers, but we do not fool God, not even for a moment; he knows our heart better than we do. Everything we are and do is for God, we are accountable to Him - when we get this fact straight, our choices become crystal clear, as do our lives. It is a shame to consider that even in the body, some do not get this simple truth.
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