Living in a Changing World — Episode 6: The Writing on the Wall
The signs of doom were there, but this arrogant king didn’t see it coming. A large army was stationed outside the city walls waiting for the command to attack. But this king was oblivious. He throwing a party in his luxurious palace. His name was Belshazzar, the grandson of king Nebuchadnezzar. He inherited the throne from his father and was the most powerful man in the world. But the Babylonian Empire he was over was about to come to a halt. Another major change was about to happen in the book of Daniel.
The old adage “the writing on the wall” comes from this story in Daniel 5. It is a warning against being prideful and forgetting the lessons of the past. It is also an encouraging story because Daniel once more had to adjust to changes in his world, and he does so without complaining or compromising.
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Transcript
Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God and My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.
How many times have you said, “The writing is on the wall”? You saw it coming. The signs were there. You knew something bad was going to happen. The writing was on the wall. That’s an old saying. It’s a very old saying. Do you know where we get it? It comes from the Bible, and we’re about to look at the story behind those words.
It’s found in Daniel chapter 5. When this chapter opens, Nebuchadnezzar is dead. The Babylonians still rule, but he’s no longer in the picture. His grandson is the king now. His name was Belshazzar. You can easily get him mixed up with Daniel. Daniel’s Chaldean name was Belteshazzar. This king’s name was Belshazzar. And we do need to clarify something about the wording in Daniel five. It says that he was the son of Nebuchadnezzar and that Nebuchadnezzar was his father. So why do we say this was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson? Because a “son” in the Old Testament was a descendant. He may have been a second generation son or a third generation son that we call a grandson. That’s why the Jews in the New Testament called Abraham “father.” I bring this up because some Bible critics say Daniel was wrong in calling Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar, because history shows that he was actually his grandson. But those Bible critics need to use some common sense. Daniel knew who these kings were and what their names were better than people today who try to find fault with the Word of God. He was there. He had a high-level job with the government. He knew that Nebuchadnezzar had a son that was king of Babylon after him. His name was Evil-merodach; he was Belshazzar’s immediate father. Daniel doesn’t mention him because he doesn’t need to. But we do see him in Second Kings 25 verse 27. So there is no problem with the history we read in the Bible.
Let’s start in Daniel five beginning in verse one. The Bible says, “Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.” Belshazzar the king of Babylon was hosting a big party. The Bible says it was a great feast, a huge celebration. One thousand of his top officials were there. And they’ve all come to have a good time. So what did they do? The same thing people do today. They drank. And, like people today, the longer they drank the worse they acted. And this king wanted to show off. He’s an ungodly man who has no respect for anything sacred. And what he did was pure blasphemy. He told his servants to go and get the gold and silver cups and bowls that the Babylonians had taken from the temple of God when they invaded Jerusalem years earlier. Second Chronicles chapter 36 says that Nebuchadnezzar took all of the treasures out of the house of God and the king’s palace. That’s why the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem. They heard about all the gold and treasure that was there. They knew that for years before they invaded. And do you remember how they found out about all the gold and silver in Jerusalem? That goes back to the time of Hezekiah King of Judah. He was a good man, but his pride got the best of him on one occasion, and he showed some messengers who had come from Babylon all of his treasures. That’s when Isaiah the prophet told him he had made a huge mistake, because Isaiah said someday these Babylonians will come back for that treasure. And they did. Second Chronicles 36 verse seven says that Nebuchadnezzar took the vessels of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. That gold and silver they took out of the temple in Jerusalem is still there in Babylon years later after Nebuchadnezzar died.
Now we saw in Daniel chapter 4 that Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself. He changed his mind about what he believed. He recognized the God of heaven in that chapter. But his grandson doesn’t care anything about the true God. He is so irreverent and disrespectful that he tells his men to get those golden cups, bowls, pots, and whatever else they could drink out of storage and bring them to the party. So they poured wine in these drinking vessels and started drinking out of them. Now that was bad enough, but they made it worse. They mocked the God of heaven by toasting to their Babylonian gods! The Bible says in Daniel five verse four that “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.” That’s one of the most blasphemous things you’ll ever read in the Bible. But it just goes to show what people will do when they’re full of pride and full of alcohol on top of it. They’ll say or do just about anything. When they feel like they’re in control, they don’t seem to be afraid of anything or anybody. They are not even afraid of God— at the time, that is. That always changes. People get up on their high horse and think they can do anything until God brings them down. Nebuchadnezzar learned that the hard way. And God gave him a second chance. But his grandson who’s the king now didn’t learn a thing from what happened to his grandfather. And he’s about to pay a heavy price. He’s showing everybody at this party how arrogant and fearless he is. But that’s about to change in a moment.
The Bible says in Daniel chapter 5 verses five and six, “In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.” These Babylonians thought they were on top of the world. They were having the time of their life. And King Belshazzar was the center of attention. But the party is over. We don’t know how much Belshazzar drank. The Bible doesn’t say how drunk he was. But however intoxicated he was, he sobered up in a hurry. When he saw this hand writing on the wall of the palace, he knew it wasn’t a trick. He had all kinds of magicians, but he knew none of them could do anything like that. And notice what the Bible says about where this happened. There was a lampstand beside that wall. He could clearly see what happened. He didn’t see a person writing on the wall. He just saw a hand. If that part of the palace wall had been somewhat dark, Belshazzar might’ve thought somebody was trying to be funny. Or he may have been angry that someone was writing on the palace wall. But he knew it was no trick. The party wasn’t for magicians anyway. They may have been there, but this party was for the top government officials. Belshazzar had never seen anything like this. And this man who seemed to be so confident is now so scared that he’s shaking.
We can’t help but smile when we read this story. It says he was so frightened that his knees knocked against each other. We usually say that today as a joke. We say somebody was so scared that his knees knocked. But this was no joke. The Bible says that the joints of his hips were loosened. His body just went limp. It’s interesting what the feeling of fear will do. If you’re somewhat afraid, it can give you strength. The adrenaline kicks in and your body is ready as it often said for fight or flight. But you can be so scared that your body almost shuts down. And that’s how Belshazzar felt. We’re talking about the most powerful man on earth at the time. Now he’s weak as a kitten. He scared out of his wits. And it showed on his face. The Bible says his countenance changed. He doesn’t have a proud look anymore. Those days are over for him. Sometimes when we’re scared, we don’t want people to know that we’re afraid. So we try to hide it. But if it’s bad enough, it shows on our face. And this king was just as human as any of the rest of us. A man can scoff and brag and pretend he’s not afraid of anything, but he eventually gets to a place in life where he’s scared and there’s nothing he can do to hide it. When he saw this hand come from out of nowhere and write on the palace wall, Belshazzar changed his attitude.
The scene went from laughing and mocking to fear and dismay. And the first thing the King wants to know is: what’s this about? What does this mean? Whatever the writing was, he can’t read it. None of his officials can read it. It’s not written in the Chaldean language. He was a pagan king, but he had sense enough to know that this was a miracle; and since it was a miracle, he had better find out what those words on the wall meant. So he sent for his astrologers and wise men. He didn’t tell one of his servants in a calm voice to go get those men. He was scared and he yelled. The Bible says in verses seven through nine, “The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.’ Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.” Belshazzar is so worried about this writing on the wall that he’s desperate for an answer. He even makes a fabulous offer. He promised a big reward to whoever can solve the puzzle. He said, “whoever reads this writing, and tells me it’s interpretation, shall be clothed with purple.” Purple was a color of royalty. Then he said the person who tells him what this handwriting means shall wear a golden necklace. Again, that’s a sign of wealth and great power.
But then he said something even more remarkable. He says this person will be made the third ruler in the kingdom of Babylon. So by this time the government of Babylon has changed. They no longer have just one man in charge, although the king still appears to be at the top. And, as another point of interest, Bible critics years ago, used to say that this proves Daniel didn’t know what he was talking about because there was only one ruler, and that was the king. But then historians and archaeologists found out that there were indeed three people at the top of the Babylonian government in the time of Belshazzar the king. So once more, the Bible was right, and men were wrong. So the king makes this great offer. It’s different this time than it was in the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter 2. He didn’t promise a reward to anybody that could interpret the dream. He threatened them with the death penalty.
But Belshazzar takes a different approach. So who does he turn to for an answer? His wise men and magicians.You would think these kings would have learned that these magicians were fakes. They couldn’t interpret Nebuchadnezzar‘s dream in Daniel chapter 2. They couldn’t interpret his dream in Daniel 4. And now, years later, they can’t do any better. And when they can’t tell him what it means, Belshazzar was even more distraught. The Bible says he was greatly troubled. He’s already so scared that his knees had knocked together. But now he doesn’t know what to do. Now these kings had been through all kinds of situations. Any man with that much power has to deal with all kinds of situations and threats. And up to this point, Belshazzar weathered whatever storms he went through. But he’s in a situation now that he can’t handle. The Bible tells us once more that his countenance was changed. Now you can see fear and worry and desperation on his face. And the Bible says that the high ranking officials who were there were also astonished.
Now again, these were the very politicians that were making fun of God just a few minutes earlier. Things can change suddenly, can’t they? But these men have absolutely no idea just how much things were about to change.
The Bible then introduces us to someone who has not been mentioned up to this point— the queen of Babylon. The Bible says in verses 10 through 12, “Then the queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, ‘O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And 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, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
Where was Daniel all this time? The Bible doesn’t say. What we do know is that the queen tells the king about Daniel. We know from what Daniel says later in this chapter that Belshazzar knew what happened to his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar. But we don’t know how much he knew about Daniel. And if he had heard about Daniel, it wasn’t important enough to him to remember. So the sad thing is that Daniel was always the last one. These kings called on him for help last when he should’ve been the first one they looked to. They turned to their wise men and Babylonian magicians first. That’s what you see in Daniel chapter 2. That’s what you see again in Daniel chapter 4. That’s what we see here in Daniel chapter 5. A lesson we learn is that people forget very quickly. Even in Bible times when they saw great miracles, they remembered what happened, but it didn’t change them. That’s what I mean when I say they just forgot about it. They just put it out of their mind. And although people today, don’t see the great miracles Moses did or hear great things like Daniel said, they know enough about life to know that God is the giver of life. And how many times do people today go through a bad situation and maybe even come close to death? At first, maybe for a few weeks or months, they humbled themselves and seemed to be thankful. But then in a few more months or years, they go right back to their own selfish ways. And when they do that, they’re more stubborn than ever. They’re even worse than they were before. And that happens, not only to individuals, but it happens to generations of people. That’s what you see in the book of Judges so many times. One generation did pretty good and then the next generation completely forgot about everything their parents and grandparents went through.
At any rate, this king, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, didn’t even think about Daniel when he was trying to get an answer about this writing on the wall. But he had enough confidence in the queen to believe her, so he brought Daniel in before him. The Bible says in verses 13 through 16, “Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, ‘Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. 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.’” So he offered Daniel the same reward that he offered to the wise men of Babylon. Daniel wasn’t interested in a reward, but he said I’ll tell you what that writing means anyway. In verse 17 he said, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.”
Then starting in verse 18 he gave Belshazzar a family history lesson—a lesson his own father should have taught him. Daniel said, “O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. Then he was driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses” (verses 18 through 21).
Notice how Daniel tells this king that GOD was the one who gave his family all this power and glory. He said, “The Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. And because of the majesty that He gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him.” And then notice the contrast. In verse 19 Daniel said this about his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar: “Whomever he wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.” It just seemed like this man had unlimited, absolute control over everybody. But he lost all that power and glory in a heartbeat. He lost his mind. He didn’t even have control over himself. And, Daniel reminded his grandson, all this happened to Nebuchadnezzar, according to verse 21, “till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.” Nebuchadnezzar learned that lesson the hard way—in a really bad way. But his grandson Belshazzar didn’t learn it at all. And now he’s about to come face to face with the writing on the wall. Here’s what Daniel said to this prideful king. In verse 22 he told him, “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this.” Now, a man ought to learn from the mistakes of his father (or his grandfather). He should think about where that kind of life leads. He knows it. Children see what their parents do. And they can make up their mind to do better if they want to. The Bible says in Ezekiel chapter 18 verse 14 that the son of a bad father can decide that he is not going to do what his father does. He can choose to be a good man, even though his father was a bad man. God gives every man free will. Every child makes up his own mind. Parents have an influence, but they can never take away a child’s free will. That’s because God gives each one of us a will. We decide what we’re going to do with our lives, and when we die, we will answer to God for how we’ve used it. But what makes the situation with Belshazzar so bad is this: he didn’t just have a bad grandfather. It wasn’t simply that his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar was a prideful man. That would’ve been enough reason for Belshazzar to say, “I don’t want to be like him.” He could’ve done that. But the fact is, his grandfather repented of his pride. He wrote a letter, a public letter, and confessed his pride. He changed from an arrogant king to a humble leader. He went from giving himself all the credit to giving God the glory. So Belshazzar had every reason in the world to do better than what he was doing. He should’ve learned from the mistakes that his grandfather made, and he should’ve learned from the corrections that his grandfather made in his life. So there was absolutely no excuse for him acting like he did. That’s why time has run out for this man. It’s over. Daniel said you knew what happened to your grandfather when his power went to his head, and you are as arrogant as ever. It’s a strange thing that most people go through life and don’t learn. Oh, they learn about some things. They learn that they have to watch how they spend their money after they’ve gotten careless and spent more than they should. They learn to treat people better after they’ve been selfish because they come to a point when they need friends and they’re not there. And many of these people have some good words of advice about these things. But why don’t they learn to honor God? Why don’t they learn to humble themselves before God and truly give their heart and life to Him? How can they tell others that there are some things in life that just won’t work out well, and then they just keep living without God? Oh, they talk about God once in a while. But when it comes to their time and their life, they just keep on living it for themselves.
And that’s why Daniel told him where his life came from in verse 23. He said, “And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house 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, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” Let those words sink in: God holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways. And let’s put ourselves in that verse. God holds YOUR breath in His hand. You only breathe because God gives you breathe. You only live because He gives you life. You only move your little finger because of Him. The Bible says in Acts 17 verse 28, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Do we believe that? Do we remember that? Sometimes we’re just like Belshazzar. We think we’re really in control: I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that. The Bible says you won’t live another second if God withholds His hand from your life. Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 1 that “the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God.” And here is Daniel talking to the most powerful man on earth, a man who thinks all he has to do is wave his hand or point his finger and he can do anything, and he tells him that he couldn’t even move a muscle without the God of heaven. God gives us all the power to choose and to do, and unless we have breathe we can’t do anything. What a humbling thought that is.
After Daniel said told him he couldn’t even breathe, much less be king, without God, he told Belshazzar what the writing on the wall meant. So here it is in verses 25 through 28, and it isn’t good news. “Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” So far, nobody was even able to read the writing. But Daniel did. Then he told the king what it meant. He said, “This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.” Now imagine being in Belshazzar’s shoes. You’re in charge. You’re in complete control. And this Hebrew tells you you’re finished. Your NATION is finished. It’s over. Then Daniel told him the interpretation of the next word: “TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” That’s an illustration. It’s like weighing an object and you find out that it doesn’t weigh anywhere near what you thought. Belshazzar has carried a lot of weight because of his position. But that’s come to an end. Then Daniel gave him some really bad news: “PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” That means the Medes and the Persians will join forces to attack Babylon, and they will defeat you. All the money and land and glory of Babylon will be no more. Another country is about to take over. The writing on the wall could not have been worse for this man.
The timing could not have been worse either. Daniel didn’t tell him when the Medes and Persians would conquer Babylon. But, Belshazzar had no idea that the armies of the Medes and Persians were stationed outside the mighty walls of Babylon as Daniel spoke. He was inside a huge palace drinking and partying while death stood at the door. Sound familiar? Does that sound like people today?
Now Belshazzar didn’t get mad when Daniel told him the bad news. He didn’t have him arrested and put in prison or executed. He made good on his offer. The Bible says, “Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Then it happened, The Bible says, “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.” Now everything has changed—again. Things in Babylon were about to change. The Babylonians are not in charge anymore. A foreign nation has taken over the empire. The laws will change. The people will change. Life will change. Oh sure, a lot of things would stay the same—for a while at least. But just imagine what this was like. We can only guess what it would be like if our country fell to another nation. We pray that won’t happen. But we don’t know. All we know is that life changes but God never does. He always keeps things in check even when it seems the world is turned upside down. Do you remember what Daniel said earlier in chapter two? He said, “He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings” (Daniel 2 verse 21). God doesn’t sit by helplessly and watch like he’s not able to do anything about all this. In fact, this book shows that God is behind some of these monumental monument shifts in the great superpowers on earth!
And do you remember what Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar in chapter two about his great kingdom? He told him that another nation would eventually take over! Listen again to Daniel 2 verse 39. Daniel said, “And after you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to yours.” That’s all he said. He didn’t mention the Medes and the Persians by name. But that’s who he was talking about. And in Daniel chapter five we see this words coming true in one night. My, how life can change suddenly!
And here’s something else to think about. In chapter 5, Daniel was not as young as he used to be. He’s older. And as you know, it gets harder to deal with change when you get older. But we have to learn to live with it. Your body is changing. People around you are changing because some of them die. You may have to change where you live. But here’s what we need to learn from this book. The important thing is to keep your heart the same. Hold on to your faith inside. Don’t ever let that change. That will be your anchor in life. That will hold you steady. Hold to God’s unchanging hand, and He’ll see you through.
Thank you for listening to My God and My Neighbor. Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Study at your level. Aim higher and get in touch with us today.