Hello everyone, welcome again to my bible study. I was unable to do it last week and I am sorry for that. Today, we will be looking at someone else in the same book of Daniel chapter 5. The son of king Nebuchadnezzar. We will be studying the whole of chapter five today.

Daniel 5

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

5 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. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

7 The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers[b] and diviners. Then he 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.”

8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

10 The queen,[c] hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 11 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. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 He did this because 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.”

13 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? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. 15 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.
16 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.”

17 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.

18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.

22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son,[d] have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25 “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:

Mene[e]: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

27 Tekel[f]: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

28 Peres[g]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians,[h] was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.[i]

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The Great Banquet

Nebuchadnezzar's reign lasted 44 years. After his death, Babylon's glory, or greatness begin to decline. Though the empire lasted 22 years, revolutions and assassinations weakened it. The last Babylonian kings were Nabonidus and his oldest son, Belshazzar, who ruled together. The use of "father" in verse 2 of the chapter, is in general sense of an ancestor or predecessor, not only biological parent.
By drinking from the lor's sacred cups in honor of babylon's false gods, Belshazzar and his officials dishonored the one true God and brought judgement upon themselves (vv. 22-24)
Verse 12 describes daniel as having a sharp mind, prophetic abilities from God and the wisdom to solve difficult problems. God still looks for men and women like Daniel who will humbly and faithfully represent Him in places of great influence.

The Strange Hand and God's Judgement

Daniel reminded Belshazzar of how God had humbled Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar had certainly heard about this tragic event, yet he refused to learn from it. Bty violating the holy items from the Lord's temple, Belshazzar deliberately defiled God. Many people failed to learn from the lessons of history and insist on following the sinful attractions of this world that defy God. Lust for pleasure and power and an attitude of arrogance toward God always lead to destruction (Mt 7:13-14).

The meaning of the writings

Two times the hand wrote "MENE" because it had a double meaning: "numbered" and "tested". Daniel's interpretation was simple: God had tested the kingdom of Babylon and found it lacking. God was warning that its days were numbered (i.e., coming to an end (v 26)).
In verse 27, the term "wanting" means "deficient", "defective" or "of poor quality". Belshazzar had been weighed on God's "scale" and had come up short. This is to say, Belshazzar was seriously deficient according to God's standards.
Note that v. 25 has "persin" which is the Aramaic plural form of "peres", which has two meanings: "division" and "persia". This signified the division of the Babylonian Empire and its conquest by the Persians and Medes.

The fall of Belshazzar and the begining of Darius's reign

Both Babylonian and Persian historical records reveal that when the Medo-Persian army approached Babylon, the people willingly opened the gates to let Cyrus' army enter without resistance. Belshazzar may have been the only one killed. When Cyrus entered the city, the people celebrated him as the one who liberated them from the tyranny and oppression of Nabonidus and Belshazzar.
It is possible that "Darius" was a title Cyrus adopted when he took over Babylon. Or it may have been another name for Gubaru, whom Cyrus appointed as his surbodinate and who continued to rule Babylon for a period of time after Cyrus died.

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
Shalom.

[NIV Study Edition Bible]

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