April 27, 2023

Daniel 5:1-12 (HCSB)
1 King Belshazzar held a great feast for 1,000 of his nobles and drank wine in their presence. 2 Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them. 4 They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 At that moment the fingers of a man's hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the king's palace wall next to the lampstand. As the king watched the handthat was writing, 6 his face turned pale, and his thoughts so terrified him that his hip joints shook and his knees knocked together. 7 The king called out to bring in the mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers. He said to these wise men of Babylon, "Whoever reads this inscription and gives me its interpretation will be clothed in purple, have a gold chain around his neck, and have the third highest position in the kingdom." 8 So all the king's wise men came in, but none could read the inscription or make known its interpretation to him. 9 Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face turned pale, and his nobles were bewildered. 10 Because of the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen came to the banquet hall. "May the king live forever," she said. "Don't let your thoughts terrify you or your face be pale. 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the days of your predecessor, he was found to have insight, intelligence, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the diviners, mediums, Chaldeans, and astrologers. Your own predecessor, the king, 12 [did this] because Daniel, the one the king named Belteshazzar, was found to have an extraordinary spirit, knowledge and perception, and the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems. Therefore, summon Daniel, and he will give the interpretation."

Christine Mullins
The grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar, King Belshazzar, likely knew of Nebuchadnezzars proclamation about the one true God. But as the Persians were outside the Babylonian walls, Belshazzar decided to relive his glory days of Babylon and bring in the articles from the Jerusalem Temple. He then used it to drink from and praise their gods for the success they had. He had the example of Nebuchadnezzar to know the power of God but decided to ignore it and still praise false gods. He took it one step further and mocked God by using the holy items for their own praise. This led to God showing His power in a big way. A hand appeared and wrote on the wall. Writing no one could interpret except Daniel. The king, even with the example of his grandfather, now is experiencing the power of God. It terrified him. The events of the exile and Babylon’s success was directly fulfilled by God. Nebuchadnezzar’s success, his son and grandson’s success was only given to them by God to fulfill the exile purpose. Belshazzar was an example of Proverbs 16:18-"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall". Be careful in your own life to take credit for something God has done.