195. BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST — DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN

"My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths."

 

After the death of Nebuchadnezzar whose reign lasted for 43 years, a series of kings reigned, but only for a short space of time. Then Belshaz­zar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar was co-ruler with his father, Nabonidus. Daniel still retained his high position. There was great excite­ment among the Jewish captives in Babylon; those who were keenly wat­ching the signs of the times, had heard that a new king had come to power in Persia — his name was Cyrus. Some 200years before, Isaiah the prophet had revealed that this would be the name of the king who would overthrow Babylon. Nabonidus was absent from Babylon organizing an army to attack Cyrus and Belshazzar remained in Babylon awaiting his father's return.

Daniel 5 & 6.

 

BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST. Daniel 5:1-4

Belshazzar was conceited, arrogant and pompous, he did not fear the army of Cyrus who was approaching Babylon. He was confident that no power could ever take this great city.

 

While his father was organizing an army to attack Cyrus, Belshazzar made a great feast to a 1000 of his lords. During the feast the wine was supplied without measure and soon he became reckless. He did not fear the coming army and in his intoxicated state he commanded that they "bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar (grandfather — see margin) had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem". The vessels were brought in and the king and his princes and his wives and concubines drank from them, and "praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood and of stone" (v.4). That was a fatal mistake!

 

By using these vessels from the Temple Belshazzar was mocking God, but God was not to be mocked. The very vessels that showed forth the "holiness of Yahweh" were treated as common playthings by a proud and foolish pagan king. Foolish, too, in that he had completely forgotten the fear and awe of Yahweh shown by Nebuchadnezzar on earlier occasions (2:47; 3:28, 29; 4:34-37).

 

THE WRITING ON THE WALL. Daniel 5:5-9.

While the feast continued and the revelry was at its height the king sud­denly froze in horror; his countenance changed, and "his knees smote one against another" (v.6). This man of flesh in affect, "fell apart" in absolute terror.

He saw a man's hand writing on the wall; there was no arm or body at­tached to it, just a hand. The hand covered the writing that was on the wall. A deathly silence filled the banquet hall. A chill of fear passed through the revelers.

 

Then Belshazzar called for his astrologers, the Chaldeans and the soothsayers and said, "Whosoever shall read this writing and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet and have a gold chain about his neck, and shall be third ruler in the kingdom" (v.7).

But try as they could, the wise men could not make known the writing or the interpretation for the hand covered the writing. Their wisdom was turned to foolishness for "confounded be all they that serve graven im­ages, that boast themselves of idols" (Psa. 97:7).

 

DANIEL INTERPRETS THE WRITING. Daniel 5:10-29.

Then the queen remembered the help that Daniel had previously rendered Nebuchadnezzar. "There is a man" she said "who has knowledge and understanding, who can interpret dreams". So Daniel, over 80 years old, was brought in before the king, and was offered the rich rewards promised to the wise men of Babylon if he could make known the writing and the interpretation (v.16).

 

But Daniel calmly answered this agitated king, "Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation" (v.17).

 

Firstly Daniel in fearless, indignant words reminded Belshazzar that it was God who had given his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom and it was God who had taken it away from him. Belshazzar had refused to acknowledge this and had now praised the gods of gold and silver in complete defiance of the God of Heaven.

 

"Then was the part of the hand sent from him" (v.24); the hand was removed so the writing could be seen. The words were mene,

 

MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN

This, Daniel the prophet said, was the interpretation — "Mene" — God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it. "Tekel" — Thou art weighed in the balances and found wanting. "Upharsin or Peres" — Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians (v.25-28). God was clearly telling Belshazzar that his kingdom was finished and that God was going to give it to the Medes and Persians.

 

"Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet and put a gold chain about his neck and made him 3rd ruler in the

kingdom" (v.29).

 

That very night the Medo-Persian army entered the city. They had diverted the river which ran through the city and entered the city along the dry river bed. "That night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain" (v.30). So the truthfulness of his grandfather's words came to pass in dreadful reality: "the king of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase" (4:37).

 

BABYLON'S OVERTHROW TYPICAL OF PRESENT DAY EVENTS.

The overthrow of Babylon in the past is used as a type of the over­throw of the nations in the future when Christ will establish the kingdom of God on earth (see Rev. 16:12-21). Just as Belshazzar refused to recognize God as Supreme, so the world today does not acknowledge God as All-Powerful. The world around are worshipping their gods of gold and silver and their actions are in complete defiance of God's ways. But God will not tolerate such, and just as the Medes and Persians over­threw Babylon, so God will bring the day of Armageddon upon the modern world, a world engrossed in riotous living and shake it out of its drunken stupor. They will be shocked by the sudden, thief-like earth shaking return of the Lord Jesus Christ who will bring terrible judgments to bear, especially on those who have dared to mock Yahweh or have brought shame and destruction upon Israel, God's people.

 

DANIEL HONOURED BY DARIUS. Daniel 6:1-5.

After Babylon had been conquered Cyrus set Darius the Mede on the throne. Darius appointed 127 princes to govern the kingdom and over these princes were 3 presidents — of the 3 presidents Daniel was given the greatest honour. Darius preferred Daniel "above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king thought to set him over the whole realm" (v.3). Daniel was highly respected by the king and admired for his trustworthiness and conscientious service to man and to his God.

 

This aroused the jealousy of the other presidents and they determined that they must get rid of Daniel, so they thought of a plan. They knew that Daniel was honest and trustworthy and they said "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning his God" (v.5).

 

THE KING'S FOOLISH DECREE. Daniel 6:6-9.

They decided that they could only get rid of Daniel by causing trouble because he worshipped the God of Israel praying daily for the "peace of Jerusalem". They suggested to the king that he issue a decree that no one should ask any prayer or petition of any god or man for thirty days, save of the king. If this law was broken the guilty person was to be cast into the den of lions. They told the king that all the presidents and princes had agreed to this, which of course was not true because Daniel had not agreed to such a decree. So the king agreed to the idea and signed the decree. Now that the law was signed, it became binding and could not be changed.

 

A FAITHFUL MAN OF PRAYER. Daniel 6:10-11.

The crafty presidents knew that Daniel prayed three times a day to God. At morning, mid-day, and evening he would kneel in prayer at the window which faced towards Jerusalem. Daniel knew the decree had been signed forbidding him to pray, but he was determined that nothing would prevent him from praying unto God. All his life he had been cons­tant in prayer - it was an unalterable practice. So he knelt down before the window and prayed. What faith and courage he had. He showed that he was prepared to "obey God rather than man" (Acts 5:29). Like the apos­tle Paul, Daniel had lived in all good conscience before God unto that day (see Acts 23:1). The fear of consequences would not turn him aside from a daily offering of prayer to the God whom he had served from his youth.

 

DANIEL IS THROWN TO THE LIONS. Daniel 6:12-17.

The presidents wasted no time in letting the king know that Daniel had broken the decree. When the king heard this he was "sore displeased with himself and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him". He worked until sun­down to try to save Daniel, but the decree had been signed and could not be changed. He knew that his counsellors had trapped him into condemn­ing a righteous man to die. With a heavy heart the king knew that Daniel would have to be thrown into the lion's den. The king said to Daniel, "Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee". What amazing words! He acknowledged that Yahweh could save where he could not. After Daniel was thrown to the lions the den was sealed with a stone.

 

FAITH STOPPED THE MOUTH OF LIONS. Daniel 6:18-23.

The king was so grieved by the crime against Daniel that he did not sleep, but spent the night fasting. He felt moved to believe the impossible! No one had ever come out of the lion's den alive before, so why should Daniel? Strangely he believed in hope of seeing Daniel alive as soon as dawn broke over the city. Man-eating lions were as harmless as kittens under the control of the angels of Yahweh (Psa. 34:6, 7). "Then the king arose early in the morning and went in haste unto the den of lions" (v.19). When he came to the den he called out "Daniel ... is thy God whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions" (v.20).

 

Then Daniel answered, "My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lion's mouths, that they have not hurt me" (v.22). Imagine the over­whelming joy and relief of the king. The king was "exceedingly glad" and Daniel was brought out of the den. Faith which comes by belief had saved him (Heb. 11:33). The king then commanded that the presidents, together with their families, be thrown into the lion's den and the lions leaped upon them and destroyed them before they reached the ground.

 

DARIUS HONOURS THE LIVING GOD. Daniel 6:25-28.

Darius was so impressed that he made a decree that men shall "tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even to the end. He delivereth and rescueth and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions" (v.v. 26, 27).

 

Where did the king obtain this knowledge of the God of Israel? Un­doubtedly from Daniel. He had witnessed a miracle and was convinced that Daniel's God was the living God.

 

Christ will shortly return to the earth and will make his decree that everyone, everywhere must serve the living God.

 

LESSON FOR US:

Belshazzar was conceited and arrogant and deliberately mocked God, but Daniel with faith and courage spoke openly with him. Daniel was not interested in the reward offered by a king that openly blasphemed the God of Israel. He knew that the Babylonian Empire was soon to be con­quered and such a reward would mean nothing. The world today tries to entice us away from the Truth, they offer us all sorts of fun and temporal pleasures — but they will only last for a while. Christ is coming and will bring with him rich rewards for those who remain faithful.

 

How different was Darius from Belshazzar. Darius was willing to listen to Daniel and quick to acknowledge that the God of Daniel was the true God. Daniel by his faith was saved from the lions, and it was by his good example that he was able to convince Darius of the Truth. Our good behaviour, like Daniel's can make opportunities for us to show the gospel to those around us. Daniel was a man of prayer and without fail he prayed three times a day. God is pleased if we turn our hearts to Him each day, being impressed with the reality of His power to save and acknowledge that He is the all-wise all powerful God of Heaven and Earth.

 

REFERENCE LIBRARY:

"The Story of the Bible" (H.P. Mansfield)—Vol. 6, Nos. 11, 12.

 

PARAGRAPH QUESTIONS:

1. In what way did Belshazzar mock God?

2. What did Belshazzar see that made him fear and tremble?

3. Why were the presidents jealous of Daniel, and what plan did they make to get rid of Daniel?

4. What did Daniel do when he heard of the plan of the presidents? Show how faith stopped the mouths of lions when Daniel disobeyed the king's decree.

 

ESSAY QUESTIONS:

1. What happened at the feast Belshazzar held. What lesson does this contain for us today?

2. Describe the evil plot against Daniel, how he reacted to the king's decree and the lesson for us today.