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DANIEL

Daniel 5, 6

Please turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 5, as we continue our study through the Word of God. In our last study we saw the conversion of a pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, to the true and living God. And what a testimony of God’s love for man. God gave this king every opportunity to surrender his life to Him, but it took seven years to break the king of his pride. And it may seem that those seven years were a harsh way to get the kings attention, but think of where this king is now and how he feels about those seven years compared to spending eternity with the Lord!

As we move into Daniel chapter 5 this evening, Nebuchadnezzar has been dead for some 23 years, he died in 562 BC. And the Babylonian kingdom, having reached it’s zenith of power under him, was quickly falling apart. After the kings death the throne was taken by king Nebuchadnezzar’s son Amel-Marduk or Evil-Merodach, who ruled for only two years from 562-560 BC. And he was murdered in August by his brother-in-law, Neriglisar. II Kings 25:27-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34.

Neriglisar ruled Babylon for four years, from 560-556 BC, and is one of the princes mentioned back in Jeremiah 39:3, 13. After his death he was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduk, who ruled for only 2 months, May and June of 556 BC. Labashi-Marduk was assassinated, beaten to death by conspirators who then appointed a successor to the throne, Nabonidus. Now King Nabonidus ruled Babylon for 17 years and tried to restore some of the pagan worship.

But Nabonidus spent 10 of his 17 years as king away from Babylon. Because of that the king needed someone to co-reign with him, and thus, his eldest son Belshazzar took over around 553 BC. This placed Belshazzar in control of the army and the government as he co-reigned Babylon with his father, Nabonidus, who lived primarily at the Oasis of Teima in Arabia.

So as Daniel chapter 5 begins, understand that the city of Babylon has been under siege by the Medes and the Persians for several months now. They had already captured the surrounding towns and villages, and now they were going after this mighty fortress, the city of Babylon itself.

DANIEL 5

VERSES 1-4

1. This type of drunken feast was not uncommon and I believe it was thrown to give assurance to the leaders that they were safe within the walls of Babylon. Keep in mind the walls of the city were 350 feet high, 80 feet thick, and they extended some 35 feet below the ground. They had some 250 towers on these walls that extended another 100 feet in the air. They had the Euphrates river running through the city which supplied them with water and they had enough food to last them 20 years without ever opening the gates of the city. And so this feast was thrown to encourage his people and to show the armies of the Medo-Persians how foolish they are in trying to take this city of Babylon.

2. The wine that flowed at this party was not just to enjoy the taste of a good wine. The word that is used for "tasted" implies that they were also enjoying the inebriating effects that the wine produced in them. They were drunk and yet they soon would be awakened out of this drunken stupor they were in. It is as Proverbs 20:1 says, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise."

3. Not only did this king mock the power of this army, but also he mocked the true and living God. Some seventy years earlier Nebuchadnezzar took some of the temple articles and brought them back to Babylon with him. These vessels were stored and displayed as the spoil of their victories. But now we see Belshazzar take them out of storage and use these vessels of the living God to toast their gods with. It is as Paul said "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. And the king was now going to find this out!

4. Please understand that the fall of this nation was only hours away, and yet they were partying like there was no tomorrow, and for them, there wasn’t! They were totally blinded to the judgment that was coming.

As I look at America I see the same thing. People just doing whatever they want, mocking God, and not even aware that judgment is coming. As Christians, we need to awaken out of our stupor and see what time it is. We are going to have a great party, a great banquet with Jesus, but now there is work to be done. Take advantage of the time you have and stand up for righteousness. As Paul said in Romans 13:11-14, "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

5. Now this big banquet hall may have been found by archaeologists. They have uncovered this large room some 56 feet wide, some 173 feet long. And midway in this long hall, along the wall, was a niche where the king might have sat. The wall behind him was made of plaster and could be the place in which God wrote His message to Belshazzar, as we shall see.

VERSES 5-9

1. During the great feast trouble comes in the form of a hand which writes on the wall by the king. The fun had ended abruptly as the kings countenance turned from a rosy red to a ashen white and his knees began to knock together in fear. This fearless king who threw a party in defiance of the enemy that was laying siege against him and his kingdom and then desecrated the temple vessels, was now shaking in his boots or sandals! And the cry went out to bring in all the wise men in Babylon to interpret this writing, but to the kings dismay, they could not help interpret this writing. The king knows he is in trouble, but how much trouble!

VERSES 10-12

1. The queen, in hearing all the turmoil going on, responds to this trouble. Now the queen, most likely Belshazzar’s grandmother and Nebuchadnezzar’s widow, Amytis, saw the true God’s transforming power in her husband. She saw how God spoke through Daniel. And even after some 23 years since her husband died, she still speaks favorably of Daniel, she recognized that the Spirit of God was upon this man. What a witness this man was, and God desires that with each of us. And she reminds her grandson what Daniel is able to do, which he should have known for he too witnessed the events of his grandfather. Also, Daniel is in his eighties at this point in his life, and God is still using him. You are never to old to be used by God, and for that matter, you are never to young! God is looking for people He can work through for His glory.

VERSES 13-16

1. It seems that Belshazzar’s memory has been jarred a bit and is verifying if this is the Daniel who was of the captives of Judah. And the king tells Daniel that if he can read the hand writing on the wall that he will be rewarded. He will be clothed in purple, a sign of royalty. He will be given a chain of gold, a gift given by royalty and is one of the highest honors. And to be the third ruler of Babylon or literally rule 1/3 of Babylon.

2. Now with the information that has been given to us already about Nabonidus and Belshazzar both ruling Babylon as king, it would make sense that Daniel could not be second in command but would have to be third. It is amazing the details that God gives to us in His Word to confirm His Word to us and show us He is God!

VERSES 17-21

1. Daniel was not interested in the monetary gain, but in speaking forth the Words of God to this king. Daniel realized that the kings time was quickly running out and he wanted nothing to do with him or his kingdom. He was going down!

2. Now before Daniel tells the king what those words mean, he witnesses to him of the sovereignty of God. That He is in control. He is the one who rules the nations and not Belshazzar. And to drive home this point, Daniel tells Belshazzar that it was his grandfather who learned those lessons that God was teaching him. It was his grandfather that was filled with pride and God brought him down and made him eat grass like the wild animals until his pride was broken and he knew that the Most High rules! And Belshazzar was aware of this, Daniel was just reminding him of these things.

VERSES 22-24

1. The indictment against Belshazzar was that he did not learn the lessons from his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. And he refused to be broken of his prideful heart, and God was going to bring him down. You see, Belshazzar had the opportunity to learn these lessons otherwise God would not have held him accountable for that information. Today, man knows there is a God, the heavens declare it. But they suppress the truth, and they are accountable for what they have suppressed. Like Belshazzar who was living in willful defiance of God, judgment is coming. Belshazzar’s love was centered around the gods of Babylon and the lavish material things. And people are no different today, they have god’s they worship and are in love with material things, and they are going to find out they are in trouble!

VERSES 25-28

1. MENE means "to number" or "to reckon." TEKEL means "weighed." UPHARSIN is the plural of PERES which means "divided." So the literal translation goes like this, "Numbered, numbered, to light, divided." God has not only numbered Belshazzar’s days but also the Babylonian kingdoms. The reason is that they were placed in the balances of God and have come up short. The kings moral and spiritual character did not measure up to the standard of God’s righteousness. And thus, the kingdom was to be divided and given to the Medes and the Persians.

2. This standard of God has not changed. If we reject Jesus Christ we will come before God being weighed in our own righteousness, and we will be found short or unbalanced to God’s standards. Because of that we will be divided or separated from God for eternity. God’s scales are fair, for He has given us the weight to meet those standards, to balance those scales, and that is Jesus Christ. Without Jesus Christ the scales are unbalanced and we will fall short. It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

VERSE 29

1. Belshazzar recognized that what Daniel spoke forth was the truth, even though it was painful, he honored his word and rewarded Daniel for this. But the rewards only lasted a few hours at the most and some feel only a few minutes, for as Daniel finished speaking, the armies of the Medes and the Persians entered the room and began to slaughter the Babylonians!

VERSES 30-31

1. The very night that Daniel interpreted the hand writing on the wall, Belshazzar was killed and the kingdom was given to the Medes and the Persians. The Persian army, led by Ugbaru came up with a plan to enter the gates of Babylon. They divided the army in two, sending one part to be stationed in the north and the other in the south. Then, as the northern army diverted the Euphrates River by digging a canal for the river to flow into a near-by lake, which caused the water levels to drop south of this canal.

As the water levels dropped the southern army was able to enter the gates of the city from which the river flowed, and for some reason, maybe because the Babylonian soldiers were drunk, these gates were not locked, and this army was able to walk in and conquer the city with very little resistance. This overthrow took place on October 12, 539 BC.

2. Interestingly enough, some 140 to 200 years before this event took place, Isaiah describes it like he was an eyewitness of the event, even naming Cyrus as the leader of this Medo-Persian army. In Isaiah 45:1-6 we read "Thus says the LORD to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held-- to subdue nations before him and loose the armor of kings, to open before him the double doors, so that the gates will not be shut: ‘I will go before you and make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that I, the LORD, who call you by your name, am the God of Israel. For Jacob My servant's sake, and Israel My elect, I have even called you by your name; I have named you, though you have not known Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me, That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other." (KJV).

3. We are told that Darius ruled the kingdom that was formally known as Babylon. This area was given to him by Cyrus immediately after the fall of Babylon, and he continued to rule for some 14 years, (539-525 BC). That is where chapter 6 picks up, with a new world kingdom. And Darius, which is likely a title and not a name, is in charge of this area of Babylon, while Cyrus was in charge of the entire kingdom. And keep in mind that Ugbaru captured Babylon for Cyrus but within three weeks of his victory he died. Gubaru was appointed governor of Babylon by Cyrus and this is most likely the Darius that is spoken of in chapter 6, for he was born in 601 BC, which would make him 62 years old just as the Scriptures say!

DANIEL 6

VERSES 1-3

1. As Darius takes over this area he now sets up his leaders. Those men that will assist him with the work of overseeing the kingdom. And so Darius picks 120 Satraps to be in charge of the kingdom, to help assist the king. Now these 120 Satraps would not report directly to the king but to the three governors who were in charge over them.

2. Amazingly enough, Daniel was taken from his position of leadership in Babylon, although he may not have been used during the reign of Belshazzar, and he wasn’t killed by this invading army but placed in a position of leadership in this new kingdom! God’s hand was surely upon him. And keep in mind that Daniel is over 80 years old at this point and yet Darius saw the fine qualities of Daniel, that the Spirit of God was upon him!

3. When the world looks at you, what do you think they see? Hopefully an excellent spirit! Hopefully we are emanating the fragrance of Jesus. In II Chronicles 16:9 we are told, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him..." God is looking for men and women He can use to show Himself strong through, like He did with Daniel. Not perfect people, there are none! But those who have a single heart towards God. Think of it like this, God is the hand and we are a baseball glove, and God is working in us so He can use us. When I bought a baseball glove, I had to work it in, strapped a ball in it so it would conform to the image of the ball. I used oil to soften the leather and make it more pliable. God does the same with us. He is conforming us to the image of Jesus, and He uses the Holy Spirit to soften us and make us more pliable. Yes, initially we may be hard, difficult to mold, but if we allow Him, we will conform to fit His hand to be used by Him for His glory!

VERSES 4-5

1. Because of the jealousy these men had towards Daniel they sought to find some blemish in his life that would discredit him before Darius. And these guys watched Daniel to find some fault in his life so they could bring him down. It is interesting to me that with all the effort they put forth to discredit Daniel before Darius, they found none!

2. As Christians, there will always be those out there, because of jealousy or whatever, that will try to find fault in what you are doing, even other Christians. Your responsibility is to live uprightly so people can’t find fault in you. You are to be above reproach. Paul said in Philippians 1:10-11, "that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." And in Philippians 2:14-15 Paul said, "Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." That is how we are to live, a life that is pleasing to God and above reproach!

3. Now since these men could not find fault in Daniel’s moral character, they looked to his spiritual life. They were going to find some conflict between Daniel’s religious practices, his way of life, the way he served the Lord, that would go against some law of the land or they would have to come up with one that would bring Daniel down.

VERSES 6-9

1. The word "thronged" literally means they "came with haste and tumult." These guys were agitated and in a hurry to put this Daniel down. And so they come before the king and attack him in an area that we all struggle in, PRIDE! They told the king to make a decree that the king was the only one to be consulted, worshiped for 30 days. And the penalty for not obeying was being tossed into the lions den!

2. What a foolish decree to sign into law and yet the king succumbed to this flattery and signed into law this decree. If you remember in the Babylonian empire that Nebuchadnezzar had absolute authority. He could do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. But the Medo-Persian empire was a constitutional government, it was inferior to the Babylonian empire. And thus, when something was signed into law, it remained law, it could not be changed, not even by the king!

VERSE 10

1. Daniel did not change his daily routine so he could be rebellious against the king and the laws of the land. He just continued on doing what he always did. Besides praying throughout the day, he had three times in his daily routine where he would go home and looking out his opened window he would pray towards Jerusalem.

2. Why was Daniel praying towards Jerusalem? It seems strange since the city was in rubble and the temple destroyed by the Babylonians some 47 years earlier, in 586 BC. If you remember during the reign of Solomon, as the temple was being dedicated, we see a prayer that may have influenced Daniel. In II Chronicles 6:34-40 we read "When Your people go out to battle against their enemies, wherever You send them, and when they pray to You toward this city which You have chosen and the temple which I have built for Your name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. When they sin against You (for there is no one who does not sin), and You become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy, and they take them captive to a land far or near;..

...yet when they come to themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captivity, saying, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, and have committed wickedness’; and when they return to You with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have been carried captive, and pray toward their land which You gave to their fathers, the city which You have chosen, and toward the temple which I have built for Your name: then hear from heaven Your dwelling place their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive Your people who have sinned against You. Now, my God, I pray, let Your eyes be open and let Your ears be attentive to the prayer made in this place."

3. Also, why 3 times a day? Psalm 55:16-17 tells us, "As for me, I will call upon God, and the LORD shall save me. Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice." Daniel not only knew the Scriptures, but applied them to his life. He lived what he believed!

VERSE 11

1. Their plan worked beautifully. Daniel was caught breaking the law, he was praying! Even today we have people watching us, where we are praying, in school, at football games, or other athletic events, graduating ceremonies, with the soul purpose to catch us breaking the law because we were praying at these events! Things have not changed much!

VERSES 12-14

1. These guys were going to enjoy this day for a long time, or so they thought. You can just see how much they hated Daniel by what they said, "...‘That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.’" Daniel 6;13. They said that Daniel was mocking the king, making a fool of him.

2. Now the king blew it and he knew it. Not that Daniel was showing the king disrespect but these men had made a fool of the king by getting him to sign into law this decree. Darius loved Daniel. He had nothing against him. In fact he worked all day to try and get Daniel out of this predicament that he himself had put him in. But to no avail he could find no loop hole in the law to spare Daniel from this terrible fate.

VERSES 15-18

1. The king had no other choice but to place Daniel into the lions den and that is exactly what took place. Now the king is not expressing faith that the God of Daniel would spare him, but he was hopeful, he was wishing, he had his fingers crossed because he just wasn’t sure!

2. Daniel, a man of faith, I’m sure got a good nights rest with those big kitty cats! But Darius, not a man of faith, became anxious, he couldn’t sleep. And that is what happens to us when we take our eyes off of the Lord, we are not at rest!

VERSES 19- 20

1. You can see the love he had for Daniel, how he respected Daniel. He was so troubled over this that he got up early to see if Daniel had made it through the night. But he doubted it, he had no faith. In Hebrews 11:6 we are told, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." If you don’t have faith, then you are not trusting in the Lord, for how can you trust in Him if you don’t believe in what He has promised you, eternal life through His Son!

VERSES 21-23

1. Just as Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego were spared from the fiery furnace, so too was Daniel spared from the mouths of these ferocious lions. And don’t get the idea that these lions were old, maybe they had lost some or most of their teeth, and they were well fed. Understand this, they were breed for this task and kept hungry, near starving so when someone was tossed into the pit, they were eaten up quickly, no left overs! But the Lord was with Daniel and protected Him, and Daniel rested in that fact and so can we no matter how intense the trial is!

2. Now these men who thought they had the perfect plan by which to eliminate Daniel were going to be in for a big surprise. The kings joy of seeing his friend Daniel spared from the lions causes him to now deal with the ring leaders that put Daniel there in the first place. And, as we are going to see, the punishment is immediate. They were guilty of this and they were going to pay for what they had done.

VERSE 24

1. Not frail, not weak, not toothless lions, these animals were wild and hungry. The people that were tossed in didn’t even hit the ground before they were devoured. Now it is easy to see why the king threw the ring leaders in, but why their families? I think God is showing us how sin does not only affect the person involved, but those that are close to us!

2. Do you see the progression and the end result of jealousy? The men that rose up against Daniel did so because of jealousy. This jealousy began in their heart. They saw the prosperity of Daniel over their own lives and they wanted what he had. As this heart of jealousy grew and they became consumed with it, we see that this is then manifested in their actions. And they get others to jump on their band wagon. They come up with a plan to find fault in Daniel’s moral character. And since that didn’t work they now went to get a law passed that they knew Daniel would break just by his daily routine. And they buttered up the king, appealed to the kings pride, and he signed into law this decree.

Because of that we see an innocent man thrown to the lions, but God did spare him. But that is not always the case. As I have said before, God is sovereign, it is up to Him. Many people have had their lives destroyed because of the jealous actions of others. We need to be careful in what we do, what we say, why we are doing it, for we may not physically kill someone, but we can kill them or injure them with our words! Don’t feed this monster called jealousy, for it will grow and you will only find death and destruction in its path! You see, you can’t throw mud without getting dirty yourself. And also understand that you will never lift yourself up by putting others down. Jealousy has a bite as these guys found out!

VERSES 25-27

1. Darius now has not only heard of the living God and what He can do, but he was an eye witness to God’s power and greatness. Because of that he makes a decree so that all can hear of the true and living God as opposed to the dead idols that they were worshiping!

VERSE 28

1. Again we see Daniel continue to prosper even into this second kingdom of the Medes and the Persians because of his trust and faith in God. He was willing to be a vessel used by God, and God used him mightily! What about you?

2. Chapter 6 ends the historical account and now as we move into chapter 7 next time, we will deal with the prophetic visions that were given to Daniel during his life, from his captivity in Babylon into the second gentile world kingdom, the Medo-Persian.