Galatians 6:7; Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

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1 Introduction Last week we looked at Daniel chapter 5:1-9; the great feast or the great ball when Belshazzar threw a party for a thousand of his closest drinking buddies (v.1); and then the great gall (vv.2-4); when Belshazzar ordered the holy vessels from Solomon s temple to be used for the most profane of purposes; then came the handwriting on the wall with a message that no one understood (vv.5-6); and finally the call to the magicians to interpret the writing and explain the supernatural event. The ball, the gall, the wall, the call and now we look at the fall (vv.10-31); the fall of a kingdom. Galatians 6:7; Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. We know we cannot disobey and defy God without consequences. In this chapter we are reminded once again of the tragic results when God is ignored, denied, disobeyed or blasphemed. We sometimes smuggle rationalizations into our thinking; plausible but untrue excuses, permissions to continue in our sins. You ve heard the excuses; I m only human ; God knows I m only human He will forgive me and It doesn t matter. I have needs and God knows I have needs. With the invention of digital weighing devices; some of us may have forgotten what scales look like. In ancient days people would weigh grain, and gold, they would put a fixed weight on one side and the product on the other. The Bible encourages the use of honest scales. A scale is supposed to keep the transaction honest. We tell the children two scoops of icecream ; but how big is a scoop? What happens if you decide to use a shovel instead of the icecream scooper? You get on another scale. And you weigh your self. Is the scale accurate? Is it honestly telling you your weight? Has anyone ever said to you; I hate getting on the scales? What they really hate is what the scales are saying; you have a weight problem. In the same way we hate God s scales; because God s scales are saying, you have a sin problem. On line I came across this question on Yahoo answers; If God is not mocked; how do I manage to mock him day in and day out? The answer was even more shocking than the question; Best Answer - Chosen by Voters to answer your question: god is not mocked because there is no god to be mocked. this is the same as saying that santa claus is not mocked. now, you can mock the idea of god, which apparently is what you have been doing with fantastic success. Hopefully we will glean some principles from Daniel s life as we look at Daniel s reputation (vv ); Daniel s separation (vv.13-16); and Daniel s proclamtion (vv.17-28). Daniel s Fame or Reputation (vv.10-12) 1

2 Daniel 5:10; 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 some dispute as to the identity of the queen. Is this the Queen mother? If that s the case it is the wife of Nebuchadnezzar; it may be the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar and the wife of Nabonidus, Belshazzar s father (Nitocris). The Queen gives the customary greeting to a royal monarch; O King, live forever. But he will be dead in just a few hours. All of us will die in the next 80 years, give or take a few weeks. It should grip your heart on a daily basis that one day you will die. She certainly was familiar with Daniel s fame and reputation in a crisis. Daniel 5:11; 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. There is a man in your kingdom The queen mother describes Daniel in some pretty impressive terms. Even though Daniel has been out of political loop for many years he is remembered as a significant man. Other counselors have tried and failed; but Daniel is one who stands out in a crowd. Not only is Daniel significant, but he is spiritual; A man in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. Daniel is significant, spiritual, and superior--in what way? Daniel 5:12; 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. Daniel had an excellent spirit. The phrase is very interesting, it means a man of surpassing ability. Daniel is the teacher s teacher. He is the master of the wise men, he stands head and shoulders over the rest. The queen mother remembers Daniel as a sensible man; full of knowledge, understanding; the ability to understand and interpret dreams and solving difficult problems. Daniel had keen insight into what was going on, he was a man devoted to wisdom and discernment. Daniel has skills. With the ability to interpret dreams, resolve problems, solve conflicts; Daniel was in the business of dissolving doubts; solving those heart gripping problems. Daniel had the ability to go right to the heart of an issue or a problem, and figure it out. Christian--Daniel could untie knots. Christian--you are the one with the answers. You are the one who has the ability to speak to the pain and the problems that plague this generation. Don t 2

3 be alarmed that the world rarely comes to you for answers. Don t be alarmed that the people of God and the Word of God are ignored. There will come a time when this world and its bankrupt system, when this world and its perverse promises and corrupt practices will fail. Clearly Daniel had been left out of this King s administration. But the Queen mother remembered Daniel; and remembered the role he had played in the life of her husband/son. Three times she reminds her son of Daniel s role in the previous administration. It s as if she is saying, Son, if there is one ounce of common sense, one ounce of native intelligence left in your brain, call for Daniel. Do you need help? Call for the expert. Daniel s Faithfulness and Separation (vv.13-16) Daniel 5:13; Then 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? Daniel is brought before the king. Dr. Joseph Parker reminds those of us who preach: Preachers of the Word, you will be wanted some day by Belshazzar; you were not at the beginning of the feast, you will be there before the banquet hall is closed...the king will not ask you to drink wine, but he will as you to tell the secret of his pain and heal the malady of his heart. Abide your time. You are nobody now. Who cares for preachers, teachers, seers, men of insight, while the wine goes around, and the feast is unfolding its tempting luxuries? But the preacher will have his opportunities. They will send for him when all other friends have failed. May he then come fearlessly, independently, asking only to be a medium through which divine communication can be addressed to the listening trouble of the world. (see The Handwriting On The Wall; Secrets From the Prophecies of Daniel; David Jeremiah; Vol. 1; p ; where he quotes Joseph Parker). Daniel 5:14; 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. Daniel 5:15; 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. The king reports the failed philosophies and combined wisdom of the Babylonian brain trust cannot help him. The wise men of Babylon could not interpret the writing on the wall (God s judgment). Paul reminds us that the things of God are spiritual; and they must be spiritually discerned. The king promises to reward Daniel with the things that motivate people in this world; honor, wealth, prestige. The world thinks you are motivated by the things that motivate the world; possessions, position, power. 3

4 Daniel 5:16; 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. The Future and Fall of Babylon; Daniel s Proclamation (vv.17-28) Daniel 5:17; Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, 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. After Daniel s call, he purposes to read the scrawl. The first thing Daniel does is refuse the king s gifts. Belshazzar promised gifts; Daniel wants no part of the gifts. Daniel seems to have respected Nebuchadnezzar; but he rejects Belshazzar. Many years earlier Abraham rejected the offer of gifts before the King of Sodom. I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich (Gen.14:22-23). Daniel 5:18; O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. Daniel 5:19; 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. Daniel 5:20; 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. Daniel 5:21; 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. Daniel 5:22; But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. Daniel 5:23; 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. 4

5 and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. People who reject the revelation of God are gambling with their eternal soul. I want you to note a couple of things; Daniel reviews the king s history and heritage. The wise and godly Daniel reminds Belshazzar of his grandfather s failure and foolishness and God s response. He then reviews Belshazzar s conduct; and again Daniel gives Belshazzar two thumbs down. The last thing Daniel does is he rebukes the king s sin. He brings three charges against Belshazzar; he says the king has engaged in premeditated sin; and even though the king knew how his own grandfather had been judged for similiar sins; he ignored the lessons of family history. Knowing God hates pride; knowing God hates arrogance and foolishness; the king embraced pride, and arrogance and foolishness. He then accuses the ruler of serious sacrilige; of blaspheming God by profaning the Temple vessels. And finally he charges Belshazzar with pagan sacrifice in lifting up the holy vessels, the utensils from the temple to honor his own false gods. That is dangerous. It is dangerous to mock God. It is dangerous to play games with the true and the living God. Beware when God s creatures mock God the Creator. This is not Daniel before Belshazzar. This Belshazzar before Daniel. Like Felix before Paul and Pilate before Jesus; the crushing presence of the truth will enlarge the prophet and engulf the willful king. One writer put it this way; Transfer yourself into the royal banquet hall and listen. There stands the tall and reverent prophet...he has not a word of sympathy for the king in his guilty alarm. His voice, his brow, his words, his composed manner and solemnity are all in deep accord with the Spirit who had traced those letters and with the awful sentence in them...he knew he was about to utter the last words the royal sinner would ever hear in this world. In the mocking film Bruce Almighty (Morgan Freeman; Jim Carey); Morgan Freeman s character reveals that he is God. The character Bruce responds; Thanks for the Grand Canyon and good luck with the Apocalypse. I suspect Daniel was sickened by the presence of such wickedness; but he must be about God s business. He coldly and communicates to the king the meaning of the message. Daniel 5:24; Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written. Daniel 5:25; And this is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. Daniel 5:26; This is the interpretation of each word. Mene : God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 5

6 What is God s message? God has numbered your kingdom and will finish it. Moses said; So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Where are you Egypt, Greece, Rome, Babylon? Where are you Tyre? Where are you Sodom? They all defied God. God had each number. God has your number. Daniel 5:27; Tekel : You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; For those of you who love math; you know the world is built on numbers. Every material substance in the universe is made up of sub-atomic particles; atoms, molecules, chemicals and minerals. Music is based on numbers. Each of our lives has a numeric value. God was saying to the selfish king; your number is up. You are weighed in the balance and fall short. We are all short. We have all fallen short of the glory of God. Found wanting means found light than means less than the weight expected. There wasn t enough weight; Belshazzar s moral and spiritual circumstances did not weigh enough. I know a guy who says; when you die, God pulls out a scale and puts all your good deeds on one side, and all your bad deeds on the other side. If the good deeds out weigh the bad deeds, you are good to go. Oh yea? I quoted him this verse; you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; you ve come up light. The kings kingdom was lacking in value; and fell short. We see justice with scales, sword, blindfold; but God is the God of all knowledge, with all light, aware of every act. The Lord God is incorruptibly accurate; and that God is the God who weighs us in the balance. Talk no more so proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed (I Sam. 2:3). Daniel 5:28; Peres : Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. The night of revelation has become a night of condemnation. That s the whole message. Daniel 5:29; 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. Belshazzar seems oblivious to his own judgment. He puts the clothes on Daniel anyway. The king dresses Daniel as if he is going to live forever. The king ignores the judgment. I love John Phillips comment on this passage (vv.24-29); Why could Daniel read the writing on the wall? It was in his Father s handwriting. The Fall (vv.30-31) Daniel 5:30; That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. Daniel 5:31; And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old. 6

7 Herodotus (contemporary Greek historian at that time) tells us the Babylonian armies at first moved north to challenge the advancing Persian troops. They were soon driven behind the walls of Babylon. Cyrus then proceeded to divert the water (Euphrates) from its normal bed, under the walls of the city, channeling water to a nearby resevoir he had dug. Another Greek historian Xenophon, states that the entrance was made into the city at a time when the Babylonians were feasting in a drunken orgy. Had the Babylonians known what Cyrus was up to; had they noticed the danger; they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city. They would have secured the gates and destroyed the Persians; they would have mounted the walls between the streams and trapped the Persians. But as it was, the Persians came in and took them by surprise and the city. Owing to the vast size of the city, the inhabitants of the central part of the city; did not know what was happening at the gates. It is a matter of historical record; on the 16th day of Tishri; 539 B.C. (Oct.11 or 12); Babylon joined the whole host of nations that have forgotten about God. The Hittites, the Assyrians, the people of Nineveh, the Medo-Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, Spain, France, Germany, England, Austria, all have fallen from positions of power and significance. But Isaiah says; Behold the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales (Isa. 40:15). Why did God deal so dramatically and severely with these nations? Promiscuity among the leaders; profanity against God; the true God the living God; persistent, perverse, commitment to pleasure; presumption by the military leaders; and plain old fashion pride---these were the deadly sins that eventually killed the Babylonian Empire. Conclusion One of the powerful lessons of this chapter; never underestimate the power of one godly life. Daniel s reputation has stood the test of time. But remember he maintained his reputation in an atmosphere of idolatry, immorality, and treason. Because of Daniel s faithfulness, God was able to use him to confront a pagan empire. God still wants to use faithful men and women. Are you willing to stand firm? Are you willing to allow God to use you to speak to this generation? Then submit to the Lord Jesus Christ. Daniel lived a life of significance, of Spirit-filled obedience; of superior character; sensible practices; skillful understanding. He refused to sell his soul or merchandise his gifts. Can you think of a person who stands out in your life has an example of godliness? Does that person know how you have influenced by them? You might want to send them a note of thanks. 7