Participants: Ty Gibson and James Rafferty
Series Code: DBOTB
Program Code: DBOTB000006B
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00:01 Welcome back friends!
00:03 We are in Daniel Chapter 5. 00:04 We are picking up as Daniel 00:06 is brought in before Belshazzar 00:07 right here in verse 13. 00:08 "Then was Daniel brought in before the king. " 00:11 "And the king spake and said unto Daniel, are you 00:13 "Daniel, which are at the children of the captivity of" 00:16 "Judah, whom the king, my father brought out Jewry?" 00:18 "I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in" 00:21 "thee, and that light and understanding and an excellent" 00:24 "wisdom is found in thee. " Verse 14. 00:27 "And now the wise men, the astrologers, had been brought" 00:30 "in before me, that they should read this writing," 00:32 "and make known unto me the interpretation there of:" 00:35 "but they could not show the interpretation of the thing;" 00:38 Here is Belshazzar acknowledging that his own wise men 00:42 cannot read or interpret this writing that has been 00:45 written by this bodiless hand. 00:47 He is recognizing that his wise men are insufficient, 00:51 in a sense it seems like he is disconnected from his 00:54 own wise men. 00:56 He is in this party atmosphere, if you will. 00:58 He is disconnected from the Queen Mother, 01:00 she is not there with him, 01:01 excuse me from his Queen, she is not there with him. 01:03 He's disconnected from his wise men. 01:05 He seems like he doesn't really care. 01:06 He hasn't threaten the wise men, nor said anything. 01:09 He is bringing up to say, hey Daniel, my wise men can't 01:11 figure it out, maybe you can figure it out. 01:13 If you can figure that out it would be great. 01:14 It is a scary thing to me and I really just want to get 01:16 back to my party and not have to deal with these 01:18 scary images that are showing up on my wall. 01:20 I think it is important to recognize also the context 01:25 here, the history that is taking place here. 01:27 There is a strange security that he has because at this very 01:34 time, as this party is going 01:36 forward, Babylon is surrounded 01:39 by the Media Persian armies. 01:42 But the security that Belshazzar feels at this time makes him 01:46 rather casual even though he is terrified by what he is seeing. 01:51 He is rather casual about it and he feels secure because 01:53 the fact is Babylon is this great kingdom. 01:56 The greatest kingdom in the world. 01:57 The river Euphrates runs through the city. 02:00 There are food supplies to keep them going for years. 02:05 So he is just interested in continuing on with his 02:10 lifestyle of opulence and partying. 02:13 He just wants to know, Hey, what does this mean? 02:17 Well, he doesn't really want to know what this means. 02:20 When we see the interpretation unfold, his fear is 02:23 going to turn to terror. 02:25 At this point though, he is in the party atmosphere, 02:28 like you say, he feels like he's secure. 02:30 He has a false security and in that context it is 02:33 interesting because it plays out here in this verse 16. 02:38 "And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make" 02:42 "interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now at thou canst" 02:45 "read the writing and make known to me the interpretation" 02:47 "thereof, that I shall be clothed with scarlet," 02:50 "and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shall be" 02:52 "the third ruler in the kingdom. " 02:54 This is a confirmation of his false security. 02:57 Basically he is offering Daniel a reward. 03:00 He is saying you can have a scarlet robe, 03:03 which was royalty. 03:04 You can have chains of gold around your neck. 03:06 You will be third ruler in the kingdom, he is the 03:10 second ruler because Nabonidus, his father is out on 03:13 a campaign, probably in hiding from the Media Persian 03:17 Army somewhere, and that was the son of Nebuchadnezzar, 03:20 or the ruler second down from Nebuchadnezzar. 03:22 So he was probably just made ruler in Babylon and that 03:26 is why they are having this celebration. 03:27 Daniel would be third after Nabonidus, himself, and yet in 03:31 a sense, we know in context of the story, that it is a 03:35 a completely false security. 03:36 It is obvious that he is not connected with reality here. 03:41 Not only does he offer rewards that are monetary rewards 03:46 to Daniel, but he tells him that you will be third 03:49 ruler in the kingdom. 03:50 He obviously expects that Babylon is going to continue 03:54 on as the prominent power and he has 03:57 no expectations of ruin. 04:00 Exactly so verse 17 it is interesting how Daniel answers. 04:03 Daniel answers, "then Daniel answered and said before the" 04:06 "king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards" 04:10 "to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king," 04:14 "and I will make known to him the interpretation. " 04:16 What I really like about this is Daniel understands the 04:20 difference between temporal rewards and false security, 04:23 and the heavenly assurance that God has given us. 04:26 The assurance that we have of streets of gold. 04:29 Why would I want a necklace of gold when I am going to 04:32 be walking on streets of gold? 04:34 Why would I want to be third ruler in the kingdom, 04:37 when God has promised that I can sit on a throne with 04:39 Him and rule as a king and a priest? 04:42 Why would I want to wear a robe of scarlet, when I have 04:46 been promised a robe of righteousness? 04:49 Of purity, the Bible says, "though your sins be as" 04:50 "scarlet, they shall be white as snow. " 04:52 So Belshazzar is basically saying, Daniel you can have 04:55 a life of sinfulness, and you can be royalty, and to be 04:57 treated as royalty. 04:59 Daniel says, no thanks, I don't want the pleasure of 05:01 sin for a season. 05:02 I want the white robe of Christ's righteousness and live 05:04 with Him throughout all eternity. 05:06 No thanks, I don't want a chain of gold, I want to walk 05:08 on the streets of gold. 05:10 No thanks, I don't want to be third ruler in this kingdom 05:12 that is about to fall, I want to be ruler with Christ 05:15 for all eternity. 05:16 There is another study in contrast here James. 05:18 That is that the illusion, the appearance here is that 05:23 Belshazzar is the one in the adventitious position. 05:27 Daniel's a mere slave, Daniel is a Eunuch, Daniel is a captive 05:32 in a foreign land and yet Daniel rises head and 05:35 shoulders above every one in this kingdom. 05:38 His integrity, his faithfulness to God is what gives him 05:43 an excellent spirit, the Holy Spirit of God is upon him. 05:49 And within him and Daniel is the one who is 05:52 really secure here. 05:53 Daniel is the one who has no reason to fear. 05:55 Daniel knows that great political upheaval is underway. 06:00 There is to be a monumental shift of power from Babylon 06:04 to Media Persia and Daniel is sailing through this entire 06:09 process with absolute peace because he knows that 06:13 the kingdom that he has allegiance to, 06:16 is not a kingdom of this world. 06:18 So he recounts to Belshazzar the 06:22 history of Nebuchadnezzar, his 06:24 grandfather he says in verse 18 06:26 "... the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a" 06:31 "kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honor:" 06:33 "and for the majesty that he gave him, included all people," 06:37 "nations, and languages, trembling before him, 06:39 and fearing before him" "whom he would he slew. " 06:41 We talked about that, that dictatorship, that aspect of 06:45 Nebuchadnezzar's character that wasn't so great. 06:47 "And whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he" 06:49 "set up; and whom he would he put down. " 06:51 "But when his heart was lifted up," verse 20, "and his" 06:53 "mind hardened in pride, he was taken from his 06:57 "throne, and his glory was taken from him: he was" 06:59 "driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made" 07:02 "like the beast," verse 21, "and his dwelling was with" 07:05 "the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen," 07:08 "and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he" 07:11 "knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men," 07:14 "and he appointed over it whomsoever he will. " 07:17 Now, as he summarizes the history of his grandfather, 07:22 Nebuchadnezzar, he then goes on to say, and you, 07:26 Belshazzar, verse 22, "you have not humbled your heart," 07:30 "even though you knew all this. " 07:33 Here is where we see the influence of alcohol. 07:35 Here's where we see the influence of drugs, he knew 07:37 that history, he knew it. 07:39 He probably sat on his grandfather's knee and 07:41 Nebuchadnezzar recounted it to him because 07:43 Nebuchadnezzar recounted it to all the nation. 07:46 Nebuchadnezzar was interested in being a witness for God. 07:49 His heart had been converted and changed and transformed 07:52 by the Spirit of God. 07:54 You knew all this, verse 23, "you lifted up thyself" 07:57 "against the Lord of heaven, and they brought the" 07:59 "vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy 08:02 lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine" 08:04 "in them; and thou hast praised the gods a silver, and" 08:07 "gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not," 08:11 "nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath" 08:15 "is, and whose are all thy ways, has thou not glorified:" 08:19 That is a powerful statement there. 08:20 This is the influence of self 08:23 exaltation, the influence of 08:25 of arrogance upon Belshazzar's 08:27 mind and heart has blinded 08:29 him to his need. 08:30 And to the reality of the fact 08:33 in God we move and have our 08:34 being, I mean think about that 08:36 in the context of the gospel. 08:38 It is amazing that every one of us, not just Belshazzar. 08:41 Every single human being; man, woman, and child utterly 08:45 dependent on God for every breath that we take. 08:49 He is the One, according to the apostle Paul, 08:52 who by His mighty power sustains and holds together 08:56 all things and everything by His power consists. 08:59 If God were to back up from us, from us as individuals, 09:03 from our world, we would cease to exist. 09:04 There is a strong deception upon Belshazzar's mind. 09:08 He has no sense of reality, he is self-assured and he's 09:13 absolutely settled into a false security. 09:15 He is about to be awakened here as the words appear on 09:19 the wall you are judged, you are weighed, 09:23 you are found wanting, your kingdom is now taken from you 09:28 is the pronouncement. 09:29 Here's a type of a final judgment that all human beings 09:34 will be faced with. 09:36 It is so different, isn't it from what Paul says in 09:38 Acts 17 to the Greeks and all of the philosophers who in 09:42 ignorance don't realize that in God they have their life, 09:46 and move and have their being. 09:47 Daniel is bringing out the same truth here to Belshazzar. 09:50 In God we live and move and have our being. 09:52 When Paul speaks to these unbelievers in Athens, 09:56 he is speaking to people who are ignorantly were 10:00 worshiping God and they did know who He was. 10:03 Who are ignorant of the fact that God was sustaining 10:06 their very life. 10:07 But Belshazzar on the other hand, should not have been 10:09 ignorant of this, he knew this. 10:11 He knew better, you know the history and these 10:14 people didn't know. 10:15 In Acts 17 the outcome is different, 10:17 God winks at your ignorance. 10:18 In Daniel Chapter 5, the outcome is different because 10:22 he knows better than to be worshiping gold, silver, 10:25 and all of these different idols, he knows better than 10:28 to be turning away from the God, Who has been 10:30 sustaining his life. 10:32 In Chapter 5 of Daniel James, it is a sad Chapter and 10:35 closes on a sad note. 10:37 The gospel has been proclaimed up to this point. 10:41 Nebuchadnezzar has sent out 10:43 a letter to all the nations 10:44 and kingdoms of the world 10:46 giving his testimony of God's 10:47 grace and power and how God 10:49 has transformed his life. 10:50 His grandson, on the other hand, has hardened himself 10:53 against the Lord and against the knowledge of God's 10:56 grace and the history of his grandfather. 10:58 The Chapter closes with a sad note that Belshazzar, 11:02 the king of the Chaldeans was slain and the kingdom 11:06 was given over to the Medes, Darius becomes the king. 11:09 The kingdom of Babylon falls. 11:12 That is a sad history, but it is a powerful commentary 11:17 for each one of us Ty. 11:18 We need to recognize that it is important for us not 11:21 to pursue or follow the choices that Belshazzar made. 11:25 It is our prayer and our hope that you would choose 11:28 to acknowledge God's work in your life. 11:30 His sustaining grace and His favor towards you and 11:34 His desire to see you in the kingdom. 11:36 If you'll look at the history of how He has led you, 11:38 and you would not turn away from Him to gods of gold and 11:41 silver and to drugs but that you would turn your heart 11:44 over to Him and be saved eternally in His kingdom. |
Revised 2022-11-14