Tag: faith

Daniel’s enemies, those who had been passed up for promotion when Darius promoted Daniel to the supreme position, were trying to find some reason to sabotage his position.  However, as we noted last time “they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him” (Dan. 6:4).  He was a man of integrity.

The root word of integrity is integer, a whole number.  It is not divisible nor disjointed.  Integrity is somehow about wholeness, integration, completeness.  It means that our inner and outer life reflect the same values.  They match.  What we say we believe we really believe and our actions prove it.  If you say something, but don’t mean it, that’s not integrity.  If you promise to do something, but don’t follow through, that’s not integrity.  They don’t match up.

Integrity is not about being perfect but about being consistent and authentic in all areas of life.  It means not compartmentalizing your life into different segments where you act differently in different situations or before different audiences.  Instead, it is about being the same person in every situation, fostering trust and authenticity. 

The opposite of integrity would be “two-faced” or a hypocrite, an actor wearing a mask or playing a part.  What you see is not necessarily what you get.  A person may be saying one thing and doing another, or they say one thing to one person but equivocate with another.

We call this hypocrisy, which involves knowing the truth but not acting on it.  That Greek word expresses the idea of someone wearing a mask, presenting an image that is not in accord with reality.

Our problem is that we compartmentalize.  We wall off one part of our life from another part.  We pretend that we are “OK” in public or we hide our private lives where we still coddle our sins.

A wife will ask how her husband could commit the act of betrayal without thinking about her or the family?  This is how: men compartmentalize their lives to the point where the singular focus of one area is all encompassing and becomes a barrier to his comingling the other compartments.  The boxes are distinct and separate; there is very little overlap.  When we’re in one box, we aren’t in another.

Women’s brains are not made that way (which doesn’t mean you always act with integrity).  Mark Gungor, in Laughing Your Way to a Better Marriage, demonstrates that women’s brains are an inter-connected mix of thoughts (like spaghetti) in which everything relates to everything else.  I imagine women can still compartmentalize, but not nearly as easily as us men.

We find the Bible placing high emphasis on the importance of integrity. The book of Proverbs alone presents numerous passages about virtues like integrity and honesty. Here are some examples:

The security of integrity. Living and working with integrity provide safeguards against consequences of acting wrongly. “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out” (Proverbs 10:9).  That’s a scary thought, isn’t it?  But being found out might be the most liberating thing that could happen to us.

“The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them” (Proverbs 11:3).  One version has: “the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.”

“Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, but sin overthrows the wicked” (Proverbs 13:6).

The person who compartmentalizes their lives so that they may look good but are pursuing unhealthy habits in private, trade that security for insecurity, the fear that at any moment someone may see the “real me.”

The strong foundation of integrity.  As a solid foundation stabilizes a house, integrity serves as a strong foundation for a business – and also for individual lives. “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Proverbs 12:19).  “By justice a king gives a country stability, but one who is greedy for bribes tears it down” (Proverbs 29:4, NIV).

The Christian accountant should not fudge the numbers.  The Christian salesman should not exaggerate how good the product is.  The employee who loves Jesus should not be a slave to his work, which should be a lower priority than his family and his faith.

Once I noticed a program on CBS Sport’s website for watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament that takes place every March.  It’s called “March Madness.”   One of the advertised features of this program was that it had a “Boss Button.”  The boss button allowed the watcher to close the video screen on their work computer where they were watching the basketball game and quickly open a fake spreadsheet at the click of a button.  It was designed to encourage people to watch while at work.  But what is that?  Doing this in secret without permission is stealing from the company.

Dwight David Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during World War II and our 34^th President, spoke of the necessity of integrity for leadership when he said:

“In order to be a leader, one must have followers, and to have followers one must have confidence.  Hence the supreme quality for a leader is unquestioned integrity.  Without it no real success is possible, no matter whether it is a section gang, on a football field, in an army, or in an office   If one’s associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that the individual lacks forthright integrity, he will fail.  His teachings and actions must square with each other.  The first great need therefore is integrity.”

“When Daniel was given a job to do, the king knew it would be done thoroughly with excellence, and nothing would be left undone.  The king did not have to look over his shoulder all the time or worry about whether the job would be done” (Rodney Storz, Daniel: The Triumph of God’s Kingdom).

“Both Joseph and Daniel were envied and hated because of their impeachable integrity in both their personal and private lives.  The world has cause to be grateful for such men” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, p. 99).

David Guzik notes: “Sometimes today a candidate or nominee for political office is set under this kind of scrutiny, but imagine looking as hard as you can at a public servant in office some 50 years and finding nothing wrong.  No fraudulent expense accounts.  No intern scandals.  No questionable business deals.  No gifts from lobbyists.  No accusations from his staff.”  No spot on his record!  No skeletons in his closet!  So now they have to make up something.

Today molecular biologists can trace our traits and lifestyle habits.  Our lives leave visible traces that point to who we are and whom we represent.  Although we struggle and aren’t perfect, when people around us “swab” our lives, may they find visible traces of integrity and devotion to Jesus as He guides us. 

The other two vice presidents and all the satraps burned with anger and jealousy.  They did not understand the truth of James 4:1-2, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder.”  Or James 3:16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

Their anger intensified when they realized that they could not find even one skeleton in his closet or find one fault in his work ethics to accuse him of in order to have him removed from office.  So they began their fiendish plot to find some other way to get rid of him.

Their jealousy led them to agree, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God” (Dan. 6:5)  “Verse 5 is the most magnificent tribute a man can win.  If a hostile, jealous, watching world can discover nothing against a man save his devotion to his God, that man is truly Christlike,” says E. M. Blaiklock (E. M. Blaiklock, Today’s Handbook of Bible Characters, p. 275).  As Warren Wiersbe says, “It is certainly a commendable thing when people possess character so impeccable that they can’t be accused of doing wrong except in matters relating to their faith” (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: OT Volume, p. 1365).  May this be true of you and me!

Daniel’s opponents tried to find supporting evidence of his wrong-doing.  They struck out in Daniel’s public and private life, so now they turn to his religious life.  They had assumed he was like them, participating in some form of graft.  To their surprise, his record was as clean as his reputation.  Daniel’s manner of life was a sharp rebuke to them, so they sought another way to topple him.

In 1 Peter 2:12 we are told: “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”  Daniel lived in such a way.  These evil men realized they could find no flaw in Daniel, so they had to resort to accusing him on the ground of his religion (6:5).

As William Heslop observes, “Never was a loftier tribute pain to mortal man than the enemies of Daniel paid to him that day.  What a tremendous tribute to the trustworthiness of this public servant!  The religion of Daniel operated with such power as to exclude everything in his conduct which might furnish a handle with which he might be accused and justly hurt” (Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel, p. 150).

So, if Daniel’s faithfulness was unwavering, maybe they could use that very faithfulness against him.  Knowing that he was a man of principle and consistency, they sought to trap him in that very consistency. 

F. B. Meyer states: “The supreme test of goodness is not in the greater but in the smaller incidents of our character and practice; not what we are when standing in the searchlight of public scrutiny, but when we reach the firelight flicker of our homes; not what we are when some clarion-call rings through the air, summoning us to fight for life and liberty, but our attitude when we are called to sentry-duty in the gray morning, when the watch-fire is burning low.  It is impossible to be our best at the supreme moment if character is corroded and eaten into by daily inconsistency, unfaithfulness, and besetting sin” (Our Daily Walk. Christianity Today, v. 36, n. 10).

Well, they knew Daniel to be not only an exemplary “employee,” but also a committed “religious man.”  His faith had not been hidden either, but evident to all.  He wasn’t a “secret Christian.”

“Their idea was really quite brilliant.  If you can’t attack a man for his faults, find a way to take him out using his strengths.  Even more than his loyalty to the king, Daniel was loyal to his God.  If there was a way to use what was, in their minds, an out-of-sync hierarchy, it would be sure to bring the old Jew down” (Amir Tsarfati, Discovering Daniel, p. 117).  “Like the plot against the Jews recorded in the book of Esther, the plot against Daniel the intercessor was an attack on the whole Jewish race” (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: OT Volume, p. 1365).

So they came up with their scheme.  To paraphrase a brilliant author, “Then they got an idea.  An awful idea.  The governors and straps had a wonderful, awful idea” (Dr. Seuss, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas).

Obviously, they knew about his religious commitment and practice, which means that Daniel had not been a secret worshiper of God.  He had never hidden his faith in order to avoid trouble and remain in office up until now.  Also, they were convinced that his degree of commitment to his religious practice was great enough to keep him from changing that habit even when faced by the penalty of death.  It is clear that there were not primarily interested in his changing his ways and compromising his habits, but rather in trapping him in those very habits so that he could be executed.  The whole plot rested on Daniel’s stubborn commitment to his God.

Sam Storms notes: “Often, if there is no risk of loss or painful consequences, one will never know if one has integrity.  One will never know if what motivates you is moral conviction or moral convenience until you are forced to suffer loss for standing your ground or keeping your word” (Integrity, November 6, 2006, www.enjoyinggodministries.com).  Daniel’s stubborn commitment to God’s glory would come at a cost.

The word for “law” in verse 5 indicates that Daniel’s practice of praying three times a day reflected his understanding of the law of God.  No matter what, Daniel was determined to obey God’s laws.

Society-at-large benefits from the righteous behavior of God’s people in its midst (Mat. 5:13; Luke 14:34; Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 4:28; 1 Thess. 4:11; 1 Tim. 5:8).  Still, non-believers seek ways to oppose righteousness because righteous behavior exposes their lawlessness (light exposes darkness, John 1:5, 2 Cor. 6:14).  Being under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19), they contrive to manipulate the laws of the land to entrap the faithful by declaring righteous behavior as unlawful and unlawful behavior as commendable (Prov. 28:4; Psa. 12:8; Isa. 5:20; Mic. 3:2; Mal. 2:17; Rom. 1:32; 1 Pet. 3:15-16).  We see that in our culture today, don’t we?

“A common situation develops at this point: jealousy leads men to attack a colleague who is more competent than themselves.  In this case the ordinary feelings are sharpened by another factor that is noticed frequently in this book of Daniel.  Because a man is of the kingdom of God, therefore the kingdom of this world drives its members to display a bitterness in their assault that surpasses anything that might have been in evidence had the issues been between men outside of God’s kingdom.  Speaking more plainly, the devil stirs the fires of natural hatred to a fiercer heat as soon as God’s children are involved. . . . in no case can a man of God live a consistent life in the world without making apparent the fact that his life is separate from what the world does and countenances.  And whenever the world becomes aware of this difference she resents it and finds her animosities stirred” (H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Daniel).

So the officials and satraps came up with the plan.  They conspired together, they “came in concert,” and brought a plan to the king which caught him unaware.  In the vein of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” in a show of solidarity, these men brought their hidden scheme to the king.  The idea expressed by “came in concert” implies conspiracy.  The word is used in Psalm 64:2 and Psalm 55:14 for “secret counsel,” something dark and sinister.

They addressed him with the common expression “O King Darius, live forever!”  Through flattery, these leaders hoped to manipulate the king unwittingly to facilitate Daniel’s demise. 

They made it seem that all the important people (which was an exaggeration, no, an outright lie, for Daniel was not included) that the king valued had agreed that a royal ordinance should be made concerning prayer: “Whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions” (Dan. 6:7).  The next thirty days would be “King Darius Month.”

If the enemies of Daniel knew him, they also knew Darius.  They knew that they could appeal to Darius’ personal vanity and his desire for a unified kingdom.  This would be like a pledge of allegiance by all the subjects in his kingdom—no matter what their ethnic or religious loyalties might be.

The nature of their request accomplished two goals.  First, it flattered the king, as prayer would be made to him for thirty days, and such flattery increased the likelihood of his consent.  For thirty days he would be the people’s acknowledged god!  Who wouldn’t want the praise and adoration of the masses?  Many of us idolize fame and acclaim and praise and adoration for ourselves.  Darius was human and no different from you and me.

Adam Clarke concludes, “What pretense could they urge for so silly an ordinance?  Probably to flatter the ambition of the king, they pretend to make him a god for thirty days; so that the whole empire should make prayer and supplication to him and pay him Divine honours!  This was the bait; but their real object was to destroy Daniel.”

“The probability is that Darius regarded this act as a pledge of loyalty to himself and a token of their desire to respect his authority to the utmost” (John Walvoord, Daniel: The Key to Prophetic Revelation, p. 137)

“The action of Darius was both foolish and wicked.  What led him to yield to the request of the ministers can only be conjectured, but probably he was greatly influenced by the claim of deity which many of the Persian kings made” (Edward J. Young, The Prophecy of Daniel: A Commentary, p. 134).

Not only might this flatter Darius, but it would also solidify in the minds of the populace that they were no longer under Babylonian rule and Babylonian kings, but a Medo-Persian king.

Gleason Archer Jr. says, “The suggested mode of compelling every subject in the former Babylonian domain to acknowledge the authority of Persia seemed a statesmanlike measure that would contribute to the unification of the Middle and Near East. The time limit of one month seemed reasonable.” 

Second, by focusing on the matter of prayer, these leaders were certain that they could use Daniel’s faithfulness against him.  They were confident that if Darius issued an order contrary to Daniel’s devotion, Daniel would remain faithful to “the law of his God” (v. 5) and would therefore continue to pray.  I find it quite possible that they had seen Daniel praying before.

Third, by limiting the time to “thirty days,” they felt confident that they could both entrap Daniel and allow themselves the freedom to pray to their gods again once the time was up.

Fourth, they add some peer pressure to the mix.  Verse 7 says, “All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed” on what the king should do.  Again, this was an outright lie.  Daniel obviously wasn’t there and likely there were other satraps absent.  But even kings and presidents bow to peer pressure.  That’s what lobbyists aim to do!

But whoever really prays to a man?  In reality, many more do than we might imagine.  The story is told of a little boy who was saying his bedtime prayers.  He asked Jesus to bless his mommy, daddy, and little sister.  He asked Jesus to help him in school the next day.  Then he closed his prayer with a loud voice, asking Jesus to get him a new bicycle.  When his mother asked why he said the last part of his prayer so loudly, he answered, “I wanted to be sure Daddy heard me.”

Do you sometimes send messages to other people when you are praying, preach in your prayers?  This is tempting for church leaders to do, to get their people in line, or husbands to corral their wives when they believe they are being rebellious.  But that is never the purpose of prayer.  Be courageous enough to address “those rebels” outside of your praying!

The conspirators knew that an incentive for obedience might be necessary, so they suggested that violators “be cast into the den of lions.”  With the fear of death hanging over them, all the people should comply.

What was a “den of lions”?  The Ancient Near Eastern cultures venerated, hunted and captured lions.  They usually kept them in an excavated cave which one door on ground level to introduce new lions to the den and to carry out refuse.  Another “door” or hole was on the top, usually with a grate to keep anyone from accidentally falling in.

Then, to seal the deal, the high officials and satraps insisted that Darius “establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked” (Dan. 6:8).  You see, under Babylonian rule it was rex les: the king is law.  He made the laws and could break them or change them at a whim.  But in Persia: it was lex rex: the law is king.  So once the king made the law, he also was subject to it and could not change it.

The decrees of a Persian king were unchangeable because he was thought to speak for the gods, who could never be wrong and thus never needed to change their minds.

This reference to the “Medes and the Persians” (v. 8) is further textual testimony to the unity of Medo-Persia at this time in history.

What appealed to these leaders was the irrevocable nature of Medo-Persian injunctions; otherwise the king might change his mind, when he discovered that Daniel was a violator.  They knew that Daniel was a favorite (because once again God had shown him “favor”).

Now the conspirators knew that they had Darius in the palm of their hand.   “So King Darius put the decree in writing” (6:9).

The conspirators successfully manipulated Darius (v. 9); all they needed now was time for Daniel to violate this royal injunction, get himself in trouble with the law, and be thrown to the lions.

Charles Spurgeon pointedly comments: “Suppose the law of the land were proclaimed, ‘No man shall pray during the remainder of this month, on pain of being cast into a den of lions,’ – how many of you would pray?  I think there would be rather a scanty number at the prayer-meeting.  Not but what the attendance at prayer-meetings is scanty enough now!  But if there were the penalty of being cast into a den of lions, I am afraid the prayer-meeting would be postponed for a month, owing to pressing business, and manifold engagements of one kind and another.”

I believe he’s correct, sadly.

But it was this prayer-fellowship with Yahweh that had safeguarded Daniel from the corrupting influences of Babylonian culture all these years.  He wasn’t going to stop now.  To rationalize any compromise just to preserve his role in government would have been easy, but Daniel would not.

We are in Daniel 6, the historical story of Daniel in the lions’ den.  But he’s not there yet.  As we learned in vv. 1-3, Darius was about to appoint Daniel as the supreme leader of the land, over everyone else but Darius himself.

Then we read…

4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.”

6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 All the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.” 9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.

Once it became clear just how much favor Daniel had garnered with King Darius, the other high officials and satraps “sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom” (v. 4).  As soon as Daniel’s peers heard of the king’s plan to promote him, they determined to sabotage his success.  They thought, “Surely, as long as Daniel had been around, there were some skeletons in his closet.”

The accusers’ (note the plural “presidents and satraps”) plan was similar to that of the Babylonian officials who had tried to topple Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego (ch. 3). They knew that Daniel was a God-fearing man who did not worship pagan idols.  So, they laid a trap for him believing that he would remain faithful to his faith, to his God.

Collusion often arises when the ungodly are exposed by the people of God.  They then band together.  Daniel had no intention of competing with or discrediting these other officials, but such is the inevitable result of his superior performance.  It is impossible to shine for the kingdom of light without exposing the kingdom of darkness.  Much like Herod and Pilate at the crucifixion of Jesus, competing leaders temporarily bury their differences in order to attack a mutual enemy.

These officials sought to turn Darius against Daniel, figuring that this would open up the “slot” for one of them to fill.  You see, they are all jockeying for position.  Each one wants to move higher up the food chain.  Make no mistake, they are not friends, not in normal circumstances.  And yet here they are all united in their determination to get rid of Daniel.  This is the work of the enemy, Satan.  A believer with a strong testimony will attract opposition from many sides.

This passage illustrates 2 Timothy 3:12, Paul’s warning to Timothy: “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…”  Persecution should be expected.  We should not be “surprised” by it (1 Pet. 4:12).  It is no “stranger” to the man or woman who seeks to follow Christ faithfully.

Their jealousy parallels the animosity of “certain Chaldeans” toward “the Jews” in 3:8-12.  Anti-Semitism appears to have been at least a part of their jealousy (cf. v. 13; 3:12).

They looked for some basis for making an accusation against Daniel, something that would put him in disfavor with the king.  It isn’t by accident the Greek title for the Devil is διάβολος [diabolos]: from δια [dia] (“against”) + βολος [bolos] (“to throw”).  He is the “accuser of the brethren” (Rev. 20:10) and those in his kingdom are eager to follow in his footsteps.  As Joseph Seiss says, “It is the nature of the devil to be the accuser of the good and of those who are favored for their worth; and all his children have the same family trait” (Seiss, Voices from Babylon; or, the Records of Daniel the Prophet, p. 164).

The problem for the jealous leaders was that they could find no fault in Daniel to expose. His faithfulness was so constant and so evident that they had no grounds on which to accuse him before the king. 

Our text says, “but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him” (Dan. 6:4).  In other words, they couldn’t find any faults by either commission OR omission in Daniel’s behavior.  The word for “error” (shalu) carries the thought of neglect; being used, for instance, in Ezra 4:22, “Take heed now that you fail not to do this.”  Daniel was found without guilt both as to the way he did things and in not neglecting matters that should be done.

No corruption and no negligence—what a reputation for any employee!  This “report card” is what any of us would love to possess.  Daniel was not only capable of doing the job (v. 3), but a man of high integrity (v. 4) and a man under authority.

Corruption is doing things that will hurt your employer, usually financially.  Negligence is failing to do what will help your employer, again usually financially.  Corruption refers to dishonest or illegal behavior, such as taking bribes or engaging in fraudulent practices. Negligence, on the other hand, refers to a failure to exercise the care that a reasonable person would exercise, resulting in harm or loss.  Whereas corruption is more deliberate; negligence is more carelessness.  Behind both of them is selfishness and laziness.

I’ve seen what corruption can do in a country like Haiti.  There, millions of dollars were pumped into their economy by the United States with nothing to show for it.  Those monies were pocketed by corrupt officials.  Even at the airport you have to pay bribes.

Negligence not only costs businesses because of lost productivity, but workplace injuries multiply.  Medical expenses for injured employees, compensation claims and the cost of increased insurance premiums can quickly add up. Indirect costs such as lost productivity and the expenses associated with training new employees due to high turnover rates further exacerbate the financial strain on a company just due to negligence.

Daniel’s co-workers spied on everything and they had more than seventy years of data to pour over.  They checked his paperwork, his finances, queried his contacts, checked out his house and possessions, all the while looking for dirt.  Most investigations would be able to turn up plenty of dirt because as the saying goes, “everyone has a skeleton in their closet.”

But the private investigator couldn’t find anything.  Nothing showed up on the wiretaps or phone records.  A computer guru couldn’t find anything suspicious in his digital footprint; nothing on Babylonian Facebook, Twitter, or email.  There was no porn on his hard drive, no Internet searches for bad stuff found in his search history.  He was clean as a whistle.

Let me ask you this: If a group of people were determined to get rid of you, what would they find on you?  What if you couldn’t successfully hide everything, would you be disqualified?

As followers of Jesus, this ought to be the goal we strive to reach.  This is what should be “normal” for us.  It shouldn’t be the reserve of super saints only.  And yet our cynicism of character extends even to fellow followers of Jesus, especially ones who have achieved high positions of leadership in denominations or over large churches. Bill Hybels is still fresh in many minds, along with Steve Lawson and Tony Evans.   These were our heroes, yet they, like us, have clay feet.   But if Daniel could do it in an age before the Holy Spirit gave him the kind of help He does to us and in a culture which gave him no support to follow the true God, we who have the Spirit dwelling in our very hearts and our church fellowship and at least some cultural support should find it to be no problem.  So…how do we do it? 

They found absolutely nothing on Daniel!  Daniel had been faithful from the beginning up to the present day.  His commitment to God (Daniel 1:8) made him the ideal employee who always faithfully served whatever king was in power.

Imagine if all the followers of Jesus just got those three things right what a difference it would make in our culture!  Imagine being totally trustworthy.  We never broke confidence and consistently did what we said we would do.  We’ve all but given up on having leaders we can actually trust.  Followers of Jesus ought to be the ones to change this impression. 

Imagine if there was no negligence among us.  We always did what we were responsible to do and never left anything undone through laziness or disregard.  We got things done on time and completed everything we were given to accomplish, even if no one was watching and we received no bonus for doing it. 

How many elected leaders get into office and get so focused on the trappings of the position that they forget about doing what they actually signed up to do.?  Again, we Christians ought to be the ones to stop that trend no matter the position we hold. 

Imagine if there was no corruption in us.  We always did what was right and couldn’t be persuaded to do what was wrong no matter how sweet the offer was.  How many folks have a price at which they are willing to forego their professed values in favor of whatever is offered in exchange for it?  These are mercenaries.  As soon as we reveal ourselves to be mercenaries, our values are gone and we are worshiping money, not God.  Mercenaries sow cultural cynicism.  Followers of Jesus can have no part in that. 

Leon Wood notes: “This is remarkable.  Because of his position, Daniel must have been responsible in many areas, with many different people working under him.  Yet he and apparently his staff, were found to be free from fault.  He must have engaged people of integrity and then inspired them by his own exemplary life and ability that nothing wrong, either in efficiency or morality, could be found” (A Commentary on Daniel, p. 158).

Today when good men refuse to run for office it is because of ubiquitous investigative reports looking for dirt.  It seems absolutely incredible that Daniel’s accusers could find nothing on Daniel.  They found him faithful—he was trustworthy; honest—there was no corruption; and diligent—no negligence could be found.  What a contrast to Daniel’s accusers!

Clarence Macartney has imagined the conversation that might have taken place between Daniel’s would-be accusers:

One of them says, “Let us ‘frame’ Daniel.  Let us forge letters and bring them to the king, stating that Daniel has been in treasonable correspondence with foreign princes and that he plans to rebel against Darius and overthrow his dynasty.”  But one of the others answers: “No, there is no use in trying that.  Daniel has served too long and too loyally under three kings…for anyone to believe such a charge against him as that.  Then another makes this suggestion: “Daniel has charge of the finances of the realm.  Let us charge him with…dishonesty.”  But another answers, “That, too, will be in vain.  No charge against the honesty of Daniel, who has handled the funds of three kingdoms will be entertained for a moment….Then the third conspirator comes forward with his suggestion:  There is only one plan that will work.”  “What is that?” asks the others.  “We must devise some plan,” says he, “by which Daniel’s loyalty to the king will be brought into collision with his loyalty to God….We will persuade Darius to sign a decree to the effect that for thirty days no prayer shall be made to any man or to any God save Darius.  That will do the business; for if there is anything that is certain, it is that Daniel will never obey such a decree.”

As H. A. Ironside says,

Themselves corrupt, they tried to find occasion against him, taking it for granted that he was actuated by the same selfish motives as they were. But though they endeavored in every way to obtain proof of some dereliction of duty on his part, concerning which they might accuse him to the king, they at last were forced to confess, “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God” (Lectures on Daniel the Prophet, 2^nd ed., p. 99).

But we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves.

Daniel was not sinless, but in the eyes of these men (his enemies), he was blameless (a quality to which elders should aspire, 1 Tim. 3:2).  You and I, every man, should aspire to be blameless.

Now, a person might assume that a faultless individual would be praised or even emulated by others.  But such a view would be naive—out-of-touch with the Biblical reality of sin.

“Plato was of [the] opinion that if perfect truth and virtue were to come from heaven and manifest their real glory among men, all would at once bow down and worship them.  But he did not understand the depths of human depravity.  Perfect truth and virtue did come from heaven in the person of Jesus Christ, and stood before the eyes of men for years and years in untainted beauty and glory; but the children of this world, rulers and mobs, cried, ‘Away with Him!’ and crucified Him” (Joseph Seiss, Voices from Babylon; or, the Records of Daniel the Prophet, p. 169).

The Apostle John says this about the incarnation of Jesus:

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. (John 3:19-20)

In the same way, by virtue of God’s blessing on his life and his irreproachable character, Daniel was a beacon of light amidst the pagan darkness.  He was an obstacle to those who desired to profit from their political positions through unethical means.  They “loved the darkness.”  Thus, they hated Daniel and tried to get him removed because his life convicted them of their own sins.

In Daniel they found neither corruption nor negligence, neither a failure of commission or omission, and they hated him for it.  The same with Jesus.  “Caiphas and his crowed looked in vain for some infraction of any one of the 613 commandments of the Mosaic Law, scouring the private and public life of the Lord Jesus in their hopeless quest.  There was nothing” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, p. 99).  That backfired too.

We are aware that corruption is very common among government officials.  Lord Acton well said, “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Here is a list of the corruption found among members of the 100th U.S. Congress (researched by Rodney Storz).

• 29 arrested for spousal abuse;
• 7 convicted of fraud;
• 19 arrested for writing bad checks;
• 117 bankrupted two or more businesses;
• 14 arrested on drug charges;
• 8 arrested on shoplifting charges;
• 21 with lawsuits against them;
• 84 charged with driving while intoxicated.

Daniel was neither corrupt (intentionally doing things that served himself), nor negligent (failing to do the things that would help the king and his kingdom).  How few of us would deserve an A+ in both “no corruption” and “no negligence.”  But Daniel did!

Calvin notes that this is not Daniel’s own estimation of himself, but the voice of the Holy Spirit.  It is not only what the evil spies could not deny in Daniel’s example, but the witness of the Holy Spirit here in Daniel 6 that this was the reality in Daniel’s life.

The fact that this is recorded in Scripture shows that this was not only man’s estimation of Daniel, but God’s estimation as well.  Even before the very watchful eyes of God which see everything, Daniel was a man of integrity.  For a man, there are very few compliments that hold higher merit than being called a man of integrity. 

Because Daniel is a man of integrity, he had nothing to fear.  It is noteworthy that Daniel had nothing to fear from his colleagues’ close probing of how he executes his office.  He knew they were not going to find anything against him.

If you grew up in church like I did, you remember those flannelgraph stories of Bible characters.  Not every story could be pictured through flannelgraph, but one of the easiest stories to show and tell was Daniel in the lion’s den.

Daniel 6 is an amazing story of God’s sovereign protection of His servant and a favorite Sunday school story of how God stopped the mouths of lions.  Daniel never aimed to be a spectacular hero of the faith, just aspired to be faithful and dependable.  Daniel had been faithfully serving the Lord in pagan Babylon for nearly seventy years. He was now about eighty—three to eighty-five years old.  He never preached a revival like Jonah, or turned the nation around like Josiah, but he just plodded on, reading the Scriptures, praying and serving.

“The iniquity of world rulers during the ‘times of the Gentiles’ has not yet been examined to the last detail.  These monarchs have sponsored idolatry in the past, and they will again in the prophetic future.  They became deranged by their senseless, overbearing pride in the past, and they will again in the predicted future.  They were blatantly impious in their desecration of holy things in the past, and they will be again in the foretold future. … But that is not all; there is yet a final touch.  Man will finally seek to displace God altogether” (Feinberg, Daniel: The Kingdom of the Lord, p. 73).

Verse 31 of Daniel 5 marks an historic transition.  On October 12, 539 B. C., Belshazzar reigned as king of Babylon.  On October 13, Darius the Mede took over at the age of sixty-two.  Bible scholars have disagreed over whether Darius and Cyrus were the same person (maybe a name like Julius Caesar) or whether Darius was the general who reigned for a short period of time in Babylon before Cyrus took over.

Daniel himself was around 85 at this time.  In his life, the words of Psalm 92:14 concerning righteous men had been fulfilled, “They will still bear fruit in old age, they full of sap and green.” 

What we observe in Daniel 6 is that certain leaders under King Darius conspire to accuse Daniel (vv. 1-5).  They convince the king to sign a thirty-day ordinance that prayer be made only to him and that those who refuse be cast into a den of lions (vv. 6-9).  Daniel, however, maintains his practice of prayer to God (v. 10), and, thus, Darius orders him to be thrown into the den (vv. 10-17).  The next morning Darius learns that God has saved Daniel from the lions (vv. 18-22) and then he orders that Daniel be removed from the den and the accusers and their families be thrown into it instead (vv. 23-24).  A new decree orders everyone to tremble and fear before Daniel’s God (vv. 25-27). (Expository Commentary)  Amazing story, isn’t it?  And like all the stories in God’s Word, it truly happened.

As with most of the book of Daniel, each chapter is written in the form of a chiasm, a literary device in which the beginning and ending statements match, as well as others throughout the chapter.

The narrative begins and ends with Daniel experiencing favor under the reign of Darius (1 and 1’).  Between these descriptions of Daniel prospering are two occasions of Darius issuing a command, or decree.  Darius signs a document stating that everyone must pray only to him for thirty days (2), but later he decrees that people are to tremble before Daniel’s God (2’).  Conspirators go to Darius to accuse Daniel of violating the law about prayer (3), but in an ironic and fitting twist to the story, the accusers themselves are thrown into the lions’ den (3’).

King Darius cannot renege on his ordinance to punish anyone who prays to someone other than him, so he is greatly distressed when the conspirators accuse Daniel (4).  The king’s distress turns to great relief and gladness, however, when he learns that Daniel has been spared from death (4′).  Even though Darius had reluctantly ordered Daniel’s death (5), God had sent an angel to close the mouths of the lions and thus deliver Daniel (5′).

The center of the chiasm is Darius’s sleepless night and hasty return to the den the next morning (6).  These verses (vv. 18-20) may have been placed at the center of the chapter because they indicate the king’s hope that Daniel would survive: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (v. 20).  The previous events in chapter 6 lead up to that suspenseful and hopeful question, and everything that happens afterward proves that the power of God has indeed delivered his servant. (Expository Commentary)

Chapter 6 is the first narrative in the book that takes place under the Medo-​Persian Empire.  The events of chapters 1-5 were under Babylonian kings; now the Medo-​Persians rule.  

This chapter marks the end of the historical portion of the book. The remaining chapters concern prophetic revelation unfulfilled during Daniel’s lifetime.

Chapter 6 is also part of the book’s Aramaic chiasm (chs. 2-7), strategically matching chapter 3, where another divine deliverance took place, Daniel’s three friends from the fiery furnace.

Darius Shows Favor to Daniel (6:1-3)

In vv. 1-3 the new king, Darius, shows favor to Daniel.

According to Daniel 5:31, Darius the Mede was sixty-two when he conquered Babylon (in 539 B.C.).  This conqueror was the ruler of the Medo-Persian empire, located in modern-day Iran, which means “the land of the Aryans.”  These Aryan-speaking people settled on the highland around 1500 B.C. 

This means that Darius was born around the same time that Daniel had been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar!

The two Aryan tribes that attained the greatest importance were the Medes and the Persians.  The Medes dominated the Persians until Cyrus the Great conquered the Medes around 559 B.C.  He gave the Medes and the Persians equal power so that foreigners spoke of either the Persians and the Medes (Esther 1:19) or “the Medes and Persians” (Daniel 5:28).  We know from history that Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 B.C.

This is the second kingdom (the chest and arms of silver) represented in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision in Daniel 2 and the ram with two horns in Daniel 8.  See also Daniel 7.

Daniel 6 begins with these words:

1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom; 2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, 

It is likely that Darius established the structure of Medo-Persian government in the first year of his reign.  It was his responsibility to appoint administrators over the whole territory recently won from the Babylonians.  Since Darius’ rule over Babylon was relatively short-lived, this governmental reorganization occurred soon after the fall of Babylon to Medo-Persia.  

Why did it “please” Darius to make Daniel one of the three “presidents” of Babylon?  Leon Wood suggests, “Perhaps Darius recognize the honor which Belshazzar had bestowed on Daniel that last night before the fall of Babylon.  It may be, too, that the king had learned of Daniel’s remarkable prediction of that fall and believed that such a man could make a valuable contribution to his new government” (A Commentary on Daniel, p. 156).  Obviously Daniel was a capable administrator.  That has been proven throughout the book.  As we have noted (chapter 4), he likely played a major role in helping Nebuchadnezzar’s administration stay intact during the seven years of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity.

Part of this governmental structure involved 120 satraps “to be throughout the whole kingdom.”  In charge of these 120 satraps were “three high officials, of whom Daniel was one.”  Daniel’s humility and unwillingness to compromise to gain a promotion in chapter 5 now results in an unsought promotion because of divine favor.

Thus, Daniel was appointed a “leader of leaders.”  He was now the top banana, the head honcho, court guy numero uno.  And that would get under the skin of others who thought themselves worthy of that honor.

The remainder of verse 2 highlights Daniel’s role in this new government.  Notice that all the satraps would now report to Daniel:

to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.

Officers of any king were supposed to serve to the benefit of the kingdom, and Darius made his appointments accordingly.  An important function of government was the collection and administration of taxes within the king’s realm (see Ezra 4:13).  This, however, provided ample opportunity for graft and embezzlement as monies funneled through the levels of government.

It appears that the king suspected that some officials were participating in graft and bribery and the revenue stream was being compromised.  Convinced of Daniel’s integrity, he may have sought to use him to expose and stem this financial loss.  If true, this would only fuel more fury and opposition by Daniel’s peers who feared exposure of their own graft and bribery.

It is possible that Darius also somehow knew of Daniel’s trustworthy service to king Nebuchadnezzar.  He believed that in Daniel’s hands his kingdom would not experience political intrigue or financial loss.  There would be no skimming with Daniel in charge.  In addition, he believed that in Daniel’s hands his kingdom would prosper.  Again, Darius is attempting to solidify the organizational structure of his new kingdom. 

Furthermore, if he learned of Daniel’s prediction regarding Belshazzar’s downfall, he presumably would have trusted Daniel even more.  It would seem like, at least to him, that Daniel was “in his corner.”

And thus Daniel served as a top official in at least three administrations spanning 6 decades.  He brought real value to every employer he had ever served.  That is something that all of us should seek to do.  Whoever you work for, you should concentrate on bringing real value to your employer.  Make him or her look good and it will also pay off for you.  Teach your children to go above and beyond, adding real value to the business.

We don’t know how long Daniel served in this role, possibly just a couple of years.  But then, Darius planned to promote Daniel even further.

When a kingdom changes, everything is new and no one knows the former administration.  Would one really expect, then, to read verse 3?

 3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

Here was this old man showing how valuable he was, above everybody else!  He didn’t let anything slow him down!

Daniel apparently had some time in office under Darius to “distinguish” himself “above all the other high officials and satraps.”  The Aramaic uses a participle here to indicate continuing action, he was “regularly distinguishing himself over the other two presidents, as well as the 120 satraps” (Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel, p. 157).  So it may have been a few months, but probably not much longer, before Darius decided to make this decision to promote Daniel even higher.

Daniel would have distinguished himself in his competency in the job, in his integrity in doing his job in a way that never took advantage of the king but always did what would benefit the king, and even in his early eighties, Daniel was a man with remarkable capacity.  This was on small task the king was giving him, administrating a large land mass roughly half the size of the United States—in a day before cell phones, email or fax machines!

Again we notice the “excellent spirit” that stood out and caused others to take notice (cf. 5:12)..  Daniel’s “excellent spirit” was manifested by the quality of his work and provided a natural testimony that was evident to others. “Do you see a man skillful in his work?  He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men” (Prov. 22:29).

Now in his eighties, Daniel still stood out from others, just as he had as a teenager (1:17-20).  Daniel understood his position within the pagan government was by God’s providential design.  He served under successive pagan kings with the same diligence as if serving God directly.

Paul tells Christian slaves in Colossians 3:22-24: “Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for me, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ.”

This “excellent spirit” likely refers to the integrity and skill by which he accomplished his work for the king.  Just as the excellency of God expresses the brilliance of His perfections (all His attributes as they work together), so Daniel’s “excellency” was a reflection of that “glory” of God.  But “excellent spirit” could also refer to the attitude with which Daniel did his work.  He always did it diligently, faithfully and joyfully.

The Aramaic word yatar carries the idea of pre-eminence.  Here was someone whose spirit was pre-eminent over the flesh.  He was a man who walked in the spirit.  When your spirit joined with the Spirit of God takes the leadership role over the flesh you have an excellent spirit.  It will not be so much a trait that you see in yourself but that others notice in you.

Believers make their maximum testimony in organizations by showing their spiritual stability; doing a good job, yes, but the one thing that should characterize a believer is that he is reliable, that when given a job to do he does the best that he can do with what he’s got.  He may not have as much skill as the man next door; he may not be as high IQ as the next person, you don’t have to worry about that, God doesn’t expect you to do something with things that you don’t have but God does expect you to do everything you can with what you’ve got.  And the result is an impact for Jesus Christ.  You do your job as unto the Lord; Colossians 3 gives some New Testament counterpart instructions on this; do your job as unto the Lord, not as unto man [Col. 3:23] (Clough, Lessons in Daniel, 20:271).

Do you possess an excellent spirit?  Would others say that you have an excellent spirit?  What can you do to pursue an excellent spirit?

Darius was so impressed with Daniel that he planned to promote him to his highest rank yet: a position “over the whole kingdom.”  Only Darius would be of higher rank.  This plan, however, was about to be sabotaged by some jealous co-workers.  Every had any of those?  Someone has said that jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius.  Jealousy is what motivated Joseph’s brothers to sell him into slavery (Acts 7) and what drove the religious leaders to crucify Christ (Matt. 27:18).

The greatest tribute to Daniel was the fact that those fellows who worked with him knew what he was and tried in every way to get rid of him, but they could not.

Alexander McClaren expresses the wonder of Daniel’s character in the midst of the culture he lived in:

“It’s remarkable that a character of such beauty and consecration as Daniel’s could be rooted and grow out of the court where Daniel was.  For this court was half shambles and half pigsty.  It was filled with luxury and sensuality and lust and self-seeking and idolatry and ruthless cruelty.  And in the middle of this there grow up that fair flower of character, pure and stainless by the acknowledgement of his enemies” (David Jeremiah, The Handwriting on the Wall, p. 115-116).

The promotion of Daniel by Darius also says much about the leadership of Darius as king.  It is a rare thing and a blessing when a king or other high-level leader recognizes and advances truly-qualified individuals, not promoting them in return for bribery or political favors or prejudices.

No wonder Daniel provoked the jealousy of others.  Not only was he “practically perfect in every way” but they were being passed up for promotion by this Jew!  And they were very, very race-conscious, like most people throughout history.  But it wasn’t just jealousy that motivated them.  It was also Daniel’s honesty and scrupulousness.  His good example magnified their bad example.  He made them look bad and could easily have gotten them in trouble.

It is quite possible that Cyrus was already looking with favor upon the request of the Jews for release or had already promulgated the decree cited in Ezra 1:2-4 (which is dated in Ezra 1:1 as the “first year of Cyrus king of Persia,” i.e., c. 539-538), when all this is going on.

Daniel was a righteous person, but this did not shield him from persecution, just as Jesus and Paul warned their disciples.  Once again, things were about to get hairy, literally.

Things are looking good, but the Enemy is about to attack.

The message of judgment has been written and now read by Daniel.  Belshazzar and the Babylonian kingdom had been weighed and come up short, so they would be overthrown by the Medo-Persian empire.

Only two things remain: Belshazzar rewarding Daniel and Belshazzar taking his last breath.

Belshazzar fulfilled his promise to the handwriting analyst, but it was the last thing he did!

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. (Dan. 5:29)

Daniel, however was unimpressed with the king’s promises.  They were worthless.  The God of Israel had already written the word bankrupt over Belshazzar and all that he had.  Daniel had everything he needed, for he had God (Psalm 73:25-26).

30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed. 31  And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

“The most famous military tactic in history may be the Greeks’ use of a giant wooden horse to sneak soldiers into the city of Troy.  But ranking right up there with the Trojan horse is the story of how the Medo-Persian armies captured Babylon.  Scholars debate whether the Trojan horse is fact or legend, but Cyrus’s conquest of Babylon is a certified fact” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 162).

After conquering numerous other enemies, Cyrus faced his greatest challenge— the huge walled city, 24 square kilometres of Babylon. Xenophon records the following surmising of Cyrus, “But I am sure I cannot see how any one could take by storm, walls so massive and so high.”

Both Herodotus and Xenophon record that Cyrus resolved to lay siege on Babylon and wait until the people within the walls ran out of food.  He was informed (perhaps by Gadatas and Gobryas—two defectors from Babylon) that the great city had more than 20 years of food supplies.  Cyrus became frustrated, but then a plan came to him, perhaps from one of his advisers or perhaps from his own design.  The walls were too thick to break.  The gates were too strong.  There was only one fathomable way to get in—the Euphrates River, which went through the middle of the city.

The highly regarded Greek historian Herodotus wrote a full account of the event:

“Cyrus, having thus stationed the bulk of his army near the passage of the river where it enters Babylon, and again having stationed another division beyond the city, where the river makes its exit,…gave orders to his forces to enter the city as soon as they should see the stream fordable.  Having thus stationed his forces and given these directions, he himself marched away with the ineffective part of his army, and having come to the lake, Cyrus…diverted the river, by means of a canal, into a lake, which was before the swamp, he made the ancient channel fordable by the sinking of the river.

When this took place, the Persians who were appointed to that purpose close to the stream of the vier, which had now subsided to about the middle of a man’s thigh, entered Babylon by this passage….It is related to the people who inhabited this city, that…the Babylonians who inhabited the centre knew nothing of the capture (for it happened to be a festival)l but they were dancing at the time, and enjoying themselves….And thus Babylon was taken for the first time. (Herodotus, vol. 1, trans. Henry Carey, pp. 190-191).

So on the night of October 11, 539 B.C., the Medo-Persian army slipped beneath the wall of Babylon and put Belshazzar to death.  “Daniel 4 marks the end of Nebuchadnezzar, the builder of Babylon.  Chapter 5 marks the end of Belshazzar and Babylon.  The head of gold on the colossus was now defeated by the chest and arms of silver.  Babylon was absorbed into the inferior empire of the Medes and Persians” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 163).

Grant Jeffrey comments: “Despite Cyrus’ brilliant strategy of diverting the Euphrates River to allow his army to breach the city gates, his plan of attack would not have succeeded without the misplaced confidence of the Babylonian army.  Babylonian soldiers were so confident in their city’s defenses that they minimized the threat of the Persian army while it remained outside the city.  In addition, many of the Babylonian troops were drunk from joining in the spirit of the king’s wine-fueled banquet.  Once the Persian armies joined forces in the center of Babylon, they [easily] overran the city’s key defenses” (Countdown to the Apocalypse, p. 88).

As we close this chapter, we need to heed the words of John F. Walvoord:

The downfall of Babylon is in type the downfall of the unbelieving world. In many respects, modern civilization is much like ancient Babylon, resplendent with its monuments of architectural triumph, as secure as human hands and ingenuity could make it, and yet defenseless against the judgment of God at the proper hour.  Contemporary civilization is similar to ancient Babylon in that it has much to foster human pride but little to provide human security.  Much as Babylon fell on that sixteenth day of Tishri (Oc. 11 or 12) 539 B.C., as indicated in the Nabonidus Chronicle, so the world will be overtaken by disaster when the day of the Lord comes (1 Th 5:1-3).  The disaster of the world, however, does not overtake the child of God; Daniel survives the purge and emerges triumphant as one of the presidents of the new kingdom in chapter 6.

And in the words of Isaiah:

23 who brings princes to nothing,
    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

24 Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither,
    and the tempest carries them off like stubble.

The doom of Babylon here foreshadows the doom of Babylon the Great, the most of harlots (Rev. 17:5).  People today may laugh when we tell them that our modern civilization is doomed, but I’m certain that Belshazzar never conceived in his mind that his mighty empire would be overthrown as well.

A hymn by Knowles Shaw entitled “The Handwriting on the Wall,” has this for the first and fourth verses:

At the feast of Belshazzar, and a thousand of his lords,
While they drank from golden vessels, as the Book of Truth records;
In the night as they revel in the royal palace hall,
They were seized with consternation,– ’twas the hand upon the wall.

So our deeds are recorded, there’s a Hand that’s writing now;
Sinner, give your heart to Jesus, to His royal mandate bow;
For the day is approaching, it must come to one and all,
When the sinner’s condemnation will be written on the wall.

The chorus goes:

‘Tis the hand of God on the wall, (on the wall,)
‘Tis the hand of God on the wall; (on the wall;)
Shall the record be, “Found wanting,” or shall it be, “Found trusting!”
While that hand is writing on the wall? (writing on the wall.)

This is not fiction.  It is not a fairy tale.  It is the consistent truth of God throughout the ages.  We will be held accountable for how we’ve lived our lives, and most particularly what we have done with Jesus Christ.  “[He who] has the Son has life” (1 John 5:12)

John Phillips finishes with this insight into prophecy:

“Immediately after the flood, Noah made a remarkable prophecy regarding his sons (Gen. 9:18-27).  He passed over his second son, Ham, in silence because of his misbehavior.  He prophetically cursed Ham’s son, Cannan, because he would be the father of the foul and wicked Canaanite nations who so filled and defiled the Promised Land.  He blesses his youngest son, Shem—from him would come the Semitic people, particularly Abraham and, above all, the Lord Jesus Himself.  Finally, he blessed his oldest son, Japheth.  To him he promised enlargement, political domination, and a prominent place in ‘the tents of Shem.’

Satan immediately set about the task of proving Noah to be a false prophet.  The first great empires were Hamitic and Semitic—the Egyptian Empire was Hamitic, and the Assyrian and Babylonian empires were both Semitic.  But, with the death of Belshazzar, world empires passed into the hands of Japheth—where it has been ever since, and where it will remain until the Antichrist comes to revive the Old Roman Empire, rule the world, and be swept away by the returning Christ” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, pp. 95-96)

History is “his story,” the story of God and His determination to be glorified among the nations.  He glorifies himself in salvation through judgment.  Over and over again throughout history God rescues his people by judging other nations.  Everything is set up now for the fulfillment of God’s promise through Jeremiah and Isaiah that Cyrus would allow the exiled Jews to return to their homeland (Ezra 1:1-5).

Babylon was being judged.  Babylon was the instrument that God used to discipline His own people, but like many others, they have overplayed their stewardship with cruelty and harshness and blasphemy.  Now it was time for Babylon to fall.

Our salvation also comes through judgment.  Although we deserve to die for our sins, God sent His one and only Son, His dearly loved Son, to die on the cross, to receive our judgment in his body on the tree.

This is the only way that salvation comes, through judgment.  Now, you can stand there in your sins, proud of yourself for being your own person, and you will die in your sins and face eternal judgment, or you can accept the judgment of God’s Son on the cross as payment for your sins.

When some people approached Jesus, assuming that some recent tragedies meant that God was judging them, we read

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

Jesus’s message:  Any time we hear of a tragedy, or someone experiencing terrible things, it is a message to us that we need to repent.

One of the most amazing things I found about the history of World War II is that as Berlin was about to fall and Hitler and all his leaders were down in a concrete bunker and the whole city was surrounded by the Red Army and the forces were crumbling at that moment, even after Hitler had committed suicide, the Nazi officials had a party, a big celebration.

We all have a tendency to try to dull the pain, to soften the blow and it is easy to try to party our way into ignoring the realities around us.

And so from the Scripture comes this slogan, “Let us eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.”  And nothing could have ever been said more truthfully about Babylon.  Actually, it wasn’t tomorrow, it was tonight.

What should they have been doing?  They should have been taking the time repenting.  They should have been on their faces before God, seeking His forgiveness, not drinking from His vessels and praising idols of gold and wood and stone, getting drunk.  But you know, it’s not very different in God’s own people either.

In Isaiah 22, writing about the fall of Jerusalem they did the same thing. This is what Isaiah says about the fall of Jerusalem,

12 In that day the Lord God of hosts
    called for weeping and mourning,
    for baldness and wearing sackcloth;
13 and behold, joy and gladness,
    killing oxen and slaughtering sheep,
    eating flesh and drinking wine.
“Let us eat and drink,
    for tomorrow we die.”
14 The Lord of hosts has revealed himself in my ears:
“Surely this iniquity will not be atoned for you until you die,”
    says the Lord God of hosts.

Sure, there are biblical reasons to celebrate and the appropriate times to celebrate.  But beware of using anything—parties, drugs, alcohol, sex—whatever, to avoid the necessity of dealing with our inner evils and repenting of them.

Scripture identifies a distinction between true repentance and a worldly sorrow.  ^“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10).  Paul goes on to describe the characteristics of true repentance. “For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!  At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter” (2 Cor. 7:11).  Scripture gives examples of some, like David, who repented from the heart (Ps. 51) and others, like Cain and Saul, who hated the consequences of their sin, but not the sin itself (Gen. 4; 1 Sam. 15).

Repentance should become a regular spiritual discipline in our lives, a practice that we engage in daily, or every time we need it.  Any time we are conscious of having sinned, we should practice biblical repentance and confession (1 John 1:9).

Don’t end up like Belshazzar.  Listen to God’s reproof and repent of your sins.

In this chapter highlighting God’s message of judgment against Belshazzar, Daniel has been presenting to Belshazzar God’s reasons for this final judgment.  Daniel 5:23

23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. 

Daniel has shown that Belshazzar exhibited overweening pride, had blasphemed God by using the vessels of the temple for pagan rituals and had worshipped idols.

Fourth, not only was Belshazzar prideful and unrepentant, history records his cruel and impulsive character:

Even the heathen historian Xenophon pronounces him an “impious” man, and instances his passionate cruelty in slaying one of his nobles for anticipating him in striking down the game in a hunt, and in mutilating a courtier at a banquet because one of the women said he was handsome (Joseph Seiss, Records from Babylon; or, The Records of Daniel the Prophet, p. 141).

Like the overzealous farmer-land owner in Luke 12, Belshazzar was a “fool” whose soul would be required of him that night.  As Job rightly says, “In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).  We breathe so naturally and never have to think about it, but the day God decides He doesn’t want us to breathe any longer, it’s all over.  How tragic that Belshazzar had used the breath God gave him to curse His name!

Belshazzar’s familiarity with Nebuchadnezzar’s madness should have engendered a measure of humility leading to a circumspect use of authority motivated by respect for the God of Israel.  Instead, he brazenly mocked God through his flagrant desecration of the temple vessels at the riotous party.

Bruce Wilkinson, the one-time director of Walk thru the Bible ministries, had a sermon entitled “The Three Chairs.”  He bases it off of Judges 24:15-16; Judges 2:7, 10.  In the first chair, the chair of commitment, is Joshua, who “knew the works of God.”  The second chair are the elders, the next generation, who know “about God and His works.”  The third chair is the next generation who “did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.”  The point is, every generation needs to recapture really knowing God and experiencing His works.  Don’t settle for a second-hand faith.

Like many of the wicked, Belshazzar wouldn’t submit to God or retain him in his thoughts (Job 15:20-25; Psa. 10:4; Prov. 18:12).

Woe to those who rise early in the morning, [That] they may follow intoxicating drink; Who continue until night, [till] wine inflames them! The harp and the strings, The tambourine and flute, And wine are in their feasts; But they do not regard the work of the LORD, Nor consider the operation of His hands. (Isa. 5:11-12)

Here is a frequent pattern of history: the excellence and character of a predecessor degenerates in the descendant.  In the same way that great nations, having experienced God’s blessings, tend to abandon His ways and degenerate with time, so too many family lines.  It is a rare and precious result when the character and godliness of a father or mother is successfully passed on to a son or grandson.

When men refuse to repent and do not respond to the promptings of God to turn to him, then eventually because of His holiness and justice, He will act in judgment.  Nebuchadnezzar had sinned in many ways but had eventually turned to the Lord and experienced His mercy and grace. But that would not be the case with king Belshazzar.

Daniel then read and interpreted the oracle.  Could Daniel read it?  Of course he could.  He had been reading God’s words for eighty years.  Sure, it was a coded message, but to Daniel this was very much like a message from home.

24 “Then from his presence the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin.

Scholars have wearied themselves trying to figure out how Daniel got his interpretation from these three apparently Aramaic words.  Their explanations have been as diverse as those of Belshazzar’s wise men probably were.  It seems best to simply take Daniel’s interpretation at face value. 

It has been said that Daniel could interpret these words because he recognized his Father’s handwriting (G. Campbell Morgan, p. 64).

Three words in Aramaic, the first word repeated for emphasis.  These are words used for measuring quantities and weighting good on a scale for purchase or trade, and apportioning items.

The meaning of that phrase seals the fate of Babylon.

Generally, here is what they mean:

• Mene (“numbered” or “counted”):  Belshazzar had been measured, counted and scrutinized.  This word is repeated twice to emphasize the care with which he had been measured.

Empires rise and empires fall.  The bounds of their existence is not determined by man, no matter how extraordinary his brilliance, wealth, or power.  Nor are they set by the “watchers” who rule in high.  They are set by God.  The sandglass for the Babylonian empire had run out.

“There is a kind of double meaning in the verb ‘to number.’  It means not only, ‘to count’ but ‘to fix the limit of’ as is also the case in our common expression that a man’s days are ‘numbered’” (H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Daniel, p. 234).  “A Divine sentence of destruction upon the king and his people, that was called forth by the insolent presumption of the present ruler . . .” (Zöckler, The Book of the Prophet Daniel, p. 127  “One wonders how long it might be before the Lord God places our own country on His scales” (Paul Benware, Daniel’s Prophecy of Things to Come, p. 108).

Stephen R. Miller (b. 1949) comments, “‘Mene’ was written twice to stress that the divine decision was certain of fulfillment.  So the message literally reads ‘Numbered, numbered, weighted, and divided (Miller, Daniel (The New American Commentary), 165).”

• Tekel (“weighed”): Belshazzar had been weighed according to God’s standards of righteousness and had fallen short (Rom. 3:23).

There was no point in giving Belshazzar time to repent.  He had sinned willingly and wantonly (see above) against great light (the example of Nebuchadnezzar).  Daniel had clearly confronted Belshazzar with the reality that he had not done this ignorantly.  He said “though you knew all this.”  “You knew it, Belshazzar, and still did not humble yourself.”  It proves the principle, to whom much is given, much is required.

As the old poem puts it,

There is a line by us unseen

That crosses every path—

The hidden boundary between

God’s patience and His wrath.

Indeed, the doomed one’s path below

May bloom as Eden bloomed;

He did not, does not, will not know,

Or feel that he is doomed.

The Scriptures everywhere assure us that “the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed” (1 Sam. 2:3).  Solomon writes : “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes; but the Lord weighs the spirit” (Prov. 16:2).  “He puts every Belshazzar and every other person in His balances, weighs every soul, marks every folly, and records every good and every deficiency.  Every opportunity misimproved, every admonition disregarded, every ungrateful feeling indulged, every impulse of pride entertained, every instance of power abused or talents squandered, every word and act of profanity, every neglect and slight of Jehovah’s messengers, every effort to get away from duty, every attempt to drown serious thoughts by sensual excesses, every sending away of God’s servants to wait for a more convenient season, every contempt for the Bible and for those who believe and follow it, every thought and passion, or idle word that men speak,—all of them, singly and together, are surveyed and weighed, and written down in heaven against the day of final account” (Joseph Seiss, Voices from Babylon; or, The Records of Daniel the Prophet, pp. 158-159).

John speaks of the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-12, 15.  There is not a single person on earth whose works would be worthy enough for them to gain a “not guilty” verdict before that throne!  All manmade efforts will be found wanting.  All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags (Isa. 64:6).  We fall woefully short of His glory (Rom. 3:23).  Psalm 130 says…

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
    O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,
    that you may be feared.

But we don’t have to depend upon our own efforts.  Peter, the disciple, wrote, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,” (1 Pet. 3:18).  Our works, “the unrighteous,” will never measure up.  But Christ’s work, “the righteous One,” was perfectly obedient and went to the cross not to pay for his own sins, but for ours, enabling us to be brought to God.

• Upharsin (“and divided,” or “halved”): This is a reference to Babylon being divided between the Medes and Persians.

“Little had this drunken king known that, even as his revelry was at its height, the engineers of the Persian army were diverting the Euphrates and that the enemy was marching into the city on the riverbed” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, p. 94).

Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin
Consonants	Pointed (Vowels Added) Coin	Interpretation
מנא [mnʾ]	מְנֵא [menēʾ] mina	מְנָה [menâ] “numbered” (Dan. 5:26)
תקל [ṯql]	תִּקַּל [tiqqal] shekel376	תְּקִילְתָּה [teqîlettâ] “weighed” (Dan. 5:27)
פרס [p̄rs]	פְּרֵס [perēs] half-mina	פְּרִיסַת [perîsaṯ] “divided” [in two: Medes and Persians] (Dan. 5:28)

This is the shortest prophecy in the Bible, just four words, shorter even than Jonah’s message to Nineveh, just 8 words in English, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

No wonder the kingdom psychics had been unable to decipher it.  It was a cryptic code, impossible to make sense of unless one already knew its meaning.  Daniel could read it because God had revealed its meaning to him.

Leon Wood wraps up the meaning of this scene for us: “In summary, Daniel’s interpretation set forth that Belshazzar’s kingdom would be destroyed, for the reason that he had been found lacking in moral and spiritual value, and that the encroaching enemy, the Medes and Persians, would absorb the kingdom into their larger domain” (Leon Wood, A Commentary on Daniel, p. 150).

At this very moment, the armies of the Medo-Persians were already creeping in under the city walls through the gates, ready for the kill.

The Bible tells us that God weighs us in the scales.  In Job 31:6 Job cries out, “(Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!)  In 1 Samuel 2:3 we read, “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed.”

The New Testament idea of “walking worthy” of God has this same idea of being weighed or measured out so that the “weight” of our actions matches the “weight” of God’s glory, lest we “fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965), supported by Harry S. Truman to succeed him (although he lost to Dwight David Eisenhower), once said, “Man is a strange animal.  He generally cannot read the handwriting on the wall until his back is up against it.”  Belshazzar now knew what God had written.

“As God had judged Nebuchadnezzar’s pride by removing him from the throne, so He would judge Belshazzar’s pride by taking the kingdom from him and giving it to another people” (Pentecost, “Daniel,” p. 1346).

Like Belshazzar, the key question is, knowing that reality of God’s judgment against sin, will we heed it, or will we go on our merry ways ignoring God’s warnings?

Jesus and the apostles warn us as believers that we will one day give an account for our lives—for our words, our actions and even our thoughts and motives.

Jesus said, in Matthew 12:36-37

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. 

Paul tells believers

we make it our aim to please him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (2 Corinthians 5:9b-10)

Yes, we will face a judgment.  However, our judgment is not related to our sinfulness, because Paul clearly states “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).  Rather, this is an examination of our record of service, whether we will be rewarded for things we have done.

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 is speaking of that same judgment, the judgment of believers for the sake of rewards…

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

More dreadful is the judgment of unbelievers at the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20.

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

If you are not a Christian, if your name is not found in the book of life because you have not put your trust in Jesus Christ, oh unbeliever, do that today.  Do not wait, for judgment is certain and final.

You may be a religious person.  You might be a devout Baptist or Methodist or Lutheran or Presbyterian.  You might be Muslim or Buddhist.  Standing before that Great White Throne will be many who have believed in many gods and many who have believed in no god.

What will happen to these religious people?  Jesus told us: “22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

It doesn’t matter what religious works, even what spectacular ministries they have conducted, the key factor is whether Jesus knows them, whether their names are in the book of life.

Daniel has been asked to interpret the handwriting on the wall and offered great rewards.  His response to the king is found in verse Daniel 5:17.

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 

After reproving the king and plainly stating that no rewards the king could give would determine the message he would bring, he agreed to interpret the handwriting on the wall.  Daniel was not a profit for sale, someone who would hedge his message to please his audience.

Daniel consented to interpret the message because he understood it was a message of judgment from God intended for Belshazzar.  Depending on Belshazzar’s spiritual condition, the message would either lead to his bona fide repentance and salvation, or serve to confirm his hardened heart in judgment. It was not Daniel’s job to know the result, but only to faithfully deliver the message.

That is true for every preacher of the Word of God.  Our responsibility is to faithfully deliver the message, no matter how encouraging or how damning, and leave the results to God’s Spirit.

In the 1988 U. S. Presidential election, a vice-presidential candidate debate took place between Republican Senator Dan Quayle and Democrat Senator Lloyd Bentsen.  Quayle, 41, who was constantly on the defensive because of his youth, at one point compared his experience to that of John F. Kennedy when that man ran for president.  The much older Bentsen retorted, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy.  I knew Jack Kennedy.  Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine.  Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy.”

In vv. 18-23, old Daniel essentially gave this young, upstart, interim king the same treatment.  “Belshazzar, I served Nebuchadnezzar.  I knew Nebuchadnezzar.  Nebuchadnezzar was a friend of mine.  Belshazzar, you’re no Nebuchadnezzar.”

Daniel then rehearses the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s humbling (Daniel 4).  His purpose in doing so was to impress upon Belshazzar the need for him to humble himself and repent now, before it is too late.  Nebuchadnezzar had, eventually, humbled himself.  The question is, “Will you, Belshazzar?”

18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. 19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.

God’s humbling of Nebuchadnezzar was not only a lesson for him, but also for his kingdom, and for his progeny — and not just his contemporaries but even his grandsons.  But this grandson didn’t take notice, and it was too late. “That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed” (Dan. 5:30).

David Mathis says, “Learning from God’s humbling of others is vital for each of us, and not just in our own day but in the generations before us.  God not only means to humble us all individually — and he has his countless ways of doing so in the tough mercies of his providence — but he also means for us to humble ourselves in response to seeing others humbled, both around us and before us.  Wisdom not only humbles herself when prompted by her own humbling, but also in response to the humbling of others” https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/humbled-by-the-hand-of-god)

The contrast between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar is highlighted from the opening sentence.  Daniel, began, “O king, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor” (5:18).  By implication, Daniel was suggesting that the Most High had given no similar sovereignty or glory to Belshazzar (possibly because he, his father and others had usurped the throne?).  Yet even Nebuchadnezzar had received from the Lord true greatness and majesty, along with almost godlike powers to raise up and humble, to kill and keep alive; and when he became arrogant, the Lord had humbled him and brought him down from his lofty perch.

19 And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. 20 But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. 21 He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will.

Daniel hammered home the name “Most High God” (v. 18, 21) to whom actually belongs all the power and sovereignty.  Nebuchadnezzar had to learn this the hard way.

So the point of Daniel’s message to Belshazzar is clear and pointed:  Nebuchadnezzar did have something to be proud about, and yet the Lord had humbled him.  Belshazzar, who had accomplished nothing and fell far short of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements, should have learned from this experience and humbled himself as well.  Instead, although Belshazzar knew what had happened to Nebuchadnezzar, he had still exalted himself against the Most High, sacrilegiously profaning the temple vessels from Jerusalem by using them in an idolatrous act of worship.

So Daniel brought this warning against him, explaining why God was warning him in this way:

22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in 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, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah used the title “the Lord (or God) of heaven” to describe Yahweh because this was the title of the chief Syrian god and a title that other people in the Persian Empire gave to their chief god (c. Ezra 1:2; 5:11-12; 6:9-10; 7:12, 23; Neh. 1:4-5; 2:4, 20; Dan. 2:18-19, 34, 44; 5:23). This title implies God’s transcendence over all.

Daniel detailed four sins God was holding Belshazzar accountable for.

22 And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this,

“Daniel, God’s faithful prophet, did not tremble before the king. He had no fear; he had but one duty and responsibility: To be faithful to the Word of God written on the wall, and to tell the king exactly what God had spoken. That is the responsibility of every minister, evangelist, and Bible teacher. We are responsible only to God. A minister called and ordained of God to preach the Gospel, owes his first allegiance to God, regardless of the age or dispensation. He must fear no one save God—and that includes kings, governors, and rulers. He must reprove, rebut, and exhort. A minister need never apologize for preaching ‘Thus saith the Lord’” (Oliver B. Greene, Daniel, p. 196).

“One of the most amazing spectacles in this world is how little men really profit from the judgments of God” (Charles Feinberg, Daniel: The Kingdom of the Lord, p. 69). 

First, he rebuked Belshazzar’s sin: “you have not humbled your heart.”  Humility is often lacking in those of high position and influence. “The perpetual incense of flattery, coupled with the daily experience of being dependent on no one, and of having every one dependent upon himself, tempts an absolute monarch to feel himself almost a god.—Cowles.”

Instead of trusting in God for his protection, he trusted in the walls of his city.  Instead of humbling himself and looking up to God Most High, he worshiped idols who could do nothing for him.

“History is a superb teacher, but Belshazzar failed as a student.  He knew the history of Nebuchadnezzar’s pride and God’s subsequent judgment, but he failed to learn from it” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 159).  He refused to humble himself.  “This was not a case of ignorance; it was arrogant defiance.  It matters what we know, and it matters how we respond” (Ibid, p. 159).

It reminds us of Paul’s diagnosis of all of us in our fallenness and depravity before God “makes us alive” (Eph. 2:5), “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart” (Eph. 4:18).  Did you notice that last statement.  Yes, ignorance is there, but it is present because of our “hardness of heart.”  It is not a mental deficiency in us, but a moral deficiency.  That is why we need a new heart (Ezek. 36:25-27).

Let us take warning from this.

How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? (Heb. 10:29)

Paul tells us that it is not ignorance, but hardness of heart that condemns us (Eph. 4:18).

23 but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. 

Second, and more serious, Belshazzar had dishonored and demeaned the Most High, the God of heaven, “by taking precious implements created for His worship and desecrating them with the worst kinds of sinful indulgence.  It was a brazen display of impiety and contempt” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 160).  This was blasphemy against God.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, had made a similar mistake—exhibiting extreme pride and mocking God.  “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?  Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes to the heights?  Against the Holy One of Israel!” (Isaiah 20:37).

Jeremiah had predicted Babylon’s eventual fall from pride exhibited against the Holy One of Israel.  ““Summon archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow. Encamp around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her according to all that she has done. For she has proudly defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel” (Jere. 50:29).

The judgment of Belshazzar’s Babylon prefigures God’s judgment of the prideful works of man on a global scale in the ultimate day of the Lord.  “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.  For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low… And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled, and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day” (Isaiah 2:11-12, 17)

Third, and worst of all, Belshazzar dishonored the living God because he worshiped lifeless idols, using the instruments made for the worship of the one true God.

And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored.

Everything Belshazzar owned came from God (1 Chronicles 29:14).  But instead of worshipping the living God out of gratitude for His gifts, Belshazzar worshiped inanimate idols made of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not hear or see or know (Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalm 115:5-7; 135:16-17).

Belshazzar chose to worship dead images instead of the true living God of heaven, “in whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10).  Thus, like these lifeless idols, he would die.

The problem with idols is, as we worship them we become like them.

“What we revere is what we resemble, either for ruin or for restoration!” says Gregory Beale in his monumental book We Become What We Worship.  His contention, based upon numerous Old Testament passages, is that we become like what we worship.

The Scriptures paint a realistic but unfavorable picture of the viability of idols. Unseeing eyes, unhearing ears, ignorant hearts. This is the idol in Isaiah 42:17-20 and also of the one who succumbs to idolatry in Isaiah 6:9-10. The equating of the two is obvious in Isaiah 43:8-10 and 44:8-20, esp. v. 18,

“They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.”

Throughout the Bible there are literally hundreds of cases that illustrate this: Lot’s wife becoming salt (Gen 19:17, 26, Deut. 29:23), Solomon’s many wives leading to the division of his kingdom (1 Kings 11), the “belly-gods” of the Judaizers (Phil. 3:18-19), the creature worshippers in Romans 1:18-32. Psalm 115 gives us the locus classicus of this doctrine.

⁴ Their idols are silver and gold,
    the work of human hands.
⁵ They have mouths, but do not speak;
    eyes, but do not see.
⁶ They have ears, but do not hear;
    noses, but do not smell.
⁷ They have hands, but do not feel;
    feet, but do not walk;
    and they do not make a sound in their throat.
⁸ Those who make them become like them;
    so do all who trust in them.

Unlike the true, “living God,” Belshazzar’s gods “do not see or hear or know.”  The true, “living God,” whose hand wrote upon the wall, held Belshazzar’s life in His very hands (Job 12:10; Isa. 42:5; Acts 17:25-28).  If he were to withdraw His Spirit and breath, all flesh would perish (Job 34:14-15; Ps. 104:29).  None of the idols could do that.  And Belshazzar, “you have not honored” the true God.

This was Belshazzar’s grave mistake.  I hope that it is not yours.  Let me ask you, have you honored the true and living God, or do you unwittingly worship idols.

What are the idols of our day?  They are not made out of metal, but are mental idols, things like success, riches, fame, power, pleasure, sex, ambition, even our families and our ministries can become idols.

An idol is anything that we love and sacrifice for, anything we trust to give us the joy and satisfaction that truly only God can give us.

Let’s follow the Apostle John’s concluding advice in his first epistle:  “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

We are in Daniel chapter 5 this morning.  While Belshazzar’s face had turned pale and his insides were in turmoil at the sight of a hand writing on the wall, he had received no help from his royal advisors on how to interpret the strange writing.

Fortunately, the queen mother (either Belshazzar’s mother or grandmother) knew of a man who could interpret the writing.

10 The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, “O king, live forever!  Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.  11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. 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, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, 12 because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

She saw Daniel as a man with “understanding and wisdom” to interpret divine things, such that Nebuchadnezzar, his grandfather, had promoted him to “chief” among all the royal advisors.  She goes on in verse 12 to describe more about him.

This Daniel was different.  He had an “excellent spirit” (cf. Dan. 6:3).  The “spirit of excellence” is a heart attitude.  It is kin to the attitude Caleb possessed. “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it” (Numbers 14:24).

Excellence is something that excels, goes beyond, predominates, and the word lying beyond this word excellent carries exactly that meaning.  An excellent spirit will always be noticed.  His excellent spirit was built off his own sense of power over himself (self-control), his prayerfulness and his perceptiveness.

What allowed Daniel to possess an excellent spirit is that he lived his life out of total respect and adoration of the true God.  Thus he reflected God’s excellence.

She says that Daniel also has “knowledge and understanding,” which allowed him to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams.  And he is able “to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems.”  Therefore, he can handle your difficulty.

Philip Long notes: “There is a subtle word-play in the queen-mother’s speech.  Daniel, she recalls, was able to “loosen knots” (verse 12, “solve problems”), which is ironic since the king had his “knots loosened” (verse 6, perhaps that he has soiled himself!).”

Daniel 5:5-12 – What was the Meaning of the Handwriting on the Wall?

Finally, the queen mother names him “Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar…”  Surprisingly, the queen referred to Daniel by his Jewish name, thus showing respect for his faith and background.  But Belshazzar, if he knew Daniel at all, would know him by the name given to him by Nebuchadnezzar, Belteshazzar.

She was convinced that Daniel would “show [you] the interpretation.”

“To this point in the book, the reader knows Daniel can interpret dreams. But the writing on the wall was not a dream.  When the hand appeared in 5:5, the scene is not attributed to a vision in Belshazzar’s mind.  And others were able to see the writing on the wall, though unable to interpret it (5:8).  Unlike the visions which were unclear in Nebuchadnezzar’s mind, here on the wall was an objective display.  This was more like a riddle, a puzzle.  But the queen believed Daniel could “explain riddles” and “solve problems,” so the writing on the wall would pose no difficulty for him (5:12)” (Mitch Chase, Daniel, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/daniel/ )

So Belshazzar calls for Daniel.

13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king.  The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. 14 I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. 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.”

“Approximately 80-years-old now [and likely was asleep at this time of night], Daniel entered the banquet hall.  He did not have the same administrative relationship with Belshazzar that he had had with Nebuchadnezzar.  The reader does not know what changes had occurred, other than Daniel’s age and the fact that the Babylonian king was a different man who may have inclined toward different advisers.  Since the queen offered so much information about Daniel to her son (5:11–12), it seems that Belshazzar had little direct interaction with the man in his administration” (Mitch Chase, Daniel, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/daniel/)

David Jeremiah makes the points that although Daniel was now an octogenarian (80 years old) and no longer seemed to be actively serving in an official capacity, that God still used him.  He concludes, “Whatever your stage in life, stay spiritually healthy and ready to serve at a moment’s notice” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 164).

He then quotes Joseph Parker, an English preacher:

“Preachers of the Word, you will be wanted someday by Belshazzar.  You were not at the beginning of the feast.  You will be there before the banquet hour is closed.  The king will not ask you to drink wine, but he will ask you to tell the secret of his pain, and heal the malady of his heart.  Just wait your time, preachers.  You are nobody now.  Who cares for preachers and teachers and seers, men of insight, while the wine goes around and the feast is unfolding its tempting luxuries.  But the preacher will have his opportunity.  They will send for him when all other friends have failed.  May he then come fearlessly, independently, asking only to be a channel through which divine communication can be addressed.  Then may he speak to the listening trouble of the world” (Preaching through the Bible)

“I find it interesting that Daniel, now in his eighties, wasn’t invited to Belshazzar’s banquet, but when a crisis hit, he was the one summoned to save the day” (David Jeremiah, Agents of Babylon, p. 157).  What Daniel saw must have broken his heart.

“Then Daniel was brought in…”  “We can be sure that Daniel cast a piercing look around the banquet hall as he came in with his escort.  The tables had food scattered all about, and wine was spilled everywhere.  The women were somewhat worse for the dissolute behavior of some of the men, and men and women alike were much the worse for drink.  The gods of Babylon were against the wall, too, dead to it all.  And—what was this in the hand of a harlot, lying on the floor among the debris of the feast:  Was that a sacred vessel that belonged to the temple of the living God in Jerusalem?  Were those priceless vessels now being used to slop wine in a drunkard’s shaking hands?  The king, as was all too evident, was regaling his shattered nerves with wine from vessels consecrated to the worship and service of the Holy One of Israel, God most High” (John Phillips, Exploring the Book of Daniel, pp. 89-90).

“You are the Daniel” might be better rendered, “Are you that Daniel…?”  Though Daniel was one of the chief ministers of state, who did “the king’s business” in the palace (Dan. 8:27) yet Belshazzar seems to have known nothing of him.  One would think the king would have some familiarity with Daniel who had served in the court just over a decade earlier.  But profligate rulers can be woefully out-of-touch with those who run their administration.

If the king was asking a question rather than making a statement (see above), then his interest in whether Daniel was a Jew may reflect his concern for having desecrated the temple vessels of the God of the Jews.

Notice that Belshazzar addresses him not as the one who had interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams and could possibly help him, but rather as “one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah.”  He wanted to put Daniel firmly in his place from the outset.

14 I have heard [from the queen mother] of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. 

There seems to be somewhat of an edge to Belshazzar’s statement, perhaps still feeling the sting of the queen mother’s rebuke.  It’s almost as if he is putting on record his skepticism in Daniel’s ability to do what the queen mother had claimed.  “I’ve heard it, but I don’t believe it.”

Daniel was the king’s last resort.  His brain trust had failed him.  The queen mother believed in him, but what could he really do?

In reality, true revelation, understanding and wisdom come from God.  No natural gifts can produce these abilities.

The secular world believes deep wisdom and insight can be attained independently of God.  Though academic attainments and understanding can be pursued apart from acknowledging God, it is God’s purpose to conceal certain things from those who reject Him while revealing them to those who appear to be more simplistic, but acknowledge Him (“babes,” Matt. 11:25; 16:17).  Those who reject God have no means of understanding spiritual things because they remain disconnected from God’s Spirit (John 3:12; Eph. 2:1; 5:14; Col. 2:13).  It is God’s Spirit that reveals deep spiritual matters (John 14:26; 1Cor. 2:10-13).

Those who don’t know God cannot benefit from His special revelation. Even worse, sometimes God actively frustrates those who attempt to attain wisdom apart from Him (Job 12:17-25; Isa. 19:12-13; 44:25; Rom. 1:21-22, 28; 1 Cor. 1:20).

“As in the previous instances in Daniel 2 and 4, the wisdom of the world is demonstrated to be totally unable to solve its major problems and to understand either the present or the future.  Daniel as the prophet of God is the channel through which divine revelation would come, and Belshazzar in his extremity was willing [now] to listen” (John Walvoord, p. 124).

15 Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. 16 But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems.

All the positive aspects of a relationship with God helped Daniel whereas the negative aspects hampered the wise men of Belshazzar’s court.  Daniel’s education and wisdom had grown during his schooling in Babylon, but it was his relationship with God that refined and amplified his natural ability and insight, enabling him to interpret dreams and the handwriting on the wall.

“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.” (Dan. 5:16b)

“Too often the world, like Belshazzar, is not willing to seek the wisdom of God until its own bankruptcy becomes evident. Then help is sought too late, as in the case of Belshazzar, and the cumulative sin and unbelief which precipitated the crisis in the first place becomes the occasion of downfall” (John Walvood, Daniel: The Key to Revelation).

“The king promised many gifts if Daniel could interpret the handwriting.  He even promised him the third position in the kingdom (after himself and his father Nabonidas).  Daniel wisely declined the king’s gifts, since he probably realized that the kingdom could last only for a few [more] hours.  How true it is of this world in which we live.  Satan promises us wealth and fame, but alas, it can only last for an hour and then it is gone forever” (Jim Gerrish, A Short Study in the Book of Daniel, https://www.wordofgodtoday.com/short-study-of-daniel/)

How does Daniel respond?  How does this mature, wise leader respond to the king’s offer?

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. 

Since Belshazzar was defensive and skeptical towards Daniel, Daniel’s response omits the usual deferential politeness of the Babylonian court.  In fact, Daniel proceeds to scold Belshazzar like he was a naughty school boy.  While Daniel seemed to love and show deference to King Nebuchadnezzar, he has no love for Belshazzar.  Why the difference?  Because Belshazzar profaned the holiness of Daniel’s God by drinking to his pagan gods from the vessels that belonged to the holy God.

Daniel’s reply to the king was in every sense a sermon, and a powerful one at that.  The prophet began by declining the offered gifts.  This had the effect, whatever Daniel’s reason for doing so may have been, of helping Belshazzar realize that these gifts would not influence his interpretation of the writing.

One measure of a true man or woman of God is whether he or she can be swayed by bribery or reward (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13).  “He was like Abraham who told the king of Sodom that he wouldn’t even take a shoelace from him (Gen. 14:22-23).  The apostle Paul said, ‘I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing’ (Acts 20:33).”  This was the stance of Elisha before Namaan, the king of Syria—after his leprosy had been healed by God (2 Kings 5:15-16).  Unfortunately, Elisha’s servant Gehazi had not learned this important lesson from his master (2 Kings 5:25-27).

Unlike Balaam in the service of Balak (Num. 22:7), but more like Ahijah before the wife of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:6-16) and Peter before Simon Magus (Acts 8:18-20), Daniel’s service could not be purchased.  He bluntly told Belshazzar he could keep his rewards.

In fact, it is foolish for those seeking to understand a message from God to make such an offer as it can only serve to tempt God’s messenger to shy away from telling the hard, unvarnished truth.  This may also explain why Daniel refused the offer prior to the interpretation, but accepted it afterwards (Dan. 5:29): for it guaranteed the interpretation was not influenced by the potential of reward.  For the faithful minister, the Word of God must be given the same before both kings and paupers.

“This refusal of the royal presents was designed merely to decisively reject, at the outset, and in a manner becoming the prophet of Jehovah, any influence that might be brought to bear on him. It is not, therefore, a pert expression, which the king might justly punish, nor is it inconsistent with the fact that Daniel ultimately accepted the reward offered for the interpretation, Dan. 5:29, since he regarded it as a recognition of his God” (Zöckler, The Book of the Prophet Daniel).

Let me close by quoting Reuben Bredenhof

Paul was mindful of how the love of money can have a corrupting influence on a pastor’s ministry.  This awareness is clear from Paul’s words of farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20.  There he insists that while he was among them, he “coveted no one’s silver or gold” (Acts 20:33), but he was willing to work with his hands to support himself and his companions.  And thinking of his flashy rivals in Corinth, Paul denounces those who “peddle the Word of God” for personal profit (2 Cor. 2:17).

Despite Scripture’s repeated warnings, this is still a real temptation for those serving in ministry.  Perhaps a pastor wants to take a position at a particular church because it offers to pay substantially more than his present congregation.  Maybe a pastor is quick to complain that he needs a raise in his salary, or he seeks to maximize every monetary benefit available to him.  But a pastor must tread carefully.  Even the appearance of being engrossed with material things can be seriously detrimental to his relationship with the congregation.  This in turn can hinder the believers’ growth in faith.  Paul’s pleading words to the Corinthians remind us about what should take priority: “I do not seek yours”—that is, the believers’ material possessions—“but you” (2 Cor. 12:14).  A love of money can unduly sway a pastor’s preaching, detract from his credibility, or even sink his ministry entirely.  So a faithful pastor never seeks material gain, but always the congregation’s continued maturity in Christ.

The pastor’s challenge is the same that is faced by all Christians.  By nature we want to stand on our rights and we demand our entitlements.  Greed is ever-prowling.  Yet Scripture exhorts all believers to be content with what we have (1 Tim. 6:5).  When we are saved by Christ and have freely received his eternal inheritance, we have the ultimate reason to be content.  Besides, God the Father has graciously promised to supply all our daily needs (Heb. 13:5).  With confidence in God’s promise to provide, pastors can keep their focus on doing the work of dedicated ministry.  Such a contented approach to money not only sets a good example to the congregation, it also honors Christ and his gospel.