The Fall of Babylon
Daniel 5:1-31
June 5, 2016
Back in chapter 2 we saw what we called SOVEREIGNTY DECLARED
God gave a dream to Nebuchadnezzar
Declaring His intentions for the nations.
It was a statue which revealed the reign of 5 kingdoms.
The most immediate fulfillment would be that
Babylon would fall to the Medes and the Persians.
Daniel 2:37-39 “You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. “After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you…”
Of course we remember that Nebuchadnezzar did not like that prophecy and sought to undo it in which we saw SOVEREIGNTY DEFENDED
God answered Nebuchadnezzar’s attempt to stop this prophecy by delivering the three Hebrew boys who refused to bow to his statue.
Last week we saw where God eventually took Nebuchadnezzar in a chapter that could be called SOVEREIGNTY DISCERNED
Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, which he again could not interpret.
This time about a great tree which was cut down
And shackled with a band of iron.
This of course was about Nebuchadnezzar who was this great tree
And whom God robbed of his sanity for 7 years
Until Nebuchadnezzar learned to recognize who was really in charge.
By the end of his life Nebuchadnezzar was a full blown worshiper of God.
So we’ve seen:
• Sovereignty Declared
• Sovereignty Defended
• Sovereignty Discerned
Tonight we look at chapter 5 and we can talk about
SOVEREIGNTY DEMONSTRATED
Tonight we are going to see the first stage of fulfillment
To the prophetic dream God delivered to Nebuchadnezzar.
Tonight we see the fall of Babylon.
And this was promised in more than just Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.
Isaiah 13:17-22 “Behold, I am going to stir up the Medes against them, Who will not value silver or take pleasure in gold. And their bows will mow down the young men, They will not even have compassion on the fruit of the womb, Nor will their eye pity children. And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans’ pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation; Nor will the Arab pitch his tent there, Nor will shepherds make their flocks lie down there. But desert creatures will lie down there, And their houses will be full of owls; Ostriches also will live there, and shaggy goats will frolic there. Hyenas will howl in their fortified towers And jackals in their luxurious palaces. Her fateful time also will soon come And her days will not be prolonged.”
Isaiah 47:1-5 “Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no longer be called tender and delicate. “Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers. “Your nakedness will be uncovered, Your shame also will be exposed; I will take vengeance and will not spare a man.” Our Redeemer, the LORD of hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. “Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms.”
Jeremiah 51:11 “Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.”
This has always been God’s sovereign plan.
(Isaiah prophesied the fall of Babylon before Babylon was even in power.)
God would raise her up in order to punish His people
Then God would tear her down because of her heinous iniquity.
HERE IS THE SCRIPTURAL ACCOUNT OF THAT FALL.
Tonight we see God’s sovereignty again put on full display
With a special reminder that everything living must answer to Him.
Our world and our society fancy themselves as experts on everything.
They are certainly quick to tell the church “Judge not”
But the reality is our society does this more than any other.
• Just this week you probably heard about the boy who fell into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo resulting in the gorilla being shot.
• The social outcry about the lousy parenting of the child’s mother has really been remarkable.
• You probably never knew there were so many parenting experts in America.
Point being our society has placed itself in the judge’s seat.
And this even includes judgment of God.
People love to put God on trial, and voice their opinions
As to whether or not He should have done the things He did.
And this is perhaps the most backward belief of our society.
God will never stand on trial before man.
It really doesn’t matter what man’s estimation is of how God has conducted Himself.
It doesn’t matter if man thinks Him cruel or ignorant or apathetic.
It’s not as though God will ever answer for any of their charges.
He is God.
IT IS MAN WHO WILL MOST CERTAINLY ANSWER TO HIM.
I’ve always loved the sermon Paul preached while in Athens.
Acts 17:24-31 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ “Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Paul reminded these Athenians that regardless of their views and beliefs
They would all one day stand before God to be judged.
It would be wise then for them to repent
And to begin to seek the things that are pleasing to this God.
GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND MAN MUST LEARN THIS
Babylon (especially Belshazzar) is about to learn this the hard way.
Three main divisions in our text tonight.
#1 THE ABOMINATION OF BELSHAZZAR
Daniel 5:1-4
Now before dive into this too much, history is well documented about the setting of this story and it is helpful to understand it.
Throughout the text you’ll hear Belshazzar referred to as the son of Nebuchadnezzar.
It is true in a family lineage sense.
• After Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he was followed by his son Evil-Merodach.
• Evil-Merochach was assassinated by his brother-in-law Neriglissar who reigned for 4 years.
• He was succeeded by his son Labashi-Marduk, but he only reigned 2 months before he was assassinated by Evil-Merodach’s brother Nabonidus.
• Nabonidus reigned 17 years, but he spent much of his time away from home so he named his son Belshazzar as co-regent with him.
Belshazzar was Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson, and by the time he came into power Nebuchadnezzar had been gone for around 20 years.
• During this time the Medes and the Persians had attacked and Belshazzar had actually gone out to meet them in battle,
• But had was badly defeated, so he retreated into the city of Babylon.
It was thought that Babylon was absolutely impenetrable.
• The wall around the city was wide enough to drive 2 chariots on top of it.
• There was a 20 year supply of food inside the city.
• The Euphrates river ran right through the city (under the wall) providing plenty of water.
They didn’t think there was anyway Babylon could fall for years.
Which explains the foolish arrogance of Belshazzar.
• It is said that he didn’t even place guards on the wall because there was no way Babylon could be infiltrated.
Belshazzar felt untouchable, and this sort of explains the party he threw.
This was a city under siege.
The way these cities typically fell was to be starved out.
The surrounding army would cut off all supply
And simply wait for the city to come out or surrender.
You would think the rationing of food would be the highest priority.
And yet
(1) “Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in the presence of the thousand.”
• Are you picking up on his arrogance?
No one holds a feast for 1,000 when they are under siege.
This man was mocking the Chaldean attempt to defeat him.
And if that was not enough,
He decided also to mock the God who had decreed
That his kingdom would fall to the Chaldeans.
(2-4) “When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.”
Now you get it.
It’s not just idolatry, it is blatant disregard and disrespect for God.
He is basically telling God to prove it!
He doesn’t think God can do what He said,
And He’s daring God to show otherwise.
That is the abomination of Belshazzar.
That is also why this next occurrence seems to rattle him more than anyone else.
#2 THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD
Daniel 5:5-8
If you’ve ever heard the phrase, “He’s seen the handwriting on the wall”.
This is where that comes from.
It means that someone has seen what is about to happen
And there is nothing they can do about it.
Belshazzar gets that original message here.
(5) “Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand emerged and began writing opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the back of the hand writing.”
Now look, that in and of itself would be startling enough.
I would imagine everyone in the room was a little taken back by it.
But you’ll notice that Belshazzar was especially terrified.
(6) “Then the king’s face grew pale and his thoughts alarmed him, and his hip joints went slack and his knees began knocking together.”
• He first went “pale”
• Then he thought about what was happening,
• And his strength left his legs.
There is a reason he was so distraught.
It’s because he knew exactly what he was doing.
He was mocking God and he knows that God has shown up to answer.
Furthermore, it will become evident in a moment that Belshazzar was not ignorant of all the things that happened during his grandfather’s reign.
That doesn’t surprise us since by the end of his life Nebuchadnezzar was downright evangelistic about sharing what God had done for him.
And when God showed up in the middle of his feast
Belshazzar is terrified.
And then of course a familiar scene
(7-8) “The king called aloud to bring in the conjurers, the Chaldeans and the diviners. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this inscription and explain its interpretation to me shall be clothed with purple and have a necklace of gold around his neck, and have authority as third ruler in the kingdom.” Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.”
There we go again seeking out the world’s wisdom for spiritual problems.
(It’s almost tiresome at this point isn’t it?)
Just go call Daniel and get straight to the point.
Well that’s finally what happens.
The Abomination of Belshazzar, The Demonstration of God
#3 THE EXPLANATION OF DANIEL
Daniel 5:9-31
It starts with the queen telling Belshazzar to call for Daniel.
Many think this was probably Belshazzar’s grandmother (Nebuchadnezzar’s wife)
Since verse Belshazzar’s wives were with him at the feast.
If that is true, she certainly would have known
Who to talk to in such a situation.
She tells him to call for Daniel and Belshazzar does:
(READ 9-16)
• Once again we see that only the wisdom of God matters.
• Once again we see Daniel’s faithfulness to be used of God.
The stage is set now for the third time for God to speak through Daniel
To the most powerful man in the world.
And let’s break down Daniel’s message.
Daniel does not appear to be as soft on Belshazzar as he was his grandfather.
3 points to Daniel’s message
1) THE TESTIMONY YOU IGNORED (17-22)
Daniel does not appear to be amused
By Belshazzar’s promise of earthly compensation.
(17) “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.”
Certainly Daniel wasn’t in this thing for the money.
• BUT BEYOND EVEN THAT, once the interpretation is made known, I’m sure Daniel knew Belshazzar was in no place to honor it.
What he does want Belshazzar to know is WHY THIS HAS HAPPENED.
He starts with the testimony that Belshazzar
Had most certainly heard from his grandfather and yet had readily ignored.
(18-22) “O king, the Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. “Because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and men of every language feared and trembled before him; whomever he wished he killed and whomever he wished he spared alive; and whomever he wished he elevated and whomever he wished he humbled. “But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit became so proud that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken away from him. “He was also driven away from mankind, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his dwelling place was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes. “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,”
We just studied the story last week so you are certainly familiar with what Daniel is referring to.
• Nebuchadnezzar used to be filled with arrogance and audacity too.
• He also used to thumb his nose at God.
• But God taught Nebuchadnezzar a lesson.
• God took him from his royal throne and struck him with insanity for 7 years “until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind and that He sets over it whomever He wishes.”
That was the message for Nebuchadnezzar and he heard it loud and clear.
Chapter 4 was his testimony to that account.
Because Nebuchadnezzar was so transformed by what happened
We have every reason to believe
He would have told that story many times to his grandson.
BUT REGARDLESS OF WHERE HE HEARD IT, WE KNOW HE DID.
For Daniel says, “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this,”
You can hear Daniel’s frustration can’t you?
HOW COULD YOU MISS THE POINT?
The message is so clear.
GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.
One thing you don’t do to God is walk up to Him in arrogance.
• He does not handle disrespect
• He does not handle blatant disobedience
• He does not handle someone thinking they know better than Him.
Jesus reminded us clearly that the first step in coming to God
Is not arrogance but supreme humility.
Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
We remember the famous story from Jesus:
Luke 18:9-14 “And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. ‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ “I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
You get the point.
One thing you don’t want to do is puff yourself up before God.
He delights in crushing people’s pride.
And honestly Belshazzar had really gotten off easy here.
• He never lost his sanity…
• He never ate grass like a cow…
• He never had the hair grow long on his head…
• He never had his nails grow like eagle’s claws…
All he had to do was listen to the testimony of his grandfather.
All he had to do was learn from the misfortune of another.
I don’t mind telling you that it is a foolish thing
To force God to have to reteach you
All the lessons He taught your parents or grandparents.
It is far better that you learn from their trials and learn from their experiences and learn from their testimonies.
Belshazzar refused and Daniel let him know it.
The Testimony You Ignored
2) THE GOD YOU OFFENDED (22-24)
Do you want to know why this happened Belshazzar?
• You made God mad!
• You offended Him!
You ignored His message to your grandfather,
Then you purposely stuck your finger in God’s eye
By collecting His holy utensils and using them in your pagan worship.
Not only that, but you have your entire life
TOTALLY DISREGARDED all that this God has done for you.
“But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.”
IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT A TIMELESS SERMON, HERE IT IS!
Daniel could preach this today.
It is the missing element of most gospel messages.
• Most gospel messages I hear today focus solely on how heart-broken God is that you are facing such a horrific fate in hell.
• And preachers assure sinners how much God loves them, and how sorry God feels for them, and how heart-broken God is over them.
• And preachers assure sinners that all God desperately wants is to have you back, and He won’t hold a grudge, He’s already forgiven you, just please come home.
AND THAT IS NOT TRUE
• God is holding a grudge!
• God is offended; terribly offended!
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Listen to God’s estimation of humanity.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Does that sound like a God who has just let it all go?
No – He’s angry!
And why wouldn’t He be?
• He creates a world in perfection and then creates man to live upon it.
• He breathes life into his nostrils and meets his every need.
• Only to have man rebel against Him, choose sin, wreck His creation, and ignore His commands from that day on.
• And even when this awesome God sends His Son into the world to purchase forgiveness for sinners, they reject Him too!
God is angry at sinners, they have offended Him.
You and I once offended Him!
Romans 1 says that our lack of gratitude alone is offensive to Him.
Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
You get the idea?
God is offended.
• He is waiting for the moment when offensive sinners will return to Him
• To ask for forgiveness of their sins against Him,
• At which time He will charge their crimes to His Son
• And forgive them of their trespasses.
BUT DON’T FORGET THAT REPENTANCE AND FORGIVENESS ARE NEEDED.
Daniel lets Belshazzar have it for his blatant disrespect of God.
The Testimony You Ignored, The God You Offended
3) THE SENTENCE YOU RECEIVED (25-31)
Now Daniel interprets the writing.
(25-28) “Now this is the inscription that was written out: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’ “This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’ — God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. “‘TEKEL’ — you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. “‘PERES’ — your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
These words were all measurements,
But they paint such a powerful message.
“MENE” was an Aramaic noun referring to 50 shekels,
But taken as a verb it meant “to number”
Daniel said “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.”
So the idea is that his days were numbered and his time is up.
And for emphasis sake God wrote that twice.
And that is true for us isn’t it?
God has numbered our days.
Psalms 139:16 “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”
The sovereign God who created you already knows the day of your end.
“TEKEL” was a noun referring to a single shekel,
But taken as a verb it meant “to weigh”
Daniel said, “You have been weighed on the scales and found deficient.”
That is, you were too light, you were not enough.
You have fallen short of what God expected from you.
I’m always reminded of the Centurion who wanted Jesus to heal his servant. When Jesus offered to go with him, he said:
Matthew 8:8 “But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Literally he said, “I am not enough”
And isn’t this true of all men?
God demands perfect righteousness and when measured according to His standard, we all come up wanting.
We are all in desperate need of the perfect righteousness
Which can only be granted to us through Jesus Christ.
“PERES” is a noun meaning a half-mina or 25 shekels,
But as a verb it means “to break in two, to divide”
Daniel said, “your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
That is to say, your sentence has been passed.
Your kingdom has been divided between the Medes and the Persians.
Do you hear the message?
• God has numbered your days (as He has done for us all)
• And the time of your judgment has come.
• He has measured you by His perfect righteousness
• And you have been found deficient in what is required,
• Therefore you will be judged.
And the tragedy is that all of this could have been avoided
Had he only listened to the testimony of his grandfather
How foolish it is to ignore the gospel message
And continue to walk arrogantly before God.
SO HOW DID BELSHAZZAR RESPOND TO SUCH A MESSAGE?
Well he should have instantly fell on his face and asked God for mercy,
But that is not what he did.
(29) “Then Belshazzar gave orders, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a necklace of gold around his neck, and issued a proclamation concerning him that he now had authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.”
What does that reveal?
Some say, well he’s a good guy, he paid Daniel anyway.
NO NO NO NO NO
If he had believed Daniel he would know that any money or jewelry or honor he bestowed on Daniel was pointless because Daniel told him his time was up.
It doesn’t appear to me that Belshazzar believed him.
He just gave Daniel authority as 3rd in power
In a kingdom that Daniel just said was about to be destroyed.
Now, do you really want to see the sovereignty of God in this?
• I told you that Belshazzar had already fought and lost a battle with Persia and
had retreated behind the wall where he thought he was safe.
• I also told you that because they had a 20 year supply of food and the
Euphrates running through their city they weren’t worried about anything.
Unbeknownst to Belshazzar the Medes and the Persians
Had been digging a diversion canal for the Euphrates into a nearby lake.
And on this night it would be finished.
• Because Belshazzar didn’t place troops as lookouts and was busy partying he
did not know that the Persian army was stationed at both ends of the city where the river entered and exited.
• When the channel was finished and the water was diverted, the Euphrates
stopped flowing and the Medes and the Persians conquered Babylon that very night.
(30-31) “That same night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. So Darius the Mede received the kingdom at about the age of sixty-two.”
That means that God had laid all this out months in advance.
Indeed He had promised it years in advance.
AND WHAT A LESSON FOR US TO LEARN
ABOUT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD.
He is not to be messed with in this regard.
God has numbered the days of man
And His expectation is that during this short span of life on earth
That man would humble themselves before Him
And ask His forgiveness for their offenses against Him.
OTHERWISE the day of their judgement is already set
And they will most assuredly be weighed on the scales and found wanting
And consigned to certain judgment.
Paul told the Athenians
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
It has been the message of the ages.
And Belshazzar learned it the hard way
When God finally chose to put His Sovereignty on Display.
