Handwriting on the Wall

 

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on; nor all your Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all your Tears wash out a Word of it.
— The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

 

It seems fitting to begin this chapter with a quote from the ancient Persian poet. After all, a moving finger plays a key role, and the Persian army will end the story. But I digress . . .

Nebuchadnezzar died about 562 BC. His son, Amel-Marduk, became the next king, but he didn’t last long.(1) Two years later, his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur murdered him and took the throne.(2) He managed to last four years before dying of natural causes. Laborosoarchad was next, but Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson only hung on for about six months before Nabonidus, another one of Nebuchadnezzar’s sons-in-law, killed him in 556 BC. With all this palace intrigue, it seems unlikely that Daniel continued to serve in the court after Amel-Marduk.(3)

Nabonidus didn’t actually like being the king. The day-to-day drudgery of ruling got in his way. He’d rather be off on military expeditions or doing archeology. So after three years he set up his son Belshazzar as co-regent and took off for Arabia. He spent the next dozen years or so there. And I have to pause for a moment right here.

 

God’s Perspective on Time

We look at the book and think, “Wow! Daniel got all those neat dreams and visions. It must have been really cool to be God’s favored man in Babylon.” But we forget about the calendar. Nebuchadnezzar’s first dream was about 603 BC. Daniel’s first vision was fifty years later in 553 BC. Daniel had to be faithful to God through five different kings before God gave him his first vision. For all he knew, Nebuchadnezzar’s two visions were it. Are we faithful like Daniel so God can use us when the time comes? Can we wait a lifetime like he did?

 

Time Runs Out for Belshazzar

In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great of Persia marched on Babylon with a large army from a number of kingdoms including the Medes.(4) He defeated the Babylonian army at Opis, and then marched on Sippar, which is about thirty miles from Babylon.(5) Nabonidus didn’t get there in time, and the city fell without a fight on October 12. Because the Medo-Persian army was in his way on the main road to Babylon, Nabonidus had to take the back roads and missed the party. And what a party it was.

Belshazzar the king held a great feast for a thousand of his nobles (5:1). The New Year’s feast was on October 13, one day after Cyrus conquered Sippar. Either Belshazzar was insane, or he was really sure that Babylon could never be taken. There was reason for confidence, since the Euphrates River went right through the city. This provided an unlimited supply of water, and there was enough land inside the walls to grow all the food they needed. Gates blocked anyone from getting into the city from the river. But God had other plans.

Belshazzar got drunk, and ordered servants to bring the sacred vessels from the Temple in Jerusalem to the party so everyone could drink wine from them (5:2).(6) Nebuchadnezzar had taken the sacred vessels from the Temple to say that his gods were stronger than Yahweh. God tolerated that since Nebuchadnezzar was acting as His servant to punish the Jews for their disobedience (Jer 25:9).(7) But Belshazzar’s actions were a bit more foolhardy.

As they drank the wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, suddenly, the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began to write on the wall (5:4–5). Using a term we’ll see later, the party became a desolating sacrilege (11:31).(8) To use Yahweh’s holy vessels to serve a foreign god (cf. 11:39) was blasphemy. Belshazzar’s iniquity was full (cf. Gen 15:16 KJV).

Belshazzar was terrified. His face grew pale, his hip joints went slack, and his knees began knocking together (5:6).(9) So he immediately called in the wise men of Babylon (5:7). Anybody who could read the writing would be clothed in purple, get a necklace of gold, and become the third-ranked ruler in the kingdom.
           
The Bible is True

We need to step back for a minute. The normal reward for such exceptional service would be the second place in the kingdom. Belshazzar couldn’t make that offer, since he wasn’t actually the king. Nabonidus was. Belshazzar was just co-regent, the number two man. So the best offer he could make was the third position.

This is one of the strongest arguments we have for the authenticity of the book. Within a few years, Belshazzar had been forgotten. He wasn’t rediscovered until 1924 when several ancient Babylonian documents were translated, including the Nabonidus Chronicle. Of course, we still have to deal with the word “king” in Daniel. If Belshazzar wasn’t the king, why did Daniel call him that?

In fact, Daniel didn’t exactly call Belshazzar the king. He called him the melek. This Aramaic word means “ruler,” and can apply to lesser officials. Belshazzar was the acting ruler, but his father was the real king. So Daniel didn’t really call him the king. Rather, Daniel correctly identified him as the ruler, since Belshazzar was in charge.

Skeptical scholars say that Daniel was written in the second century BC, during the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Syrian king who tried to stamp out Judaism. Supposedly it was designed to comfort the Jewish rebels who were trying to get rid of the Syrians. But if no one remembered Belshazzar, how would they know to include him? And what writer of inspirational fiction would have him offer the third place in the kingdom to Daniel?
The only way this story makes any kind of sense is if it was written by someone intimately familiar with the situation in Babylon. That is, Daniel wrote it. He was there, knew the circumstances of the ruling family, and faithfully wrote them down. In other words, the book is exactly what it appears to be — a faithful record of the life of a Jewish hostage in Babylon.

 

God Takes Charge

Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king (5:8). If Belshazzar had been smart, he would have just called Daniel. Then he wouldn’t have had to put up with the incompetent Chaldeans. Of course, if he’d been smart, he wouldn’t have used the sacred Temple vessels for party glasses, either.

Belshazzar became greatly alarmed and his face grew even paler (5:9). The ruler of the most powerful nation on earth had been reduced to a quivering mass of Jell-O. And at that moment, somebody with a bit of sense came in.

The queen seems to have been excluded from the party. She entered the banquet hall and tried to calm Belshazzar (5:10). She remembered that in the kingdom was a man who had a spirit of the holy gods in him. Because of his extraordinary skill in interpreting dreams and visions, “your father” Nebuchadnezzar made him chief of the wise men. Call Daniel and he will interpret the writing (5:11–12).

The queen was probably Nitocris, Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter who married Nabonidus. She saw her father go through the seven years of madness. She learned of the One True God, whose sacred vessels were now being desecrated at the party. And she had true regard for Yahweh, noting that Daniel, His servant, had a spirit of the holy gods, using exactly the same words her father did in 4:9. She may be saved.

So Daniel was brought in (5:13). By time he got there, Belshazzar had gotten himself together and acted like a king again. He didn’t give a rip about Yahweh’s holiness. I can hear the sneer in his voice as he asks Daniel, “Are you one of those Judeans my father brought here (5:13)?” We can read the subtitles. “You foreign captives don’t deserve my respect. Your god wasn’t strong enough to protect you from us. He’s so weak we can drink our wine from his “sacred” Temple vessels.” Belshazzar didn’t give the queen any credit either. After all, his mother was only a woman.

I’ve heard that a spirit of the gods gives you extraordinary wisdom and insight. The Chaldean wise men and conjurers couldn’t read the writing on the wall. I’ve personally heard that you can do it. Interpret the inscription, and you will be third in the kingdom (5:14-16).(10) It’s déjà vu all over again.

Daniel wasted no time telling Belshazzar what he could do with his goodies. Keep your gifts for yourself or give them to someone else (5:17). He was solidly connected with Yahweh just like his friends were in chapter 3. They didn’t give the Babylonian gods a second thought, and neither would he. But this time, instead of the human ruler imposing a death sentence, it was God’s turn to be the judge. And Yahweh’s prosecuting attorney had arrived.

 

Covenant Lawsuits

Before we go on, we have to take a moment to explain one of God’s orderly procedures. When God acts against wicked people, He doesn’t do things in an arbitrary way. Instead, He brings a covenant lawsuit against them.(11) It looks just like a modern lawsuit.

 

Covenant Lawsuit
Preamble	God presents Himself.
Prolog	God tells how He has kept the covenant.
Indictments	God accuses the wicked of breaking the covenant.
Witnesses	Evidence is heard.
Verdict	The court rules.

 

First, God makes His presence known. Next, He tells about all the things He has done to honor the covenant. If God hasn’t done His part, He doesn’t have room to complain about someone else not doing theirs.

Now that God is in the clear, He accuses the wicked person of not keeping the covenant. Like any good lawyer, He then presents the evidence that shows the charges are true. Finally, the court can rule. After the wicked have been convicted, judgment can be executed.

 

Belshazzar in the Dock

Belshazzar’s rebellion against Yahweh was over. The God of Israel was strong enough to take matters into His own hands, and with one of them He wrote on the wall. This is the Preamble. Now Daniel will read the inscription and make the interpretation known to the melek. Belshazzar isn’t “you” anymore. Daniel is speaking in God’s voice as God’s prosecutor. He’s going to introduce the melek to Yahweh.

 

The Most High God granted sovereignty, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar, your father. Because of the grandeur He gave him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every language feared and trembled before him. But when he became proud and arrogant, Yahweh deposed him and took away his throne. He became like an animal until he recognized that the Most High God is ruler over the realm of mankind. (5:18–22)

 

This is the Historical Prolog. Now God’s finger points at Belshazzar.

 

Belshazzar, even though you knew all this happened to your father, you have not humbled your heart. Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven by bringing the vessels of His house to drink wine from them while you praise gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron wood and stone that can’t see, hear, or understand. Because you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in His hands, He sent this hand to write on the wall. (5:22–24)

 

This is the Indictment. But Belshazzar’s heart was so hard that this simply didn’t get through. Witnesses aren’t needed. One glance at the party tells the tale.

Belshazzar listened to the interpretation.

 

This is what the hand wrote: '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." (5:25–28)

 

Covenant Lawsuit against Belshazzar
Preamble	God’s hand (5:5).
Prolog	Nebuchadnezzar’s story (5:18–21).
Indictments	“You exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven” (5:22–23).
Witnesses	The evidence is obvious at the party.
Verdict	The handwriting (5:24–28).

 

 This is the Verdict. By now, I think I’d be really worried. But Belshazzar was the ruler of the most powerful kingdom on earth — or so he thought. Babylon’s defeat at Sippar the day before didn’t seem to matter. Supernatural handwriting on the wall where everyone could see it didn’t make any difference. A personal condemnation from the God who humbled his grandfather didn’t sink in. Belshazzar is toast, but he’s so firmly set against God that nothing will move him (cf. John 3:18). So he put the purple robe on Daniel, gave him a gold necklace and made him the third ruler in the kingdom (5:29).

The text doesn’t tell us, but I’d bet that Daniel walked out of the party and dumped Belshazzar’s gifts on the ground. He served the Most High God, not a two-bit king. And God had decided Belshazzar’s fate. That night, Belshazzar was killed (5:30). Darius the Mede received the kingdom (5:31).

We can’t ignore this language. Darius received the kingdom from Yahweh, who is sovereign over all men. Credit for the victory does not belong to men, but to God who declared through Daniel and Jeremiah that Babylon would fall (Jer 25:11–12). He even named the conquerors a century earlier (Isa 45:1–2, Jer 51:11ff.). But this raises a problem. Darius isn’t one of the names the Cyrus used. And Cyrus was a Persian, not a Mede. So who is Darius?

Scholars aren’t sure, but it’s likely that Darius was the general in command of the army that took Babylon.(12) It would be natural for Cyrus to reward him by making him ruler of Babylon. It would be even more appropriate considering the innovative strategy he used.

The Babylonians had built flood control gates on the Euphrates to protect the city. Darius used those gates to divert the river so the riverbed would be dry. His army could simply march into Babylon. Of course, they’d have to fight their way into the city from the river, but that’s what armies do. God had other plans.

The Medo-Persian confederation quick-marched into a major block party. Even the guards were drunk, and they left the river gates open (cf. Isa 45:1). The city fell without a fight.

 

The Bible Will Use This Story Again

It’s time to take a typology break.(13) Persia is east of Babylon. It led the multi-national federation that conquered Babylon (Jer 51:27–28).(14) When the floodgates were used, “the Euphrates was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east” (Rev 16:12).

We’re not studying the book of Revelation here, but this linkage is important. Revelation depends on Daniel more than any other Old Testament book. When the sixth Bowl uses the language of the Medo-Persian conquest of Babylon, that’s where we need to look to understand it. Cyrus was “God’s anointed” (Isa 45:1), who delivered the Jews from captivity in Babylon (Ezra 1:1–4). This helps us see another deliverance of God’s people in the sixth Bowl, not Chinese armies coming to fight on the Plain of Jezreel.(15)

Next, even though the Babylonians weren’t at Sinai to receive the covenant, God treats them as if they are subject to it. This brings us back to Genesis 12:3, where Abraham will be a blessing “to all the families of the earth” (literal Hebrew). God’s covenant with Abraham builds on His covenants with Noah and Adam. And that covenant is quite simple.
Anyone who follows God will live. Reject God and you’ll die. But dying isn’t so much a punishment as a natural consequence. That’s because the covenant is like a modern “adhesion contract.” Think for a moment about your driver’s license.

The state says, “If you want to drive, here are the conditions.” There’s no negotiation. You either follow the rules or you don’t drive. It’s that simple. You comply to receive a privilege.

God’s covenant works the same way. God is the source of life. If you follow him, you’ll receive life. If you don’t, He’ll extend the privilege on a provisional basis. But eventually, if you don’t accept God, you’ll remove yourself from the source of life and you’ll die. It’s just that simple. Life comes from keeping the covenant.(16)

Belshazzar irrevocably removed himself from the covenant, and died because he chose to remove himself from the source of life. We have the same choice to make. Who will we follow?