Daniel 5:17-23

c. TRANSGRESSION

TEXT: Daniel 5:17-23

17

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

18

O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty:

19

and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.

20

But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:

21

and he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that he setteth up over it whomsoever he will.

22

And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, though thou knewest all this,

23

but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine from them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:

QUERIES

a.

Why did Daniel refuse the gifts promised by the king?

b.

How much of God's part in Nebuchadnezzar's insanity did Daniel believe Belshazzar knew?

c.

To what extent did Daniel expect Belshazzar to glorify God?

PARAPHRASE

Daniel answered, Keep your gifts yourself, or give them to someone else. Your generosity is appreciated. However, I will tell you the true writing upon the wall and its interpretation regardless of remuneration. Your Majestythe Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your ancestral predecessor, the kingdom of Babylon and elevated him to greatness, glory and majesty. This God gave Nebuchadnezzar such greatness that all the nations of the world surrendered in fear to his sovereignty. He killed any who offended or opposed him and offered mercy to everyone who did not offend him. At the decree of Nebuchadnezzar lesser kings rose or fell. But when he allowed pride to make his heart callous so that he dealt with people haughtily, God removed him from his royal throne and his majesty was stripped from him. God caused him to be shut off from association with men and his nature became like that of a wild animal and he actually lived among the wild donkeys; he ate grass like the oxen; he stayed out in the open often enough at night to sometimes have his body covered with the dew of heaven. Eventually he recognized that the Most High God rules in the political affairs of men, nations and kingdoms, and that the Most High God elevates and deposes whomsoever He will over kingdoms and nations. And you, his ancestral successor, O Belshazzaryou knew all this, yet you have reigned in a proud and haughty manner as if you did not know it. You have exalted yourself and defied the God of Heaven, and brought to this profane feast the vessels from God's temple; and you and your officers and wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while worshipping gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stonegods that neither see nor hear, nor know anything at all. You have defied the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!

COMMENT

Daniel 5:17-19. LET THY GIFTS BE TO THYSELF. THE MOST HIGH GOD GAVE NEBUCHADNEZZAR THY FATHER THE KINGDOM. Some have assumed that Daniel was being insolent in this address to the king, Daniel, in Daniel 5:17, is merely stating that he will gladly read the writing for the king but he desires no remuneration. Reading the hand-writing on the wall is a service rendered both for his God, for God's people, and for the king. Daniel does not think of reward first in such service. He is not at all like the mercenary wise men of Babylon. They will say what the king wants to hear for the right price. Daniel will tell the truth without reward.

Daniel's next step is preparation of the ground-work to reach the haughty heart of Belshazzar. The purpose of the prophet is to convict the proud potentate of his moral failure, in the hope that Belshazzar will repent. Daniel prepares the king's heart by reminding him that his predecessor (Nebuchadnezzar) came to the throne and its subsequent greatness by the sovereign power of the Most High God. It is Daniel's God who raises up and puts down (cf. Psalms 115:15-16; Acts 17:26; Ezekiel 29:18-20; Jeremiah 25:9; Isaiah 10:5 ff). God gave Nebuchadnezzar such greatness that he exercised unhampered, unrestrained power. No one told him what to do. The whole world was under his power.

Daniel 5:20-21 BUT. HIS HEART WAS LIFTED UP. With such power and glory as Nebuchadnezzar had one would think he was justified in being proud. But when he lifted up his heart and did not give glory to the Most High God, divine correction was needed and instigated, (see chapter 4 for comments on Nebuchadnezzar's chastening). Now the point is thishow much more does the proud and haughty Belshazzar deserve the chastening of the Most High God for he has hardly turned his hand in order to be in the position he holds. He has not even the slightest reason to boasthe has come to the throne by circumstances of birth and not by effort.

Daniel 5:22-23. THOU KNEWEST ALL THIS. BUT HAST LIFTED UP THYSELF AGAINST THE LORD OF HEAVEN. There is no questioning the theology of these verses. Even pagan kings are held morally responsible by God. All men are accountable to learn moral and religious lessons from history. By means of events in nature and history God reveals His existence and His character (in a limited way, of course) (cf. Acts 14:15-18; Acts 17:22-31; Romans 1:18-23; Psalms 19:1 ff., etc.) and all men everywhere are expected to learn what God approves and what He disapproves. If there is one lesson the prophets teach it is the sovereignty of God in politics, private and public morals, over all men, saint and sinner, pagan and patriarch alike. And if there is one thing history teaches it is that, generally speaking, kings and potentates (and mankind at large) have followed the course of Belshazzararrogance, materialism, pride and indifference to the lessons of history! History teaches that civilization commits spiritual, moral, and intellectual suicide when it makes for itself and worships impotent, false gods. Yet men of every generation insist on remaining blind to this lesson from history. Every generation makes and worships its own gods and each generation destroys itself spiritually, morally and intellectually all over again. Barnes says: Nothing is more absolute than the power which God holds over the breath of men, yet there is nothing which is less recognized than that power, and nothing which men are less disposed to acknowledge than their dependence on him for it.

QUIZ

1.

Was Daniel insolent in his answer to the king in Daniel 5:17?

2.

How does Daniel prepare the king's mind for the moral lesson he wants to teach?

3.

What is the point of relating Nebuchadnezzar's downfall?

4.

Was Belshazzar not responsible since he was not a Jew?

5.

How many people usually learn moral lessons from history?