Sunday
Morning Bible Study
May
12, 2013
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church
loved?
Mother’s Day –
Kids and treats.
Brittany Buttram
– play World
Race video clip
Introduction
Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC after reigning for 43 years.
Several of Nebuchadnezzar’s sons fought and assassinated their way to the
throne until 556 BC, when one of the sons-in-law, Nabonidus
took the throne and ruled for 17 years.
Nabonidus didn’t like staying at home and spent
most of his time on the battlefield and building pagan temples.
While he was away, he had appointed his son, Belshazzar as “co-regent” to
rule with equal authority from Babylon.
It is now the year 539 BC. The Persian Empire is on the rise. For the last 11 years, Cyrus has conquered
all the Babylonian Empire except for the city of Babylon. He has even defeated Belshazzar’s father Nabonidus out in the field.
At this point, the city of Babylon is under siege.
5:1-12 Belshazzar’s Feast
:1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a
thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand.
:1 Belshazzar the king
Daniel’s Babylonian name was Belteshazzar. Don’t get the two confused.
:1 the king made a great feast
Play Babylon City clip.
The city of Babylon was huge. It was
surrounded by an inner wall, a moat, and an outer wall what was 350 feet tall
and 87 feet thick.
The river Euphrates ran through the center of the city, from north to
south, through great brass gates.
The city was so large, that it had its own internal farms, and with water
from the river Euphrates, it was thought that Babylon could survive a siege of
20 years.
So what’s Belshazzar doing making a feast when he’s under siege?
He’s thumbing his nose at the world.
He’s telling the world that he’s invincible.
Pay attention here – some parties don’t turn out the way we intend them to.
Illustration
A wealthy businessman hosted a spectacular party in which he had filled his
swimming pool with sharks, barracuda, and other assorted dangerous fish. He
announced to his guests that he would like to challenge any of them to try
swimming across the pool, and he would offer a first prize of either a new home
in the mountains, a trip around the world for two, or a piece of his business.
No sooner had he made the announcement than there was a splash and a man swam
rapidly across the infested waters and bounded up out on the other side. The
millionaire said to the dripping man, “That was a stunning performance. What
prize do you want?” He answered tersely, “Right now I really don’t care about
the prize. I just want to get the name of the turkey who
pushed me in.”
:2 While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the
command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar
had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and
his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them.
:3 Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple
of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his
lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
:4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold
and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.
:2 while he tasted the wine
The implication is that he wouldn’t
be doing the blasphemous things he’s doing unless he’s drunk.
:2 gold and silver vessels
He is taking these vessels that were intended for use in the Jerusalem
Temple to worship God, and he is using them to get drunk with and to celebrate
other gods.
Perhaps the usage of the holy vessels
was to remind Belshazzar’s guests that Babylon was greater than any God,
including Yahweh, the God of Jerusalem.
Lesson
Vessel Abuse
We are like those special, holy vessels.
We were meant for God’s use, and not drunken parties.
(2 Ti 2:20–21
NKJV) —20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver,
but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. 21 Therefore
if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor,
sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
You have things in your house meant for honor, like your
prized pitcher you serve your best ice-tea in.
You have vessels for dishonor, like the toilet bowl…
Play Toilet
Drinking Dog clip
Some of the things we do with our bodies are about as lovely
as the dog drinking out of the toilet.
And to make things worse, sometimes the kids are watching.
You were meant to be a vessel of “honor”.
Your body was meant to be something that God wants to use, to do good
works for.
(1 Pe 1:15–16 NKJV) but as
He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16
because it is written, “Be holy, for I
am holy.”
The word “holy”
means “set apart”. It means that
something has been set apart for a special use.
We usually
consider our toothbrush to be “holy”.
Most people would gag at the idea of using someone else’s toothbrush.
God considers you
“holy”. He wants you to be “holy”.
He wants you to be
used for His purposes.
There was an old
bumper sticker that read, “You touch-a my truck, I break-a you face”. The truck is meant for it’s owner’s use.
God wants your
body to be used for what He wants it used for.
Paul wrote,
(1 Co 6:19–20 NKJV) —19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy
Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20
For you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
:4 gold and silver, bronze and
iron
Not only is simply saying that they
were praising all the “gods”, but the materials remind me of Nebuchadnezzar’s
dream back in Daniel 2.
Nebuchadnezzar dreamt of a huge
statue made of various materials – gold, silver, bronze, and iron.
It was a prophetic dream telling
Nebuchadnezzar that he, the “head of gold”, would be have his kingdom replaced
by succeeding kingdoms of inferior quality.
When Nebuchadnezzar built his
statue in Daniel 3, all of gold, it was as if he had been saying to God that he
would not be replaced by anyone. He was
trying to say his kingdom would last forever.
Yet now Nebuchadnezzar is dead, and
his kingdom is about to be conquered by the next kingdom.
:5 In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand
appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the
king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.
:5 the fingers of a man’s hand
It’s a strange thing that happens. A
disconnected hand appears and starts writing on the wall. The “hand” kind of reminds me of “Thing” from
the Addams Family …
Play Addams Family
Thing clip. Our “hand” has a message
too…
:6 Then the king’s countenance changed, and his
thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his
knees knocked against each other.
:7 The king cried aloud to bring in the
astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the
wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have
a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the
kingdom.”
:8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but
they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
:9 Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his
countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
This is where we get the phrase, “the writing on the wall”
The writing was visible. Everyone
could see it on the wall, but they didn’t understand what it meant.
:10 The queen, because of the words of the king
and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let
your countenance change.
:11 There is a man in your kingdom in whom is
the Spirit of the Holy God. And 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, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
:12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting
dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom
the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be
called, and he will give the interpretation.”
:10 The queen spoke
This is most likely Belshazzar’s mom. She was a special mom…
Lesson
Mom’s Wisdom
Belshazzar doesn’t know who he should ask for answers.
It takes a word from his mother to help him realize that there are good people
who know important answers, and they are older than him.
How do I know whose advice I ought to be paying attention to?
When I was growing up, there was a
saying that went around among my generation that went like this, “Don’t trust
anyone over the age of 30”.
Sometimes the older generation
doesn’t stay in touch with what’s important and you can’t trust what they say.
But there are some who you ought to
pay attention to. There are those who
have acquired “wisdom” over the years.
James gives us a great snapshot of what that wisdom looks like:
(Jas
3:17 ESV) But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
Are there people in your life that you can see have worked
hard to cultivate these qualities? Those
are people you ought to be paying attention to when you are looking for advice.
I find it interesting that
Belshazzar and his wise men have apparently forgotten about Daniel.
Perhaps it’s
because he was just old. Perhaps Daniel
had “retired”.
(Le 19:32 NKJV) ‘You
shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and
fear your God: I am the Lord.
Sometimes wisdom comes from people close to you, like your parents
It’s Belshazzar’s mom that has the key to finding the answer.
Mom’s wisdom will point Belshazzar to Daniel
5:13-31 The Writing on the Wall
:13 Then Daniel was brought in before the king.
The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of
the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?
Daniel is probably in his eighties now.
Good answers can come from old people.
:14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is
in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found
in you.
:15 Now the wise men, the astrologers, have
been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to
me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing.
:16 And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations
and explain enigmas. 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.”
:17 Then Daniel answered, and said before the
king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I
will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
:17 Let your gifts be for
yourself
Some people think they can pay their
way out of anything. But God’s help can’t be bought.
Some people who are supposed to be
“helpful” think they must always charge for their services.
Daniel is there to be used by
God. He’s not there for the money.
:18 O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar
your father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor.
:19 And because of the majesty that He gave him,
all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he
wished, he executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he
set up; and whomever he wished, he put down.
:20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his
spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they
took his glory from him.
:21 Then he was driven from the sons of men, his
heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild
donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew
of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and
appoints over it whomever He chooses.
:22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled
your heart, although you knew all this.
:22 you …have not humbled your heart
This is Daniel recalling the event that we looked at last week in Daniel
4. Nebuchadnezzar had gone too far with
his pride, and God humbled him until he learned to look up to God. Now Belshazzar is going to learn the same
lesson.
Lesson
Learn from others
You don’t have to learn everything
the hard way.
You can learn from what others go
through.
:23 And you have lifted yourself up against the
Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house 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, bronze and iron, wood and stone,
which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in
His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.
:24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from
Him, and this writing was written.
:25 “And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
:25 MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
The inscription was written in Aramaic, a language that the people in the
room would understand. To the average
person in the room, this could look like a financial statement based on
shekels.
The Mina (mene) was worth about 50 shekels.
Tekel was another word for a single shekel
Upharsin was a half-shekel.
Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin = 101 ½ shekels
The problem isn’t reading the words, it’s
understanding what they mean.
:26 This is the interpretation of each
word. Mene:
God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
:26 God has numbered your kingdom
Mene is
based on the verb menah,
which means to number or calculate.
The kingdom of Babylon had reached its last number. It is finished.
:27 Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and
found wanting;
:27 weighed in the balances
Tekel (shekel) is not just a coin,
it’s a measurement of weight.
Belshazzar has been put on the scales and come up a bit short.
:28 Peres:
Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
:28 Your kingdom has been divided
Peres (or the other form upharsin) means
to break in two (half shekel)
Belshazzar’s kingdom has been split up in the Medo-Persian
Empire.
Ironically, the word for “Persians”
is a similar, related word.
:29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they
clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and
made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the
kingdom.
:29 the third ruler
Belshazzar keeps his word and promotes Daniel to be the “third ruler”. Belshazzar and his father Nabonidus
were the first two rulers.
Lucky Daniel. He becomes “king for a day”, or better “king
for an hour”.
:30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the
Chaldeans, was slain.
:31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being
about sixty-two years old.
:31 Darius the Mede
Darius is the fellow that Emperor Cyrus puts in charge of Babylon.
:30 That very night Belshazzar…was slain
That very night the city of Babylon
fell.
King Cyrus of Persia had been engineering an ingenious plan for Babylon's
fall.
Half of his army was on the north of the city, the other half on the south,
both on the edge of the Euphrates.
He had his army build a canal and divert the river, allowing his army to enter
through the river bed. To their
surprise, the gates in the river were not locked.
The city surrendered without a fight on October 12, 539 BC.
This was all prophesied long ago by the prophet Isaiah:
(Is 45:1–3 NKJV)
—1 “Thus says the Lord
to His anointed, To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held— To subdue nations
before him And loose the armor of kings, To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut: 2 ‘I will go before you And make the crooked places straight; I will
break in pieces the gates of bronze And cut the bars of iron. 3 I will
give you the treasures of darkness And hidden riches
of secret places, That you may know that I, the Lord, Who call you by your name, Am the God of
Israel.
Before Cyrus was even born, God named him, had foretold
the fall of Babylon, complete with Belshazzar’s knocking knees (loose the armor
of kings – AV & NAS has “loose the loins of kings”) and unlocked river
gates.
:27 weighed … and found wanting
Some people have this notion that when they get to the gates of heaven,
they will face a cosmic scale with all their bad deeds on one side and all
their good deeds on the other. If their
good deeds are more than their bad deeds, they go to heaven. If their bad deeds are more than the good
deeds, they go to hell.
People actually think that their good deeds will outweigh all the bad.
The mistake comes from thinking too little of the consequences of your sin.
You think that donating $20 to the Red Cross makes up for that lie you told
your mom.
Here’s what the actual price tag is for your sin:
(Ro 6:23a NKJV) For the
wages of sin is death…
Sin results in death.
If you want to balance the scale, there has to be a death (and
go to hell) for each act of rebellion against God.
Lesson
The Gift of God
It is impossible for you to balance the scale, but it is not impossible for
God.
(Ro 6:23 NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God offers you salvation as a free gift, you could
never afford it on your own.
This is why Jesus came to earth. He
came to die in your place and pay for your sins.
And because Jesus was God in human flesh, He didn’t
just lay down a single life to pay for your sins, He laid down an infinite
life.
He can pay for all of your sins. And all of mine. Enough for the whole world if they will simply believe in Him.
And that’s what you need in order to receive this “gift” of
salvation, you must believe in Him. You
must turn from your sin and turn to trust in God.
(Jn 1:12 NKJV) But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to
those who believe in His name: