Daniel, Steadfast in Crisis

GOLDEN TEXT: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” —Ephesians 6:10

DANIEL 5:1,5,13,14, 16-18, 22-28

DANIEL, one of the Hebrew captives in Babylon, was a man of integrity and courage. Under King Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel had been exalted to the high position of Prime Minister of the realm. Yet withal he had remained humble, and was faithful to Jehovah, who used him mightily as a prophet. While highly placed in the Babylonian government, Daniel’s first loyalty was to God and to his own people, whom he served faithfully and efficiently.

The background of today’s lesson is the period following Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, when Belshazzar, his son (or grandson—see margin vss. 2 and 11) was the supreme ruler of Babylon. He should have profited from the lessons Jehovah taught to Nebuchadnezzar, but seemingly he did not. This is apparent from the circumstances at the great feast which he prepared for a thousand of his lords.

To add glamour to the feast, Belshazzar commanded that the golden and silver vessels which had been taken from the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem by his father be brought into the banquet hall, “that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.” “They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.”

Here was willful defiance of the true and living God, and it was not permitted to go unchecked. Throughout the long ages of the reign of sin and death God has seldom interfered in the affairs of men, allowing them to go in their own sinful ways. The exceptions to this have been in cases where the interests of his own people were at stake, and this was the situation in Babylon.

In the kingdom of Judah—which was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar—the kings ruled as God’s representatives. It was a theocratic form of government, in which the people governed were, by covenant and profession, God’s people. But this arrangement ended with the overthrow of Judah’s last king, Zedekiah. It was then that God granted a lease of power to a certain succession of Gentile governments, beginning with Babylon.

These governments have not represented God in the earth, but have been used by him to preserve a measure of order sufficient to make possible the outworking of God’s providences in connection with his own people as he has carried forward the various aspects of his own kingdom plan. At the time of out lesson God’s people were held captive in Babylon, and he proposed to deliver them when his own due time came. The prophecies revealed that this would be accomplished by Cyrus, not a Babylonian king. This meant that Babylon was to be conquered by the Medes end Persians, and now the time had come for this change to be brought about.

Thousands have mocked the true God and he has done nothing about it. But in the case of Belshazzar, God was concerned with the interests of his own people, and the king’s banquet, at which he defied the God of heaven, was an auspicious moment for divine intervention and the manifestation of divine power. So, suddenly, at the height of the feast, there appeared a hand inscribing a message on the wall of the banquet hall.

The king was frightened, as well he might be. He sent for his own wise-men—“the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the sooth-sayers”—to interpret what had been written. (ch. 5:7) They were unable to do so. Then the king’s wife reminded him of Daniel, “in whom is the spirit of the holy gods,” and who had, on different occasions, been so helpful to Nebuchadnezzar.

The Lord gave Daniel the explanation, but it was not a pleasant one for Belshazzar. First, he reminded the king that God had given his father or grandfather, a kingdom, and when he became exalted with a sense of his own importance, had humbled him. Daniel said, “And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven.”

Then Daniel gave the king the interpretation of the handwriting on the wall—“God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.

Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. … Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” It was in the strength of the Lord, as suggested by our Golden Text, that Daniel was able to deliver this bold message.

Although Daniel had declined it, Belshazzar had promised him a royal robe and a gold chain for his neck if he could interpret the handwriting. He also promised to make him the third ruler in the kingdom. Now that he had given the interpretation, the king kept his promise. His orders concerning Daniel were the last he gave, for in that very night he was slain. Babylon had fallen.

QUESTIONS

What was the key to Daniel’s success as a civil ruler, and his favor with God?

Why was God interested in the affairs of Babylon and the empires which followed?

Relate the story of Belshazzar’s feast, and Daniel’s role in connection with it.

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