132 - The Writing is On The Wall

The Drunk King

This chapter starts off by telling us that Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar's son has taken his father's place on the throne.

There is no agreement as to whose son he was.  

• This king was not the immediate successor of Nebuchadnezzar, ... the truth is, that he was the son of Evilmerodach, and grandson of Nebuchadnezzar. Gill.  
• Belshazzar ... reigned after Evil-merodach, who reigned instead of Nebuchadnezzar, and (he, Belshazzar) too was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. Rashi.  
• The word "son" can be Used also for descendant. Fausset's Dictionary.

Bible commentaries say that that day Belshazzar and his army won a battle against the armies of the Medes and the Persians.  To celebrate the victory Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Dan. 5:1.  Big mistake; that same night while the king and his lords were stone drunk the Medes and the Persians attacked the city and captured it.

It is also interesting that the phrase, Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand, the meaning of which is, he was drinking with his buddies.  In the Jewish Bible it reads like this, King Belshazzar made a great feast for his one thousand dignitaries, and he drank as much wine as the thousand.  I have trouble believing that, unless his war buddies were all teetotalers, and I have even more trouble believing that. 

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, and of bronze, of iron, of wood, and of stone. At that moment fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote on the plaster of the wall. 

And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's face was changed, (he turned pale) and his thoughts troubled him, (he was "scared out of his wits") so that, (so much so that) the joints of his loins were loosened, (in plain English this means that he "soiled his pants"), and his knees knocked against one another (bumped and knocked). Rashi. 5:4-6. 

Then all the king's wise men came in. But they could not read the writing. Dan 5:8.   There is much-convoluted discussion as to why the wise men could not read the writing on the wall.  Adam Clake keeps the answer simple; Because it was in the pure Hebrew, not the Chaldean character.  This answer seems a bit too simple.  Since the Jews had been captive in Babylon for almost seventy years it is astonishing that none of the wise men would have bothered to learn Hebrew.

The queen came into the banquet house because of the king's words. 5:10.  The king had been drinking with his wives and concubines, but the queen, it seems, was above that type of debauchery and did not come to the party until ordered to by the king.  

It is believed, by some, that she was the widow of Nebuchadnezzar in which case it is probable that she was not invited. 

Pride - That slithery Serpent

Daniel, speaking about Nebuchadnezzar, to Belshazzar, said, when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was put down from the throne of his kingdom, and they took his glory from him ... until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomever He will. And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. 5:20-22.  

Solomon had accurately said, Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18.

Why is it that younger people cannot learn from the bad experiences of those who have walked the same road ahead of them.  

• Young people take up smoking, seemingly because they believe that they are immune to lung cancer. 
• Young people refuse to wear seat belts because they believe they are younger and consequently sharper and have a quicker response time.  They may be and they may have but what good does that do while the car is rolling down the walls of the ravine. 
• Young people take up "drugs" completely disregarding the fact that it will, in some way, lead to an early grave, or, at best, to a wasted life.

The young man, Belshazzar, should have known better but death was the price he paid for his pride.

And this is the writing that was written, A MINA, A MINA, A SHEKEL, AND HALF-MINAS. This is the meaning of the thing: A MINA, God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. A SHEKEL, You are weighed in the balances and found wanting. HALF-MINAS, Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. 5:25-28.

Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet and a golden chain around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. 5:29.  Well, big deal, the kingdom came to an end that night.  

In that night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed. 5:30.  

For a totally different viewpoint on this chapter, I suggest:

 http://spaceshiptheology.blogspot.com/2013/09/eo-cast-daniel-prognosticator.html