Daniel chapter 5, I will be reading verses 1 through 31. Here, for this is the word of the Lord. King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine in front of the thousand. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king's color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him. His limbs gave way and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. The king declared to the wise men of Babylon, whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king's wise men came in. But they could not read the writing, or make known to the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed, and his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you, or your color change. There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. 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 the chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show you its interpretation. Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. I have heard of you that the Spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. 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. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar, your father, kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed. and whom he would, he kept alive. Whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and His mind was made like that of a beast, and His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and His body was wet with the dew of heaven, until He knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom He will. And you, His son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this. but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his house have been brought in 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, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways, you have not honored. Then from his presence the hand was sent, And this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed. Mene, mene, tekel, and parson. This is the interpretation of the matter. Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Perez, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple. A chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night, Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. Thanks be to God for his holy word. In Daniel chapter 5, we transition immediately to a new generation. It was about 539 BC, about 23 years after Nebuchadnezzar's reign, following the reign of Nebonidas. And so we open up to a new king, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar. Although he will be mentioned in passing in the chapters that follow, Belshazzar's contributions and achievements will not be mentioned at all. It is not that he didn't achieve anything, but the divine author is trying to depict Belshazzar in a certain light. Here he is depicted as an insignificant king in comparison to his father. His father's accomplishments are recorded in four consecutive chapters, while Belshazzar is given a fraction of the space in four verses. Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem and brought back some of the elites of their society and vessels of gold from the temple. He built a large golden statue for himself, And he built a palace, which would be known for one of the seven wonders of the world with its hanging gardens, which he built for his wife, Queen Amidas. And what did Belshazzar accomplish? He threw a party. Now, it was a fairly large party, a large party with very important people. In fact, there were a thousand of his lords present, and he invited them all over for some wine. Now, there is no problem with having a feast or drinking wine. The problem is introduced when he commanded that the vessels of gold and silver that his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem, the house of God, to be brought to him, so that himself, his lords, his wives, and his concubines might all drink wine from them. So not only are there little to no achievements mentioned on behalf of Belshazzar, but also, he didn't even provide the vessels for his own party. His father was the one who took the vessels from Jerusalem, not him. All that he would accomplish would be debauchery. This was a clear slap in the face of God's people and a challenge to God himself. He defaced the holy vessels. And not only that, but they would drink wine and praise the gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. They took vessels that were consecrated for God's use, defiled them by drinking wine, and used these vessels to worship man-made and lifeless gods. It was idolatry. And these gods were not the only objects that were lifeless at this party, but those who were in attendance were lifeless as well. This is a clear demonstration of an empty life. It is a life pursuing that which gives no life at all. Although this occurred 2,500 years ago, it is still relevant today, isn't it? It hits us at home. There are countless preachers and pulpits and churches around the world that misuse the Holy Scriptures for their own use, their own agendas, especially around election season. or their own promotion, especially in the health and wealth prosperity gospel. But not only that, how often do we use that which God has given us as gifts to be enjoyed with thanksgiving, yet we pervert their use? Such as food, clothing, entertainment, sex, alcohol, or even our own relationships. How often do we use these things that God blessed us with as gifts for our own advancement and our own selfish pleasures rather than for the glory of God, which is basically to use these gifts that God has given us within the parameters that God has set up for us. The Belshazzar's sin prompted a response from God. It says that immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. And much like his father before him, Belshazzar's thoughts alarmed him when he saw what God had revealed to him. But for Belshazzar, it was a bit worse. He was completely undone. It says that his color changed and his legs gave way. That's another way of saying that he lost control of his bodily functions and fluids. In other words, he wet his pants and his knees knocked together. His response to God's revelation was similar to his father's in that he called on the wise men of Babylon, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers to interpret this for him. He even promised them a reward. He shall be clothed with purple. which was an expensive color to wear in ancient culture. And so it was a symbol of status. And he would have a chain of gold around his neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. That would be a lofty promotion for whoever interprets the handwriting on the wall. But as has been the case with Nebuchadnezzar, these wise men could not read nor interpret the writing on the wall. At this point, I'm wondering why they still have a job. They couldn't do it for Nebuchadnezzar and they couldn't do it for Belshazzar. Then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed and his color changed again. He was left flabbergasted and his lords were left confused. But just like any struggling husband, here enters his wife to help him in his time of need. I'm guessing this is his head wife aside from all the other wives and concubines he had because she is given the title here as the queen. Now this would have been somewhat humiliating for Belshazzar because of the low view of women in ancient cultures. Women weren't viewed as helpers as they were created. They were viewed more as property or livestock. For a woman to step in and give the answers would have made Belshazzar seem weak and unfit to rule. Thankfully, that is not how we view women in the church today. And we are thankful to have so many strong women who can share a bit of their wisdom with us men when we are in need of some assistance. which is more often than we dare to admit. So the queen comes in the banqueting hall and encourages her husband. She says, oh king, live forever. Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. Why? Remember Daniel? 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, enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret genes, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show you the interpretation. Now, Belshazzar probably didn't enjoy being undermined or outgunned by his own wife, and he would go on to take it out on Daniel once he was brought before him. He starts off by addressing him as Daniel, not the chief of the wise men, but he said, you are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah that my dad captured and brought over to Babylon. And he had serious doubts about Daniel's abilities. And as he said, I have heard of you. Not that I believe what I have heard, but I heard that the spirit of the gods, or a better translation would be the spirit of God, is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. The wise men could not read nor interpret the writing on the wall, but I have heard that you, Daniel, can give me the interpretation and solve these problems. And if Daniel could read and interpret the handwriting on the wall, Belshazzar promised him the same reward that he promised the wise men of Babylon. You shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Now, judging by his tone, although Daniel already held a position of authority, Belshazzar was trying to make sure Daniel was put in his place. But I believe that Daniel already knew his place as he has exemplified in his service to Nebuchadnezzar before him. He knew his place as a servant of the king, but he also knew his place as a servant of God, as a prophet, and most importantly, as a child of God. See, he bore many responsibilities and wore many hats. And this is seen in the way he responds to Belshazzar. Now Daniel's tone is clearly not the same as when he served Nebuchadnezzar, yet he was still submissive as a servant to the new king. He said in response to Belshazzar, kindly and respectfully, keep your stuff. Let your gifts be for yourself. and give your rewards to another. I'm not doing this for any reward. I will read and interpret the handwriting on the wall, free of charge, because it is my duty as a servant. But first, I will tell you why there is a message on the wall for you. And he tells him why. He compares him to his father. Don't you love when people do that to you? You look just like your father. But that's not the case with Belshazzar. He said, O king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive. Whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. And when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. And here is where we see the sum of what Belshazzar truly accomplished. Whatever his greatness was, he did not follow in his father's footsteps. He said, and you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And you had those vessels taken from God's house to use with all your company, to drink wine, praising your man-made gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which have no eyes to see, no ears to hear, and no mind to know and to think. They're just empty, lifeless blocks. That is the definition of foolishness. But the God in whose hand is your breath, in whose are all your ways, You have not honored. There lies the difference. Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself before God while Belshazzar hardened himself against God. Isn't that the fear of every coming generation? That the next generation would harden themselves against God. We see two important truths here. the responsibility of man to humble himself before God, and the sovereignty of God. He basically said that God was the one who gave his father greatness, power, and glory. God is the one who gives every king or ruler or president greatness, power, and glory. He raised him up, and guess what? He brought him down when he was proud and did not honor God. This is a twofold message. It is a warning, not only to leaders, but to everyone, that God is not mocked. There comes a day of judgment. It may not be swift, and it may not be right away. It may not happen the way it happened for Nebuchadnezzar, and it may not happen the way it happened for Belshazzar, but we know it will happen. And also, this is a call to humility, especially for Christians today. I've said this before, and I'll keep saying it. We do not need to sit around and speculate, how did so-and-so get elected? We know it was by vote, but ultimately, God is the one who put him there, and he put him there for a reason. For what reason? You don't need to know. You don't need to know, but what we know is that in the end, it will serve God's glory. Again, the message that Belshazzar should have gotten out of this was that his responsibility in the matter was to repent of his sin and believe in the Lord, to follow in his father's footsteps, but instead, he hearted himself against God and worshiped idols. Today, We may not have a warning come to us in the form of handwriting on the wall. But what we do have are the writings in the Holy Scriptures. Scripture clearly tells us the fate of all those who have turned their backs on the Lord Jesus Christ to worship idols. Our calling is to turn from our dead and empty idols and serve the living God. Now, many of us will think and remember what Paul said when he spoke about Pharaoh. He said, what shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. But remember also that Belshazzar as well as Pharaoh hardened themselves against God. It is a both and, not either or. Belshazzar's responsibility and our responsibility is to turn to the Lord from our idols. And so was his end, as it was prophesied in the handwriting on the wall. Daniel goes on to interpret it. Then from his, God's presence, the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed. Mene, mene, tekel, and parsen. This handwriting is in Aramaic, and they are verbs. If we were to read them as in their original meaning, these are a series of weights often used as currency from greater to smaller. Mina, or mene, to shekel, or tekel, which is one sixtieth of a mina, to a half shekel, or perez. But Daniel reads them as a series of verbs. Mene, God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end. Tekel, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting. Perez, your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Notice how Persians sounds a lot like Parson or Perez. So it is said, numbered, numbered, weighed, divided. That was his kingdom. And wasn't this prophesied in Daniel's first interpretation of Belshazzar's father's dream in chapter 2? The statue with the head of gold, but feet of iron and clay. A lesser kingdom. The Medes and the Persians would conquer a greater kingdom, and on and on it goes until Christ sets up his kingdom. And the declining weights reminds us of the declining nature, not only of the kingdoms that follow Babylon, but of the Babylonian kingdom itself. We can say that the dream was fulfilled within Babylon before it was fulfilled in the lesser kingdoms that took over. Isn't that the case for most fallen nations? Nations tend to self-destruct within before another nation takes over. Belshazzar proved to be the feet of iron and clay within Babylon. We're not sure of Belshazzar's reaction at this point, but he rewarded Daniel with what he promised, so at least he did something good. Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, And a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. And that very night, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about 62 years old. We must admit that our tendency is to stand in amazement at some of the wealth and power that some people possess. We are impressed by all the glitz and the glam and we often imagine ourselves in the celebrity's shoes. In fact, we tell our children, you can be like him or you can be like her someday. In every generation, we know the names of the Solomon-like figures who either owned large corporations or held celebrity status or who end up calling the shots by influencing the masses. And some of those people feed off of public attention and worship. And at times, we are the ones who are at fault, because we are the ones who idolize them and their attractiveness. We are the ones who covet their status and their position in the world. But this sad story of Belshazzar should teach us that all the wealth and power that someone may possess is only temporary. It's only temporary. The celebrity status comes and goes and many are left wanting. How many families are torn apart over money? And like the old saying goes, more money, more problems. All the money in the world does not satisfy for very long. All the money we fought over will not matter when we are on the edge of eternity. Again, This story should remind us of the rich fool who planned to knock down his smaller barns to build bigger ones in their place. And once this was accomplished, his plan was to feast every day. It was like an early retirement, all for himself. But God interrupted his plans, and he said, fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? And the problem was not the fact that he wanted to feast. The problem was not the fact that he was rich. The problem was the fact that he was not rich toward God. He made himself an object of worship, just like Belshazzar, who stood before the thousand and drank wine in front of them. He wanted to be worshiped. Belshazzar hardened himself completely against God, to pursue a life of unbridled lust, to live life to the fullest, quote unquote, not realizing that his greatest threat was lurking right outside his palace gates in the Medo-Persians, and that his soul would be demanded that very night. And so it is the warning for all of us, how we need to turn from our idols now, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and live for Him before our souls are demanded of us. Now, even if we have little knowledge of who is who in the celebrity world, even if we despise celebrities as that has been the growing self-righteous sentiment lately from certain camps, Yet we all know this by way of experience. None of us are immune to the sins of Belshazzar, because we ourselves are often much like Belshazzar. We may not be kings, we may not be as rich as Belshazzar, but we know that the same depraved heart resides in all of us. As John Calvin said, our hearts are idle factories. Our lives become about doing things our own way rather than God's way. It becomes just a pursuit of life, of ease and feasting. We all want to eat, drink, and be merry even if it means to deny our obligations to God. Think of our family vacations. How often on our family vacations do we set apart the Lord's Day, and at least try to investigate if there is a local church nearby that we may attend. And we also know that we can turn the smallest possessions, the smallest achievements, even good things, into idols, specifically when we forget to acknowledge our Creator, when we forget to acknowledge that all the good things that we have come from Him, and He is the one who gives, and He is the one who takes away. when we forget to give thanks when He has blessed us with so much that we do not deserve. Or maybe we have turned our nation into an idol. Maybe we believe that as long as we have all of our weapons, our military might, our freedom, our money, and our strength, and live up to the title, the greatest nation in the world, that God will never bring us down and that we will never fall. He brought down Babylon in one night. I think there have been many occasions in the last decade that should cause us to mourn for our nation. Not because the person or party we wanted to win lost the election or won the election. No. Because neither the president nor the party can change the hearts of men. We should be mourning over the state of souls and the sin that surrounds us today at every level, including that sin which still remains within each and every one of us personally. It's easy to look around at others and shake our heads, but it is more difficult to look at ourselves and ask, where are my blind spots? Where are the false idols that I worship? that I place before God. When we truly examine it from this perspective, we realize how much we deserve the same fate as Belshazzar. But also, we should realize how much mercy God has shown us in that we haven't experienced the same fate as Belshazzar. So we should be aware of our own idolatry. We should be aware of our own covetousness. We should be aware even of entering worship on the Lord's day carelessly. Rather, as the author of Hebrews says, that we are to offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire. Do we remind ourselves of that when we walk through those doors? This text ought to remind us that all of our idols are empty, and they will be judged as well, and they will be found wanting. Belshazzar's false gods couldn't save him, but the true God of the Scriptures can and does save those who call on Him. He delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace when they refused to worship false idols. He will also deliver sinners who have been awakened to their idols. Sinners who have learned from Nebuchadnezzar, not Belshazzar. Sinners who call on the name of Jesus because God is also rich in mercy. We should stand in amazement at who God is and what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Ask ourselves, what have our idols done for us? They're empty and lifeless. Although I deserve what Belshazzar received, yet God in his mercy does not treat me, he does not treat you as little Belshazzars, but he treats you as his little children. God demonstrated how His kingdom is much different than the kingdom of Babylon, the kingdom of Belshazzar, the kingdoms of this world. Jesus, the King of all kings, arrived humbly in this world. He had little to no possessions. He had very few followers, unlike Belshazzar. As Isaiah said, He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He wasn't a mighty worldly emperor with worldly glory like Caesar. But he did feast. He feasted with his disciples in intimate and solemn occasions. He even feasted at a wedding in Cana, where he provided the wine. And let me tell you, their feasts last for a long time. I think it goes for about a week. And he feasted there. He didn't have to use holy vessels. He was the holy vessel. And if God was to weigh him in the balances, he would not be found wanting. Rather, he would be found as God's beloved son in whom he is well pleased. He met all of God's demands of perfect holiness and righteousness. He died for sinners at the hands of sinners. so that we would be counted as righteous in God's sight. And now he sits at his right hand awaiting his marriage feast, the day when he would be wed to his bride, the church. There, there will be no more sin, no more death, no more judgment, and no more tears. There will be no more divisions. All nations, tribes, and tongues will be one in Christ. There is a feast waiting for those who have had their eyes and hearts opened by the grace of God, who have been humbled before the cross of Christ. And we have been invited to this feast undeservedly, undeservedly. So the question is, have you bowed the knee to Christ? Now is the time. Learn from Belshazzar's fate and then turn your eyes upon Jesus as we sung earlier. Fix them there. Whenever your idols seek your attention, seek Jesus. Whenever you fall to your idols, turn to Jesus. Whenever your sin rises up, this is a reminder that Christ rises far higher and loves you far deeper than any of your idols. And we should rejoice and sing the hymn by Charles Wesley. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died he for me who caused this pain, for me who him to death pursued? Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Amen.