Good Morning! - Dan 5:2-4 - The Folly of Belshazzar

Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone (Dan 5:2-4)

Did Belshazzar exist? Critics used him for a long time to "prove" that the Book of Daniel was an unreliable myth. Historians and archeologists of later time set that idea on its head. "Belshazzar did exist and was actually co-regent in Babylon at the time of the Persian conquest. Nebuchadnezzar was his "father" (Dan 5:2) in the ancestral sense. In the British Museum there is a clay cylinder of writing by Nabonidus, King of Babylon, which mentions his son Belshazzar. A clay tablet pictures Nabonidus worshipping the moon, sun, and Venus. This link to Encyclopedia Britannica will enable you to go inside but only skin-deep without paying.

Belshazzar's father, Nabonidus, "was either a son or son-in-law of Nebuchadnezar and was king at the time but in Arabia on an archaeological reconstruction project. The Medo-Persian army was outside of Babylon and possibly had either captured Nabonidus or at least had cut him off from returning to the city. Belshazzar, ruling in his father's place, and knowing of the threat to the city but feeling secure behind its great walls, had the effrontery to make a great feast and drink wine in praise to Babylon's many nature gods." (Morris—The Defender's Study Bible)

The Bible says little about Belshazzar. "His deeds were hardly worth reporting. He is best known for the ignoble and insolent act committed while under the influence of alcohol. People outdo themselves in wickedness when they are overpowered by a pseudo boldness and the absence of restraint produced by the alcohol demon. One of the perils of strong drink is that it too often carries away the drinker to do and say foolish and fatal things…." (Strauss).

"He wished to make a display; to do something unusually surprising; and, though it had not been contemplated when the festival was appointed to make use of these vessels, yet, under the excitement of wine, nothing was too sacred to be introduced to the scenes of intoxication; nothing too foolish to be done" (Barnes).

"This was as far as it was possible for human daring to go. It was more than the powers of Heaven could quietly endure" (Seiss). "The Most High God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, but even with the God of compassion there must come the day of judgment" (Strauss).

There remains today the term: "Babylonianism." The idolatrous rebellion of the ancient Babylonians is alive and well and is the driving engine of the one-world government that is swiftly coming upon us. Peace is not to be found when the entire world stops its warring and the poor are all fed. That's not going to happen until the Prince of Peace comes and with great might and power becomes the world's one ruler. Then there will be world peace and then there will no hunger. He will rule with a rod of iron and those who know Him will rule and reign with Him.

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Rev 20:6)

Memory Verse

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2Ch 7:14)

Good Morning! - Dan 5:1 - The Feast of Belshazzar

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. (Dan 5:1)

In 538 B.C. Belshazzar threw one of the most unusual parties in known history. He was a tag-along on the coat tails of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar who had died 23 years earlier. A strong, well organized kingdom can coast along several years on its own unless it corrupts from within or is ruled by a nut. Of course, if a competing kingdom is on its way up, an incompetent king may decide to throw a party and pretend everything will be OK in the morning. Alcohol helped him and his high level lords to forget they were about to die.

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts (Pro 31:4-6). And…

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. (Pro 20:1)

You don't have to be at Belshazzar's party to know how loud it was or how hard the servants had to work to keep the booze coming. It was party time! Time to get drunk! And so they did. It's hard to keep a party smelling good when sour breath is overtaking the perfume and those who can't hold their wine have lost their dignity and are sharing. But if you're drunk, who cares. It's great fun when somebody throws up on your shoes.

I've never enjoyed flying on Sunday night. The party people are returning home on the milk run and it smells like they've really had a great time. The lights of Atlanta never looked as good as on Sunday night.

Daniel was an old man now. He didn't tell us where he was when the party was cranking up, but God had him in the wings until the right time. It wasn't the kind of a feast any man of God would want to attend and the party animals would not want a genuine prophet among them as a wet blanket. Of course there are reverends that can join right in and be one of the clowns, but not the man of God. Historians have written enough about these feasts to let us know that parties and alcohol haven't changed much in 2,500 years. It was and is the morality of a barnyard. Got to be real empty to think that's a good time.

While the party people were losing their minds Cyrus the Persian and his army were encircling the city of Babylon. They brought tools with them to re-channel the Euphrates River and dry up the moat. They were about to crash the party. The guards in the 250 guard towers had to know what was going on but were helpless to do anything about it. There's no indication that they gave any warning. Perhaps they thought the army could not reroute the river. Belshazzar surely knew they were surrounded. But they had high walls and...high hopes.

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. (Pro 21:1)

Memory Verse

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2Ch 7:14)

Good Morning! - Dan 4:37 - The Fame of Babylon and Jerusalem

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase (Dan 4:37).

Soldiers of the Roman General Titus and Jewish slaves are shown in this ancient stone frieze in the passageway of the Arch of Titus in Rome Soldiers are returning in triumph to Rome with slaves and booty from Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Jewish patriots staged an insurrection against Roman authority in 66 A.D. In four years the sacred Temple in Jerusalem was burned, its stones scattered and a million people lay dead as birds of prey swarmed and fed on the carnage. If only they had read and believed Nebuchadnezzar's conclusion: "those that walk in pride he is able to abase."

Jewish leaders had taken matters into their own hands against God's decree of judgment on the day Jesus was crucified 40 years earlier. The "Times of the Gentiles" began with Nebuchadnezzar and will not end until Jesus comes with his host from heaven and presides over the battle of Armageddon. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. (Rev 16:16)

That will end Gentile rule of the world at which time the Jewish Christ – Jesus of Nazareth – will begin His reign on the throne of David in Jerusalem. Remember, the Christmas story always includes the angel's message to Mary: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (Luk 1:31-33)

Yesterday we showed this frieze as one of three pictures of the Arch of Titus. We could have wished that the nation of Israel had learned from their captivity under Nebuchadnezzar that they had to deal with Almighty God. They mistook God's patience with the idea that God had no interest in their country and their attitude toward Him. After 70 years of captivity in Babylon, they didn't get it. I'm afraid that the United States of America is in the same condition as Israel. We don't get it. We do not think there is much of a God out there with whom we have to deal.

We follow in the train of famous Babylon which was founded by Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah (Genesis 10:8-10). "It became known as one of the most magnificent and luxurious cities in the known world. Superbly constructed, it spread over an area of fifteen square miles, the Euphrates River flowing diagonally across the city. The famous historian Herodotus (HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 BC), Greek historian, called the Father of History,) said the city was surrounded by a wall 350 feet high and 87 feet thick, wide enough for six chariots to drive abreast. Around the wall were 250 watchtowers placed in strategic locations. Outside the huge wall was a large ditch, or moat, which surrounded the city and was kept filled with water from the Euphrates River." (Strauss)

It has been estimated that the defense system cost one billion dollars (1965 dollars) and was mostly built with slave labor. I am not yet settled about the dimensions given above of the wall…350' is a very high wall. I agree with Strauss who suggested that every student should read a good history and a reliable encyclopedia on the city of Babylon. It is a very prominent city in the Bible. Now that we have Google, we can find a lot things, including the city of Babylon.

Memory Verse

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2Ch 7:14)