The Writing on the Wall

Daniel 5 contains the infamous story of the writing on the wall.  While earlier chapters dealt with Nebuchadnezzar’s pride, chapter 5 shines light on Belshazzar’s complete arrogance and foolishness.  It is a strange comparison and contrast that God would have such tremendous patience with Nebuchadnezzar but at least from what is recorded in Daniel, Belshazzar is brought down for one act of utter foolishness.

Belshazzar is a man who doesn’t seem to listen to common sense or to Daniel.  As the chapter opens, the enemy is literally at the gate.  The Medes and Persians have taken city after city and are waiting outside of Babylon.  Instead of preparing for battle or securing the city, Belshazzar holds a banquet to boast of his greatness.

Belshazzar brings out the ornaments from the temple of God, captured by Nebuchadnezzar.  He boasts about his greatness despite the fact that he has not accomplished anything.  The arrogant boasts place him as greater than God as he pretends as though he has conquered the God of the Israelites.

As he boasts, a hand appears and writes the words “mene mene tekel parsin” upon the wall.  Belshazzar is shaken to the core by this and no one can offer an interpretation to the writing which scares him even more.  Eventually Daniel is remembered and called upon to interpret the writing.

Daniel informs Belshazzar that his time is up.  He has been weighed upon God’s scales and been found wanting.  His life will end that night and he empire will be taken away.  Upon hearing this Belshazzar rewards Daniel by making him the third highest person in the entire empire and places a gold chain around his neck.  It is obvious that Belshazzar does not believe Daniel’s interpretation or his reaction would have been very different.

Of course what God has declared and Daniel interpreted comes to pass on that very night.  The fall of the Babylonian empire is given no more than a sentence’s worth of recognition to close Daniel 5.  And with that the first part of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue comes to an end as well.

History tells us that while Belshazzar feasted, secure in the thought that his city would never fall, the Medo-Persians quietly diverted a stream that entered the city.  They walked upon dry land beneath the city walls and conquered the city with very little bloodshed.  The takeover was so silent that it took some citizens of the city three days to discover that they were a part of a new empire.