Summary of Daniel 5:1-12
King Belshazzar of Babylon gave a royal banquet. Here, he drank from the gold goblets that Nebuchadnezzar, his father, had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Suddenly, writing appeared on the wall. The King was scared and wanted to know what it would mean, promising the interpreter to be promoted to the 3rd highest ruler in the kingdom.
The queen or queen mother told him to call for Daniel, who was the chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners in his father’s time. He could interpret it.
BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 5, Day 2: Daniel 5:1-12
Conclusions BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 5, Day 2: Daniel 5:1-12
It’s funny to me how all these pagan kings still worshipped the pagan gods after our Lord in Heaven proved to them their falsehood.
End Notes BSF Study Questions Exile & Return: A Time to Build Lesson 5, Day 2: Daniel 5:1-12
Nebuchadnezzar ruled for 43 years. His son, Belshazzar, became king after several other failed kingships. The secular record does not have a ruler named Belshazzar. Therefore, Bible scholars believe that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, the last recorded ruler of Babylon from 556-539 BC. Nabonidus ruled from afar, so some believe Belshazzar to be the ruler in Babylon at this time. The term “father” was common for “ancestor” or “predecessor.”
King Belshazzar committed sacrilege against God. He was trying to bolster his people since they were under attack.
When the writing on the wall appeared, King Belshazzar was terrified. He probably knew he had committed sacrilege and would now pay the price.
In addition, King Belshazzar saw the very hand of God. That, in itself, is terrifying. God’s actions in Scripture are often symbolized by His hand (Psalm 37:24; 95:4; Isaiah 5:25)
King Belshazzar was technically 2nd in command since he was a stand-in for the real king at the time.
The woman could have been the King’s mother. She knew Daniel had “the spirit of the holy gods,” which was often used by Nebuchadnezzar to describe Daniel (Daniel 4:8-9, 18).
END NOTES SUMMARIZED
Daniel 5:1-12 sets a scene of peak arrogance and blasphemy, which is met by a terrifying divine intervention, once again proving the bankruptcy of worldly wisdom.
The interpretation of its key elements is as follows:
- The Blasphemous Feast: King Belshazzar’s drunken decision to use the sacred vessels from God’s Temple in Jerusalem to praise his own lifeless idols is a deliberate act of contempt. It represents a new level of hubris, actively mocking the God of Israel, unlike Nebuchadnezzar, whose sin was primarily self-glorifying pride.
- The Writing on the Wall: The sudden appearance of a disembodied hand writing a cryptic message is God’s immediate and terrifying response. This supernatural judgment intrudes directly into the pagan feast, shattering the king’s arrogance and filling him with mortal fear.
- The Failure of Worldly Wisdom: For the third time in the book, the most brilliant minds of Babylon are rendered completely powerless before a divine revelation. They cannot read or interpret the message, reinforcing the theme that human wisdom and religion have no access to the secrets of God.
- The Remembrance of God’s Prophet: The queen mother’s recollection of Daniel serves as the turning point. It highlights that God’s true servant is only sought out as a last resort, when all human systems have failed, setting the stage for Daniel to once again speak with divine authority.
In essence, this passage illustrates that there is a line of blasphemy that, when crossed, invites immediate and terrifying judgment. It is a prelude that silences all other voices to make way for the one true word from God.
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