Daniel 5 - Gracious Justice

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We're going to be in Daniel chapter 5 this morning, Daniel 5.

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

Before we go there, though, I want to talk for just a minute, share one kind of side

note with you from my study this week, a little tidbit that I took away before we dive into

the story itself.

I share this with you because of our commitment to God's Word and its reliability as one of

the most fundamental aspects of our faith.

This is just one of those small instances this week where our faith can be strengthened

in the trustworthiness of the Bible.

A couple centuries ago, critical scholars began to attack the historical veracity of the Bible,

particularly areas of the Bible that require supernatural involvement, right?

You're aware of that.

In an effort to support a naturalistic worldview where we can explain everything by what we

see and experience, miracles were out, right?

Prophecies were out.

And so Daniel, which purports to be written in the 6th century B.C.

He undeniably depicts accurately, everybody agrees, some of the events that happen in the next

couple hundred years after the 6th century B.C.

So how would the critical scholars explain that?

How could the book of Daniel actually do that?

Well, the agreed upon opinion was that Daniel was actually written after those events that

it writes about.

Probably somewhere in about the 2nd century B.C. is what popular opinion came to be among

those scholars.

And that explained it, right?

No wonder he can write such a good account.

The events already happened, they said.

One of the key planks in their argument is the king in our story this morning, a guy named

Belshazzar.

In all the historical records there about Babylon from the 5th century and the 4th century B.C.,

historians like Herodotus and others, there was no Belshazzar.

None at all.

Lists of all the kings of Babylon, he's not even there.

So the biblical author appeared to have made this guy up.

You know, 400 years later they said, of course.

He didn't know any better.

And he just made up another king of Babylon.

Beginning in about 1860, archaeologists began to find more old records.

They started digging other things up in southern Iraq, actually found several things that had

histories of Babylon recorded and lists of kings.

And lo and behold, there's this guy, Belshazzar.

He is the oldest son of the last formal king of Babylon, Nabonidus.

And these historical records detail how Belshazzar actually ruled in Babylon for several years

during his father's reign, that he was the one actively ruling in Babylon when it fell.

So not only, according to these newly discovered records, was Belshazzar there, not only was the

biblical author correct in having him as the last king in the city of Babylon, but also

in the second century when these scholars were arguing the Bible would have been written,

there was no record of Belshazzar.

Anybody in the second century trying to write about the fall of Babylon had no record of the

guy, never would have made him up.

So there's no way a second century author would have written Daniel chapter 5 with a guy named

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

Belshazzar.

To know about Belshazzar, you actually had to be there in the sixth century yourself.

So Belshazzar argues against the possibility of Daniel being written after the events that

it talks about and gives extra support to the reliability of the biblical account and the

prophetic activity.

Yes, wonderful.

We love it when that happens, right?

That's so encouraging.

I don't usually share little tidbits like that, but I thought that one might really encourage

your faith and it's part of what we're talking about this morning.

If I lost you in that explanation, we don't usually spend a lot of hours here at Southwood

talking through the archaeological evidence for critical scholarship and I don't do it

real well.

So if you didn't understand any of that, here's what you need to know.

What you're about to hear is a trustworthy account of what actually took place at the end of

a great kingdom the night Babylon fell in 539 B.C.

Listen as I read God's holy, inerrant, infallible word, Daniel chapter 5 at verse 1.

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

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.

And Belshazzar calls together all of his wise men and asks them to interpret what is going

on.

Finally, the queen remembers this guy named Daniel who's good at this stuff.

Bring him in.

And Daniel comes before the king.

We'll skip ahead to verse 18.

Daniel says to Belshazzar,

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 it over whom he will.

That was our story last week.

Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar becoming a beast.

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, which means numbered.

God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end.

Tekel, which means weighed.

You have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.

Perez, which sounds both like the word for divided and an awful lot like the Persians.

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.

Pray with me.

Father, this is a sobering passage of your word.

Holy Spirit, we ask that you would tenderly, but firmly, apply it to each of our hearts.

Would you do that work with the word?

We ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Last week, we did see the glories of God's grace on great display as we see God pursuing

the proud pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, all the way to making him a beast in order to humble

him, to help him see God's greatness and then restore him.

And we said as we looked at that, God's grace knows no bounds, right?

God's grace reaches even to the beast.

It extends to the proudest, most hardened enemies of God.

He forgives.

He loves.

He restores those who've fallen.

That's what our God is like.

In this next story, it doesn't feel quite as good.

There's no fairy tale ending for this idolatrous king.

But the gospel is still here as well.

As God's justice is demonstrated, it's still full of grace for us.

And the reason I say that is that what we learn about God here in this whole handwriting

on the wall story is that he hates sin enough to judge evil and loves us enough to assure

us that he will.

It's both a word of warning and a word of comfort to us about the seriousness of sin and God's

commitment to justice.

And both the warning and the comfort come from the gracious heart of God.

It's his grace that motivates him to give the firm warning and the tender comfort.

I want us to see that this morning.

To see this, we must remember for whom the book of Daniel was written.

Who's the audience of Daniel chapter 5?

Daniel 5 · chapter mention

It's not King Belshazzar, is it?

He's not the one being warned here.

He's dead before the book is written.

The kingdom of Babylon is gone.

The audience of the book of Daniel is God's people, right?

This is not a warning for the nations necessarily.

It's particularly a warning for God's exiled people coming straight from their prophet Daniel.

They should be both warned and comforted by this account that they're given.

We receive it as they would have.

So first, the gracious warning.

God's people are reminded that sin and its consequences are serious.

Deadly serious.

You hear the warning part, but you don't hear the gracious part yet, do you?

Doesn't sound real gracious at first glance, does it?

I still remember my driver's ed class back when I was 15 years old, headed into high school,

so excited to get ready to drive.

I remember that Shannon Pitner was the instructor.

I don't remember a lot of particulars that Mr. Pitner taught us in that driver's ed class.

But I do remember the video that he showed us on the first day of class before he even introduced himself.

On the video, as sirens blared and lights flashed on the way to the scene of a traffic accident,

the words scrolled across the screen.

.01 seconds after impact, the steering column slams your chest.

.05 seconds after impact, your head crashes through the windshield.

.1 seconds after impact, and so on and so on for every fraction of a second.

I don't remember all of the things, but within a matter of a few fractions of a second, you're pronounced dead.

A morbid video, you might say.

.10 seconds after impact, and so on and so on, you're going to be able to do that.

But it grabbed the attention of some 15-year-old future drivers in a really stark way.

Why did Mr. Pitner show a video like that at the very beginning of driver's ed?

Why did he start the class that way?

You know, right?

Because Mr. Pitner wanted us to know in no uncertain terms the deadly seriousness of reckless driving.

He wanted us to know the severe consequences of not paying attention and learning how to drive properly.

He wanted to give us a gracious warning to caution us away from death and toward life.

That's what God is doing in this equally morbid account here in Daniel 5.

Look at verse 30 again towards the end of it.

That very night, the very night all these things happened, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was killed.

That very night, his life will be demanded of him.

And how will his idols help him then?

And he's throwing a party, right?

This is supposed to be a fun night for him.

He's going to worship the idols of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, verse 4 tells us.

And immediately, verse 5 says, right in the middle of the party, the hand of the true God appears writing on the wall.

And the message is this, you will not find safety in being idolatrous.

Be warned, those other gods you're seeking pleasure in will not save you.

Think of the warning, not just to Belshazzar, but to God's people here.

God's people in exile in a foreign land.

Why is it, after all, that they find themselves in exile in Babylon?

Of all of the sins the Bible mentions that they've committed, what's the one that it most often comes back to?

Wandering after other gods.

Bowing down to their idols and serving them instead of the true God.

A warning to God's people who found themselves wandering after other gods.

Where are you bowing down to a God of your own design?

An idol of your own pleasure?

You've shirked the call of the one true God to faithful obedience and told yourself you're safe following the ways of your own desires and direction.

You've told yourself you're safe to indulge in the sins of the day like everyone else.

Hey, come on, everybody's struggling with these things.

It's okay.

Materialism.

Self-defined sexual morality.

Greed.

Lying to get ahead.

And God loves you enough to warn you, sin is deadly serious.

Stop.

Turn back.

You're not safe there chasing those idols.

We see not only a warning against the idolatry of other gods, but also a warning against the idolatry of human strength.

What does Daniel say to Belshazzar?

It's a very pointed conversation he has with him.

You haven't learned anything.

Did you not see Nebuchadnezzar, your father, meaning your predecessor as king, a couple kings before you?

Nebuchadnezzar was taught this lesson in a painful way about his pride.

God turned him into a beast to humble him until he understood and acknowledged who was truly great and in charge.

And Belshazzar, you know this.

And you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this.

But you've lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven, just like he did, and you saw what happened to him.

How many times have we as parents thought, I wish you could learn from my mistakes.

And you know what?

It looks like you're going to have to make them again yourself.

We think we're stronger.

We'll be safe where others fell.

Listen, what's happening in this picture, while he's at the party that night, Belshazzar is surrounded by the armies of Persia.

They're laying siege to Babylon.

But instead of being worried about that, he throws a huge party for a thousand people.

After all, I'm safe behind these great walls at points 87 feet thick, the walls of Babylon.

350 feet tall.

Ain't nobody coming in here.

We can have a party.

They can stand out there and hold us siege as long as they want.

We're safe.

No one's coming through.

And we've got the Euphrates River flowing right through the city.

We can eat and drink as long as we want while they sit out there and get tired.

It reminds you of Nebuchadnezzar from last week on the roof of the palace.

Sitting out there and thinking, wow, this is pretty amazing.

I'm something.

Marveling in his arrogance at his own human might.

Thinking he finds safety there.

And here it rears its ugly head again.

That very night, the Persians will kill Belshazzar in his palace and take his city.

I think of God's people.

Prophet after prophet.

Warning after warning.

And yet, failure to trust God after failure to trust God.

Wandering again and again.

And you must see your own frailty, Daniel would be saying to these people in exile.

You must see the devastation sin has brought upon you and your fathers.

If you don't see it, if you don't turn from it, you too will perish in exile.

But return to God and you can be restored.

That's a clear warning to us as well, isn't it?

Don't think you're safe hiding behind the thick walls of outward strength or success.

That you won't be found out or that your sin won't receive dire consequences.

Don't pull into your garage and close the door.

Walk into your office and close the door.

And in the privacy of your own heart and life.

Think that you're safe and that your sin won't bear painful fruit.

Be warned.

Sin is deadly serious.

So we won't find safety in being idolatrous.

In serving other gods of sin and self.

But perhaps even closer to home.

Even more under the radar in the church this morning.

We will not find safety in being religious.

And you may have thought that's the answer.

If I need to stop running after all these other gods.

I better run into church this morning and do some religious.

I better start being more religious.

And Daniel gives a very clear warning.

And we can tend to deflect this warning.

And say, oh, it's for somebody else.

But it's so clear in this passage.

Look at verse 3.

Look what's happening before the hand shows up.

They brought in what?

The golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple.

The house of God in Jerusalem.

These were the vessels back from the first verse of this book.

That Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem.

They were there for the worship of God.

And he'd taken them into Babylon.

And Belshazzar calls for them and has them brought.

So they can drink from them.

Immediately when that happens.

The fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the wall.

Immediately God shows up with a message.

Daniel connects these same dots.

We're not just reading into it when he's talking to him.

Here's what it's looked like to lift yourself up against the Lord of heaven.

The vessels of his house have been brought in before you.

And you've all drunk wine from them and praised other gods with the vessels used to worship Yahweh.

You've worshipped gods who don't see or hear or know.

But the God in whose hand is your breath and whose are all your ways you have not honored.

You've held his cup but you haven't honored him.

You have held in your hand the things of God.

But the God who holds you in his hand you have not honored.

God will not be mocked will he?

There's not safety in the outward forms of religion.

In external religiosity.

And God's people need to heed that warning.

Lest they think they're safe because they've worshipped in the temple.

Or because they've been circumcised.

God takes your sins seriously.

And he's calling you to return not merely to the outward forms of religion.

Not merely to find a holy cup to hold on to.

But to a heart that embraces him.

And his ways.

You will not find safety in merely being religious.

In holding in your hands the things of God.

While not truly honoring the God who holds your breath in his hand.

Are you rationalizing sin?

Telling yourself the sin you're consistently indulging in is okay.

Because you're consistently showing up at church too.

Do you think you're keeping God placated?

By showing up regularly.

Giving occasionally.

Not even serving when asked.

Is your religiosity merely a charade?

Like Belshazzar's.

Holding the cups from Yahweh's temple.

Bringing them to his party as though he cared about Yahweh.

But using them to serve his own pleasure and worship his own gods.

God says be warned.

You will not find safety in being religious.

And we're the ones who have to hear that warning.

We're the ones sitting in the pews at church.

The ones who have easy access to the things of God.

Who so easily grab on to them and hold them in our hands.

And God says that's not what it's about.

It's not merely outward forms of religion.

While living a life completely differently.

Indulging your sin every other day.

The sin in your heart playing out in your life is deadly serious.

The solution is not to hide it.

Not to cover it with outward religious activity so that everybody thinks I'm a good guy.

Because I wear a suit and go to church and show up so often.

The solution is not to medicate it with human success.

That it appears like I've got my life together.

You must confess it.

You must turn from it.

Receive God's forgiveness.

And seek to be guided by His Spirit.

Spirit, I'd ask you this morning.

What is the sin that you're thinking?

You're crazy.

I could never let anyone know about this struggle.

Or that failing.

Don't you understand, Pastor?

Have you not lived in Huntsville, Alabama?

The consequences would be terrible if people knew about this.

Can you imagine if people found out?

What would happen to me?

What people would say?

What about my family?

Hear the gracious warning of God's Word to you this morning.

The consequences may indeed be terrible.

But if you do not turn from your sin,

the consequences of that,

of not turning from sin and seeking Jesus,

will most certainly be worse.

will most certainly be even more terrible

than the ones you anticipate right now.

God is deadly serious about sin.

First and foremost,

repent and turn to God.

Plead for His mercy.

He delights to forgive.

We have celebrated that this morning.

Don't forget who He is in the midst of your sin.

Alongside that,

I'd urge you to find someone else that you can share with.

Someone you can tell about your sin.

Someone you can ask to pray with you about your struggle.

Someone who can walk with you through the painful,

but fruitful process of repentance.

You'll need help.

You may think,

no one will understand.

These church people,

they've got it figured out.

They won't understand.

I can't tell them.

Y'all,

that's the beauty of a community like this.

That's the way we're supposed to be,

that it is a safe place

for you to share your struggle with someone.

Because our hearts are all wracked by sin.

I won't be looking down on you

when you share something with me.

I'll be looking in the mirror.

I'll be right there beside you.

We're all in it together.

Father, you can uncover your sin.

You can share and find safety.

You see, those of us who have declared

that our hope is in Jesus

as we have this morning,

we have to admit the seriousness of our sin

in order to do that.

The hymn writer reminds us

it took the death of the Son of God

to pay for our sin.

That's how serious it was.

The hymn,

Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted

is one we often sing around

Easter.

Ye who think of sin

but lightly,

nor suppose the evil great,

here, here at the cross,

may view its nature rightly,

here its guilt may estimate.

Because we look,

mark the sacrifice appointed.

What had to happen

to pay for the sin?

How serious was it?

See the one who bears the awful load.

Tis the Word,

the Lord's anointed,

Son of Man and Son of God.

It's the perfect one

who had to die

because of our sin.

Those of us who hope in Christ

know and admit

the seriousness of our sin.

Nowhere better than at the cross

do we see

how seriously God takes sin.

His grace does not mean

that sin gets ignored

and the bar lowered.

Quite the opposite.

It means sin gets punished

and we sinners

are warned and urged

to throw ourselves

upon the only one

who reached the bar.

Jesus.

That's grace

according to God's Word.

So the gracious warning

is that God takes sin seriously.

And that same truth

is for God's people

a gracious comfort.

Try to put yourselves

in the shoes

of God's exiled people

for a minute.

You're in Babylon

away from the promised land.

You've been dragged there

by mighty but pagan Babylon.

who's come into your land.

Who's tortured your families.

Taunted your God.

Dragged you away

into servitude.

What are you thinking?

What's going through your mind?

Where is God?

Will the Babylonians

ever get what's coming to them?

Why do the wicked prosper

while the righteous suffer?

Why do those who trust in God

seem to have it hardest?

Have you ever felt

something was so unfair

but you couldn't do anything

about it?

Perhaps at work

with a promotion.

Perhaps with your kids

at school.

Perhaps with someone you know

suffering unjustly

and you just can't help them.

There's nothing you can do.

Doesn't that burn you up?

Don't you hate that feeling?

You're longing to see

justice prevail

and things be made right

and it's not in your power

to do it.

So often we're not

powerful enough

or connected enough

or knowledgeable enough

to bring the justice

we long for.

But God is.

both of His hands

we said

equally skilled

at ruining evil.

At administering justice.

That's the grace

of God's justice again.

This time from a little bit

of a different angle.

God loves us enough

to assure us

that He will judge sin.

The judge of all the earth

will do right.

The bully will be called

to account by someone

bigger and stronger

than He is.

The mighty Babylonian kingdom

comes to an end

in an instant.

Even in a moment

where it still looks

splendid and powerful.

The Persian army

has taken their strength

and used it against them.

They've dammed up

that Euphrates river

so that the water level

begins to get lower.

And what happened

the night of the handwriting

on the wall

is the Persian army

rode right in

on that river

underneath the passageways

that ran right through

those thick walls.

Right into the middle

of Babylon

and the city fell.

That's what happened

the night Belshazzar

saw God's hand

writing on the wall

Mene.

Mene.

Tekel.

Parson.

He was weighed

in the scales

of God's justice

and found wanting.

His days were numbered

by the God of heaven.

His kingdom was given

to another

and his life

taken.

That very night

Belshazzar

the Chaldean king

was killed

and Darius the Mede

walks in

and receives

the kingdom.

Why?

Because God

will judge

sin

and will bring

justice

to his people.

Listen to the comfort

of this y'all.

If you haven't been

in their shoes

it may be hard

to feel the comfort

of Babylon

falling.

But this is not

a parable

that teaches us

a theoretical

principle

about God

and justice.

This is an actual

historical account

of a story

you are a part of

as God's people.

These are

your ancestors.

This is

your God

at work.

God created

the world good

and he is committed

not only to

defeating evil

but to ridding

the world

of evil

forever

so that we enjoy

his perfect world

with him

as he always

intended.

He will do that.

That's your story

that you're

living in

and this is a glimpse

of what's

coming.

Isn't that our hope

that God's going

to do that?

That we would

then live

forever

with him

and his world

made perfect

with evil

being eliminated?

That's our hope.

That is so

comforting.

For you

it may be

a particular

individual

who has

mistreated you.

A particular

injustice

you've

suffered in the

past

that continues

to haunt you.

or it may

indeed feel

like an

entire

kingdom

opposed to

you

and your

God

and you face

the weight

of that

today.

I'll admit

that Babylon

looked mighty

for a long

time before

its fall

in this story.

God's justice

sometimes lingers

even into

eternity.

eternity.

But God

says I've

got eternal

scales that

on many

days you

can't

understand or

appreciate.

Trust me.

That's his

call this

morning.

Trust me.

I'm committed

to justice.

I will punish

evil.

I will vindicate

my people

against those

who mistreat

them.

And you

can find

great comfort

in that

promise.

The cross

of Jesus

is once again

our great

assurance of

that isn't

it?

The cross

of Jesus

there where

God defeats

the greatest

of our

enemies.

Death.

Satan.

Sin.

There where

God shows

his hatred

for sin by

pouring out

his wrath

on the

sin bearer.

There where

the justice

and grace

of God

kiss.

There at

the cross

we know

that as

serious as

sin is

it will

not haunt

us forever.

While God

has promised

to punish

sin he

has also

promised not

to punish

you again

for the

sin Jesus

has already

died for.

Hallelujah.

You won't

be punished

for it

because Jesus

was.

And while

other lesser

enemies still

haunt you

today and

life is

painful and

justice seems

far off

because of

it you

can be

confident

your Savior

will deliver

you from

them as

well because

he's delivered

you on the

cross from

your greatest

enemies.

So it's

safe.

The first

safety we've

been able to

find it's

safe to

entrust

yourself even

as a great

sinner.

even as

one greatly

sinned

against

to Jesus.

It's safe

to entrust

yourself to

him.

The warning

of this

chapter is

clear.

God takes

sin

seriously.

You will

not find

safety in

being idolatrous.

You will

not find

safety in

being religious.

you will

find safety

only in

your

perfectly

just and

gracious

God.

Let's pray

to him

now.

Father, we

don't look

forward to

sermons like

these.

We like

the other

stories better.

sin.

But we

believe we

need to

know the

truth about

sin because

sin is

something we

know all

too well.

And we

need when we

face the

reality of

our sins

something to

give us

hope.

And it is

only you

that gives

us hope.

Don't let us

look anywhere

else but to

Jesus.

Might we

find hope

in him for

today and

enough hope

in him to

make us

confident for

eternity.

Do that

work in our

hearts.

We ask it in

his name.

Amen.

For more

information,

visit us

online at

southwood.org.