Daniel 5-6

1. He humbled and eliminated Belshazzar—through the prophecy of Daniel (ch 5). When King Belshazzar hosted a feast at which the gold and silver vessels Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem were used “so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them…They drank the wine and praised their gods made of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” (vv. 2b, 4). While Belshazzar and company were making merry, a mysterious finger began to write on the plaster wall of the king’s palace; the sight so horrified the king “that his hip joints shook and his knees knocked together” (v. 6). Like his father, when Belshazzar was in a crisis of this sort, he called on the interpreters of his court to give the meaning of the sign; but, as had been the case with his father, no one could. The king “became even more terrified, his face turned pale, and his nobles were bewildered” (v. 9). The king’s angst was subsided by his wife—who reminded the king that he had an as-of-yet untapped resource for his dilemma, Daniel, whom she said, “has the spirit of the holy gods in him…the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems” (v. 11, 12). Though Belshazzar promised Daniel further prominence if he could interpret the inscription, the young Hebrew gave the interpretation without fee and straightway: because Belshazzar had exalted himself against “the Lord of heaven” (v. 23a)—who holds the life of all things in His hands and controls the whole course of life (v. 23b)—by using the vessels from Solomon’s temple for pagan divination, God had numbered the days of the king’s reign and would soon give his expansive domain into the hands of the Medes and Persians (vv. 17-28). Daniel’s interpretation was precise; “That very night Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom at the age of 62” (vv. 30-31).
2. He protected Daniel from the threat of the new ruler of the land, Darius the Mede (ch 6; cf. Ezra 4-6; Neh 12.22; Hag 1.1; Zech 1.1). One of Darius’ initial administrative edicts was the appointment of 120 leaders over the kingdom—with three men over them, one of whom was Daniel (vv. 1-2). He was so extraordinary in comparison with the satraps and the other two administrators that, “the king planned to set him over the whole realm” (v. 3). Daniel’s excellence provoked the jealousy of his contemporaries—who in time planned a scheme to pit Darius the king against his favorite official. Since the jealous lot could find no fault in Daniel, they accused him on the grounds of “the law of his God” (v. 5)—which forbid any Hebrew from praying to a human. As things would unfold, Daniel refused to pray to Darius, choosing instead to enter his house, open his windows toward Jerusalem, “and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God” (v. 10). When Darius discovered that the whole plot was against Daniel, he “was very displeased; he set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him” (v. 14). As it was not possible for a king to change even his own edict (v. 15; cf. Est 8.8), Daniel was thrown to the lions for his crime against the state. Having sealed the stone over the lions’ den with his own signet ring, the king retired for an evening of fasting and sleepless fret (v. 18). At first light the king rushed to the den and shouted, “Daniel, servant of the living God…has your God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions?” (v. 20). The king was overjoyed at the sound of Daniel’s voice; “Daniel was taken out of the den, uninjured, for he trusted in his God” (v. 23). This miraculous deliverance caused the king to react as Nebuchadnezzar had when he witnessed the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (cf. 3.24-30), and an edict was released that all “must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel” (v. 26). Daniel prospered in the king’s court during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar of Babylon, and Cyrus and Darius of Persia (v. 28)

• < Prev
• Next >