Misguided Nonchalance

Misguided Nonchalance

Arrogance can spell ruin.

THE YEAR was 539 B.C., and the Babylonian Empire had dominated the Near East since 626 B.C. As king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar had taken the Jews captive to Babylon, where they still remained, and Nabonidus, his son-in-law, now ruled the empire together with his son Belshazzar.

Cyrus II king of Persia, now commanded the combined Medo-Persian forces against the Babylonians. Nabonidus was in charge of the Babylonian army in the field while Belshazzar was in charge of the city of Babylon. Herodotus, the Greek historian, reports, “A battle was fought at a short distance from the city, in which the Babylonians were defeated by the Persian king, whereupon they withdrew within their defenses. Here they shut themselves up and made light of this siege, having laid in a store of provisions for many years in preparation against this attack.”

We see how lightly the Babylonians took this siege by what happened the next day. On October 12, 539 B.C., in spite of the siege, King Belshazzar held a state banquet in his palace in the city of Babylon for a thousand of his nobles. As the wine was flowing freely, Belshazzar remembered the beautiful gold and silver cups that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem when he had defeated the Jews. Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the temple cups so that the king and his guests might drink from them (Daniel 5:1-4).

As they were drinking toasts to their idols, suddenly everyone saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the wall. The king turned pale with such fear that his legs gave way as terror gripped him (vv. 5-6).

Belshazzar immediately demanded that his enchanters, astrologers, and fortune-tellers be brought before him to interpret the writing. But none could. Now Belshazzar was even more alarmed (vv. 7-9).

When the queen mother heard what was happening, she hurried to the banquet hall and said to Belshazzar, “Don’t be so pale and afraid about this. There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. . . . This man Daniel . . . is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means” (vv. 10-12).

Daniel was summoned, and the king said, “I have heard that you have the spirit of the gods within you. . . . If you can read these words and tell me their meaning, you will be clothed in purple robes of royal honor, and you will wear a gold chain around your neck. You will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom” (vv. 13-16).

Daniel answered, “Keep your gifts or give them to someone else, but I will tell you what the writing means. . . . [Y]ou have defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your [guests] have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. . . . So God has sent this hand to write a message.

“This is the message that was written: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have failed the test. Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians” (vv. 17-28).

That very night the Medo-Persian army diverted the waters of the Euphrates River that flowed through the city of Babylon. With the water in the riverbed reduced, the army was able to enter the city under cover of darkness. They captured Babylon and killed Belshazzar before his defenders knew what had happened (Daniel 5:30).

Reflection

Sometimes it seems as though the government is filled with corrupt officials. But God doesn’t let them get away with it. Can you think of any examples of corrupt officials who have experienced the consequences of their behavior as Belshazzar did? What does that teach you about God?

All [God’s] acts are just and true, and he is able to humble those who are proud.

Daniel 4:37