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Story 4
Historical Setting:
Time: About 570
B.C.
Place: Babylon
Persons: Belshazzar,
his wives, courtiers and attendants, the queen mother, and
Daniel
Scriptures: Daniel 5
In our last story Nebuchadnezzar was
found in a field, drenched with dew, covered with hair like
eagle’s feathers, with fingernails as long as claws. But he
was kneeling, praying to the God in heaven. His kingdom was
restored to him, and he remained true to God until he died.
And now another king is on the throne, one who refuses to
remember what had happened to the great King Nebuchadnezzar.
Maybe he is Nebuchadnezzar's son; maybe he is his grandson, we
do not know for sure. However, in
Daniel 5,
Nebuchadnezzar is referred to as "his
father."
The name of this king is Belshazzar. Belshazzar is young
and frivolous. He likes to party and have a "good time", with
music and dancing and wine and women. His mother, remembering
the lessons Nebuchadnezzar learned, does not approve.
The Babylonian palace was known throughout the world for
its splendor. The banqueting hall was gigantic, and absolutely
spectacular, with velvet drapes of royal purple, tied with
rich wine and blue sashes. The walls were painted with images
of gorgeous colors, and adorned with winged statues and
images, made of gold and silver, studded with jewelry. Ivory
Cherubs, placed at intervals along the walls, and up the
winding staircase, kept watch over the halls. A dozen or more
enormous brass candlesticks, with flickering candles, provided
the lighting. What a perfect place for parties!
And that's what King Belshazzar liked to do. He has just
organized another of his parties. It is a feast for a thousand
of his lords and princes, the leaders of the land.
Entertainers from all over his great kingdom have been brought
in. The servants, in impeccable uniforms, stand at the beck
and call of the king. The long banquet tables are loaded with
breads and fruits and an assortment of steaming vegetables and
meats. Gigantic vats of wine and alcoholic beverages are
sitting invitingly in silver vats in the center of each table.
The king, dressed in his royal robes, is lounging comfortably
on his dining chair, ready to receive his guests. And now the
guests are pouring in, men in fabulous, flowing robes, women
in spectacular gowns made of the most delicate and expensive
material, and adorned with sparkling jewelry. Belshazzar is in
a fantastic mood. The party begins.
After Belshazzar has become very drunk he has a great idea.
He remembers having been told about the time King
Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem and carried away captives, as
well as much of the treasures from the temple of that land. He
remembers having seen dazzling gold and silver goblets among
those treasures. He snaps his fingers to call his head
servant.
"Go!" he commands. "Send your most trustworthy and fastest
servants to bring to me the gold and silver wine goblets that
my 'father' took from the temple in Jerusalem. They will be
perfect to use for toasting to the gods."
The servants do not dare disobey, but some of them were
among those who had been stolen away from their homeland. They
cringe now at the thought of what the king has commanded them
to do. They know that the God of Israel will be angry.
Unwillingly they go to the treasury and carry back the sacred
goblets that had been used by the priests in their own land,
in their worship of God? Trembling, they present them to the
king.
Belshazzar's eyes glow at the sight of the goblets. He
commands the servants to pass out the gold and silver cups. He
wrings his hands in anticipation as his cupbearer pours the
sparkling wine into a gold cup and hands it to him. He lifts
his goblet to his lips and drinks, with loud indulgent gulps.
How could life get any better? Wasn't he was surrounded by his
buddies and by his wives and his mistresses? And now, wasn't
he drinking from the cup of the gods?
Lifting his tumbler, he begins toasting: "To the gods!" he
shouts, wine dribbling from his mouth. "Friends, let us toast
to the gods of this magnificent land of Babylon!" He turns
toward the gods arranged around the banquet room--gods of
gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone. "To the gods of my
forefathers, the kings of Babylon! To the gods! To the gods!"
But never once does he mention the God of heaven, to whom the
goblets belong.
Belshazzar is very drunk by now. His eyes are bloodshot and
bleary. As he tips his cup once again to his lips, he looks
up. His eyes are drawn, against his will, to a white part of
the plastered wall, near to a candlestick. A shaft of eerie
light is pouring through the high windows. A gigantic, dark
hand is writing. And as it writes, it strikes terror to his
heart and to the hearts of all of his guests. The hall
suddenly becomes deadly silent. All eyes are glued to the
wall. The hand without a body just keeps on writing and
writing and writing--the same words. Yet the strange words are
not repeated. Whatever could they mean?
Belshazzar knows that he is drunk, and that sometimes when
he is in this drunken stupor he sees things that aren't really
there. But this time, not only does he see the writing, but
all his guests see it too. The king begins to tremble. In
fact, he shakes so badly that his knees literally knock
together and the jeweled bands on his robes begin falling off.
The perspiration is running off him in big drops. He turns
ashen white. All the sins of his past float before his eyes.
He cries out in a loud voice.
Desperate to find out the meaning of this terrifying
writing, he commands, "Bring in the mystics and
fortunetellers. Call the astrologers. Gather together all the
wise men. They must tell me what this means."
The wise men of the land stand before the king. Wringing
his hands, Belshazzar shouts. "Whoever reads this writing and
tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a
gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the
third highest ruler in the kingdom."
These men, always clamoring for opportunities to get into
the good graces of the king, gaze at the wall. They close
their eyes and do all their incantations. Strain shows on
their faces. They agonize. But not a one of them can tell the
king what the writing means. The hand just keeps on writing
and writing.
Distressed even further, the king dismisses the men. His
terror is growing by the minute. His courtiers become very
concerned for him. The banquet room, previously filled with
laughing and loud foolish talking, turns now into chaos and
panic. The guests long to go home, but are too frightened to
leave.
The noise in the court has attracted the attention of the
queen mother. She calls an attendant to find out what was
going on. Learning the cause of the commotion, she ventures
into the hall to seek out her son. She may not approve of his
reveling, but he is her son after all, and her mother-heart
goes out to him.
"Son, Oh King, live forever," she says. "Do you not
remember the stories of the great King Nebuchadnezzar? More
than once he was distressed, as you are. The wise men of the
land could not help him either. But there is one man in your
kingdom, who can interpret dreams and strange happenings.
While King Nebuchadnezzar was ruling, this man was very high
up in the kingdom. He was chief of all the magician,
astrologers, and wise men in the land. He is a Hebrew. His
name is Daniel--or Belteshazzar, as your father called him. I
am sure, if you call him in before you, he can interpret this
strange and terrible handwriting. He seems to have a keen mind
and knowledge and understanding, and also has the ability to
explain dreams and riddles."
"Bring in this man," demands the king, dismissing his
mother without a word of thanks.
So Daniel is brought in before Belshazzar. "Now I have
heard that you can interpret strange things," he says. "If you
can interpret that frightening handwriting on the wall, I will
dress you in fine robes and place a gold chain around your
neck and make you third ruler in all the land."
Daniel holds up his hand to the king. "Oh king," he says, "
I do not want your gifts. Give them to another. But I will
tell you what the writing says.
"Oh great and mighty king, the most High God gave your
father, Nebuchadnezzar, greatness and glory and splendor.
Every nation on earth paid homage to him. If the king
commanded that someone should be put to death, he was put to
death. If he chose to promote him, he was promoted. But your
father, Nebuchadnezzar, became proud. God took away his royal
throne and gave him the mind of an animal. He lived with wild
donkeys and ate grass like cattle. The dew of the heavens
drenched him. He grew feathers like a bird and claws like an
eagle. Then he acknowledged the most High God and God restored
his kingdom to him.
"But you, Oh Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,
although you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up
against the Lord of heaven. You have defiled His name. You
have brought the goblets from His temple, and you and your
lords, your wives and your mistresses have drunk wine from
them. You have praised your gods of gold, bronze, iron, wood
and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But never
once did you honor God, who holds in His hand, your life. So
He has sent the hand that writes those words: 'MENE, MENE,
TEKEL, PARSIN'.
"This is what the words mean:
MENE: God has
numbered the days of your reign and brought it all to an end.
TEKEL: You have been weighed on the scales and
found wanting.
PERES: Your kingdom is divided and
given to the Medes and Persians.
Before the night is over your life will end. Tonight you
will be slain by the Medes and the Persians, and another king
will take your throne."
Daniel is finished speaking and is about to leave the
presence of the king when Belshazzar's voice booms out: "Bring
out the purple robes. Place them on Daniel and put a gold
chain around his neck." Then, ignoring what Daniel has just
told him, the king in his drunken stupor shouts: "I declare
Daniel the third ruler of the land!" And lifting the golden
cup to his lips he cries: "Laud, Prince Daniel!"
Daniel, ignoring the praise and pomp, leaves the banquet
hall.
"That very night Belshazzar, the king of
the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the
kingdom, at the age of sixty-two." Daniel 5:30
The long reign of the Babylonians is over. The pompous king
Belshazzar is dead! Darius the Mede is king!
© Helen Dowd
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