Introduction
Daniel 5 details the end of the great Babylonian Empire. By the close of the chapter, we will see the transition in Nebuchadnezzar’s image from the head of gold (the Babylonian Empire) to the chest and arms of silver (the Medo-Persian Empire).
Ezekiel 18:20 could well be the theme of Daniel 5: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Daniel 5 is a vivid commentary on the fact that sin results in death, not only in the life of an individual, but also in the life of a nation or empire. The Babylonian Empire was once the glorious head of gold–the crown of the times of the Gentiles. But it had gradually deteriorated into debauchery until the hour of its eventual doom. The Medo-Persian army then put an end to a great and historic era.
Daniel 5 gives us insight into how a kingdom as wealthy, vast, and powerful as the Babylonian Empire could fall. The first scene we will look at is set during a raucous feast. In the midst of it God pronounced doom on the empire, and after a few hours, that destruction came. I believe all civilizations follow this pattern: they rise to great heights, become filled with pride, are characterized by self- indulgence and materialism, and begin to descend into debauchery until they are destroyed. Psalm 9:17 says, “The wicked shall be turned into sheol, and all the nations that forget God.” When a nation forgets God, its doom is certain.
First we will examine the historical account of the fall of the Babylonian Empire and then make some important applications.
Lesson
I. THE ACCOUNT
A. The Scene (vv. 1-4)
1. The background of Belshazzar (v. 1a)
“Belshazzar, the king.”
For years critics have said that the book of Daniel was inaccurate because they believed Belshazzar never existed–that there was no historical record of such a man. However when archaeologists discovered what is called “The Nabonidus Cylinder,” history acquired its first known record of Belshazzar. Approximately thirty-six years old at the time of Daniel 5, Belshazzar was decadent, dissolute, idolatrous, immoral, impious, and unworthy to rule. Although he was a co- regent with his father, Nabonidus, Belshazzar was sitting in the seat of royalty the night Babylon fell.
a) The chronology of the predecessors
(1) Nebuchadnezzar
Seventy years had passed since Daniel and his friends were taken captive (Dan. 1). By this time Daniel was in his eighties. About twenty-three years had passed since Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation and recognition of the true God (Dan. 4). After a reign of forty-three years (seven of which he was insane), Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 B.C. Although Daniel doesn’t record anything between the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, extrabiblical history fills in the gap. After Nebuchadnezzar died, the empire began to decline. He was followed by his son.
(2) Amel-marduk
The Bible refers to him as Evil-merodach in 2 Kings 25:27-30 and Jeremiah 52:31-34. He released Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, from prison and put him in a privileged position in the Babylonian court. Amel- marduk reigned for only two years before he was assassinated by his brother-in-law.
(3) Neriglissar
Jeremiah 39:3, 13 refers to this man as Nergal-sharezer. He was an official under Nebuchadnezzar who apparently was involved in helping release Jeremiah from prison. Neriglissar reigned four years before his death. He was succeeded by his son.
(4) Labashi-marduk
This child regent reigned only nine months. He was beaten to death by conspirators, who appointed a successor.
(5) Nabonidus
Nabonidus reigned seventeen years until he was defeated by Cyrus, the Medo-Persian emperor. Although Nabonidus was appointed as monarch, he was not related to Nebuchadnezzar so he didn’t have a right to the throne. Apparently that fact intimidated him because he sought to secure his claim by marrying into the royal family (either a widow or daughter of Nebuchadnezzar). This woman had a son named Belshazzar.
Maintaining a separate residence at Tema in Arabia, Nabonidus didn’t set foot in the city of Babylon for fourteen of his seventeen-year reign. To maintain his power in Babylon, he appointed Belshazzar as his co- regent.
Nabonidus was probably the most capable ruler to follow Nebuchadnezzar, and he was a very religious man. He excavated former temple sites and reinstituted abandoned religious rites. He came from priestly lineage. And he appears to have been a man of peace and conviction.
b) The conquest by the Persians
Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Persians, soon attacked the Babylonian Empire. He and his army met Nabonidus and his forces outside the city of Babylon and defeated them. Nabonidus fled to Borsippa, a city near Babylon, where he was eventually taken captive. He was then exiled to Carmania, a province near Persia, where he died. He never saw Babylon again.
As Daniel 5 begins, Nabonidus had already been defeated and the Medes and Persians had held the city of Babylon under siege for several months.
2. The banquet of Belshazzar (vv. 1b-4)
a) Implied indifference (vv. 1b-2)
“Belshazzar, the king, made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink from them.”
It’s hard to understand how Belshazzar could host a party while the city was surrounded by Medo-Persians, but not when you consider how formidable Babylon was. The city was almost fifteen miles square, according to Herodotus, and had walls that were at least eighty feet thick and three hundred fifty feet high with one hundred massive bronze gates in them (The Histories 1:181). The Babylonians also had an abundance of water since the Euphrates River flowed through the middle of the city.
Seated on a raised platform, Belshazzar began drinking before the thousand lords that had gathered for the huge feast. That he tasted wine (v. 2) implies he became drunk. He then called for the gold and silver vessels. When Nebuchadnezzar, his relative, first took captives from Jerusalem, he desecrated the Temple and took all the gold and silver vessels used by the priests. He had them stored in his own temple in Babylon to prove that his gods were more powerful than the God of Israel. Apparently those vessels had remained undisturbed until Belshazzar, in the midst of his drunken stupor, determined to mock the God of Israel. So he commanded that all the vessels representative of Him be used to drink from. That was an act of desecration and blasphemy. Belshazzar wasn’t totally uninformed about the God of Israel because he knew He had made Nebuchadnezzar a raving maniac for seven years. He knew that God had revealed dreams and visions through Daniel, revealed in his later conversation with Daniel. But in the midst of his folly, he mocked God, aware that such an act was blasphemous. He challenged God–and God accepted the challenge.
“This article originally appeared here at Bible Bulletin Board.”
