Tag Archives: Belshazzar

Weighed & Found Wanting

February 27, 2023 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.”
Daniel 5:22 (NIV)

About a month ago, this chapter-a-day journey trekked through 2 Kings 19, the historic account of a true and miraculous event. The Assyrian army encircled the city of Jerusalem laying siege to it. King Hezekiah tore his clothes, dressed in sackcloth (a sign of humility), reached out to the prophet Isaiah for prayer, and went personally to the temple to ask God for deliverance. In this instance, the miraculous happened and the city was spared.

Today’s chapter is one of the more fascinating stories in all of the Great Story. It is also the source of two famous phrases that are still commonly used today: “Handwriting on the wall” in reference to a clue or sure sign of something that is about to happen, and “weighed and found wanting” which has been re-used multiple times in stories and films like A Knight’s Tale.

What the narrative of today’s chapter doesn’t state is that the situation for Belshazzar was not unlike that of Hezekiah. The Persian army is on a campaign to destroy the Babylonian empire. They are close to Babylon and have been making steady progress. Belshazzar is the regent of Babylon, and should be leading his people in preparing for the defense of the city. Instead, he gathers his wives, concubines, and nobles to party hard.

As I contemplated this in the quiet this morning, I realized that Belshazzar’s revelry could have been a cop-out, as in “There’s no hope so let’s get drunk and enjoy our final days!” Given the fact that Babylon was one of the most securely fortified cities in the world, it may have also been a party thrown out of sheer hubris, as in “We have nothing to worry about. Babylon is impenetrable. Don’t worry. We have nothing to fear! Let’s party!”

The situation also sheds light on why Daniel, who has been offered a robe of purple, great wealth, and the third-highest position in the kingdom if he interprets the mysterious handwriting on the wall, tells Belshazzar to keep his gifts. Being in the third-highest position of the kingdom when the Persians arrive is a death sentence.

Daniel reads the cryptic message written by a disembodied hand on the wall for Belshazzar, pronouncing his doom. What is particularly damning, according to Daniel’s explanation, is that Belshazzar knew Nebuchadnezzar’s story of going insane and returning to sanity in acknowledging that everything he had and everything he was came to him from the Most High God. Still, Belshazzar was unwilling to learn the lesson. Rather than humble himself, he chose to either ignore or dismiss his precarious circumstances.

I pray that when I find myself in precarious circumstances on this life journey and things hang in the balance, I will choose to follow Hezekiah’s example, not Belshazzar’s. I’d rather be weighed and found faithful.

Featured Image: “Belshazzar’s Feast” by Rembrandt
Public Domain. National Gallery, London, UK.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Chapter-a-Day

Sleeping With the Enemy

July 21, 2022 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

“Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbors,
    pouring it from the wineskin till they are drunk,
    so that he can gaze on their naked bodies!
You will be filled with shame instead of glory.
    Now it is your turn! Drink and let your nakedness be exposed!
The cup from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you,
    and disgrace will cover your glory.”
Habakkuk 2:15-16 (NIV)

I’ve always enjoyed being a fan of my favorite sports teams. There is something I love about the drama, the stories, the thrill of victories, and the agonies of defeat.

One of the things that have always fascinated me about sports fans is not only the fanaticism of loyalty and celebration to one’s own team but also the hatred and schadenfreude with which one gloats in a rival’s failure and demise. Likewise, there are always those moments when your team will only advance if a hated rival wins a certain game. My despised rival suddenly becomes a necessary tool for my team to ultimately succeed. It’s always a bit excruciating at the moment to find yourself wanting your enemy to win. It feels like the old cliche of sleeping with the enemy. Once it’s over, it feels kind of good when you can return to cheering for their annihilation, as if all is right with the world again.

Today’s chapter is the answer to the question Habakkuk posed to God in yesterday’s chapter. It was prompted by God revealing to the prophet that He was sending the Babylonian Empire to be a tool of punishment to his unrepentant people. The Babylonians were a proud, ruthless, and greedy empire. Habakkuk was aghast that God would use such an evil empire for His purposes.

God’s answer is an oracle of Babylon’s eventual doom. God’s people will be taken into exile for seventy years, but eventually, they will return and Babylonians will receive God’s justice. God’s pronouncement of Babylon’s doom comes in the form of five words of “woe,” which echoes the three-fold “woe” proclaimed over “Babylon the Great” in Revelations 18 that we read on this chapter-a-day journey last week.

But there’s another connection that came to mind as I read the prophetic pronouncement of doom. Specifically, God chastises the Babylonians for their drunken orgies, then says that their drunken shame will be exposed and “the cup from God’s right hand is coming around to you.”

One of God’s people who was taken into exile in Babylon was Daniel of the lion’s den fame. Late in his life, Daniel called before the Babylonian ruler Belshazzar as he and a thousand nobles were having a wine-soaked feast (“woe to him who builds his house with unjust gain” Hab 2:9). Belshazzar had golden cups stolen from Solomon’s temple brought to him so they could drink from them (“woe to him who piles up stolen goods” Hab 2:6). As they drank they praised all their Babylonian idols and deities (“woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’” Hab 2:19). Suddenly a hand appears and writes a cryptic message on the wall (this episode is the source of the term “the handwriting is on the wall”). Daniel is asked to interpret it. Daniel explains that it is God’s proclamation of Belshazzar’s doom. He dies that night and the Medes take over Babylon.

The “cup (of wrath) from the Lord’s right hand” came around just as God said it would through Habakkuk some 66 or so years before.

As I pondered God’s answer to Habakkuk regarding the use of the Babylonians for His purposes, I couldn’t help but think of that sports fan who has to endure watching the hated rival prevail in order for a greater purpose to be accomplished for their team. God’s message through Habakkuk was the assurance that the hated Babylonians would eventually experience the agony of defeat.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.

Uncategorized

Parental Observation from a Child’s Perspective

January 27, 2015 Tom Vander Well 2 Comments

But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.
Daniel 5:22 (NIV)

As a parent, there is a big difference between a child who acts (or omits) out of ignorance and the child who acts (or omits) with the full knowledge that they are doing what they should not do, or not doing what they should do. Ignorance can be understood and the offense can be chalked up to a lesson that needed to be learned. When a child acts with the full knowledge that what they are doing is improper it is a very different situation. The action, or refusal to act, becomes a willing act of disobedience.

Today’s chapter fast forwards in Daniel’s story. Nebuchadnezzar is dead and Belshazzar has taken the throne. Belshazzar had witnessed all that his predecessor had gone through with the statute, his dreams, and his madness. He had heard Nebuchadnezzar acknowledge God and humble himself. Now that he is on the throne, Belshazzar throws an drunken feast and brings in the stolen gold cups from Solomon’s temple to drink from. If dishonoring the temple vessels wasn’t enough, B-Shaz and his homeys begin to honor the idols of gold, silver and wood. The lesson is clear, B-Shaz had witnessed all that Nebuchadnezzar had experienced and learned, but he didn’t learn the lesson himself.

This morning, to be honest, my heart is sober. As a parent it is easy for me to see and apply these simple lines of behavioral delineation, but then I think of myself as a child of God. I think of lessons I have learned along the journey that still have not translated into life change. There are things I know I shouldn’t do that I do, and things I should do that I don’t. Like a child caught red-handed, I am in continuous need of my Father’s grace and mercy.

[Side note: I love when I realize, discover, or rediscover the source of a common phrase. We forget how many every day sayings come from Shakespeare and from the Bible. “Weighed on the scales and found wanting” is a phrase I’ve heard referenced in books, plays, movies and conversation my entire life. Its source is today’s chapter!]

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Daniel 5

December 18, 2009 Tom Vander Well Leave a comment

"God sent the hand that wrote on the wall, and this is what is written: mene, teqel, and peres. This is what the words mean:

Mene: God has numbered the days of your rule and they don't add up.
Teqel: You have been weighed on the scales and you don't weigh much.
Peres: Your kingdom has been divided up and handed over to the Medes and Persians."

Daniel 4:24-26 (MSG)

There once was a man who built a business from ground up. He worked from dawn to dusk and often into the night. Through the blood, sweat, and toil of his efforts the business yielded a tidy fortune. After many years, the man died suddenly and the business was handed over to his children, who had grown up in the ease of their father's fortune. In their privileged upbringing, the children refused to learn or appreciate the principles of hard work, faithful stewardship and shrewd business practices on which their father built his business. Under their leadership the business quickly failed and their fortunes were squandered.

This parable is actually a common tale, and we see it again in today's chapter. Nebuchadnezzar was a great king who learned his lessons the hard way, but did learn his lessons. His son, Belshazzar, was a spoiled brat who did not learn from the lessons of his father. The "handwriting was on the wall," and it cost him the kingdom.

Living wisely and living well requires us to learn, not only from our own mistakes, but also the mistakes and successes of others. Seeing the patterns and principles of success and failure at work all around us, and adopting the lessons learned in our own lives is crucial. By doing so, God provides us with insights and wisdom we might not otherwise learn if we remain singularly focused on ourselves.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and silent e