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PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE

Introduction

Here in Daniel chapter 5, we meet a Babylonian king by the name of Belshazzar. He was the grandson of King Nebuchadnezzar. His name meant, “Bel protect the King.” “Bel,” was a god of the Chaldeans, but “Bel” could not protect this King.

The story of King Belshazzar is a short one. He comes on the stage here and then he disappears.

All that we know about him comes from this brief chapter and some historical documents.

What we do know about Belshazzar is that he made a great feast to which the Bible says that a thousand of his lords were invited. (Read Daniel 5:1-4)

History tells us that drunkenness was common in all ranks of the Babylonians.

We see that a drunk Belshazzar leads his guests in mocking the most high God, the God of Israel, as they drank out of the vessels of gold and silver that King Nebuchadnezzr had taken from the temple when he invaded Jerusalem. We see that these partygoers went so far as to toast to their own heathen gods in what were once God’s holy vessels.

We see that Belshazzar was a man who was full of pride and apparently feared neither God nor man. Here we see that he manifested his vanity, his profaneness, and his pride in the sacrilegious use of the holy vessels of God.

Next we see that the festivities were interrupted by the fingers of a man’s hand writing out some mysterious words on the palace wall. (Read Daniel 5:5-6)

Although Belshazzar could not decipher the writing on the wall we see that he became visibly shaken. Do you think that possibly Belshazzar had an idea that the message might spell out his doom?

Read Daniel 5:7-8

The king was anxious to find out the interpretation of what had been written. We see that he summoned all the wise guys he could find to try to interpret the dream. None of them could tell him the interpretation.

There is a good lesson here. Don’t go to the world to get an interpretation of God’s word. They don’t know what it means.

We find that the king became terribly upset at the inability of the wise guys to give him an interpretation. (Read Daniel 5:9)

Next we see that the queen comes in to Belshazzar and points him in the direction of Daniel.

Read Daniel 5:10-12.

Then, we see that Daniel is summoned to appear before King Belshazzar. (Daniel 5:13-17)

Daniel begins by reminding Belshazzar of how God dealt with his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar.

Read Daniel 5:18-21.

In verses 22-24, Daniel tells Belshazzar that he knew of all this and yet he did not respond properly to that knowledge. He should have been humbled and should have submitted himself to the most high God. Instead, as a result of his own pride, he is guilty of mocking the God of heaven and now God will deal with him! (Read Daniel 5:22-24)

As Daniel reads and interprets the writing on the wall, he reveals that as a result of Belshazzar’s pride, God will judge him by taking away his kingdom and dividing it between the Medes and Persians. (Read Daniel 5:25-31)

The fall of Babylon as recorded by the ancient historians (Herodutus, Berosus and Xenophon) verifies this: "Cyrus then dug a trench and diverted the flow of the Euphrates river into the new channel which led to an existing swamp. The level of the river then dropped to such a level that it became like a stream. His army was then able to take the city by marching through the shallow waters ... The Babylonians at the time were celebrating intensely at a feast to one of their gods and they were taken totally by surprise."

So there you have the end of the one called Belshazzar!

Now I want to point out that Bible critics love to use this story to show some apparent historical errors in the text, trying to disprove the accuracy of the Bible.

There are three points of contention with these critics:

            1.         They say that the last king to rule the empire of Babylon before being destroyed by the Medes and Persians, was a man by the name of Nabonidus not Belshazzar.

            2.         They say that Belshazzar was never a king of Babylon.

            3.         They say that the Bible refers to Nebuchadnezzar as the father of Belshazzar, which he wasn't.

The statements made by these Bible critics are full of half truths.

            1.         Belshazzar's name is found in history, and he just happens to be the son of King Nabonidus, making him a crown prince in the kingdom of Babylon.

The problem in archaeology was that Belshazzar’s name was for a long time not found anywhere outside of the book of Daniel. This led many to say that the whole story was just made up to encourage the Jews. They went on to claim that Daniel had no historical foundation at all. But then things changed.

In 1854 a British consul was exploring ancient ruins in southern Iraq.

He dug into the great tower built there and found several clay cylinders inscribed with Babylonian writing. Sir Henry Rawlinson, who was one of the ones who had deciphered the Babylonian cuneiform script, was able to read the inscriptions. These clay cylinders were, in fact, very significant.

The inscriptions were written at the time of Nabonidus, king of Babylon from 555-539 B.C. These cylinders commemorated the repairs that the king had made to the tower. They included a prayer for the long life of Nabonidus ... and his oldest son. This name of this son was clearly inscribed: Belshazzar.

The inscription reads: “May it be that I, Nabonidus, king of Babylon, never fail you. And may my firtstborn, Belshazzar, worship you with all his heart.”

This proved that there was an important man at this time called Belshazzar; he was not just an imaginary character. The problem in relating this to Daniel, however, was that Belshazzar was only referred to as the crown-prince, not the king. Daniel clearly calls Belshazzar the king.

Other records indicate that Nabonidus was the last native king of Babylon, and that Belshazzar never completely came to the throne. Once again, skeptics concluded that Daniel made a historical blunder in calling Belshazzar the king (though it wasn’t as bad as they first thought). But there is more.

Look again at what Belshazzar told Daniel. In verse 16, he said that if Daniel could interpret the writing on the wall, then he would give him authority as the third ruler in the kingdom.

Why third? This points to the fact that Belshazzar himself was not the first ruler of the kingdom, but that he was in a secondary position.

Belshazzar offered to Daniel only what he could offer: third position. Babylonian texts support this point. In fact there is another piece of evidence for Belshazzar's reign in the city of Babylon that comes from an inscription where he is referred to as the son of Nabonidus and is given authority to rule. It says, “Putting the camp under the rule of his oldest son . . . His hands were now free; He entrusted the authority of the royal throne to him.”

Yet even another piece of evidence comes from a tablet dating back to the sixth century in Babylon, where he is mentioned in the same light as his father:

“In regards to the bright star which has appeared, I will undertake to interpret its meaning for the glory of my lord Nabonidus, Babylon’s king, and also for the crown prince, Belshazzar”

What is interesting to note is that on this oath, the man swore by both Nabonidus and Belshazzar. While on oaths dating back to other times, generally only the king is mentioned. This seems to indicate that Belshazzar had a co-reigning authority that was second only to his father throughout all the Empire.

                        And this backs up the Bible completely in verses 7, 16, and 29.

Nabonidus was eccentric, and for several years during his reign he did not live in Babylon, but in a distant oasis in northern Arabia called Teima. While he was gone, he entrusted the kingship to his son, Belshazzar.

Keep in mind that the book of Daniel was not an official document of Babylon, so it would be in order for him to be called "king," since he was acting as the king in his father’s place.

We also know that at the time the Medes and Persians captured the Babylon, Nabonidus was not living in the city of Babylon, but was in fact staying in Teima. He had left his son Belshazzar back home in charge of governing Babylon.

King Cyrus of Persia also refers to Belshazzar when he conquered Babylon in his writings. He says of him, "A coward was put in charge as the king of this country. . .With evil intents he did away with the regular offerings to the gods. . .and desecrated the worship of the king of his gods, Marduk.”

Cyrus's statement that Belshazzar desecrated the worship of his god Marduk matches very closely to the story in the book of Daniel. Although it wasn't Marduk whose handwriting appeared on the wall, but the one true God of Israel.

            2.         Although the Bible states that Nebuchadnezzar was his father, the Hebrews word for father also as meant a grandfather or ancestor.

And in fact, Belshazzar was a blood line descendent of Nebuchadnezzar. He was a grandson.

            3.         The same goes for the fact that the Bible calls Belshazzar a king.

Even though historical records may not mention that he was a king, the Hebrews word for king is also used for governors or royal princes. And history records that he was both.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion I want to share a few parting thoughts:

We should learn the lessons from our ancestor’s mistakes.

            Someone said that those who disregard the past are bound to repeat it.

Someone else said, “The worst thing about history is that every time it repeats itself the price goes up.”

We should realize it takes time for archaeology and science to catch up with the Bible.

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