Commentary - Daniel 5:17-28

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, the prophet Daniel stands before the last king of Babylon, Belshazzar, not as a supplicant or a court magician, but as a prosecutor delivering a divine indictment. The scene is a drunken, blasphemous feast, interrupted by the terrifying spectacle of a hand writing on the wall. After all the king's wise men fail, Daniel is called in. But before he interprets the writing, he delivers a sermon. This sermon is a history lesson, a moral charge, and a final verdict all in one. He reminds Belshazzar of the lesson his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar learned the hard way: that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever He will. Belshazzar's great sin was not simply pride, but pride in the face of this revealed truth. He knew what God had done to Nebuchadnezzar, yet he deliberately chose to exalt himself against the Lord of heaven, culminating in the sacrilegious use of the Jerusalem temple vessels. The message on the wall is therefore not a warning, but a sentence. God has numbered his kingdom, weighed his character, and is dividing his empire. This is the final, covenantal lawsuit against Babylon, and the verdict is executed that very night.

This is a story of absolute divine sovereignty. Human kings and empires are but temporary placeholders, permitted to exist for a time by the God who holds their very breath in His hand. Pride, particularly pride that sins against the light of revelation, invites swift and certain judgment. Belshazzar is a picture of all who hear the mighty acts of God but refuse to humble themselves, choosing instead to party with the holy things of God. The passage is a stark reminder that God is not mocked, and His scales are perfectly just.

Outline

Context In Daniel

Daniel 5 is the historical hinge in the first half of the book. It records the dramatic end of the Babylonian empire, the head of gold in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2). This chapter is the fulfillment of the previous one. In Daniel 4, we saw the proudest king on earth, Nebuchadnezzar, driven to insanity and made to live like a beast until he acknowledged the sovereignty of the Most High God. Chapter 5 shows us his successor, Belshazzar, who saw this history unfold and yet refused to learn its central lesson. This failure to humble himself in the face of clear revelation is what seals his doom and the doom of his kingdom. The events of this night directly lead to the transition of power to the Medes and Persians, the silver kingdom of the dream, and set the stage for Daniel's service in a new imperial court, as we see in Daniel 6 with the lions' den. The theme is consistent: God raises up and casts down the empires of men for His own glory and purposes.

Key Issues

The Scales of God

One of the central images in this passage is that of a scale, a balance. "TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found lacking." This is a picture of the divine courtroom. God is the righteous judge, and He is constantly weighing the deeds, the hearts, and the claims of men and nations. Belshazzar thought he was a heavyweight. He was the king of Babylon, the ruler of a vast empire, surrounded by grandeur and majesty. But when placed on God's scales, the scales of absolute righteousness and truth, he was found to be spiritually lightweight. All his pomp and power amounted to nothing. He was morally and spiritually deficient.

This is a principle that runs throughout Scripture. God weighs the spirits (Prov. 16:2). He is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed (1 Sam. 2:3). The judgment of God is not arbitrary. It is a meticulous, just, and accurate assessment. Belshazzar's problem was that he was weighing himself on the wrong scales. He was using the scales of human power, wealth, and pleasure. On those scales, he looked impressive. But those are not the scales that matter. The only scales that give a true reading are God's. The story of Belshazzar is a warning to every person, every church, and every nation. We are all being weighed. And if we are weighed in ourselves, we will all be found lacking. The only way to have weight on God's scales is to be found in Christ, clothed in His righteousness, which has infinite weight and value.

Verse by Verse Commentary

17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts remain with you or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the writing to the king and make the interpretation known to him.

Daniel begins by establishing his authority, which is not derived from the king. By refusing the king's gifts, he makes it clear that he is not for sale. He is not another court magician trying to win favor or fortune. He is a prophet of the Most High God, and his message is not contingent on a royal paycheck. This is the stance of a true prophet. He is not there to flatter or negotiate; he is there to deliver the unvarnished word of the Lord. His integrity sets the stage for the devastating message that is to follow. He will speak the truth, whether the king likes it or not.

18-19 O king, the Most High God granted the kingdom, grandeur, glory, and majesty to Nebuchadnezzar your father. And because of the grandeur which He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue feared and were in dread before him; whomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he kept alive, and whomever he wished he raised up, and whomever he wished he made low.

Daniel begins his indictment with a history lesson. He reminds Belshazzar of the source of Babylon's power. It was not Nebuchadnezzar's military genius or political skill that built the empire. It was a grant, a gift, from the Most High God. All the grandeur and absolute authority that Nebuchadnezzar wielded was a temporary stewardship bestowed by God. This is a foundational point. All human authority is delegated authority. No king, president, or prime minister has inherent power. They rule by divine permission. Daniel is laying the groundwork for his accusation by establishing the standard: God is the ultimate sovereign.

20-21 But when his heart was raised up and his spirit became so strong that he behaved arrogantly, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken away from him. He was also driven away from the sons of men, and his heart was made like that of beasts, and his place of habitation was with the wild donkeys. He was given grass to eat like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of the sky until he knew that the Most High God is the powerful ruler over the kingdom of mankind and that He sets up over it whomever He wishes.

Here is the consequence of forgetting the lesson of verse 18. Nebuchadnezzar's heart was "raised up." He began to believe his own press clippings. He thought the power was his by right. This arrogance was a direct assault on the sovereignty of God, and so God acted. He deposed him, stripped his glory, and humbled him in the most profound way imaginable, turning him into a beast of the field. The humiliation had a specific theological purpose: it was to last until he knew that the Most High God is the true ruler. Nebuchadnezzar's insanity was a seven-year-long, divinely-ordained theology lesson. God will not allow His glory to be given to another.

22 Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not made your heart lowly, even though you knew all this,

This is the pivot point of the sermon, where the historical precedent becomes a present indictment. The word "Yet" is heavy with condemnation. Belshazzar was not ignorant. He knew the story of Nebuchadnezzar's pride and fall. He had a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic displays of God's power in history. But knowledge without humility is the foundation of high-handed sin. Belshazzar's sin was far greater than Nebuchadnezzar's because he sinned against a clearer light. He saw what God does to the proud, and he willfully chose the same path. He did not humble his heart.

23 but you have raised yourself up against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear, or know. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not honored.

Daniel now itemizes the charges. First, the root sin: Belshazzar has "raised himself up against the Lord of heaven." This is the essence of all sin, a declaration of war against the Creator. Second, the overt act of rebellion: the sacrilegious use of the temple vessels. These were holy items, set apart for the worship of Yahweh. To use them as party cups in a drunken pagan feast was the ultimate act of contempt. It was a deliberate mockery of the God of Israel. Third, the idolatry: praising lifeless idols of metal and wood. Daniel draws a sharp contrast. You praise gods who cannot see or hear, but you ignore the living God who holds your very life-breath in His hand. This is the height of folly. To dishonor the God who gives you the breath to dishonor Him is cosmic treason.

24 Then the hand was sent from Him, and this writing was inscribed.

The mysterious hand was not a random magical event. It was a direct, personal response from the very God whom Belshazzar was defying. "From Him", from the Lord of heaven, the God who holds your breath. The writing on the wall was God's own signature on the death warrant of the Babylonian empire.

25 “Now this is the writing that was inscribed: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.’

Daniel now reads the words. They are Aramaic words, related to common terms for accounting and weights. MENE means "numbered." TEKEL means "weighed." UPHARSIN means "and divisions" or "and Persians." The repetition of MENE adds emphasis, like a judge striking the gavel twice. The verdict is final.

26 This is the interpretation of the message: ‘MENE’, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it.

The days of your kingdom were not infinite. They were a set number, known to God from the beginning. That number has now been reached. God is the sovereign accountant of history. He sets the boundaries of nations and the tenures of kings. Belshazzar thought the party would go on forever, but God had already closed the books on his reign.

27 ‘TEKEL’, you have been weighed on the scales and found lacking.

As we noted, this is the moral verdict. Belshazzar's character, his reign, his piety, all of it was put on the divine scales. And the result? He was deficient, a spiritual lightweight. He was wanting in righteousness, humility, and wisdom. Despite all his earthly glory, in the eyes of God he was nothing.

28 ‘PERES’, your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

Here Daniel uses the singular form, PERES, which carries a brilliant double meaning. It means "divided," indicating the fracturing of the Babylonian empire. But it also sounds just like the word for "Persians" (PARSIN). The judgment and the instrument of that judgment are named in the same word. The kingdom is not just ending; it is being conquered and partitioned. And the conquerors, the Medes and Persians, were literally at the gates as Daniel spoke. The sentence was to be carried out immediately.

Application

The story of Belshazzar's feast is a story for our time. We live in a civilization that, like Belshazzar, has known the mighty works of God. Our laws, our institutions, and our liberties are the downstream result of a once-vibrant Christian faith. We know the story. We know that righteousness exalts a nation and that pride goes before a fall. And yet, what is our response? Like Belshazzar, our culture has taken the holy things of God, marriage, sexuality, the sanctity of life, the Lord's Day, and used them as props in a drunken feast of self-worship. We praise our own technology, our own wisdom, our own tolerance, which are nothing more than modern gods of wood and stone.

We must take the warning to heart. First, we must never sin against the light. To know the truth and to disregard it is to invite a greater condemnation. If you have been raised in the church, if you know the gospel, do not trifle with it. Humble your heart before you are humbled by judgment. Second, we must remember that God is the sovereign ruler of history. No political power is ultimate. No empire is eternal. The kingdoms of this world are all temporary, and they all stand under the judgment of the King of kings. Our ultimate allegiance is not to Babylon or Persia or America, but to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, we must remember the scales. Each of us will be weighed. If we stand before God in our own righteousness, we will be found lacking. But if we stand clothed in the righteousness of Christ, a righteousness of infinite weight and value, the scales will tip in our favor. The only way to escape the verdict of TEKEL is to cling to the one Man who was weighed and not found wanting, Jesus Christ our Lord.