Unrepentance leads to destruction
Daniel – Chapter 5
Review
- What did we discuss in the Intro lesson? What’s important to keep in mind as we work through Daniel?
- This is what Habakkuk was about.
- Daniel young (15?) when taken into Neb’s training program (after Jerusalem captured)
- What did we discuss in Chapter 1?
- God will maintain His remnant; cultural assimilation will not succeed.
- God provides all – protection, knowledge, war spoils (to Neb), deliverance.
- What about Chapter 2?
- Daniel’s God has real power.
- God has a plan and it involves His kingdom setup for eternity.
- What about Chapter 3?
- Our boys know to obey God and He’s who to worry about. Neb is nothing.
- Neb is preserved for future use by God.
- Chapter 4?
- Neb is a slow learner
- God has patience to humble even Neb (and us).
Introduction
- How did you all do this week reading Daniel?
- What’s your opinion of Daniel (thus far)? Easy, hard, straightforward, confusing, basic, advanced, etc?
- What is your opinion of this chapter? Easy or lots of questions, difficult and convoluted?
- I was caught up in the similarities but ultimate different ending between Neb and B. God choose to preserve Neb, while B was not.
- Can you group any of these chapters together?
- I’m looking for potential messages that could have been intended for the Jews of the day? We said in the Intro that this book was written to encourage the Jews. Why? How? What was said?
Lesson
- vv. 1-4 [READ – Dan 5:1-4] – Paaaa-rtay!
- B the king? Disputed. Many disputed his existence, let alone his kingship. In fact, he was “acting” king while his father, Nabonidas was fighting the Meads, at the doorstep of Babylon.
- This party may have been a “mouse playing” while “the cat was away”.
- Vessels of gold and silver – from Daniel 1:2
- Hangin’ out with wives, concubines, nobles.
- Praised their gods of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, stone…not God.
- vv. 5-10 [READ – Dan 5:5-10] – Party’s over…
- handwriting on the wall
i. Didn’t just appear, but were apparently the fingers/hand of a man.
ii. Certainly adds to the visual effect. Words appearing are one thing. Seeing them written on the wall by a huge floating hand is quite another.
iii. B couldn’t see what was being written, it seems. He could see the back of the hand doing the writing.
- B certainly saw it after the hand was done though:
i. Face grew pale (v 6)
ii. His thoughts alarmed him (v 6)
iii. His hips went slack (v 6)
iv. His knees knocked (v 6)
v. He called out to his posse (conjurers, magicians, diviners, etc)
1. They failed.
vi. Prepared to award with the 3rd-in-command.
vii. Grew paler (v 9)
viii. Grew more alarmed (v 9)
- Did the wise men understand the words? Different language?
- The Queen enters. (v 10)
i. Note, she isn’t mentioned as being part of the party before now.
ii. Who is this Queen? Likely “Mom”. She wasn’t invited to the party any more than yours was invited to your parties that you probably shouldn’t have had/attended.
- vv. 11-24 [READ – Dan 5:11-24] – The answer – in a history lesson.
- “There is a man…”
i. Queen has to remind/inform B that Daniel exists. Granted, a few kings were between Neb and B. It appears that Neb didn’t have a long-standing effect on the subsequent generations.
ii. Daniel wasn’t in high-standing any longer.
iii. …but, the Queen knew. How? Did she simply know her history?
iv. Maybe B was too drunk and simply had to be reminded. ‘Cause later on, he seems to know the story. He even acknowledges God.
v. If he knows (of) God, how much more offensive is his use of the previously holy vessels that Neb had set aside?
- “father” only refers to some ancestor (father, grandfather, etc), not necessarily just his true father.
- “keep your gifts…”
i. One gift was as “third ruler”. Why? Because B was already second in command. Daddy was the true king.
- Daniel shows B that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But Neb changed. B doesn’t.
i. Neb was the ruler’s ruler. None like him. He ruled everyone and everything. He eventually found out he was still 2nd in command, at most.
ii. Neb was eventually humbled. God spared Neb. God gave Neb lots of chances.
iii. B was not spared. He got few (none?) chances. B was never humbled. Scared? Yes. Humbled? Not on this earth.
- vv. 25-28 [READ – Dan 5:25-28] – Another interpretation
- MENE – “Time’s up”
i. No shock here to us. We all know we have a limited amount of time. That part isn’t the problem.
- TEKEL – “You don’t measure up”
i. HERE is the problem. We never measure up. B didn’t measure up. Neb didn’t measure up. You and I don’t measure up. We never will. That’s why we need Jesus. (Romans 3:23)
- UPHARSIN (PERES) – PERES is singular. UPHARSIN is plural. “Divided”
i. The golden head of the image Neb saw in his dreams is now over.
ii. The silver arms are coming into power.
- vv. 29-30 [READ – Dan 5:29-30] – The after-party
- Daniel gets his reward anyway. (v 29)
i. He’s been there before. He was cast aside for a time. He’s being promoted again. Then he was young. Now he’s old. He wasn’t interested.
- Doesn’t have the same relationship with B as he did with his Grandpa (Neb). Seems harsh, distant with B. Maybe he knew that any promotion he’d get would be short-lived (like hours long).
- B is killed – that night. (v 30)
i. He didn’t know it was coming. Went from lavish party to Hell in but moments.
ii. He DID have enough time to react, if he was to. He COULD have repented. He still may have been killed, but he COULD have repented.
- vv. 31 [READ – Dan 5:31] – Next!
- Darius the Mead takes over – that means that B’s Daddy got killed too. The Babylonian empire is officially done now.
- While B and his posse were partying, being scared, then sleeping off their stupor, they were being attacked (hence where Daddy was) and eventually infiltrated. They partied in ignorance (or arrogance), oblivious or apathetic to what was going on around them.
Summary
- What’s your key verse?
- v 23
- Neb and B are similar paths that take different forks.
- Both were vain, prideful, and arrogant.
- Neb ultimately acknowledged God (if not entirely accepted Him) while B did not.
- Neb was restored on this earth and perhaps in Heaven. B died lost and is tortured to this day.
- God’s vision given to Neb is coming to pass. Daniel knows what’s happening.
- Where does Habakkuk fit in?
- Remember, H knew the Babylonians would be sent to punish the Jews. But the Babylonians would get theirs too. These chapters are the fulfillment of Habakkuk.
- TEKEL. We don’t measure up. We can’t. Ever. Even once we accept Christ, we are to work towards being Christ-like. We won’t measure up to that either – on this planet. :)
- World leaders change. God puts them in place and God removes them. He is the one running the show (just like the message in Habakkuk). The world has seen MANY rulers (Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Noriega, Castro, Hussein, bin Laden and Churchill, Bush, Reagan, and even Clinton). Our faith cannot be in men, but in God. We can pray to God that He’ll guide leaders, but He’s running the show anyway.
- God is just in anything He does. This was a theme in Jonah. This was a theme in Romans. This was a theme in Habakkuk. This is a theme in Daniel.