Daniel 5:1

Daniel 5:1 says, Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.  Balthazar, Nebuchadnezzar's son was now king of Babylon and had been for about seventeen years, according to Matthew Henry.  Belshazzar had fought Cyrus, the king of Persia and lost and was now under siege in the city.  Instead of turning to God for help, he decided to have a great feast and defy God.  Verse two adds, Belshazzar, whiles 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 therein.  Maybe Belshazzar felt that by profaning the things of God he would make himself look more powerful.  There are still those in the world today who, when they find themselves in great distress, instead of turning to God attempt to make themselves look more powerful than God.  Verse three continues, Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them.  Belshazzar and those gathered with him were using the things dedicated to God for their own purposes.  When we fail to acknowledge the authority of God in our lives today, we do the same thing.  What God blesses us with is still His and is to be used for His glory and not for our own pleasure.  Verse four declares, They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.  Not only did Belshazzar and his friends profane the things of God, but they praised their false gods as well.  Anytime we do not give God the credit for all that is happening in our lives, we are guilty of giving credit to some false god, some material thing.  Verse five adds, In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.  Belshassar was celebrating, then he saw the part of a hand that wrote writing on the wall.  He might have just thought he was drunk, except for the writing.  It is hard to dismiss the word of God when it is clearly written for us, whether on a wall or in a book, the Bible.  Verse six continues, Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.  Belshazsar was terrified by what he saw.  When an unsaved person encounters God in judgment today, they should be just as terrified.  Verse seven says, The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.  Belshazzar had learned nothing from Nebuchadnezzar.  He called on the same group of so-called wise men, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.  He promised them great rewards if they could interpret the handwriting.  When a person is terrified by the judgment of God, the things of this earth become much less important.  Belshazzar was willing to give up a lot to have the handwriting interpreted.  Verse eight adds, Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.  As with Nebuchadnezzar, the wise men failed.  They could not interpret it, since it was God's word, and they did not acknowledge Him.  Those who do not know God cannot understand what He has to say to anyone.