BONUS SESSION

Daniel: Faithfulness for Difficult Times

The Hand of Reality

Scripture Focus:

Daniel 5:1-9, 17-30

Session Truth:

God has a way of calling us back to the reality of His ultimate rule.

Session Goals:

To consider how we can become overly impressed with the pomp and glitter of this world.

To reevaluate what is truly important in this life.

To acknowledge God’s rule over life and refocus on the work of His kingdom on earth.

Session in Context

The Babylonian Empire was one of the most powerful and prosperous kingdoms in the ancient world. This chapter tells how it finally came to an end. The primary theme of this section is captured in the final words of chapter 4, “And those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (v. 37).

Key Scripture Ideas

Introduction

The events in this chapter take place the very day that Babylon fell to the Persians. Ancient historians tell us the Persian armies crossed the Tigris River only days before and conquered Sippar, a city only 50 miles from Babylon. Belshazzar must have known a battle, perhaps even defeat, was imminent. Yet he chose to throw a party rather than face reality.

The Hand That Impressed Many (Daniel 5:1-4)

The story begins with a description of a king lifting his hand to heaven in an effort to impress people with his position and power. Belshazzar put on a great banquet, surrounded himself with hundreds of the nation’s leading citizens and let the wine flow freely.

In order to accentuate his importance further, Belshazzar ordered fine goblets of gold and silver be used for drinking wine. These were no ordinary goblets however. They came from the plunder of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Drinking from them underscored the dominating reach of Belshazzar’s empire. It also displayed contempt for the God of the Jews. To push the point further, he used the goblets to toast the many images of gods collected from other conquests.

By the world’s standards, Belshazzar had much to boast about. He was a man with great power, vast resources, and many friends. All of this, however, was shallow pretense. Part of the irony of Belshazzar’s show was that he was not officially the king. His father Nabonidus was. Though Belshazzar had been placed in authority during his father’s absence, he was never truly designated king in Babylonian records.

The Hand That Restored Reality (Daniel 5:5-9)

Unexpectedly God interrupted the party and revealed the emptiness of Belshazzar’s charade. A hand appeared in midair and wrote a message on the wall of the banquet hall. Fear gripped the once fearless king. The one who seemed so strong a moment before could no longer stand before God. Blood drained from his head, as his legs grew weak and shaky.

Belshazzar called for his specialists in omen interpretation. The reward offered for explaining the meaning of the writing indicated Belshazzar’s sense of desperation. “The third highest ruler in the kingdom” was a position just under his father and himself (5:7).

The response of Babylon’s experts revealed the depth of human poverty. They could not even read the writing let alone explain it. Belshazzar, the one who seemed so powerful in this world, stood helpless before God.

The Hand That Weighed Life (Daniel 5:17-31)

Belshazzar’s only hope of understanding God’s words to him came through a man who was in touch with God, Daniel. The queen mother recommended him to Belshazzar. So Daniel appeared before the king. The message, as the king may have suspected, was not encouraging.

The God Belshazzar refused to honor held his life in His hands (5:23). The mighty Belshazzar was accountable to God. This is the message of the four words on the wall. Belshazzar’s actions and attitudes had been “weighed” (Tekel) on God’s scales of justice and had not measured up to his standards (5:27). Therefore, God “numbered” (Mene) the days that the king would reign (5:26). The Babylonian kingdom was rapidly coming to an end. It would be “divided” (Peres) and given over to their enemies (5:28).

The authority of God’s message was real. There is no pretense here. Its immediate fulfillment confirms it. “That very night Belshazzar . . . was slain and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom” (5:30-31). The God of Daniel clearly orchestrates the affairs of both heaven and earth.

1 engage interest

Writing on the Wall

The most memorable part of this story is the image of a mysterious hand writing words on a wall. The raucous party suddenly grew silent as it watched a finger spell out four puzzling words.

You have probably heard people use the phrase “the handwriting is on the wall.” What do you think people mean when they use that phrase?

Have you ever felt like God has gone to some dramatic lengths to get your attention?

2 explore the word

The Elements of Arrogance

What things did Belshazzar do in order to impress people? (5:1-4)

What made the goblets from the Temple so special? (See 2 Chronicles 36:18-19 and Ezra 1:7-11.)

When God Makes Himself Known

Why did the writing on the wall cause such a dramatic response from Belshazzar? What does this tell you about his previous show of confidence? (5:5-7)

Why did the incompetence of Babylon’s experts add to Belshazzar’s dilemma? (5:8-9)

Balancing the Scales

What is the point of Daniel’s history lesson? (5:20-22; see also Daniel 4:34.)

To whom must Belshazzar ultimately answer? (5:23-24)

What is the message of the writing on the wall? (5:26-28)

3 examine life

Impressed by Our World

People are attracted to spectacular things. Think about popular events, media programming, celebrities, favorite restaurants, advertisements, best-selling books, movies, and computer games.

What things get your time and attention? Why do you think these things capture our attention?

Could our interest in such things create problems for us?

At what point do the things of this world become dangerous to us emotionally and spiritually?

Arrested by Our God

Throughout scripture God did some dramatic things to get people’s attention. Consider Moses (Exodus 3), Isaiah (Isaiah 6) and Paul (Acts 9).

What might God do today in order to bring us back to reality?

4 exercise your faith

Rethinking the Glitter

Evaluate the things that impress you day by day. Are they really as important as you think?

Think back over this past week. Has God done something dramatic to get your attention? What is God asking you to reevaluate in your life?

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