If he was sixteen when he was taken to Babylon in 605 BC, and Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in 539, then Daniel was eighty-two years old when Belshazzar summoned him to the banquet hall, and perhaps he had been retired from royal service for many years. However, true servants of God never abandon their ministries even in retirement but are always available to respond to God’s call “in season, out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2).
The king’s offer (vv. 13–17). To the king’s shame, he knew Daniel only by name and reputation but did not know him personally. Yet Daniel had “done the king’s business” in the third year of his reign (8:1, 27), which would have been 554 BC. What a tragedy that the ruler of the mighty city of Babylon should ignore one of the greatest men in history and turn to him only in the last hours of his life when it was too late. Had the queen mother told her son about this remarkable Jewish exile and yet he paid no attention? What kept the king so busy that he had no time to sit at the feet of God’s prophet and learn from him the things that really mattered in life? “The older I grow, the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom,” wrote newspaper editor H. L. Mencken. But Daniel possessed much more than the human wisdom that comes from experience; he had the kind of supernatural knowledge and wisdom that can come only from God. How much Belshazzar could have learned from him!
The scenario wasn’t a new one for Daniel: a revelation from God, a fearful and frustrated ruler, incompetent counselors, and God’s servant to the rescue. He paid little attention to the king’s flattering speech, and he had no use for the king’s generous offer. Even if he had been younger, Daniel would have had no interest in either personal wealth or political power. “Not greedy for money” is one of the qualifications of a servant of God (1 Tim. 3: nkjv; see 1 Peter 5:2). Along with Daniel, servants like Moses (Num. 16:15), Samuel (1 Sam. 12:3), and Paul (Acts 20:33) exemplify this unselfish attitude. They simply were not for sale.
The prophet’s rebuke (vv. 18–24). Daniel was respectful to the king but he was not afraid to tell him the truth. Even if we don’t respect the officer and the way he or she lives, we must respect the office, for “the powers that be are ordained of God” (Rom. 13:1). From the very beginning of their lives in Babylon (Dan. 1), Daniel and his friends had always exercised humility and tact when dealing with the authorities, and because of this, God blessed them. “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned” (Titus 2:8) is standard equipment for the obedient servant of God.
The king didn’t know Daniel personally, but Daniel certainly knew the personal life of the king! He knew of his pride and his knowledge of the history of his grandfather, but Daniel reviewed that history just the same. “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it,” wrote philosopher George Santayana, and Belshazzar qualified. The lesson that Nebuchadnezzar learned and that his grandson Belshazzar heard about but ignored was that “the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men” (Dan. 5:21). The God of Israel alone is the true and living God and rules sovereignly in all the affairs of this world, including the affairs of the great empire of Babylon!
Nebuchadnezzar showed his pride by boasting about his achievements and taking credit for what God had helped him accomplish (4:29–30), but his grandson displayed his pride by desecrating the holy vessels from the temple of the Most High God and treating the Lord with contempt. By using the vessels of the true God to praise the idols of Babylon, the king was guilty of both blasphemy and idolatry; by ignoring what he knew of Babylonian royal history, he displayed his ignorance. Belshazzar acted as though he was in command and his life would go on for many more years, yet the very breath in his mouth was controlled by the hand of God (5:23). “For in him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28). “This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12: nkjv).
Like King Belshazzar and his guests, many people in our world today are unmindful of the lessons of the past, unintelligent when it comes to interpreting the present, and totally unprepared for the consequences that lie in the future.
The Lord’s warning (vv. 25–29). Anyone who knew Aramaic could have read the words written on the wall, but Daniel was able to interpret their meaning and apply God’s revelation to the people in the banquet hall, especially the king. Daniel didn’t interpret the words to signify units of money (mina, shekel, half-mina, or half-shekel) but to convey warning to the king. The word mina meant “numbered,” and the repetition of the word indicated that God had determined and established the end of the kingdom and it would happen shortly (Gen. 41:32). Babylon’s days were numbered! More than that, tekel indicated that the king himself had been weighed by God and found wanting; so the king’s days were numbered. Who would bring an end to the kingdom and the king of Babylon? The answer was in the third word, peres, which carried a double meaning: “divided” and “Persia.” Babylon would be divided between the Medes and the Persians, whose armies were at the gates of the city that very night.
There are times when God gives warnings in order to bring sinners to repentance, such as when he sent Jonah to Nineveh (Jonah 3); but there are also times when His warnings are final and divine judgment is determined. When God warned Nebuchadnezzar about his pride and unconcern for the poor, He gave the king a year in which to repent and seek God’s forgiveness (Dan. 4:28–33). The king refused to humble himself and judgment fell. But when Daniel confronted Belshazzar, he offered him no way of escape.
Even though Daniel didn’t want the rewards, the king kept his promise and clothed him in royal purple, hung the golden chain around his neck, and declared that he was third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel didn’t protest; he knew that the city would fall that very night and that the conquerors wouldn’t care who was in office. They were now in command.