Day 5

We know Daniel was a prophet that God used to help the nation of Israel during a difficult time in their history. They were captives in Babylon, about 350 miles east of Jerusalem, which today would be modern-day Iraq. As we read Daniel 5:1, we read that Belshazzar was the king of Babylon. God’s Word takes us from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar i...

As we examine Daniel 5, the nation of Israel had been in captivity for about 67 years, which means Daniel would have been in his early 80’s. As we read Daniel 5:2–4, “When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he gave orders to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem, so that ...

In Daniel 5:2, we must note what God’s Word says about Belshazzar. It says Nebuchadnezzar was Belshazzar’s father, though we know he was not. In the 6th century B.C., successive monarchs were often identified as sons. When someone came to the throne, they were often referred to as the son of someone who had occupied the throne long before. So...

If we’re not careful, we might miss the fact that as God had the hand show up, it was not just to set fear in the heart of Belshazzar and the people, but it was God revealing His grace to Belshazzar and giving him a chance to repent and turn from his wicked ways. God could have chosen to have all of them killed on the spot for defiling the ar...

God moved mightily, and as we read Daniel 5:10–12, we see that God used the queen to have Belshazzar call upon Daniel. “The queen entered the banquet hall because of the words of the king and his nobles; the queen spoke and said, 'O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts alarm you or your face be pale. 11 There is a man in your kingdom ...

Be sure to read Daniel 5:13–16, as Belshazzar talks to Daniel. It’s interesting that though the king is a lost man, he still had some understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit in Daniel. Belshazzar told Daniel “that a spirit of the gods is in you.” He also mentioned that the Holy Spirit gave Daniel “illumination,” the capacity to understa...

In Daniel 5:17–24, God used Daniel to remind Belshazzar of God’s work in Nebuchadnezzar’s life and how God humbled Nebuchadnezzar when Nebuchadnezzar got arrogant and boasted about Babylon being his kingdom which he had built. God led Daniel to tell Belshazzar this in Daniel 5:22–23, “Yet you, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart,...