Download Old Testament Studies Lesson 4

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUS
OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES LESSON 4
“A Deadly Night Feast”
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Ben
Bailey.
“The Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Dan.
4:25). Welcome to our study of “A Deadly Night Feast” from Daniel 5. The background for
this text in set in Daniel 4. King Nebuchadnezzar believes that he is the true king, and the
one who has, in and of himself, made his kingdom powerful. His heart becomes prideful,
and as a result God lowers him, even to the point where he is in the field with the wild
animals eating the grass, and the dew of the ground is upon his body. He then realizes that
his power is not in and of himself, but is through God. He then gives God the praise for his
kingdom. How sad it is that Nebuchadnezzar never taught this lesson to his son. It could
have saved him from a deadly night feast.
In Daniel 5 we see Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s son, reigning. He is, to say the least, a
foolish man. He makes some very poor decisions related to God. And as a result, it ends in
his own demise at the hand, and through the power of, God. The practical lesson found in
Daniel 5 is that any person who exalts himself, becomes prideful in his heart, and decides
to do ungodly, immoral things, will always come to the same type of end result as did Belshazzar. He will die spiritually because of his sins, and will suffer punishment at the hand
of Almighty God. Read Daniel 5:1-4, and look at the foolishness of Belshazzar.
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in
the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command
to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the
temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken
from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his
lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine, and praised the
gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.”
Look at the folly in the way this man mocked God and the things that had been in His temple. In these four verses there are some very powerful teachings. Men must never underestimate the folly and sin associated with alcohol. Belshazzar called for the vessels from the
temple of the Lord so that he could drink wine from them, get drunk, and praise the gods of
silver and stone. Prior to Belshazzar’s ultimate demise, he was involved in the immoral
practice of drinking alcohol. Every person who gets involved in this and does not repent
will perish spiritually, just as Belshazzar did. Alcohol has never profited, and never will profit,
anyone. Proverbs 20:1 says, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is
led astray by it is not wise.” Wine mocks people when it causes them to do things they normally would not have done. It is a brawler, which means that it removes a person’s inhibitions, as well as his ability to control his anger. Ultimately, whoever is led astray by alcohol is not following true wisdom. Christians are commanded, “Do not be drunk with wine,
wherein is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). When people in the Bible
got involved with alcohol, bad consequences always occurred. For example, in Genesis
9 we see Noah, whom God had spared (along with his family) from the Flood. Upon leav-
-2ing the boat, Noah planted a vineyard. He got drunk, and someone inside Noah’s own
family took advantage of him in that situation. Look at what happened. Because he was
drunk, he left himself open to such a thing.
Or, consider Lot and his two daughters in Genesis 19. The girls decided that there were
no more men left, but that they wanted children. What was their plan? They knew that
their father would not normally have relations with them. So what did they do? They made
up a plan to get their father drunk so that he would lie with them. And because of the influence of that alcohol, Lot did something very immoral, and that was not pleasing to God.
Today we must understand that if we get involved in sinful practices that involve alcohol
(like Belshazzar), then we are not walking in the light (1 Jn. 1:7) or leading a holy life (1
Pet. 1:15). In fact, we are leaving ourselves open to all kinds of ungodliness and immorality, of which we might not otherwise partake.
But there is another very powerful point to be found in Daniel 5. We must never be disrespectful or irreverent toward God. It was bad enough that Belshazzar and his friends were
having a riotous party. But then they remembered the silver, gold, and bronze articles that
Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple. No doubt in a mockery to God they sent for
those articles, which they acknowledged as having been from the true and living God.
They then filled those goblets to the top with wine. They mocked God and were disrespectful toward Him. In essence they said, “We hold in our hands the vessels of God.
Thus, we are more powerful than He is.” But God proved by the writing on the wall (and
their ultimate demise) that they were not.
Think about how disrespectful and irreverent they were toward God. We must make sure
that we do not become disrespectful and irreverent toward God. We need to remember
(just as Moses did in Exodus 3) that when we worship God, we must be holy. Our lives need
to be an example of such holiness. We are to worship God “in spirit and in truth” (Jn. 4:24).
In doing this, there will be a great benefit to us. Look at Proverbs 28:14, which teach us
that being respectful and reverent is what God wants, and that there is a benefit to us
when we are. “Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will
fall into calamity.” Why will we be happy? We will be happy because we know that such
actions on our part are what God wants. We know that when we are respectful fear God,
and decide to do His will, He will be happy with us. So, we can take proper pride in knowing that we are doing the will of God.
But in Daniel 4:4 we see the ultimate folly in these people’s lives. They were drinking wine
out of the bronze, silver, and gold cups of God. And what were they doing? They were
praising the gods of silver, stone, and those kinds of things. They were involving idolatry
and paganism in worship of God. How futile it is to turn to the Creation of God and praise
it. It reminds me of Acts 17 where Paul was on Mars Hill in Athens, where idolatry was
rampant—so much so that to be sure that the people did not often anyone, the people of
Athens had erected a statue to “the unknown god.” The Bible tells us that we cannot get
involved in idolatry, paganism, and things that are associated with false gods. In fact, the
Scripture says very clearly in 1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” We
must make sure that idolatry does not become a part of our lives. Someone might say,
“That’s all good and well, but I believe in God. I don’t have any idols. I haven’t carved any
images. I’m not falling down before some image.” But can’t we still be involved in idolatry
if we put anything before God? In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Whether we realize it or not, whatever comes before God’s kingdom, or whatever is taking the place of us
living righteous lives, is our idol—whether it be money, lust, a job, family, or anything else.
-3We can put other things before God and, in essence, be involved in idolatry. How Christians need to refrain from all the things in the world that are idolatrous—things like witchcraft, sorcery, palm readings, tarot cards, people who claim to tell the future, astrology, and
things of that nature! We need to stay away from the alleged “reading of the cards or stars”
so we can see what life is going to be like. The Bible is our guide. It tells us exactly how
to live life in such a way as to be pleasing to God.
Watch what happens in Daniel 5. We saw in the first four verses Belshazzar’s drunken,
riotous party, and how he and his cohorts were praising idols. Here is God’s response to
that, as found in Daniel 5:5-9:
“In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the
lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the
hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so
that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The
king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The
king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, ‘Whoever reads this writing, and tells
me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his
neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.’ Now all the king’s wise men came,
but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then
King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords
were astonished.”
These people were drunk, and were praising idols. How did God respond? They looked up,
and there was a hand—writing on the wall. You can imagine being there, and how shocking that would be. A hand appears—and then starts writing on the wall. God showed them
through His writing on the wall that their ways were not right. From this scene, there are
several powerful lessons that we need to learn.
The first lesson is that we must make sure we do not overlook the clear writing on the
wall. God has not left us without “writing on the wall.” He has not left us without the revelation of His message. We can clearly see what God’s writing on the wall is and what God
says. We need to be sure not to overlook it. We need to ask the question found in Jeremiah 37:17 and Romans 4:3—“Is there any word from the Lord?,” and “What do the Scriptures say?” We need to seek after God’s revelation. We need to know that that revelation
is found in the Bible. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is “God’s message on the wall” for each and every one of us. It is how God tells us to
live our lives, how He tells the things we should do, and what happens when we do not obey
God’s message. That message is a powerful message. Notice the words of Hebrews 4:
12, which illustrate the power in the Word of God, even for us today: “The word of God is
living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division
of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents
of the heart.” We must realize the power of God’s Word. And we must realize that it is for
us today. It is a “living Word.” When we read it, we can understand it (Eph. 3:4). It is something we need to follow in our lives, and seek after daily. We must not seek it when it is too
late. Belshazzar wanted to know what the writing on the wall meant. But it was too late for
him. We read in 2 Timothy 2:15 that we need to “study to show ourselves approved unto
God.” We need to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). We need to “be ready always
to given an answer” (1 Pet. 3:15). We must not overlook God’s revelation to man.
We also need to have a healthy fear for God before it is too late. Verse 6 is almost humorous. Belshazzar sees the handwriting on the wall, and “the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other.” The king was so overcome with fear that
-4he couldn’t even stand. But it was too late. He had been living immorally. He does not respect God. Yes, he is afraid. But he is afraid of what might happen rather than being fearful enough of God to follow Him. We need to have a healthy fear for God before it is too
late. I am not saying that we need to be afraid of God in the sense that our fear prevents
us from having a relationship with Him. We need to fear God in a manner so that our fear
motivates us to develop a relationship with God based on Scripture. In Hebrews 10:31 and
Hebrews 12:29—“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” and “Our God
is a consuming fire.” When we think of God, we must realize that is indeed a fearful thing
to fall into His hands. If we were like Belshazzar, and had to give an account to God, it
would be fearful because God “is a consuming fire.” In Acts 5 we see that Ananias and
Sapphira did stop to think what they were doing when they lied to the Holy Spirit, or they
wouldn’t have taken those steps. They both died on that occasion. Let’s realize that we
need to honor God, serve Him, and worship Him respectfully from a godly fear. We must not
wait until it’s too late to be afraid. We need to have a healthy fear of God that motivates
reverence within us.
Now think about what Belshazzar does next. He is afraid. His knees are knocking together.
And what does he do to find the answer? We must not look to the wrong source for the
answers to life more important questions. Belshazzar calls in the Chaldeans. He calls in the
soothsayers and magicians, All of these men are tricksters who cannot answer the questions for him that he needs answered. They cannot tell him what the writing on the wall
means, yet they were the first place to which he looked for information. We must not look
to the wrong source today for answers to the most important questions of life. Men can never answer life’s most important questions for us. In Proverbs 3:5-7 the Bible says, “Trust
in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear
the Lord and depart from evil.” We are told not to trust in our own hearts. We must not
put our trust in men, but in God. He is the true Source of the correct answers. We must
not put our trust in the books of men; rather, we must put our trust in the Word of God.
Psalm 119:160 says that the entirety of God’s Word is truth. Books of men contain men’s
opinions and ideas—which can never save us. The Bible, however, has all the correct answers that can save us. We must not look to what is popular as our guide. Exodus 23:2
says, “Do not follow a multitude to do evil.” Jesus said in Matthew 7:13 that the multitude
will be lost: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads
to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” We must not trust in religious leaders;
rather, we must trust in God. The Bible says in Matthew 23:9, “Call no man father.” We must
not look up to “Father So-and-so.” We are not to call any man “father” (in a religious sense).
Instead, we are to look to the Word of God for the answers to life’s most important questions.
Then we need to be sure that we do what God has said for us to do. In Daniel 5:12ff. we
see how the queen remembered Daniel who, under Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, had told him
what his dream of a certain statue meant. She then reminded Belshazzar of that, and he
turned to Daniel to ask him to interpret the writing on the wall. Daniel represented God.
Today we need to look to God for the answers we need. In John 17:17 Jesus prayed,
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” The good news about looking to the Bible for answers is that the Bible has everything we need for this life, and to get to Heaven.
We do not need other books or opinions. The Bible has everything we need. In 2 Peter 1:3
we are told, “…as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.” The Bible has “all
things for life and godliness.” Everything we need is in the Bible. Daniel does interpret
the dream, and does make known to Belshazzar all the things that are going to happen.
-5As he does so, he convicts Belshazzar of his false pride. But look at what God wrote—
which was of the utmost importance. In verses 25-30 we are told,
“This is the inscription that was written: MENE, MENE, TEKEL,UPHARSIN. This is the
interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;
Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; Peres: Your kingdom
has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Then Belshazzar gave the
command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck,
and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.”
I want us to think practically about this message. God wrote, “MENE, MENE,” and Daniel
correctly interpreted those words as meaning, “God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it.” How can that apply to us today? Hasn’t God numbered each one of our days?
And won’t we all one day pass from this life? The Bible says in Psalm 90:10 that we might
have seventy or eighty years upon this Earth. In Job 14:1 Job said, “Man who is born of
woman is of few days.” Now is the accepted time. The emphasis on Scripture is on “now”
(2 Cor. 6:1-2). In the words of 1 Samuel 20:3, there is just a step between us and death.
In 2 Samuel 14:14 we are told that life is like a glass of water because once it has been
poured out on the ground, it cannot be recovered. Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed to
man once to die, and then the judgment.” Just as God had numbered Belshazzar’s days
and his kingdom, so God has numbered our days as well. We must realize that we may
not have very long to live on this Earth. James 4:14 says, “Whereas you do not know what
will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time
and then vanishes away.”
The word TEKEL meant, “You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.” Belshazzar was not the man he needed to be. How does that apply to us? Each of us will
stand before the Judgment Seat of God and be weighed in the balances. Romans 14:12
says, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Just as Belshazzar was
weighed and found wanting, each of us will be weighed. If we do what God says, we will
not be found “wanting,” but will found “faithful.” If we do not obey God, then we, too, will be
found wanting. Look at the words of 2 Corinthians 5:10—“We must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according
to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
UPHARSIN (PERES) meant, “Your kingdom has been divided and given to another.” How
does that apply to us? If we do good, then the Bible teaches that we will go to Heaven. If
we do not, then we will be divided from those who are righteous, and we will be lost. Just
as there was a great division in the kingdom of Belshazzar, God says that one day there
will be a great division where the sheep and the goats will be separated to go into eternal
life or eternal death. If we are not faithful to God, we will be divided from His saints. The
Bible teaches that there are only two choices after this life. In Matthew 25:46 Jesus said,
“These [the wicked] will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Our choices are everlasting punishment (if we do wrong) and everlasting life (if
we do right).
What road are you on today? The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10 that Jesus will
return one day in flaming fife to take vengeance on two types of people: (1) those who
do not know God; and (2) those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Are you living your life today like Belshazzar? Are you “living it up” and “living for
the moment”? Are you living in defiance of God and in essence mocking Him by your lifestyle? If so, you need to stop and see the clear writing on the wall. God has revealed His
will. He has revealed to us exactly how we are to live, and He has told us how to become
-6Christians and do His will. We need to make sure that we go to the Bible and realize that
our days are numbered. One day we will all be weighed in the balances. If we are found
wanting, we will perish eternally. If not, we can live with God forever. Stop and analyze your
life. Are you sure right now that if you were to die, you would be right with God? If not,
we would be pleased to study with you and help you in any way we can to become the
person God wants you to be. If we can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask
as we continue to study the Gospel of Christ.
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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-7-
STUDY QUESTIONS FOR OLD TESTAMENT STUDIES LESSON 4
“A Deadly Night Feast”
1. What important message for people of all ages is found in Daniel 4:25?
2. According to Daniel 5:1-4, what did King Belshazzar do, and what was occurring during the event?
3. What does Proverbs 20:1 have to say about alcoholic beverages?
4. What important admonition is found in Ephesians 5:18?
5. Name a trait that is found in Proverbs 28:14 that did not apply to King Belshazzar.
6. What does 1 Peter 1:15 admonish us to do?
7. In Matthew 6:33, what did Jesus urge us to do?
8. According to Daniel 5:5, something very unusual happened during a party being hosted by King Belshazzar. What was it?
9. According to Daniel 5:6, what was the king’s response to this unusual event?
10. In Daniel 5:7 we find King Belshazzar making a demand of certain people in his court.
What was that demand?
11. Daniel 5:8 provides the response that Belshazzar’s servants made to his request. What
was it?
12. What important questions are asked in Jeremiah 37:17 and Romans 4:3?
13. What does 2 Timothy 2:15 admonish us to do?
14. According to Proverbs 3:5-7 we are to do something, and are not to do something
else. What are those two things?
15. According to passages such as John 17:17 and Psalm 119:160, where is “truth” to be
found?
16. What does Exodus 23:2 admonish us not to do?
17. According to 2 Corinthians 6:2, when should each person be concerned about the destiny of his or her soul?
18. Explain briefly the message given to Belshazzar by God, as found in Daniel 5:25-28.
19. After Daniel interpreted God’s message to Belshazzar, what happened to the king?
20. What, according to 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, will Jesus Christ do at some point in the
future?
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