God's
Graffiti
By
Stephen Terry
Daniel,
John, and the Church, Chapter 5
(Based
on Daniel 5)
"Suddenly
the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near
the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His
face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his
knees were knocking." Daniel 5:5-6, NIV
Approximately twenty-three years have passed since the
reign of Nebuchadnezzar had come an end in 562 BCE.[i] Babylon has had a
succession of brief rulers, Amel-Marduk, Neriglissar, and Labashi-Marduk, followed
by Nabonidus. While his involvement and the circumstances of his elevation are
not clear, Nabonidus became king shortly after Labashi-Marduk, a child king,
was assassinated. He departed for military campaigns in Anatolia, leaving his
son, Belshazzar, in charge. Perhaps because he had confidence in his son's
judgment, he delayed his return for ten years from 553-543 BCE, staying at Tayma
Oasis in Arabia. He also may not have felt comfortable in Babylon as he
worshipped and elevated the moon god, Sin in the Babylonian pantheon, while the
priests of the city maintained that Marduk was the supreme deity. Whatever the
reason, any concerns were set aside upon learning of invasion from the North. He
gathered his forces and engaged with Cyrus the Great, who was leading a Persian
force against the Babylonians. He met Cyrus's army at Opis on the eastern side
of the Tigris River. Suffering defeat in that encounter, Nabonidus withdrew
toward the Euphrates, perhaps expecting the Persians to follow. However, Cyrus
had a better idea. Instead, his forces followed the Tigris to the gates of
Babylon and laid siege to the city. We know of no efforts on the part of
Nabonidus to lift that siege. Perhaps he, like Belshazzar, felt that the walls
could not be breached.
We are told that, far from being fearful of the army
outside his gates, Belshazzar threw a party in the palace where wine flowed
freely and judgment was impaired. He may have pointed out to his nobles that
the gods of Babylon had preserved them thus far and would continue to do so. He
and his nobles praised and toasted those gods. Then he may have thought to
reinforce the perception of the power of the Babylonian gods by recalling a victory
from the past, the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE.
Calling for the vessels looted from the Jerusalem Temple. When they were
brought out, he encouraged everyone to drink from those vessels in praise of
the more powerful Babylonian deities. At this provocation, we are told that God
could no longer remain silent.
A disembodied hand suddenly appears and begins writing
on the wall. The message being written was to be seen by everyone, being written
close to one of the lampstands in the hall and therefore not hidden in the
shadows. The writing was in Aramaic, which had become the common tongue of the
Jews, evolving from Hebrew. We are told that Belshazzar shook with fear,
perhaps in part at the sight of the disembodied hand, and perhaps also because
he was unable to read the message it gave. At the presence of such an
apparition, the hall may have became deathly quiet as the revelers ceased their
carousing to watch. Then the silence would have ended as they attempted to
discern the meaning. However, no one present could do so. Belshazzar then sent
for Babylonian scholars to accomplish the task. The Bible refers to them as
"enchanters, astrologers, and diviners." These were similar to the
"wise men" that would later travel to Israel after determining that
the birth of the Messiah had taken place. Because of their education, they may
have been able to read the Aramaic writing, but were at a loss to interpret it,
even though Belshazzar had promised to make the one who could, third ruler in
the kingdom after himself and Nabonidus. Their failure only increased the
king's fear.
The queen, perhaps the wife of Nabonidus, hearing the
commotion came into the hall and reminded Belshazzar of Daniel, who had
interpreted dreams for Nebuchadnezzar and that he was still available to
assist. Belshazzar ordered him brought to the hall. Ironically, Daniel's
Babylonian name, Belteshazzar, meant the same as Belshazzar's, "Bel
protect the king." Yet Daniel was about to reveal the loss and fall of the
kingdom of Babylon. Not knowing what to expect, the prince reminded Daniel of
the reward of being made third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel, who perhaps knew
there would soon be no kingdom to rule, demurred. Looking around and seeing the
articles from the Temple in the hands of Belshazzar and his drunken court, he
was not pleased. With the spirit of so many prophets before him, he stood
before the profligate king and reminded him of the events recorded in Daniel,
chapter 4, pointing out that he knew what had happened and ignored it. Perhaps
his father's elevation of the moon god over the existing gods of Babylon caused
him to feel he had liberty to demote all gods under Sin. Whatever Belshazzar's
reasons, Daniel was having none of it.
He explained this was the reason the hand had appeared.
Then he translated the writing and gave the interpretation. The word
"Mene," repeated twice for emphasis, and meaning "numbered,"
meant essentially the same as in modern English when we say "Your number
is up." His reign had come to an end. The word, "Tekel,"
revealed that Belshazzar did not have the weight required for his position. He
had replaced the humility of Nebuchadnezzar with arrogance in ruling the
empire. That arrogance had now extended even to his treatment of the God
Nebuchadnezzar honored. Therefore his reign was to end. The final word Daniel
interpreted, "Parsin," had a double meaning. It meant that the
kingdom would be divided, perhaps more accurately torn from him by a power greater
than his own, and in a word play on those besieging the city. The word also
means Persia. The dividing then could be seen as being ordered by God but
accomplished by the Persian "dividers." In spite of the adverse
interpretation, Belshazzar made good on his promise to make Daniel third ruler
in the kingdom. But the Bible tells us that he did not outlive Daniel but lost
his life that same night.
How the fall of Babylon occurred is not entirely clear.
An account by Herodotus states that a spy entered the city and was then able to
open the gates for the Persians. Another account says that the citizens
themselves opened the gates, tired of Belshazzar's rule and his insults to
Marduk. According to Herodotus,[ii] who never visited Babylon
and was writing about it a century later, the Persians diverted the Euphrates
and accessed the city through the river gates. This is the account that
apparently Uriah Smith refers to in his book, "Daniel and the
Revelation."[iii]
Nonetheless, the Bible says nothing about the Persians diverting the river and
making an aggressive attack to conquer the city. Instead, Isaiah says that God
will open the gates for Cyrus,[iv] but does not elaborate as
to how. But this account seems to agree with those that say the citizens
welcomed him and opened the gates. The "Cyrus Cylinder," an ancient
cuneiform tablet that records the conquest of Babylon states that the city was
taken "without fighting or battle." While apparently Belshazzar died
in battle commanding forces against the Persians, Nabonidus capitulated and was
treated well by the Persians, although exiled. The golden head of Daniel,
chapter 2, had reached its end with the defeat of Babylon and now began the
chest and arms of silver as the Persian Empire rose to power.
This Article is provided
by Still Waters Ministry
Scripture marked (NIV) taken from the Holy
Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica,
Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION and NIV are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written
consent of Biblica US, Inc.