LESSON IV.—SUNDAY, JULY 23, 1899
THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL.
NOTE.—Nabonidos was king of Babylon. Having associated with him in the throne his son Belshazzar, the latter was left in charge of the capital while the father was in some other part of the empire, perhaps in command of an army. Cyrus, in command of the combined armies of the Medes and Persians, was besieging the city; but Belshazzar, feeling secure within the massive walls, had given himself up to revelry. He had made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and had brought out for the occasion the golden vessels that had been taken from the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. In the midst of the exciting hilarity, the king saw a mysterious hand writing on the wall of the palace. He was unable to read the writing, and called in the wise men; but, tho offered great reward, they could not read or interpret the inscription. At last the king’s mother reminded him of Daniel and his extraordinary wisdom, as manifested on former occasions. So Daniel was called, and the rewards of wealth and honor were offered to him if he would “read the writing and make known the interpretation.” 17 “Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O thou king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty; and because of the greatness that He gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him; whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him; and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; he was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; until he knew that the Most High God ruleth in the kingdom of men, and that He setteth up over it whosoever He will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified; then was the part of the hand sent from before Him, and this writing was inscribed. And this is the writing that was inscribed, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and brought it to an end. TEKEL; thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.” Golden Text: “God is the Judge.” Ps. 75:7. (1) How did Daniel regard the king’s offers of reward? However, what did he propose to do? V. 17. Note 1. (2) Of what did Daniel then remind the king? V. 18. Note 2. (3) What was the extent of the authority that God had given Nebuchadnezzar? V. 19. (4) How did this great honor affect him? What was the result? V. 20. Note 3. (5) How was he further degraded? Till what time was he so humiliated? V. 21. (6) Altho knowing of this experience, what had Belshazzar failed to do? V. 22. Note 4. (7) In what was his presumption especially manifested? V. 23. (8) Then what wonderful thing occurred? Vs. 24, 25. (9) What was the interpretation of “mene”? Of “tekel”? Of “peres” (or “upharsin,” plural of the same word)? Vs. 26-28. (10) What did Belshazzar then command? V. 29. Note 5. (11) In that night what befell Belshazzar? V. 30. Note 6. (12) Who then became king? What was his age? V. 31. Note 7. 1. Spurned the gifts.—Daniel, as a true prophet of God, did not care for the king’s rewards. He was only mindful of the glory of the God of Israel, from whom he received wisdom to interpret mysteries. He was unlike Balaam, who would fain have cursed Israel for the rewards offered by Balak. If the Babylonian wise men could have read the writing, they probably would not have dared to interpret it truthfully for fear of the king’s wrath. It took one who feared God to have the courage to face the king with a message of unpopular truth. We have like characters in Moses, Nathan, Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, Luther, and others. 2. “Thy father.”—Nebuchadnezzar was the grandfather of Belshazzar, the term “father” being used in an accommodated sense, according to the custom of calling ancestors fathers, however remote the actual relationship. 3. “He was deposed.”—This experience of Nebuchadnezzar, the cause of it, and the dream which foretold it, are all detailed in chapter 4. 4. Belshazzar’s presumption.—He was aware of the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar, and the reason for it. Yet his presumption was carried even beyond that of his grandfather; for his daring to publicly defile the vessels of the Lord’s house was evidently intended to insult the God who had thus humiliated the renowned Nebuchadnezzar. Such is the influence of the excessive use of strong drink, and a dependence upon the defenses set up by human hands. 5. “Third ruler.”—This was the highest position then available in the kingdom. There was (1) the king, Nabonidos, and (2) the co-regent, Belshazzar, both of whom would naturally rank before Daniel. 6. The kingdom falls.—The handwriting on the wall was fulfilled that very night. Cyrus’ army was awaiting a favorable opportunity to strike a decisive blow. All preparation had been made for turning the channel of the river, which ran under the walls and through the midst of the city. On either side of the river across the city were walls with strong gates, which were usually locked and guarded at night. But on this night, when the officials were feasting, the whole city was in a condition of reckless abandon, and the ordinary precautions were neglected. Cyrus, being apprised of the situation, turned off the water from the river, marched his army under the walls and through the open inner gates to the very palace doors. Thus taking the city by night, the king was slain, and the mighty empire of Babylon was no more. 7. “Darius the Median.”—The Medes and Persians had united to overthrow Babylon. Darius was king of the Medes, and Cyrus, his nephew, commanded the combined armies. When Babylon fell, Darius became the first king of the universal empire of Medo-Persia. However, his reign was short (about two years), and Cyrus became king.