Daniel 5:21
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: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
God drove proud Nebuchadnezzar from human society to live with wild animals, eating grass and exposed to dew, with a mind debased like a beast and stripped of kingly wisdom and power until he acknowledged that the Most High rules over human kingdoms and sets over them whomever He chooses. His humbling and restoration show that pride brings judgment and loss, and that God makes His sovereignty known by bringing down exalted rulers. Belshazzar knew of this lesson yet refused to humble himself, and in sacrilegious revelry with his lords he profaned the sacred vessels of Jehovah and praised idols until he was weighed and found wanting and heard his doom pronounced. Babylon was shattered in an hour of feasting because in prosperity its rulers deemed themselves independent of God and ascribed the kingdom's glory to human achievement, fulfilling divine prophecy in the history of nations. The Most High still rules and appoints rulers, working continually in human affairs, and He punishes those who make light of what He has made sacred, keeping faithful record of injustice and oppression against His people.
Nebuchadnezzar's Humbling Described
Pride hardened Nebuchadnezzar's mind, and by God's decree he was driven and banished from human society, stripped of the wisdom God had given him and of his kingly power. This humbling of so proud a king shows that God can bring low the exalted ruler.
His heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses and wild animals. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven.
This beast-like state lasted till he knew and acknowledged that the Most High God, the God of Israel who has power to create and destroy, rules in the kingdom of men and appoints over it whomsoever He will. After that acknowledgment he was restored. His experience demonstrates that pride brings judgment and loss of power, and that God's sovereignty is made known through the humbling of rulers.
Belshazzar's Defiance and Fall
The verse belongs to the account of changes near the end of Daniel's life, when Babylon passed from Nebuchadnezzar to his successors and began to decline, and its fall came in an hour of feasting and revelry under God's providence. Belshazzar knew the history of his predecessor's humbling and restoration, how Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society and lived like an animal until he learned that the Most High God rules human kingdoms and appoints their rulers. He was banished from human society by God's decree after pride hardened his mind, living among wild animals, eating grass, and exposed to the dew, until he recognized God's rule, yet Belshazzar failed to humble himself or honor God and ignored its lesson. His pride and defiance were therefore inexcusable because he knew this history but refused its warning.
His coming calamity resulted from disregarding the light God had given through Nebuchadnezzar's experience, for neglecting and failing to practice God's lessons brings judgment. Against the background of God's sovereignty and judgment, Belshazzar with his thousand lords profaned the golden vessels of Jehovah chosen as sacred and praised the idols of Babylon in sacrilegious mirth and revelry. The God whom they defied witnessed the unholy scene, and Belshazzar was weighed and found wanting. In the midst of that mirth a bloodless hand traced mysterious characters upon the palace wall, and in terror king and courtiers heard their doom pronounced by the servant of the Most High.
Babylon's fall came in an hour of feasting and revelry and shows the literal fulfillment of divine prophecy in the history of nations. It was at last shattered and broken because in prosperity its rulers regarded themselves as independent of God and ascribed the glory of the kingdom to human achievement. Though God in providence incessantly at work over human affairs had given light to Nebuchadnezzar through Daniel's interpretation exalting Jehovah as more powerful than earthly kings, and though Nebuchadnezzar was wrought upon to acknowledge and believe in God's superior power after Christ walked in the fiery furnace with the three faithful servants, the fall still came in that hour of revelry. Belshazzar's presumption and defiance follow the pattern of that earlier king, showing that people can persist in insolence and blasphemy until they pass the limits of God's forbearance, after which God intervenes to end their defiance.
God's Sovereign Dealings Applied
Daniel 5:21 declares that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men and appoints over it whomsoever He will, and the history of nations bears out that providence as always and incessantly at work in human affairs. He had light for Nebuchadnezzar, and for a purpose came in close contact even with that idolatrous mind through Daniel. Through Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream Jehovah was exalted as more powerful than earthly kings, and things foretold in prophecies against Babylon and other kingdoms were presented to the king. God brought the king into reasoning relation with Daniel because Daniel, while doing his assigned work as a statesman, plainly refused any work that would militate against God.
Nebuchadnezzar perverted the light by reading the interpretation in accordance with his own idolatrous mind, setting up a golden image representing the glory of himself and Babylon to convert all nations to its worship. But after Christ walked in the fiery furnace with the three faithful servants who would not bow, he was wrought upon to acknowledge and believe in God and His superior power. Men are not to read the Scriptures and God's providences in the light of their dreams and fancies but to read their dreams in the light of the living oracles. So it will be at the end of the world, in this momentous period when students of God's Word must work away from the customs of the world's counselors, and only those prepared like wise virgins with oil will meet the Bridegroom.
The verse also shows how God punishes those who make light of what He has chosen as sacred to Himself. Belshazzar with his thousand lords profaned the golden vessels of Jehovah and praised the idols of Babylon, but the God whom they defied witnessed the unholy scene. In the midst of their sacrilegious mirth a bloodless hand traced mysterious characters upon the palace wall, and king and courtiers in terror heard their doom pronounced by the servant of the Most High. The same hand that traced the characters on Belshazzar's wall keeps faithful record of every act of injustice or oppression against God's people, so those who trace words of calumny and falsehood against the servants of Christ profane not soulless vessels but the characters of those whom Christ purchased by His blood, and God is witness of their deeds.