Chapter 5. The Judgment of Belshazzar
Chapter 5. The Judgment of Belshazzar
If God put power into the hand of the Gentile, and granted success to his armies, even against the nation His choice, and to the overthrow of Zion that He loved, He does not overlook the pride of heart, the lust of power, the self-will and violence of the rod that He uses for the correction of His erring people. The nations that time and again invaded His land, and wantonly destroyed life and property, were His instruments for the correction of His obstinate and stiff-necked people; but to do the will of God was far from the thought of any one of them.
God takes into account not only what men do, but their object in doing it. Jehu executed the judgment of the Lord on the house of Ahab, and on all his guilty partners, until not one of them remained alive. By his means also was the wickedness of Jezebel punished in Jezreel. But the severity in which he executed the just judgments of the Lord, and his own selfish reasons for his harshness, were far from being acceptable. Hence by the mouth of the prophet Hosea He says, “Yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu” (Hos 1:4). Assyria was the rod of His anger, by which He chastised Israel. But the rod boasted itself against Him who lifted it up, and hence do we read, “Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord has performed His whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of His high looks. For he says, By the strength of my hand have I done it, and by my wisdom” (Isa 10:12-13). Nor will the repentance of the sinner, and his subsequent humble walk before God, always avert the governmental consequences of his misdeeds. That king David deeply repented of his sin in the matter of Uriah the Hittite is to the glory of God plainly stated in His Word; but he has to suffer in his own family for that cruel exhibition of autocratic power. Manasseh may have found mercy and forgiveness of his wickedness, but Judah, as contributory to his provocations, must suffer the consequences from the hand of God, as it is written in 2Ki 23:26-27, “The Lord turned not from the fierceness of His great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” In the government of God, children have to suffer for the sins of their parents, and nations for the sins of their rulers. Men may murmur against this, and characterize it as injustice, but the fact remains, that should a man squander his inheritance and abuse his body, his children will have to suffer for it in want and weakness. But this does not extend beyond this present life, and the sorrows here on earth are but short lived. No man will be made to undergo the judgment of Gehenna for the sins of others, but only for those he himself has committed. And as a way of salvation has been opened up for all, and entrance into a sinless, sorrowless world of unspeakable happiness, what else can be done with the man who refuses to avail himself of a place and portion there, but cast him out? Any observant soul can see the fact verified in numberless instances, that the iniquities of the fathers are visited upon the children, and that mercy is shown to the descendants of them that love God and keep His commandments. The dynasty represented by the head of gold comes to an end in the death of Belshazzar. It is not only that the king himself is judged on account of his profanity, but an end is brought to the kingdom in its primitive and superlative glory. The way in which Nebuchadnezzar abused the authority that was committed to him by the God of heaven could not be forgiven. In unfathomable grace and as regards eternal relationship with God, it could be, and was I feel persuaded, but the kingly position could not be continued beyond his grandson. God had promised that the kingdom would be continued in his family unto the third generation (Jer 27:7), and He keeps His word, patiently bearing with their oppressive and idolatrous ways, until to bear any longer would have been to give the impression that He was indifferent to their flagrant acts of conscienceless tyranny and wickedness; and at the last it was only when openly insulted and challenged to combat with the powers of darkness that He intervened in judgment.
It is impossible to imagine that the dreadful sins of which Nebuchadnezzar was guilty could have been overlooked by God, for the Judge of all the earth will surely do right. For his devilish idolatries, his determination to destroy out of his kingdom every faithful witness of Jehovah, as well as on account of the atrocious deeds of his successors, his dynasty had to be brought to an end, though the sin of which Belshazzar became guilty was sufficient of itself to bring down the judgment that fell from heaven upon his insolent head. The ways of God in His providential dealings with men are both wonderful and untraceable. But if we were only able to search them out we would see how accurately all the actions that men do are weighed in the balance of the sanctuary, and how a fitting and just chastisement is meted out to every offender; and how, though it be true that the iniquities of the higher authorities are often visited upon those over whom they are placed, each human being receives according to his works. And in His government He makes no distinction between His own people and the godless world, except that the judgment may be more severe upon the former, for He had taught them better. But no judgment for His own reaches into eternity.
Ten of the Tribes of Israel were rent from Rehoboam, and in 1Ki 11:11 we are told it was for the sin of Solomon, but 1Ki 11:33 says it was for the idolatry of the people, and in 1Ki 12:1-33 we find the exciting cause was the tyrannical spirit in which the imperious Rehoboam met the people, when they prayed him for a more gentle rule than that which had been imposed upon them by his father. Had we only that which is said in 1Ki 11:11, we would conclude that it all came to pass on account of the sin of Solomon, and had we only 1Ki 11:33 we would conclude that it was for the sin of the people, and had we only that which is recorded in 1Ki 12:1-33 we would be certain to put the evil which befell the nation to the despotism of Rehoboam. The fact is the sin of any one of the three parties named was quite enough to bring all the mischief that was done, and therefore is the responsibility of the matter left at the door of each. Let me, however, say again that this judgment is only governmental, and does not always reach into eternity, though in some cases no doubt it does, for “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise also the good works of some are manifest beforehand, and they that are otherwise cannot be hid” (1Ti 5:24-25).
Belshazzar was well acquainted with the dealings of God with his grandfather, and this fact makes him all the more responsible. Where much has been, much must surely be required, and as Belshazzar began his reign with a greater degree of light than did his grandfather, his godless conduct becomes all the more reprehensible. Except the testimony rendered by the heavens and the earth, and whatever might be gathered from the providential dealings of God with the creature, Nebuchadnezzar had no light whatever, until He brought the captive Jews from Jerusalem, and came into contact with Daniel and his three confederates. But this could not be said of Belshazzar, for the ways in which God had brought Himself to light through these His servants was not hidden from him. Therefore must more be expected from him. But his evil doings witness to the sorrowful fact, that he had not in the least profited by the things of which he was made cognizant. But does man ever really profit by light graciously given by his Creator? What effect upon Israel had the mighty works that they had witnessed in the land of Egypt, or in the wilderness, which were done in their sight by the mighty hand of God? Except where divine and sovereign grace wrought in the hearts of men like Joshua and Caleb, as far as any lasting and good effect was produced, the works might just as well have never been done. And what has the Spirit of God to say regarding the descendants of that people, when the Saviour had been in their midst doing works that no man had ever previously done? This only, though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him” (Joh 12:37).
“Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand.” Was he not every inch a king? Was he not head and ruler of the most powerful kingdom on earth? Was he not supreme even among his assembled lords? Had not his gods been most favourable to him? Was he not firmly established upon his glorious throne? Who could estimate the wealth with which be was surrounded? Had not the God of Israel, that once had triumphed over the Egyptians, been utterly defeated before the gods that he honoured? Then he would celebrate the discomfiture of that God, whose devotees he held as slaves to the praise of his gods throughout his vast dominions!
“Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.” The gauntlet is thrown down before the throne of Jehovah. The carousal is intensified as the holy vessels of the living God are borne into the vast assembly. The noise of the intoxicated singers praising the gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone, rises like a mighty hurricane, and the house trembles with the roar of drunken revelry. The drunken revellers thought not of the madness of Nebuchadnezzar and of the humiliation which he suffered at the hands of the God of Israel! They did not recall the fiery furnace and the contempt thrown upon the wrath of the king by that same God whom they despised! We may picture that assembly of drunken sensualists, brutalized with the gratification of their sensual appetites, applauding the coarse and blasphemous boasting of the crowned autocrat and director of their debauchery. And yet all that this man possessed, from the throne on which he sat to the breath that was in his nostrils, he owed to the clemency of the One whose glory he was so terribly and provokingly outraging. The madness of Nebuchadnezzar expressed itself in one way, the madness of this monarch in another. But suddenly a firm and throttling grasp is laid upon the king’s revelry; and the silence of death falls upon the whole terror-stricken assembly. Upon the wall before the king the part of a man’s hand is seen tracing letters and words upon the plaster. The countenance of the king is changed from boastful hilarity to abject terror; trembling lays hold of him, and his knees smite one against the other. He cannot read the writing, nor can any of the company that feast with him. In vain are the Chaldeans, soothsayers, and astrologers called in; they could neither read the writing nor make known the interpretation, though for the man that could do this there was scarlet clothing, a chain of gold for his neck, and a position of third ruler in the kingdom. But help is at hand. That which God had caused to be written was not to remain on the palace wall as an unmeaning and undecipherable spectre of fear. It was meant to be read and understood. But the king and his nobles must also learn whose hand it was that traced those words on the plaster of the king’s palace. They must also be brought to a sense of the madness of their carousals, and of the gravity of the insult offered to the Writer, in bringing the holy vessels taken from His temple, and putting them to such corrupt uses, as to drink wine out of them to the honour of their gods, and they must learn how powerless are the gods whose prowess they had been praising, when met by the might of the Most High, and when the hour for the execution of judgment upon the workers of iniquity has struck. The tidings of this terrible apparition, the consternation of the king, and his lords, and the failure of the wise men to throw any light on the matter, reaches the ears of the queen, who at once thinks of the Hebrew captive Daniel, and coming into the banqueting hall, reminds the king that such a person still exists in the kingdom. She says, “Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.” Evidently whoever else had forgotten him she had not, nor was her confidence in his ability to unravel the mystery in the least shaken by his present obscurity. Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The indignation of that devoted servant of the Lord is aroused, as he witnesses the insult that had been offered to the God of Israel by this inflated worm of the dust. He does not make the slightest attempt to conceal his contempt both for him and his gifts, as in his ears are recited the honours that are to be heaped upon the man who will interpret this startling and terrifying mystery, that had so abruptly intruded itself into their midst, and so completely put an end to their intemperate gaiety. He answers with an abruptness that betokens a mind incensed, saying, “Thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.” Not thus had he answered Nebuchadnezzar. As he contemplated the dark and distressful shadow that was to fall athwart the life of that monarch he was filled with compassion, and says, “My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies.” But in this case his indignation is so aroused by the dishonour done to the living God that for the moment the imperious and autocratic position occupied by this monster of iniquity seems to be lost sight of. But just on this account is his behaviour in the most perfect harmony with the judgment that was at that moment hanging over that trembling sinner. Nebuchadnezzar had been in gross darkness, and therefore to be pitied; but Belshazzar was sinning against the light that had shone in God’s dealings with that king. And all this is brought to the mind of this unhappy monarch. The high position into which his grandfather had been lifted by the grace of the Most High, his subsequent degradation on account of the pride of his heart, are briefly and graphically described, as is also the end and object of all the dealings of God with him, “till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that He appoints over it whomsoever He will.” Then the profanity of Belshazzar is forced home upon his conscience, and then what made his sin all the more flagrant, “Thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this.” “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 Him; and this writing was written.” His kingdom was numbered and finished, he himself weighed in the balances, and found wanting; the kingdom divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. A veil is drawn over his last moments. God fulfils his word to Daniel, and “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.” The judgment of heaven follows hard upon the sentence inscribed upon the palace wall. Its execution was swift, sure, merciless, and thorough. His gods cannot save him, even if they would, though the devil shows no compassion even to his most devoted servants. With what pomp had Belshazzar come into that banquet hall! Secure in his proud position the crowned centre of the thousand satellites gives the order for the banquet to begin. They eat and drink to the honour of the king and of the gods that he served, while almost within earshot a mighty foe is approaching, that will turn their intemperate boasting into shrieks of terror and the groans of dying men.
How marvellous are the ways of God! How righteous are His judgments! And what a sense of security and rest of heart the knowledge of his intolerance of evil gives! Rebellion against His authority, oppression by those in high position, and the lawlessness of those who rise up against lawfully constituted rulers, must ever be met by the judgment deserved, though long and patiently He may bear those evils. His hand had fallen heavily upon His people, who were raised up to be His witnesses in an idolatrous world, because of their faithlessness. But He knew how to safeguard His own name and reputation, and how to preserve His glory from going to another. The Gentile was but the rod by which He disciplined His people, and if that rod boasted itself against Him that lifted it up, He knew how to show it that it had no power of its own. He will have the Gentile authority obeyed even by His own people, for that authority was set up by Himself, but if in his pride of heart the Gentile will oppress that people, or seek to turn them away from Himself, he must suffer the consequence. In this present day the gods of the Chaldean may be scoffed at, and those who serve such deities may be viewed as in gross darkness, and doubtless they are. But are not many returning to this state of things with terrific speed? What about all the honour that is being given to crosses, crucifixes, images, saints and angels, and baring the head to a building set apart for the service of God? I am likely to be told that this is practised because of that which is represented by such things. But did the images of silver and gold that the Chaldeans bowed to mean nothing? Was there nothing represented to the mind by such things? To put confidence in anything but the living God is idolatry. Even covetousness is said in Scripture to be idolatry (Col 3:5), for it is an evidence that something has displaced God in the affections of the heart. It is God who puts down one, and sets another up, though to put trust in Him is contemptible in the estimation of this godless world. To bring God into anything today is viewed by most people as a remnant of bygone dark ages. Belshazzar may have tried to make himself believe that the ascription of dominion, honour and power, rendered to the living God by his imperial grandfather, was but a remnant of the madness of those seven sorrowful years, during which he was driven from the dwellings of men, and that the gods that countenanced and ministered to his degraded appetite were the only gods that were to be served by king or people. It is difficult to believe anything that is objectionable to one’s nature, but exceedingly easy to believe that which testifies of a god endowed with passions like ourselves, and who therefore cannot judge them, or even rebuke them, in the creature.