Arrogance is defined as having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities. Who do you know that is arrogant? Is it you? It’s fairly easy to identify someone who is arrogant.
In this month’s Bible study we are going to look closely at someone who was arrogant, but more closely at another person who was courageous in the face of arrogance. In Daniel 5 we enter into the story of one of God’s great and courageous people.
The book of Daniel takes place after a significant exile by the Babylonians was put upon the nation of Israel and specifically on the city of Jerusalem. This was a major turning point in the spiritual life of God’s chosen people. Many had consistently refused to completely obey God’s law as handed down through Moses. Isaiah prophesied that this would happen in 2 Kings 20:16-28.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, that will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
In 587 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia found his way through the weakened Assyrian ranks and attacked Jerusalem. He did this by several ways including a war tactic called a siege. Jerusalem, a mighty walled city, was besieged for three months! Nebuchadnezzar was at their doorstep because of their sins of idolatry – and yes – arrogance that they could live outside of the love and protection of the one, true, living God.
For centuries the Israelites had known their God to protect and save them from their enemies. Although several times Israel had fallen to some of their enemies God had always brought them back. There was a deep and abiding belief that God would never let Jerusalem be destroyed.[1] However this belief was based on a Pollyanna-type untruth. Although God had chosen them as a people to bring his message to all the nations of the earth, the covenant made between God and Moses had conditions. In Leviticus 26:27- 45 and Deuteronomy 28:15-68 we can read extensive lists of consequences for the nation of Israel if they did not keep the covenant God had so graciously offered to them and to which they had agreed. These passages of Scripture are commonly known as curses which are the consequences of breaking the covenant with the holy God. These are not fun lists to read. They include things like piles of dead bodies on tops of idols, cities in ruins, sanctuaries laid waste, failed crops and herds, confusion, evil, no rest, constant weariness and longing, wasting away. That's not my kind of list. But Israel was made up of people just like you and me. Sometimes we forget about these consequences because we are so busy convincing ourselves that God has chosen us and that we no longer see the need for careful review and realignment of our lives.
And with God there is always redemption. In Leviticus 26:40-45 we read that God created a loophole. Essentially, he told them that if they confess their sin and repent (turning back to God) he won't remember those sins. As a people, he will not reject or abhor them forever. Always with God our consequences can have a better end. And with God our consequences can be carried with his great help.
The Israelites had lived so long believing that because of God's promises for an eternal nation under his rule no matter what they did God would save them, that even when they could hear the siege works against the city walls it may not even have occurred to many of them that they should throw out their idols, they should stop practicing magic arts, that they should stop cheating their neighbors and that they should stop lying to God.
But Israel's sin was so pervasive, was so normalized, and so predictable that God's patience had run out. Therefore, God permitted the Babylonians to destroy the city of Jerusalem, the Temple which was the very center of the entire nations worship and the city where they believed God dwelled with them. Babylon carried off ten thousand people as captives in exile.
This was not a random picking of people throughout the city. Part of an exile by a conquering nation like Babylon was to capture the best of the conquered nation—people, animals and material goods. I imagine that they lined up all the best and the brightest in the middle of the market. I imagine that they got the city records and discovered who were the most influential families and then systematically seized their sons and daughters to be used in the Babylonian empire. You see one of the most devastating things an enemy can do to any nation or people is to take away their children and cause them to be raised outside of their own culture–assimilating them into a culture so different from their own that the children would forget, but these children could still make valuable contributions to the capturing nation. The Babylonians were idol worshipers. Their high God was Marduk and there were many, many other gods they worshiped. They were a violent people. They were a people set on taking all that was good in Israel and reprogramming and reusing it for the benefit of their own culture.
In Daniel 2-4 we can read about how the Babylonians knew very little about the faithful Israelites and their God. Daniel and his friends understood who their God was despite everything that had changed. They understood that God’s ways were perfect and his character was sure and steadfast even in the face of everything changing. Despite the fact that their home and families were far, far away, despite the fact that their city had been razed and ruined, despite the fact that their place of worship had been utterly destroyed, they had another fact—their God was still on the throne.
Having an unwavering faith in the nature and character of God can give anyone the ability to rise above any kind of trouble and change. This must have been what was at the rock bed bottom of Daniel’s choice to not be completely assimilated into the Babylonian culture and religion.
In Daniel 5 we take a time-warp jump over two kings and land near the end of the Neo-Babylonian empire. Relatively speaking the Babylonian Empire lasted a very short time compared to other nations and movements before and after them (estimated 1894–1595 BC). But while they were in power the empire was significant, it’s arts still surviving to this day. During the reign of king Nebuchadnezzar there were dreams and prophecies of the empires ultimate fall. Daniel had been able to interpret these dreams and speak the prophesies with boldness and courage. He had a complete disregard for his own welfare. But despite these negative interpretations that God had delivered to him, he had been promoted to powerful positions inside of the Babylonian culture.
By the time we read Daniel 5, roughly 30 years had passed since the events of chapter 4. So let’s scroll back and read Daniel 2:48-49 to remember the role that Daniel and his compatriots in exile were given.
48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
At the time of Daniel 5, we reckon that for seventy years he had been a significant leader in a pagan nation while contending with pagan religions and rulers. He was still highly regarded – and still very courageous and loyal to God!
But also at this time, the Babylonian empire had been in decline. It was quickly shrinking and the Medes and Persians were at their eastern doorstep. In fact, the Babylonian king Nabonidas was off in other parts of the world at war and he left his son Belshazzar “as a coregent of Babylon. Though he is referred to in the Book of Daniel as the son of Nebuchadrezzar, the Babylonian inscriptions indicate that he was in fact the eldest son of Nabonidus, who was king of Babylon from 555 to 539.”[i]
Left at home and seemingly unaware or unwilling to face the enemy at the gates, Belshazzar decided to through a party. He seemed arrogant enough to believe that despite the dwindling kingdom and the enemies pressing closer, that Babylon would not fall.
The prophet Jeremiah, living in another region, had communicated new reality on the horizon. In Jeremiah 50-51 there is an extensive prophecy with gruesome details spelled out. Here are some the key verses we can read of God’s declaration about Babylon.
50:24 I set a trap for you, Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it; you were found and captured because you opposed the Lord.
50:29 Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
50:41 Summon archers against Babylon, all those who draw the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her for her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
51:24 Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.
Daniel may have been aware of these prophesies while living in Babylon, but if not, he still heard a higher voice and still had the gift of interpretation given by his God—the God that Belshazzar wanted nothing to do with.
Daniel 5: 1-4 reads:
King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.
It is important to get the context for the travesty of what these Babylonians did. The building of the Temple for Hebrews was as sacred as anything can get. Every stone, every drape, every furnishing and instruments of worship were symbols of the presence of God in their midst and affirmation of God’s choice of them as a people. Kevin Mellish describes that when Jerusalem fell at the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, he “carried away some of the articles from the temple of God and brought them into the house of his god. These articles represented utensils utilized by the priesthood while they carried out their religious duties at the Jerusalem temple: sprinkling bowls, pots, forks/tongs, dishes, censers, and the like. Nebuchadnezzar presented these in the temple of the Babylonian high god, Marduk, in order to recognize and show gratitude for divine assistance in the military victory over Jehoiakim and as a form of propaganda to humiliate Israel’s God whom Marduk had seemingly overpowered.”[ii]
To get a sense of the items that were taken, we can read in Ezra 7:7-11 upon the return of the exiles after the fall of Babylon to Medes and Persians.
7 Moreover, King Cyrus brought out the articles belonging to the temple of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and had placed in the temple of his god. 8 Cyrus king of Persia had them brought by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.
9 This was the inventory:
gold dishes 30
silver dishes 1,000
silver pans 29
10 gold bowls 30
matching silver bowls 410
other articles 1,000
11 In all, there were 5,400 articles of gold and of silver. Sheshbazzar brought all these along with the exiles when they came up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
These are the rich and sacred objects with which Belshazzar’s party attendants used to praise their false gods. Imagine the scene of revelry and outright arrogance. Even Nebuchadnezzar had respected these objects enough to house them in his god’s temple! But not Belshazzar.
God was watching and his time set of seventy years of exile was quickly coming to a conclusion.
Daniel 5:5-9
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. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.
7 The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.
Finally, this king had started to come to terms with a power greater than his father, the legendary kingdom of Babylon, and yes, even himself! And it terrified him. God will sometimes provide an alarming event of such an unusual nature that it can bring those in power to their knees.
A voice of reason (well, Babylonian reason) entered the scene next.
Daniel 5:10-12
10 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”
The memory of a reliable person can live for many years. Here the name of Daniel came to the front during a very critical time. Here God steps in! While the queen does not acknowledge Daniel’s God any differently than her own multiple gods, she recognized the need for outside aid. God can and will work through anyone he wishes. The king was desperate for help, so he called Daniel in, and said, “If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” (v. 16b)
It seems that Belshazzar is poised to be humble and receive. But Daniel, by God’s wisdom knows better. He is neither tempted by flattery or riches! And he declares Who is in all authority over every power. Then he went back to a time when one of Belshazzar’s predecessors came to terms with the one, true, living God.
Daniel 5:17-21
17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.
18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. 19 Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. 20 But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. 21 He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.
And then Daniel said something that no Babylonian in his right mind would say.
Daniel 5:22-24
22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.”
Daniel, by God’s wisdom and revelation, could see right through Belshazzar! There was no humility, no deference, no bowing down. This arrogance could not be uprooted. Daniel knew that God had rendered judgment and there was no stopping it now. Be mindful that God’s mercy can come to an end for those whose arrogance keeps them from submitting to Him. What these Babylonians had done was far worse than just misusing sacred objects. They had defied God himself.
The rendering of the interpretation came next.
Daniel 5:25-31
25 “This is the inscription that was written:
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
26 “Here is what these words mean:
Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.
27 Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.
28 Peres: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
Darius the Mede was at the door. The war machines were knocking, knocking, knocking. There was no way to stop them—all because of a King’s arrogance. In a stroke of almost unimaginable arrogance, he gave Daniel what he promised—as if that mattered.
29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, 31 and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.
Thus ended the Babylonian kingdom. And Daniel’s God still reigns today!
These instances of arrogance taught God’s people of Daniel’s day to stay patient in His perfect timing, to heed the example of others (both positive and negative examples), and walk humbly with their God.
Consider these quotes:
The story of proud Nebuchadnezzar (ch.4) eating straw like an ox, the story of Belshazzar (ch.5), who saw the handwriting of divine judgement on the wall, reminded Jews that the power of God was greater than the godless powers of the earth.
-A History of Israel, Third Edition, John Bright, Westminster Press, 1981.
Let those who thus sacrilegiously alienate what is dedicated to God and his honor know that he will not be mocked.
Pride is a sin that hardens the heart in all other sin and renders the means of repentance and reformation ineffectual.[iii]
-Matthew Henry
We are reminded that not only is God aware of the suffering that believers face, but God also executes justice on behalf of His children.[iv]
-Kevin Mellish
As with all the text of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, God can shape and reshape us. When we read stories of arrogance such as this, we need to humble ourselves before our God and be open to any arrogance that may have taken ahold of us.
Questions to Ponder
What does it mean that, “God holds in his hand your life and all your ways”?
How can you pray for those who seem unredeemably arrogant?
How often can you pray effectively for leaders in our world to come to know humility and the power of God?
Prayer
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Amen
© M.R.Hyde 2024
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