Daniel 5:22–30

As Christians we need to humble ourselves before God! Pride is an idol in God’s eyes. He will teach us His way…the easy way or the hard way but we will learn the lessons we need to be like Jesus.

God will not be mocked!

He spoke of the indwelling glory of God that would reside in His followers: "The glory that you have given me I have given to them ... so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me" (John 17:22-23). The purpose of His indwelling glory is clear ... that the world may know God's love through the person of Jesus Christ.

God's glory first resided in the tabernacle, then the temple, then in Christ and now in us. Through the indwelling Spirit of Christ, we become the reflection of God's glory to a broken world. We are image-bearers of our Savior, and we are "being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18a). Pursuing Jesus changes us; it transforms us into His likeness. First5.

Daniel 5:22–30

22 “But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. 23 And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. 24 Then the fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

25 “And this is the inscription that was written:

MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

26 This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” 29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Belshazzar’s Fall

30 That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain.

Like Nebuchadnezzar, pride is the ultimate cause of Belshazzar’s downfall. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, however, Belshazzar will not be restored. Though Belshazzar apparently knew of this incident, he was unaware that Daniel—Nebuchadnezzar’s most trusted advisor—had informed him of his fate. Belshazzar will not follow Nebuchadnezzar’s example of repentance. He consequently receives no opportunity to repent.

The enigmatic message is “a mina, a mina, a shekel, and two halves” and refers to units of measure. The related verbal forms mean “to number, to weigh, to divide,” respectively. The surface meaning of the terms is clear enough, referring to weights in the sense of currency. The puzzle is the significance of the words for Belshazzar and his guests. Daniel explains the message by playing on the verbal meanings: being numbered, being weighed, being divided. 

God has appraised Belshazzar and found him to be an insufficient ruler. As a result, He will strip the kingdom from him and divide it among the Medes and Persians. Despite the unfavorable interpretation, Belshazzar promotes Daniel as promised. Though Daniel refused the reward in the beginning he accepts it here. As a servant of Belshazzar, he likely had no choice. Like Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar may have been trying to assuage God’s wrath by honoring His prophet.

God’s retribution is swift. Faithlife  Bible.

While these things were passing in the palace, it is considered that the army of Cyrus entered the city; and when Belshazzar was slain, a general submission followed. Soon will every impenitent sinner find the writing of God’s word brought to pass upon him, whether he is weighed in the balance of the law as a self-righteous Pharisee, or in that of the gospel as a painted hypocrite. Matthew Henry Commentary.

When Daniel refused Belshazzar’s gifts and rewards, he was not being ungrateful or showing disrespect. He was simply saying that he would interpret the writing regardless of reward. The repetition is for emphasis. God had numbered the days of Belshazzar’s kingdom; its time was up. TEKEL means weighed. God had weighed Belshazzar, and the king did not measure up to God’s standard of righteousness. UPHARSIN, the plural of Peres, means divided. That very night Babylon would be divided and defeated by the Medes and Persians. That very night (October 12, 539 b.c.) Babylon fell to the Persian army commanded by Gubaru. NKJ Bible.

Exodus 10:3 So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

2 Chronicles 33:23 And he did not humble himself before the LORD, as his father Manasseh had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.

2 Chronicles 36:12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD.