Lifted Up
Daniel 5:21-31
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. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this;
What a testimony we see here. I do not know about you, but I have met many service-minded beasts and people with a pure heart even though these are of low position. It is important to note that as these beasts go, they seek the Lord. Both Lord and man are over them, but still their portion is appointed from God. They serve him by doing his work; hence, they find their portion in his hands. Is it not a testament to how man treats their own; not for nothing the text says he was driven from men. It reminds me of the story of a young, orphaned boy which found kinship among the beasts which raised him rather than his own people who bore him. Look at this provision here. You might be saying to yourself, 'I see no provision there, that sounds terrible.' But when you have been cast out, rejected by man, and what feels like from God as did Jesus upon the cross, even this place feels nice in comparison. His heart was not on the position nor the promotion but upon certain things he found while there in this place. The "dwelling was with the wild asses" because here the king had found a home.
He found peace and solitude away from those who wished to harm him. I do not know about you, but I have met a few asses, wild or not, that had natural predators. "They fed him with grass like oxen;" we have discussed this one before. Finally, "his body was wet with the few of Heaven." I do not know about you, but there is a provision to be found here. Grass and dew from Heaven are very sustaining when it is the Lord serving them. There is nothing to fear here. It is almost like Psalm 23 when the Lord my Shepherd prepared a table for me before my enemies' sort of vibe. This is a portion and a provision like few others experienced. It should be noted that King Belshazzar, his son, knows this portion and provision not much like he knows the Lord. He is proud and stays that way because he feels in some way superior for having known them. Somehow, like Satan himself, he felt he had the ability to ascend unto the throne of God itself. Such a thing is futile in the house of the Lord.
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 him; and this writing was written.
It is important to see that God knows where you come from and what has been done. There is no secret with him for the light of his presence drives out the darkness. John 3:21 declares this so all may see if the deeds done are wrought of God. Because he knew all that had passed before, it was impossible to deceive him. On the other hand, it should be very comforting to the believer to have a God who is present with the sufferings of his people. Here we see in these verses the direct fulfillment of the punishment; this prophecy was given to the ruler of Babylon's son in Isaiah 14:20-21. The king thought of dividing the kingdom to increase his wealth and prosperity as discussed before. However, the kingdom has been numbered by the Lord. God knew what each one was going through and would set the wrong situation right. Even down to the names of those taken captive and the vessels of the temple seen in Ezra 1:7-11, God knew everything. The finishing spoken of here refers not just to an ending.
And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
King Belshazzar's reign was coming to an end. However, this did not mean that God was done with the rest of the people who had not done as with their ruler. God's provision for the people is seen here for the kingdom has been numbered. They also have provision found in the work that the king left undone. You may wonder how God could finish it like this. But has he not made this provision they needed to come to pass. This is why God had to make the distinction between the people and their ruler. He only weighed King Belshazzar in the balances and found him wanting. This is an image associated with justice from Greek mythology of the blindfolded woman holding scales. Like the blindfolded woman, King Belshazzar has no ability to see himself as lacking in the sight of God. He has little spiritual vision and even less understanding of the deep and hidden things. For this and his treatment of the people, he has been judged. The blindfolded woman cannot see that her scales handed to the people are unequal. This is something that takes the Lord's hand to number and finish the kingdom as it were. Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain according to Psalm 127:1.
Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
See the judgment now to come. A divided kingdom was given to the Medes and Persians. In this is the provision of God for his people. They are serving and seeking him I presume. I see more spiritual sense shown here than before even if the leadership was corrupt. If they did not, God is able to straight even that out. Even deeper, we see a kingdom divided. Some serve God and others do not. Some will identify as still other races or nationalities of people to come. Then these Medes and Persians will come and join them so they all will be blessed together. There is blessing to be found in the leading of God. This indicates that the head of gold in Daniel 2 is not yet finished. King Belshazzar was good for his word and promoted Daniel as promised. I do not see much sense shown here concerning either the meaning or the interpretation of these words. For this, King Belshazzar was still proud and very sure of himself. How can someone be so dense that the Word of God affects them not, but it is possible. Like Pharaoh before him, as a vessel of wrath described in Exodus 9:12, God had hardened his heart to not let the people go. Again, in the end times, the beast and false prophet will let none of God's people go then either, despite what the judgment against them may be. This is done so that Heaven's rulings may stand. Then will all know that God reigns in the affairs of men. Daniel is certainly rewarded. Such things are nice to have but not for their own sake. A life without Christ would be very empty indeed.
In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain.And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old.
See here, King Darius came knocking on the door for one man. In the middle of the night, he snuck into the heart of the castle despite not having been there before. He found where Belshazzar slept and took his sword in hand. Out of the many rooms and places he could have gone, he found the only one. The text does not say how he was slain, only that he was. This is like when the king of Israel was enticed out to battle as told in 1 Kings 22:19-22. History tells of one arrow shot at random which found the disguised king. Only in this case, there is no army sent. There are no sieges, spies, or anything else. Just one man who was the Median king's bodyguard and very sure of himself. I do not know how it is possible to say the entire Babylonian empire fell when the text says King Darius "took the kingdom" at 62 years of age. Nevertheless, it was done so that the Lord's purposes may stand. The Lord can save from complicated family dramas and the depths of one's own closet. See now, here comes King Darius for the brightness of King Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and the glory of what God had promised him. This man did not have to wonder whether Heaven rules. The fact he was even there was testimony enough to the mercy, provision, wonder, and greatness of our God.