5In that moment appeared fingers of a hand of a man writing to the opposite of the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the palace of the king and the king [was] one seeing the palm of the hand which [was] one writing. 6Then the king, his countenance changed it and his thoughts alarmed him and the joints of his loins [were] ones loosened and his knees [were] ones knocking one to this. 7The king [was] one calling in strength to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and ones counseling. The king answering, one saying to the wise men of Babel, “All of a man who reads this writing and declares to me its meaning, he will be clothed [with] purple, and the necklace of the gold upon his neck, and third in the kingdom he will rule. 8Then ones coming in [were] the all of the wise men of the king, ones not able to read the writing and to make known the meaning to the king. 9Then the king Belshazzar [was] one being greatly alarmed and his face [was] one changing on him and his nobles [were] ones being perplexed.
There are so many lessons we can take from these verses. Another perspective we could consider is the whole problem of truth. Belshazzar illustrates for us one of the many fatal problems that comes from thinking we don’t need God. It is this stubborn problem of truth. Truth is a granite wall which we face in a thousand different ways every day. Whether we like it or not, whether we even realize it or not, the truth is the truth. If we live according to the truth, things can go fairly smoothly for us, but to whatever extent we base our lives, our values, our decisions on what is not true, we’re simply going to get hurt.
Wow does Belshazzar get hurt. He believes he doesn’t need God. He imagines he’s a very strong, very powerful man. He proves it by seating 1,000 nobles at his big party. However, in all likelihood, even as these events are transpiring, the Persians are already in his city. He’ll be dead shortly. The man who didn’t need God will suddenly become a helpless captive whose head, it turns out, isn’t all that well attached to his shoulders. A man is just a man. And no matter who that man is, he lives in a world swirling around him with forces completely beyond his control. Rather than the Persians, it could have been a heart attack or a brain aneurism. It could have been something as simple as a chicken bone stuck in his throat. It could have a been a chunk of the ceiling dropping on his head, or it could have even been the thousand nobles themselves that stopped this man’s heart from beating. As Daniel will tell him later, it is the Lord who holds your very life in His hand.
The simple truth is that I do need God. I am a squishy, fragile creature living in a world that can smash me in a moment. If I’m going to live, if I’m going to succeed, if I am to be or do or accomplish anything, I need Someone in my life who is bigger than all those threats, Someone who laughs at what to me are insurmountable obstacles. Belshazzar thought he could spit on this truth and still prevail. He’s about to hit that granite wall.
He's a man who thinks he can buy anything he needs. That fact becomes immediately obvious. He thinks just by offering riches (a purple robe, a gold necklace, and power), he can have the people he wants tell him what he wants. However, as Daniel observed back in chapter 2, it is God who gives wisdom and power. We should all pause and notice, here is a man who has the wealth and the human authority to offer whatever it takes to get what he wants. But does he get it? No. And why not? The truth is, Belshazzar is not in control. He does not get whatever he wants. At this moment, his money cannot buy him the one thing he desires above all else.
And then consider the people whom he wants to tell him what he wants. Where does he go when he needs truth? He calls loudly for the “Astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the Counselors.” Once again, we face this problem of truth. The sad fact is, these guys don’t know. Here is a group of men who have embraced some kind of truth system for how to interpret stars and animal entrails and such as that. They’ve convinced their world they’re smart guys who can guide even kings. They get paid to discern truth. Yet, when their king is shaking like a leaf, desperately needing truth from them, what does he get? Nothing. Why nothing? Because they don’t know. They themselves are men without God and so it follows they are men without truth.
It's always been somewhat of a wonder to me that these guys could actually make a living. What I mean is, they are complete frauds. You’d think it would be obvious very soon their advice stinks. Back in chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar told them, “You tell me the dream first, then I’ll know you can interpret it.” He was a brilliant man. I find it hard to believe he didn’t know these guys were frauds. How could it be that everyone didn’t realize they were frauds?
Fast forward to 2021. Oh. It is utterly amazing how much people like to be told what they want to hear! They’ll let politicians lie to their faces and then elect them because they like their lies. The big cry right now is, “Follow the science!” Yet “science” is based not on real research, but rather its goal is to tell their wealthy sponsors exactly what they want to hear. We live in a world completely immersed in its own lies and no one cares that their lies aren’t working, that every week they have to come up with new lies because that stubborn little thing called truth keeps showing its face. And yet they go on.
This brings us back to truth. There is only one place to get true truth – from God’s Word. In a world swirling in untruth (and its inevitable failure), the Bible stands as a granite pillar. It is the granite wall of truth. This is exactly why Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free!” To whatever extent my head is full of untruth, I’m going to face nothing but disappointment and failure. To know the truth grants me the freedom to make good decisions, to have right values, to live a life where things actually fit together.
The Bible is that granite pillar. That is precisely why I study it. I want to know the truth. I want to be free. I want to live. I am soooo thankful for every single time the Lord teaches me something, every time He shows me what is really true. Invariably I find that what is true is the absolute opposite of what we all naturally seem to think. It’s no wonder we all spend our days crashing headlong into rock walls. But we don’t have to. If we will turn to the Word, not to our “wizards who peep and mutter,” we can learn what is truly true and then order our lives accordingly.
I’d like to insert here that I fully realize people may object, “But there are so many different interpretations of the Bible!” May I say that I have been studying the Bible now for over 40 years, and by “studying” what I mean is actually taking the time to carefully determine exactly what it does (and does not) say. Having determined what it does (and does not) say, then one has to slow down and just ponder on it, pray over it, and genuinely seek to know the mind of the Lord with regard to whatever it is He’s saying. It is important to sincerely try to understand whatever the rest of the Bible teaches on the same subject. Having considered all of that, may I humbly assert I don’t think the Bible is “subject to interpretation”? It says what it says. If people disagree, I would suggest most of the time it is because either one or both of them hasn’t really spent the time studying.
Most of what goes on today is that people read each other’s books and write more books. That isn’t “studying,” and it isn’t honoring the Lord by taking His Word seriously. If these feeble scratchings of mine fall into anyone’s hands, can I please encourage you that you can know the truth? You can study the Bible and gain real truth from it. You don’t have to be like Belshazzar and shipwreck your very existence because you’ve believed and built your life on lies.
Make it your goal to know God, to know His heart, to see the world through His eyes, to value what He values, to live a life of constant communication with Him, a life built on truth.
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