No Small Parts - Belshazzar
August 16, 2020 Sunday Evening Study

Nostalgia is a very powerful thing. We often have the opportunity to see or hear or otherwise sense something that acts as a link to our past, and the feelings that are conjured in those situations are heady and powerful. It often feels bittersweet -- mostly happy and comforting, but with a tinge of sadness that whatever we’re remembering is lost in some way.

According to a study conducted in 2013, on average, people experience feelings of nostalgia about once a week, set off by such things as a familiar scent, piece of music or old photo. It is most common in young adults in their teens and 20s who are coping with important life transitions, such as leaving home and beginning college or new jobs, and in adults older than 50 who are looking back and reevaluating their lives.

This practice allows people to relate their past experiences to their present lives in order to make greater meaning of it all. The result can boost their mood and reduce stress. "Nostalgia increases feelings of social connectedness to others," says Clay Routledge, professor of psychology at North Dakota University. "Nostalgia makes people feel loved and valued and increases perceptions of social support when people are lonely. When we experience nostalgia, we tend to feel happier, have higher self-esteem, feel closer to loved ones and feel that life has more meaning. And on a physical level, nostalgia literally makes us feel warmer."

For me, nostalgia most often is triggered through music. Since coming here to Bevier and singing the hymns and older songs, I have had that feeling on a regular basis as I remember my own childhood and the times I sang these songs with my family then. It makes me remember a time when things were safer, quieter, and more relaxed - under the protection of my parents.

Sometimes our nostalgia can take another turn. For instance, whenever I visit my parents in California, I like to drive around and see all of the things from my childhood, only through the eyes of an adult. Things always seem less grand in reality than in my mind’s eye. And, invariably, I will see things that have changed - often not for the better, and I feel like I have lost a part of myself because there is a history and an experience that I will never be able to recreate again.

Sometimes, it can conjure emotions stronger even than a feeling of loss. Imagine going to visit your childhood home only to find that it has burned down...or torn down, or so radically changed by the new owners that it seems like an insult to your past. When you see something of immense value to you changed by someone to fulfill their vision, it can be heartbreaking, and even provoke you to anger. You ascribe a certain level of respect to these memories and experience others to follow suit.

I use the idea of nostalgia to set up a story that most know well, surrounding a person that is largely forgotten in the Bible, partly because his contribution to the narrative was to violate something sacred. This was more than nostalgia for the Israelites - the artifacts in this story represent their faith and heritage going back for more than a millennium. Today we are going to look at the Babylonian ruler Belshazzar. Please open your Bibles to Daniel chapter 5. Read 5:1-6.

Most studies of this chapter focus largely on the message written and what occurs as a result. Tonight however, I would like to look at Belshazzar and his actions, investigating how this began to turn the tide for the Israelites in exile and the contrast in themes between the person of Daniel and the rulers - Belshazzar specifically, that Daniel serves. Daniel himself has already experiences threat of death, threat of loss of his dear friends, and the very real loss of his freedom. Now he sees the things that anchor him to Israel’s history desecrated, all at the hands of the Babylonian rulers.

The first 4 chapters have cataloged Daniel’s dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, earning himself fame and power and influence even while a slave in exile. However, in chapter five, Daniel is asked (this time for the new ruler Belshazzar) to provide interpretation of a sign from God, prophesying an event which takes place that very night. This follows an overall narrative theme of the first six chapters: the world power will be overthrown and should not be feared.  This is exhibited in earlier chapters though greed (Daniel 2) and pride (Daniel 4) and is revisited in chapter five with judgement for the insolence of the world power. In this narrative we see the impetuous and foolish actions of a ruler and their swift and devastating consequences when confronting the glory of God. 

The person of King Belshazzar, while a prominent figure in the passage, is not mentioned in any records of Babylonian kings during or around this era. The name Belshazzar transliterated from the cuneiform is Bel-sar-usur, a name known as the son of the last king of Babylon Nabonidus.  As Nabonidus was engaged in a campaign in Arabia for approximately ten years, Belshazzar ruled in his stead, the King in everything but name. Daniel 5 refers to Belshazzar as the son of Nebuchadnezzar, though the original Aramaic words for father and son used in this context refer also to a grandfather or more distant relative, so there is some question of exactly Belshazzar’s lineage.

At the beginning of Daniel 5, 70 years have elapsed since the beginning of the book, meaning that Daniel himself is elderly – at least in his late 80s. Already Daniel has demonstrated his worth to the Chaldean court on multiple occasions, praised by Nebuchadnezzar for his advice and skill with interpretation. Although little is mentioned about Belshazzar except for this one story, Daniel’s fame continues after during the reign of Darius the Mede. The thing that makes the story of Belshazzar stand out is his singular superb act of insolence in the desecration of holy items taken from the temple in Jerusalem.

Although worship of multitudes of pagan gods was the norm during this period, history reflects a common respect for foreign gods among rulers and monarchs in the Ancient Near East. Although Judah and the temple lay in ruins for nearly 70 years, Belshazzar, while affected by drink, chose to commit an act of arrogant defiance against the Most High God in an effort to increase his own honor.  There is no comment on the response of those attending the feast, though it is equally true that no judgement was pronounced later against those in attendance, further lending credence to the idea that Belshazzar’s use of temple artifacts in the act of inebriation was not celebrated by those present - only accepted due to his station.

The story outlined in Daniel 5 leads up to the fall of the Babylonian empire, introducing what would become a cultural shift as the Medes and the Persians divided the spoils. The Israelites, already away from their homeland and their normal practice of worship are not key figures in this story, with the exception of Daniel himself. From one ruler to the next, much is forgotten, or at least not formally passed on, even from father to son. Only the queen mother, believed to have been a widow of Nebuchadnezzar and then a wife of Nabonidus knows of Daniel’s reputation, and Daniel himself reminds Belshazzar of the dreams he had interpreted for his “father” Nebuchadnezzar.

To paraphrase the rest of this story, as Belshazzar drinks from these sacred items, he sees the fingers of a hand appear and begin writing on the wall of the feasting hall words which he cannot interpret. Belshazzar is stricken with terror and calls for his mystics and magicians to make sense of the sign. When they cannot, the queen mother has Daniel summoned, who interprets the message as a warning that Belshazzar’s rule and empire will end, and the Persians and Medes will rule in his stead. That very night Belshazzar is slain and Darius the Mede takes power over the empire.

Across the different translations of the Bible in use today, there are a few differences which bring certain aspects of the story into question. The appearance of the hand and/or fingers which write on the wall (verse 5) is a prime example of the different translations indicating different things. In the New International Version, it states that the king saw the fingers, but does not indicate whether anyone else did, The King James Version seems to indicate that only the king saw the hand itself writing, though all could see what was written. In more recent texts like the Living Bible, it states that “they” saw the fingers begin to write, indicating that multiple people witnessed this wonder with the king. The one thing that remains clear regardless of the translation is that the hand appeared immediately following the desecration of the holy items from the temple and the resultant worship of the false gods of the metals and stones in place of the recognition of God’s sovereignty.

For the passage of Daniel 5, there are two main contrasting themes present in the narrative, surrounding two central characters. Daniel, as in the previous chapters, represents a theme of faithfulness, both in his devotion to God and in his refusal of gifts and special treatment in order to remain pure. This is not only a reflection of God’s holiness, but it distinguishes in stark fashion between the captors (Chaldean/Babylonian empire) and God’s chosen people in exile (Israelites.)

Another theme present in this passage is one of irreverence. Daniel’s interactions with rulers in exile are presented as relatively bi-polar; he finds himself elevated with power and prestige as often as he and his friends find themselves in mortal danger as punishment. With Belshazzar, Daniel is not even known to the ruler until he has desperate need of him, and only then because of a major act of irreverence and defiance against God by Belshazzar and his loved ones. It is noteworthy that the passage only mentions the King, his family, wives, and concubines as drinking from the holy vessels, indicating that this act of bravado and reverence may have been limited to the royal family alone, explaining why there is no mention of the deaths and punishments of the people at the feast at the hands of the Medes and Persians as there is about Belshazzar himself. God recognizes faithfulness in the heart of a man and his friends, yet also recognizes the evil and disrespect in the heart of another man and his loved ones.

The Babylonian/Chaldean rulers represented in Daniel show a very precise picture of the fortune of greed, pride, and insolence in the face of an unchanging and mighty God. Daniel’s recurring character exemplifying faithfulness, obedience, and humility create a sharp contrast with the other characters in each chapter, and eventually show a picture of God in control of all people and circumstances, regardless of the sin in which they may be enmired. We see God reflect His own holiness in how he deals with the Babylonians in contrast to that of Daniel, and we get a glimpse of the all-knowing Creator through His wisdom and discernment. Finally, we are reminded of God’s plan and His ultimate control, and we see an example of how His plan works out for those on whom His favor rests. Although categorized as apocalyptic, the book of Daniel represents the nature of a just and faithful God, giving hope to the generations to follow to remain obedient and devoted to God in all situations. Characters like Belshazzar serve to show the people of Israel in exile that God’s punishment does not follow them alone - that His discipline is for the sin, regardless of the sinner. This contrast helps the people then, just as it does today, to recognize the true nature of God and His justice.