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Daniel 5:1-4 — The Feast of Belshazzar

As Daniel chapter 5 opens, Belshazzar was in Babylon, feeling secure and indulging in a great banquet with a thousand of his nobles. It is difficult to understand his arrogance in putting on a lavish feast when the armies of Persia were in full view of the city! Historians say that Cyrus, who was now with his army besieging Babylon, knew of Belshazzar’s feast. Cyrus assumed that the Babylonians would be off their guard, buried in sleep and wine, so he took this opportunity to attack and conquer the city.

Belshazzar was already drinking wine in Daniel 5:2 when he made the foolish decision to bring in sacred vessels from the temple in Jerusalem to be used for this purpose. Nebuchadnezzar had taken these gold and silver goblets from the Jewish temple but he had never dishonored them. He had actually placed them in the treasure-house of the temple of his god (see Daniel 1:2). Belshazzar’s actions, in contrast, were sacrilegious even by Babylonian standards. The wine he had drunk apparently dulled his sense of propriety and judgment.

Belshazzar probably felt that such valuable drinking containers would add to the luster of his grand occasion. He also may have wished to dishonor the God of Judah by doing this, as we see in his actions in Daniel 5:4, “As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.” Belshazzar, knowing of Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier humiliation before the God of Judah, may have determined not to be intimidated by this foreign God. Perhaps he was demonstrating open defiance in this manner to the God of Judah.

The king appeared to have everything he could ever want—power, wealth, and glory—and it was all in full view at this lavish banquet. Yet the Bible warns us about such wicked men and tells us their fate. Suppose you were at a county fair and you saw a hog, which had won all sorts of prizes. It had blue ribbons, shiny medals and a beautiful garland of green adorning its neck. Would you envy any of those virtually worthless trinkets or the momentary acclaim the animal has been given? Not if you pause long enough to realize that it has simply been fattened up to be led off to the butcher! This is the way it is with those who do not acknowledge God as Lord.

Solomon wrote, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out” (Proverbs 24:19-20). Likewise David said, “Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away” (Psalm 37:1-2). Some of the wicked may be extremely prosperous, others only moderately so. The degree of wickedness makes absolutely no difference—they will all wither under God’s judgment. For the Bible reminds us, “Whoever does not believe stands condemned already” (John 3:18).