The feast of Belshazzar is the final evening of the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar died about 562 B.C. In 556 the last of Nebuchadnezzar’s line, Labashi-Marduk, was murdered nine months into his reign by Nabonidus and his son Belshazzar. Nabonidus favored the moon god Sin rather than the Babylonian chief god, Marduk. He left his son Belshazzar in charge of Babylon for ten years of the Babylonian Empire, returning in 543 B.C.
Daniel 5 takes place in 539 B.C. when Persia had defeated Nabonidus and were threatening the city of Babylon. Rather than prepare for war, Belshazzer holds an opulent banquet for his court officials.
Even though Belshazzar is not the direct son of Nebuchadnezzar, he is as arrogant and pompous as Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar orders the gold items from the Temple to be brought to the party so that the officials could drink from them. The scale of the banquet is enormous, thousands of people are gathered for a feast even though the Persians are outside the walls of Babylon ready to capture the city.
John Martin (1789–1854)
Why would Belshazzar choose this night for a massive banquet? Babylon was thought to be impenetrable. The walls were enormous and the city was stocked with several years of food. Since the river Euphrates flowed through the city they had a plentiful water supply. They thought could hold out against a siege for so long that no army could outlast them. Herodotus (Histories, 1.190) and Xenophon (Cyropedia 7.5.13) report Babylon had provisions for up to twenty years! A celebration this grand was intended to taunt the Persians.
William Shea suggests Belshazzar had already heard the Persians defeated Nabonidus at Sippar (fifty miles from Babylon). Belshazzar used the banquet to crown himself king and was holding a banquet to celebrate his ascension to the throne in grand style (“Nabonidus, Belshazzar, and Daniel: An Update,” 140-43).
Belshazzar was not drunk when he orders the Jewish vessels be brought to the banquet. He made a conscious decision to use items from the Temple to worship of Babylonian gods. Drinking from the Temple items is done before an audience. This is a public mocking of the God of the Judean exiles. Even Nebuchadnezzar treated the Temple items with some respect when he placed them in the house of his gods (Dan 1:1-2). Even for a Babylonian, Belshazzar has lost all sense of decency!
Why mock the God of the Jewish exiles? It has been nearly forty-seven years since the Temple was destroyed. The items from the Temple were a symbol of the victory of Nebuchadnezzar’s gods over the God of Israel. They remained in the temples of the Babylonians gods as a sign of the Judean’s continued exile in Babylon.
In the context of the canonical book of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar was humbled by the God of the Judean exiles and confessed that their God was the Most High God and sovereign over all the kingdoms on earth, giving them to anyone he wished (4:17). What Belshazzar is doing is an act of propaganda, he is saying to the God of Israel, “you may have humbled Nebuchadnezzar, but you will not humble me!”
Whatever the details, the whole point of the banquet was to make a statement that Belshazzar is the supreme king of the city of Babylon which cannot fall to the Persians, despite any defeat suffered by Nabonidus. Belshazzar is certain the gods of Babylon will protect the city against the Persians.
What are some other ways the book of Daniel contrasts Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar?
While it may seem quite conspicuous in the text that Belshazzar defames and defiles Judaism, I do not think that this was actually a direct affront. In fact, he may have been implying a kind of respect and admiration for the religion of the Jews. As Nebuchadnezzar was very aware of, the God of the Jews was indomitable–for through the testimony of Daniel and his friends, this was consistently demonstrated (Daniel 4:1-3). Did the gods of the Babylonian empire actually pull off any miraculous manifestations? Absolutely not. So, when one logically compares the activity of the God of Israel to the pagan gods, there is really no competition. Nebuchadnezzar knew this; Belshazzar should have known this too (Daniel 5:18-19). But as Nebuchadnezzar submitted to this truth rather humbly in some instances, Belshazzar refused. However, I believe he still acknowledged that the God of Israel was great–precisely by trying to exalt himself to the same level.
On the night of the opulent feast, the Persians were outside ready to conquer the city. So, in order to show how powerful and strong of a leader he is, Belshazzar orders the fragments of the Jewish temple to be brought into the party. How does Belshazzar show that he is in charge of the strongest and greatest empire in all the land? He attempts to show that even the God of Israel, the strongest and most powerful God, is under His command. He does this paradoxically, however, by defiling the sacred fragments of His dwelling place. Nevertheless, even though Belshazzar was obviously more stubborn and hard-hearted than Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 5:22-23), I believe he still understood–in an intuitive way–that the God of Israel is truly the greatest God. His whole scene with the fragments of the temple was just a scare tactic.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
After reading this passage and the chapters of the Daniel thoroughly, I can say that at the beginning of his years, Nebuchadnezzar was a very arrogant and selfish man. Belshazzar reminds me of Nebuchadnezzar because they both were very arrogant and both wanted things to be done the way they wanted it to be done, and in that aspect, they were similar. I agree that the feast took place in order to show off how powerful Belshazzar was. Also, When he order the vessels, he was not drunk, therefore, this indicates to me that he was very arrogant and ordered the vessels from the Temple so that his people would drink from it and worship the Babylonia gods. Daniel 5:4 states, “They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone”. Also, I also strongly believe that he believed that he was the most powerful king therefore, he thought that he could do anything, and his arrogance and selfishness brought him very bad consequences. Ultimately, he was killed by a stronger kingdom on that very same night. With this passage in mind, it is important to understand that God is very powerful and no matter how important and powerful a king is, God will bring down anyone.
This is the painting you want:
Belshazzar’s Feast • c.1635 • Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn • National Gallery, London.
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rembrandt-belshazzars-feast
Everyone uses the Rembrandt for Daniel 4, so I chose the John Martin’s Feast of Belshazzar to be different.
There are several ways that both Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar can be contrasted against each other in the book of Daniel. Firstly, both kings experienced dreams, and instead of looking to either God or Daniel for the correct answer, they instead consulted demonic forces in the forms of magicians and fortune tellers. Each only sought to consult Daniel after all of their previous attempts had failed, which they obviously would since they were not of God. What is interesting to note however, is that despite the fact that God performed an amazing miracle by interpreting their visions through His servant Daniel, neither Belshazzar or Nebuchadnezzar made a public conversion or profession of faith in Yahweh. For Nebuchadnezzar, he still did not acknowledge God, but simply stated to Daniel that “Truly, your God is God of gods” (Daniel 2:47). Belshazzar did even less, not even acknowledging the existence of God and His power over his tricksters and magicians, instead simply giving Daniel several gifts before being killed by Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:29-30). King Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar were both prideful kings. Belshazzar displayed this by having a false sense of power and security in himself on the eve of his kingdom’s capture. Instead of making preparations and fortifying the city, he boastfully held an opulent feast, eating and drinking wine (Daniel 5:1) Nebuchadnezzar went as far as to construct and erect an arrogant and haughty 90 foot golden stature, essentially worshiping himself as a god. Although Nebuchadnezzar may have come to know god, the fact that he still referred to Yahweh as “Daniel’s God” after the interpretation of his dream would suggest he didn’t. Belshazzar could have come to know God before his demise shortly after his own vision, but instead didn’t. What we as believers can learn from the similarities between these two kings is this: “turn to the Lord before it’s too late. Call out to him while he’s till ready to help you” (Isaiah 55:6-13).
The pride and arrogance of Belshazzar are rather shocking. To think that because they were known as the greatest empire of that time, that he just ignored the fact that there was an army outside ready to destroy the city. He showed that he only thought about himself and how great and powerful he was, rather than other armies or even God. While Nebuchadnezzar had a heart of pride as Belshazzar did, God humbled him and let him know who was truly the greater one as the article states. The difference between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar is the fact that Nebuchadnezzar had been the example for Belshazzar of what could happen if he did not recognize God for who he is. Daniel 5:22-23 says, “And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this [Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation], but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven.” Belshazzar knew of all that had happened to Nebuchadnezzar and had no excuse to say that he was unaware of the power that God possesses. He blatantly chooses to ignore what he knows about the God of Israel and goes a step further to show that he doesn’t care.
Another little difference between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar is their responses after they encounter an act of God. Every time that Nebuchadnezzar heard an interpretation of a dream or saw a miraculous act, he praised God, even if he did not fully understand who he truly was. (Daniel 2:47, Daniel 3:28, Daniel 4:1-3; 34-35). Belshazzar, on the other hand, did not show any such praise to God when Daniel revealed the meaning of the words in 6:26-28. He didn’t show any sign of turning his heart towards God in repentance or a prayer of deliverance. It almost appears that he waved the translation of the words away, refusing to believe that Babylon could indeed fall.
Nebuchadnezzar seemed to have taken Belshazzar under his win like a son and Belshazzar seems to be similar like Nebuchadnezzar in the way he rules the kingdom of Babylon. Bleshazzar was definitely an arrogant character and seemed to think think good for the kingdom because instead of preparing for a war, he has a banquet for the people which is not a very good idea when there is a war coming because they are not going to feel as good in the morning. There are some differences though in how Nebuchadnezzar ruled and how Belshazzar ruled. Nebuchadnezzar knew how powerful and great God was and he feared him at the same time and knew that he needed to respect him, but Belshazzar did not care much for God, mostly because he never experienced the things Nebuchandezzar experienced. Belshazzar mocked the God of the Jews with no respect and this made God furious. He wanted to be a god and be better than the God of the Jews and so he talks bad to God. “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven” (Daniel 5:22-23). The two kings seem similar in ways,m but in the end Belshazzar and Nebuchadnezzar have differences in respecting those around them.
Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar are very similar in many ways. One way is that they are both very arrogant, prideful and full of themselves. They think that they are the most powerful and mighty kings there ever were and no one can defeat them, just like we see with Belshazzar in Daniel 5. He thought so highly of himself and his kingdoms power that they didn’t need to prepare for battle, but in the end he and his people suffered because of his ignorance. Another way they are similar is by their unwillingness to comply and surrender to the true God of the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar had firsthand experiences with the Jews, their items from the temple, etc., and yet he still didn’t convert fully. He understood how powerful the true God is, however, he did not truly confess and believe. This is where Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar differ a bit because Belshazzar showed no respect towards God and did not admit to Gods mighty power. Instead he disrespected him even more by mocking him and using the items from the temple for drunkenness and sin (although it does say Belshazzar wasn’t drunk, other probably were).
Belshazzar, according to scholars, is dated a considerable time after the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. The feast that Belshazzar put on that night with the writing on the wall was a night of worship to gods. He was not humbled before the Lord and has disregarded the humbling of Nebuchadnezzar. This leads to the prophecy written by the hand. “And you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven” (Daniel 5: 22-23 ESV). Belshazzar understood the implications of Gods wrath and the humility He brought to Nebuchadnezzar but continued to lift himself up. This leads to destruction brought by the Medes. This results from the mocking of the Jewish God. Throughout Daniel the reader sees the unrelenting wrath of God on those who are prideful and mock Him. Belshazzar was confident in his kingdom and was certain it would never be overtaken or destroyed. He boasts in his abilities much like all the other rulers in Daniel. The characters who do this are all aware of their doing and are consumed by their pride and accomplishments. The chapter is concluded with the death of Belshazzar, and he is replaced by Darius the Mede. Daniels role throughout every ruler remains the same. He serves a clear purpose and never compromises his loyalty to God. In every circumstance Daniel is taken care of and protected.
The banquet scene in Daniel 5 is one of the most elaborate and interesting narratives in the entire book of Daniel, as it dramatically narrates the events leading up to the imminent invasion and defeat of the Babylonian empire under Belshazzar. The chapter begins with a grand feast commencing, with a thousand of Belshazzar’s lords attending (Dan 5:1). Following this, it states that Belshazzar ordered that the silver and gold from the temple of Jerusalem be brought out and used, surely an act of mockery toward the God of Israel, as even Nebuchadnezzar treated the temple with some level of respect (Long, 48). This slight against Yahweh is quickly repaid by the end of the narrative, with the writing on the wall seemingly petrifying Belshazzar, with the text saying his knees were ‘knocked against each other’ (Dan 5:6). The reason for this feast is not perfectly understood, perhaps it was to boost the morale of the city, or to gain the favor of the gods, a religious festival observed regularly, or perhaps even a celebrating where he was crowned king (Long, 48). Either way, the party subsides rather quickly once the handwriting on the wall occurs, with Belshazzar quickly calling all of his wise men, who are unable to interpret the message (Dan 5:8). This leads to the Queen, perhaps the mother of the king, tells Belshazzar of Daniel and his ability to interpret the text and solve problems, as he has doesn’t know who Daniel is.
One of my favorite parts of this narrative is how belligerent Daniel is toward Belshazzar, as he basically describes King Nebuchadnezzar’s glory and experience of being humbled before God, leading to him telling Belshazzar that he is not humble and did not give Yahweh His proper recognition (Dan 5:22-24). Perhaps Daniel, in a literal and metaphorical sense, sees the writing on the wall, he knows the kingdom is about to fall, thus he feels no need to be cordial. He announces that God has numbered the kingdom of Babylon, Belshazzar has been found wanting, and the kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians, with this being fulfilled that night (Dan 5:25-28; 30). This story serves to display that, despite the restoration of the kingdom of Israel not being inaugurated, Yahweh will still punish the prideful rulers of the world, causing kingdoms to rise and fall. This would provide the exilic and post-exilic communities with an apocalyptic hope that despite oppressive circumstances, Yahweh was still in control and cared for His people, and will establish his eschatological kingdom in the future.
The issue was that, despite Belshazzar’s banquet, he and his people continued to worship the Babylonian gods rather than the true God. A large crowd attends Belshazzar’s feast. Belshazzar uses the feast as an opportunity to declare himself king and take the throne. He showed no regard for the temple and was unpleasant. Belshazzar put God to the test. Despite his refusal to acknowledge it, Belshazzar was aware that the God was more powerful than he was. He intended to show off his strength at the feast. He was as arrogant as Nebuchadnezzar was. They suffer terrible consequences for praising other gods. He was a fool for throwing a party rather than getting ready for battle. Despite the Persians waiting outside Babylon’s walls to capture the city, it’s interesting to note that thousands of people turned out for a massive banquet, and there was enough food to last them for years, demonstrating that the Euphrates River flowed into the city to provide for the Belshazzar people. Belshazzar hosted a feast for his guests in the temple to worship other gods, but I don’t think that’s adequate. I agree with Dr. Long “this is a public mocking of the God of the Judean exiles” (Long, 2020, para. 6). Nebuchadnezzar even showed some regard to his gods when he carried objects from the Temple into their residence. He thought that Babylon’s gods would defend the city against the Persians, making it impossible for them to overthrow Babylon.
Longman (2020) states that, it’s interesting that the narrator characterizes the false gods that the Babylonians worshipped as “gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone” (p. 80-81) (Daniel 5:4), reminding us that they were worshippers of idols.
The golden cups from which Belshazzar and the others were drinking were part of the temple ritual that was used to praise the true and living God, but here they are being used to praise gods made of the same or even inferior materials to the goblets themselves. We are reminded of the type of ridicule that the prophets Isaiah (Is 44:6-23) and Jeremiah (Jer 10:1–10) heaped on the practice of worshiping lifeless idols (Longman, 2020, p. 80–81).
It’s disobeying God’s word to worship other gods and drink from the goblets from the temple. In the word of God it says, You should not worship other gods before me (Exodus 20:3).
The events of Daniel 5 are in some ways similar to those of Daniel 8. Both kings boast of their accomplishments, and both kings are humbled by God. There is, however, argument to be made about the differences between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. The greatest of these differences is in the attitude of the kings according to their reign and the God of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar definitely had his fair share of pestering the people of God, but Belshazzar blatantly disrespected Yahweh without any regard. Nebuchadnezzar at least recognized the God of Israel in moments where God performed miracles. Belshazzar came to rule and knew that Persia was on the brinks of war with Babylon. He was well aware of Nabonidus’ death and instead of preparing for battle or for a siege, he chose to throw an immense banquet. There are questions to why he decided to host this blowout of a party, but the bottom-line assumption, is that he knew what he was doing, and he was doing it on purpose. He ordered that the silver and gold items of the Jewish temple be brought out and used for the party, knowing that this was a huge disrespect of the Israelites and their God (Long, 48).
This desecration of the temple instruments is questionable. Why pick on the Jews who have been there for so many years? An answer to this question could be just because Belshazzar thought he could. In his pride, he decided that Nebuchadnezzar’s victory meant nothing. Belshazzar choosing to do this was a slap in the face not only to the Jews, but it also stood as an example of utmost pride in himself. He was claiming to be better than Nebuchadnezzar who got humbled by God. He would soon learn that he was desperately wrong. God had a plan to show the exiled Jews that He was still in control. This was no doubt a message of comfort for the Israelites.
In Daniel 5, there is contrast between the two kings mentioned by Daniel in his speech before the interpretation. Daniel in this chapter makes a point to mention that God gave Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty over his nation and allowed him to do as he pleased (Dan. 5:18-19). It was not on the terms of Nebuchadnezzar but on Gods terms. God gave him in a sense, free reign to do whatever he pleased as the ruler of Babylon. It was only when he tried to boast about himself that the Lord humbled him to show who truly was the one with the sovereignty. This is where the difference of the two kings is shown. Nebuchadnezzar was humbled and, in that humility, he realized that the God of Israel was the true ruler of all (Daniel 5:21). God was the one who set his kingdom into motion and the one who appointed him, it was not of himself. This is a very different tune to that of Belshazzar. Belshazzar had no sense of humility. He did not fear the Lord of Israel despite all that he knew (Daniel 5:22). He still took the gold items and drank of them, he rejected the knowledge of God as sovereign, and he made himself so proud that he held a banquet even as enemies surrounded the kingdom. The difference of the two kings isn’t so much in their arrogance but in the fact of when God revealed himself, who chose humility. I think this is a thing for us to examine in our own lives and draw some personal application from. Often, we are proud people who boast on ourselves and can think that we are the ones who get things done. When in reality, it is God who is guiding and direction the flow of our lives and making sure it all goes according to God’s will.
I love learning about the details of history; how rulers came into power and how long they reigned for. It’s interesting to me that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, who was mentioned in another article on Daniel 4 when part of the discussion was about the possible madness of Nabonidus during his reign. It seems like these Babylonian rulers have a pattern; they all need to be humbled drastically before God. It makes me think of the ancient proverb 3:34 which mentions God humbling any prideful people and also Proverbs 16:18 which conveys the truth that arrogance makes one blind to reality and therefore naturally causes one to fall. A lot of times, arrogance naturally has negative consequences because it’s a distortion of reality and causes individuals not to think properly. This is why Belshazzar was so foolish to throw a banquet feast instead of fortifying his city. The fact that the Persians were waiting to capture the city while Belshazzar through an enormous feast, reveals that there was not even an ounce of humility in Babylon. It truly shocks me that Belshazzar had the audacity to grab the sacred vessels that were from the God of Israel and use them because he knew the history of the Babylonian kings and how God had the power to do anything. I suppose he was so self-absorbed that he didn’t give much thought to the importance of the somewhat recent history of Babylon kings.
Daniel 5 involves the feast of Belshazzar and discusses many key factors throughout the chapter including Nebuchadnezzar’s death, the death of Labashi-Marduk after only nine months of reign, also the son of Belshazzar and his 10 year reign. Going into the feast, I find it interesting that Belshazzar has so many similar attributes to Nebuchadnezzar, yet they are not directly related to one another. I also found it fascinating that one of the main reasons Belshazzar held the feast was to mock the Persians. They did this to show their masculinity on Babylon with their giant walls, endless food supply, and endless water supply. Belshazzar did not accept Christ, building the Temple was a symbol of victory over the God of Israel. The Temple was later destroyed obviously, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Temple once stood there. The feast was just a way to show how strong Babylon truly was, basically just flexing on the Persians. Belshazzar was similar to Nebuchadnezzar in many ways but had many different beliefs when it came to religious beliefs. Nebuchadnezzar was a humbled man, humble to the God of the Judean exiles, but Belshazzar was very different when it came down to beliefs. One last thing that I will add is the fact that these two were very powerful in their respected fields, but made many poor decisions down the way. God is the way and the truth in life, those who do not accept Him shall suffer.
Belshazzar reminds me of the stereotypical arrogant ruler from every fantasy novel. He (potentially) set himself up and declared himself ruler with little to no claim to the throne, he insults the Jews just because he can, and he proves himself to be a coward at the first sign of trouble. He panics so bad at the handwriting on the wall that it takes his mother to calm him down and get him to think rationally. Nebuchadnezzar had his own moments of stubbornness, but they were always more nuanced; Belshazzar really doubles down the way Nebuchadnezzar never quite did.
I think it’s interesting that Daniel seems to really dislike Belshazzar. This hints that outside of this account Belshazzar may have had a more caustic personality. We get more of Nebuchadnezzar’s actions in scripture than Belshazzar’s, and Nebuchadnezzar always seemed to have a degree of reasonableness to him. He always seemed to be a capable leader. Belshazzar, because we only get this one short piece of his rule, is portrayed as a disrespectful egomaniac with a questionable claim to the throne and poor leadership skills. If we were supposed to view him in any other light I’m sure God would have provided scriptures to do so.
After reading Danieal 5, I think that King Belshazzar is holding a feast for his lords and directs that the Jerusalem temple vessels be brought so that they can drink from them. Yet as they drink, a hand emerges and is seen writing on the wall. The King looks for magicians to interpret the writings, but they cannot even read them. The queen advises him to send for Daniel to come and interpret the writings. The King offers Daniel a drink so that he can interpret the writing on the wall. However, Daniel rejects the King’s offer but accepts to interpret for him. Daniel reminds Belshazzar that Nebuchadnezzar’s greatness was from God, but when he failed to humble himself before God, he was thrown down. Daniel interprets the writing as God has weighed Belshazzar and found him wanting. His days are short-lived, and his kingdom will be given to Persians and Medes.
Firstly, I found Dr. Long’s retelling of history at the beginning of this blog post to be interesting. I wasn’t aware of all that history. It helps set the stage for this story about the feast. In his pridefulness, he conducted the feast to crown himself and even used the temple cups for it. This is a spit in the face of YHWH if I have ever seen one. One would think that he would have learned about spitting in God’s face from the tales of what happened to King Nebuchadnezzar, but I guess not. Even as Dr. Long points out, Belshazzar was saying that no god could humble him, not even the most powerful God. That is a dangerous place to be, as we know from Hebrews 10:31 (also, from the rest of this story in Daniel 5). As mentioned by Longman (2020) Belshazzar was a co-regent with his father Nabonidus. Belshazzar was likely making sure everything stayed at bay at home while his father was defending the city. It is also likely that Nabonidus had already been captured, but Belshazzar held no disregard for his father, he simply wanted to host a drunken feast. For a man who claims to be so great, I wouldn’t say that he is making great decisions. We know from all over Scripture that God hates pridefulness, as said in Proverbs 16:5, “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished.” As we see by the handwriting on the wall during this story, God will end up killing Belshazzar, proving that no man can escape the punishment of the Lord Almighty.
Belshazzar’s massive banquet is a very interesting event, especially since the city was under siege and the Babylonian empire was on the brink of collapse. Belshazzar, throwing this feast while his empire is about to collapse, is an attempt to pretend that he has everything under control and everything is fine. In reality it is spiraling downward. It is very possible that Belshazzar was so arrogant that he truly did believe that his empire would recover from the loses they already suffered from the Persians. The most arrogant act that Belshazzar committed was not hosting a banquet but taking God’s golden vessels and using them to worship his own gods (Daniel 5:2-4). Besides using the golden vessels to drink wine, they were truly being used to “…praise gods made of the same or even inferior materials to the goblets themselves” (Longman III, 2020, p. 81). Belshazzar was so arrogant he thought he could mock God. The saddest thing about this story is that there are parallels to society today. There are many individuals and groups who mock God with their acts and the symbols they use to represent their acts. There is a case of this rather recently where a musical artist used the cross in a mocking way in one of his songs. This is not something that will change in society. There is an extreme lack of respect for God, and people feel free to mock him. Sadly, this story serves as an example of what they will receive in the future. Maybe not during this lifetime, but God will give them what they earned.
King Belshazzar was a very arrogant king and was very prideful. This was evidently shown through Daniel 5. There are a lot of reasons why King Belshazzar threw this massive banquet and all of them that I have heard through class and this blog can be all true. I think another valid reason why he would throw a banquet like this is that it was his “last horah”. I think King Belshazzar could have known that he was going to lose the city and so he might as well “go out in a blaze of glory”. I think that reason is a stretch for the fact that he was so arrogant that he was so blinded by his pride that he couldn’t see his downfall. I thought it was also very interesting why King Belshazzar brought items from the Temple to drink from. Like it was said in the blog we know that the Temple has been destroyed for almost 40 years, yet he wants to show his power over the God of Israel. A possibility is, that King Belshazzar knew all the miracles that the God of Israel was able to perform during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar and how the miracles could possibly create the rise of Christianity in the nation of Babylon. The king knowing that could have taken this banquet as an opportunity to show where the God of Israel stands. At the end of the chapter, he does learn where the God of Israel stands. When we get to verse 30, King Belshazzar is killed. It is true that God did not directly kill him, but God had his days numbered as he was told through his vision. This is a common theme that we can see with kings in the Old Testament. They are arrogant and think that they are above anything else and a man of God or a prophet humbles the king with God’s power. The Old Testament showed again and again how little God took mockery in the Old Testament and God does not care who it comes from. He will humble them from the most simple of ways to the most mind-blowing ways.
Some of the best stories in both Scripture and media is when the arrogant are humbled and they “get what they deserve.” The story of Belshazzar is one of those instances where I see this. From his disrespectful use of Jewish sacred objects, to his crowning of himself, I chucked when I read how he responded to the blood on the wall. My mind goes to how horror movies would portray such an act, yet the horror here is being used to bring acknowledgement to the God of Israel. Daniel comparing Belshazzar to Nebuchadnezzar must have felt like quite a slap to the face. Contrasting both of these kings’ responses is even more interesting. Nebuchadnezzar gives glory to God in humility and this was when the Babylonian Empire is in a better state, while they are about to be destroyed in chapter 5, Belshazzar acts as if he is better than Nebuchadnezzar and is made even lower than him (ESVSB 1596). I think this goes to show that if someone already has a heart that they have hardened completely towards God, he will not give an opportunity to repent knowing if they had the lack of capacity. God will use whatever means to accomplish his purpose.
This blog explores the significance of Belshazzar’s feast, marking the end of Babylon’s rule. It highlights Belshazzar’s arrogance, hosting a lavish banquet despite the Persian threat. Contrasting with Nebuchadnezzar’s humility, Belshazzar’s defiance raises questions about divine judgment. Ultimately, the feast serves as a cautionary tale about pride and divine consequences.
Throughout Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar is portrayed as a powerful and determined ruler who initially was against God but eventually acknowledges God’s after experiencing humbling events in his life.Belshazzar, on the other hand, is seen as a reckless and big headed king who fails to learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s experiences He shows disrespect for God by using the sacred vessels from the temple of Jerusalem in a blasphemous way during a feast(Daniel 5:1-4).While reading Daniel you can see another example of where both kings contrast is their response to the interactions they had with God for instance Nebuchadnezzar responds to his interaction with God was met with humility and repentance after he had experienced a period of madness as a punishment for his pride, after that experience Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God and praises Him (Daniel 4:34-37). On the other hand Belshazzar,responds to the interaction with fear and panic when he sees a hand writes on the wall during his feast. Instead of repenting, Belshazzar seeks the help of Daniel to interpret the writing (Daniel 5:5-12). Moreover these contrasts between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar in Daniel highlight the themes of humility, repentance, and the consequences of having pride.
I think that biggest way that Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar are different in Daniel, is that Nebuchadnezzar just put the goblets in the temple while Belshazzar brought them out to use them. That action alone says a lot about them both, Nebuchadnezzar could be said to have aleast some respect of the Lord almighty, while Belshazzar had none. One could say that God saw that Nebuchadnezzar could be humbled when a chance, but Belshazzar didn’t. Which could explain why Nebuchadnezzar was given the chance to be humbled while Belshazzar wasn’t. One could also say that Nebuchadnezzar had some respect for the conquered people who were under his rule while Belshazzar had none. There could be more ways that they could compared to each other, but Nebuchadnezzar had a much wider role to fill and was seen longer the Belshazzar was, who was only in one chapter. One thing we could remark on is the interaction between Daniel and the two kings, Nebuchadnezzar was shown respect and honor while Belshazzar was not, which could be sign that Belshazzar had not been respectful before we meet. Nebuchadnezzar, however, was shown to be respectful even when confronted. Belshazzar was shown to not have those qualities and to be very conceited and full of himself.
Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar’s similarities and differences are both insightful and reflect a key theme in the Book of Daniel, namely, the arrogance of powerful rulers and their interactions with the God of Israel. Both Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar are depicted as prideful and self-assured, and their encounters with God serve as lessons about humility and the consequences of defying the true God. Nebuchadnezzar’s pride is evident in several instances, such as the construction of the golden statue and his decree that all must worship it. However, he also experiences a humbling transformation, as described in Daniel 4, where he goes through a period of madness and ultimately acknowledges the sovereignty of the Most High God. Despite witnessing miraculous events, Nebuchadnezzar struggles with a full conversion and acknowledgment of the God of Israel. On the other hand, Belshazzar, in Daniel 5, displays blatant disrespect by using the sacred vessels from the Temple of Jerusalem for a drunken feast. His actions go beyond mere arrogance, they involve a direct disrespect of the holy items associated with the God of Israel. The famous writing on the wall, interpreted by Daniel, foretells the fall of Belshazzar’s kingdom, emphasizing the consequences of his insolence. In both cases, we see the theme of God’s judgment against the pride and arrogance of rulers. Nebuchadnezzar’s story provides an example of divine discipline leading to humility and recognition of God’s authority, while Belshazzar’s account serves as a warning against blatant disrespect and the consequences of refusing to acknowledge the true God. These narratives highlight the complexity of human response to divine revelation and the ongoing struggle between pride and humility, obedience and rebellion, in the face of God’s undeniable power.