Party Time

I. THE PURPOSE OF THE FEAST (Daniel 5:1)

A. The Wording of Scripture

1. “Belshazzar…made a great feast to a thousand of his lords,”
2. “A feast to the LORD” (Exodus 12:14; Exodus 13:6; Exodus 32:5)

B. The Motive Considered

1. It is possible that he saw the last days of his father’s kingdom as days of apparent weakness. After all, he obviously did not share the fear of the LORD that his father experienced in the end.
2. It is likely that he threw this feast in order to flatter the lords and establish his own authority and direction going forward.
3. There can be no doubt that the presence of wine indicates that the nature of the feast was celebratory.
4. This is quite intriguing considering:
a. “The joints of his loins were loosed and his knees smote one against another” (Daniel 5:6).
b. The king was “greatly troubled” and his lords “astonied” (Daniel 5:9).
c. Sin often presents favourable outcomes before it is enjoyed only to disappoint and proved counterproductive in the end.

II. THE PRIDE OF THE FEAST (Daniel 5:2-4)

A. The Source of Increased Pride (Daniel 5:2)

1. The source stated—“whiles he tasted the wine,”
2. The source questioned; anything that increases one’s tolerance to conviction and decreases one’s ability to reason soundly ought to be refused.

B. The Defiance of Increased Pride (Daniel 5:2-3)

1. The command to bring the vessels (Daniel 5:2)
a. Golden and silver vessels
b. Taken by his father from the temple
c. These were vessels sanctified for the use of the worship of God
d. Note: It reminds us of taking things God created for His pleasure and using them for any other purpose.
2. The spirit of rebellion demonstrated (Daniel 5:2-3)
a. For him, his princes, his wives, and his concubines
b. To drink wine out of them

C. The Folly of Increased Pride (Daniel 5:4)

1. They drank wine.
2. They praised the gods of:
a. Gold
b. Silver
c. Brass
d. Iron
e. Wood
f. Stone

III. THE PAUSE OF THE FEAST (Daniel 5:5-9)

A. The Initial Shock (Daniel 5:5-6)

1. The timing of the shock—“In the same hour” (Daniel 5:5); This indicates the certainty that this was connected to the drinking from the vessels. This should be further understood when one considers that the king had no idea what the hand wrote, but assumed it to be a message to be feared. In other words, the king knew immediately that the fingers were a response to his pride and rebellion. The vast majority of times sinners will immediately ask God why He is doing something to them because they expect God is doing something to them in response to their wickedness.
2. The visibility of the shock (Daniel 5:5)
a. The fingers of a man’s hand
b. Wrote against the candlestick
c. Upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace
d. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote
e. Note: This reminds us of the time when Christ wrote in the sand and one by one guilty men walked away.
3. The fear brought on (Daniel 5:6)
a. Reflected on this face—The king’s countenance was changed.
b. Rehearsed in his mind—His thoughts troubled him.
c. Reflected in his body—His knees smote together.

B. The Deflating Blow (Daniel 5:7-9)

1. The final power struggle (Daniel 5:7-8)
a. His offer of power and prestige (Daniel 5:7)
b. The inability of his wise men (Daniel 5:8)
2. The reality of Belshazzar’s condition (Daniel 5:9)
a. He was greatly troubled.
b. His countenance was changed in him.
c. His lords were astonied.