Daniel 5:7-12

Daniel 5:7

The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.

 

Then once the king sees the handwriting he then comes back a little to his senses and now he wants to get an interpretation of what the words mean.  So like his father, he calls in all the wise men of Babylon to try and get the interpretation.  He does the same thing his father does and that is to offer a great reward to anyone who can interpret the words.  In this case, he will promote the person to the rank of third ruler in the kingdom which has been a debatable rank.  It is conjectured that the King was first ruler, the queen was second ruler and third rule would be after the queen.  No matter what the pecking order was, it was the third highest ruler in the entire kingdom of Babylon.  Nebuchadnezzar promoted Daniel to a high rank in the chief province of Babylon but here Belshazzar is offering the third rule in the entire kingdom of Babylon.

 

Daniel 5:8

Then came in all the king's wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

 

When King Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall, immediately he sent for the astrologers, soothsayers, and Chaldeans to attempt to read the words and get an interpretation. Unfortunately for the king none of that group could even read the writing which means they could not offer any type of interpretation. This is a great principle for all Christians to heed. The reason that the king’s wise men could not read the message or interpret it is because the message was of divine origin. It was written by the finger of God. This principle is important because those who are unsaved will never come to a complete understanding of God’s word since it is of divine origin and unbelievers are in the kingdom of Satan, just like Belshazzar’s counselors. This is why it is very important that Christians know their Bible teachers before they listen and adopt their message. One must be born again to understand the word of God, for only the Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible can give the proper interpretation. This is also a good lesson that no unsaved person will ever be able to fully understand the Bible because it is of divine origin and it will not matter how much education you have.  One must be born again to understand the Scriptures. In Psalm 50:16-17, God gives a stern admonition to unbelievers who try to teach His Word!

 

Psalm 50:16-17 (KJV) But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? {17} Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.

 

Daniel 5:9

Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.

 

The king was basically terrified not only at the fact of this handwriting that was on his wall but also the fact that no one could tell him what that meant.  His terror was so great that his countenance or face had literally changed.  Not only was Belshazzar frightened but his lords were just as frightened, in fact, they were so terrified that just like Nebuchadnezzar they were astonied.  As you recall that is an old English word which means they were so frightened they became like a stone. 

 

Daniel 5:10

Now the queen, by reason of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed:

 

Then after a while the queen had entered the banquet hall where the party was going on and then spoke to the king.  She counseled him not to allow his troubles to terrify him to the point that his facial features would be changed.  This would have not been the wife of Belshazzar but the widow of Evil-Merodach his father.

 

Daniel 5:11

There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

 

The queen now brings some good news to the king as she begins to introduce Daniel with all his spiritual qualities.   She tells him that there is a man in the kingdom who was brought to Babylon by his father Nebuchadnezzar.  This man was able to help your father and now he will be able to help you.  Nebuchadnezzar was actually the grandfather of Belshazzar and it was not out of the ordinary for a grandfather to be called father.  She tells him that this man was made chief of the wise men and counselors in the kingdom because he was able to be a great help to your father.

 

Daniel 5:12

Forasmuch as an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation.

 

She continues on as if she was reading the resume of Daniel to the king.  He had an excellent spirit which meant his spirituality had exceeded all those who were previously brought before Nebuchadnezzar.  He also had great knowledge which meant he had good reasoning ability and much wisdom.   He had good understanding which meant he had superior intelligence.  He was able to interpret dreams as he had accurately interpreted two of them for Nebuchadnezzar.  He had the ability to show hard sentences which means he had the ability to declare or tell riddles.  He also had the ability to dissolve doubts which carries with it the meaning of “to loosen a knot” which means Daniel had the ability to help unravel any mysterious sayings which seemed to be very confusing. The queen stated that all these spiritual attributes were found in Daniel.  Then she counsels to him that Daniel be called in to make the interpretation of the writing on the wall.

 

She continues on as if she was reading the resume of Daniel to the king.  He had an excellent spirit which meant his spirituality had exceeded all those who were previously brought before Nebuchadnezzar.  He also had great knowledge which meant he had good reasoning ability and much wisdom.   He had good understanding which meant he had superior intelligence.  He was able to interpret dreams as he had accurately interpreted two of them for Nebuchadnezzar.  He had the ability to show hard sentences which means he had the ability to declare or tell riddles.  He also had the ability to dissolve doubts which carries with it the meaning of “to loosen a knot” which means Daniel had the ability to help unravel any mysterious sayings which seemed to be very confusing. The queen stated that all these spiritual attributes were found in Daniel.  Then she counsels to him that Daniel be called in to make the interpretation of the writing on the wall.

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