Day 09 of Journey Through Daniel | THE HAND OF POWER

COMMENTARY Daniel 5 introduces us to a new ruler in Babylon named Belshazzar. The chapter begins with Belshazzar hosting a banquet. This banquet was likely the customary drinking party that ancient military commanders would host in advance of great battles. At that time (approximately 539 BC), the Persian army was approaching the city of Babylon and preparing to topple this old empire. So at his party, Belshazzar tried to encourage his people with a visible reminder of how the Babylonian gods had given them victory in the past. He called for the “goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem” so that they might drink from these trophies of war (Daniel 5:2). What Belshazzar arrogantly fails to recognize is that the God of Israel had actually allowed this Babylonian victory in the past (Daniel 1:2). So as the story unfolds, God sends His own visual reminder to Belshazzar. A floating hand appears and writes an omen on the wall. This symbol of a hand plays off a theme in Daniel, which correlates hands and power. In the book of Daniel, hands are frequently seen as possessing power (Daniel 1:2; 2:34, 38; 3:15, 17; 4:35; 5:23-24; 7:25; 9:15). In fact, many times, words that mean “hand” in Hebrew and Aramaic are translated into English as “power” (Daniel 6:27; 8:4, 7, 25; 11:16, 42; 12:7). The point that the book of Daniel in general, and this story in particular, makes is that God holds ultimate power in His hands. God may give power to others for a time, and God can also take it away. This omen may have been written for Belshazzar, but it should continue to speak to us today. In our independent and individualistic culture, we like to believe that we are in control, that power resides in our hands. The truth is that any power we have, really anything we have, comes to us by the permission of God. God may set power in our hands, but God can also take it away. With the power we have, we should walk humbly before God and work to bring justice on earth. SCRIPTURE Daniel 5:1–12 5 The Writing on the Wall 1 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. 2 While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. 3 So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. 4 As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. 5 Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. 6 His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking. 7 The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.” 8 Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. 9 So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled. 10 The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! 11 There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. 12 He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.” QUESTIONS 1. The message that God holds power in His hands is meant to be a message of hope for people who are oppressed: God can bring down their oppressors. But why do you suppose He ever lets callous leaders have power in the first place? 2. How does the message that God holds power in His hands speak to you in your present situation? Is it a message of comfort? A word of warning? Both?