Historians will incorrectly tell you that Belshazzar was never King of Babylon. Their story is that Nabonidus was the king. However, Nabonidus led an army to Palestine and then on to Northern Arabia, leaving his son Belshazzar as co-regent in Babylon. You see, Nabonidus was not very popular at home, didn't particularily like Babylon and his staying in Arabia was from his desire to found a settlement there with exiles from Palestine. He never returned to Babylon.
Even the priest of Marduk, the national deity of Babylon, became alienated. All this gives Cyrus the Great a pretext for invading the lowlands to capture Babylon without a fight.
Belshazzar liked being King. He decided to throw a grand party with about 1,000 of his satraps, wives, concubines, and guests. Daniel, Chapter 5, verses 2 and 3, is where he made a fatal mistake. It says, "When he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his (grand) father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them."
"Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them."
Continuing on in v. 5, "In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote."
Belshazzar's grandmother came to the banquet hall and told the extremely upset and drunk king there was man in the kingdom who has the Spirit of the Holy God. She of course was speaking of Daniel, who she told Belshazzar that he (Daniel) could interpret the handwritting on the wall. Daniel did; and in doing so told Belshazzar that his heart was not humbled, even though he knew of how God humbled the heart of his grandpa, Nebuchadnezzar. Then Daniel gave him the even worse news - that the Medes and Persians would take over the kingdom.
The banquet showcased Belshazzar's contempt for the power of men; the desecration of the temple vessels showed Belshazzar's contempt for the one true God who even created him.
In less than 12 hours, Belshazzar would be eternally sorry for his actions of a lifetime of ignoring God. So Belshazzar had rejected his grandparents worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and chosen to do things his own way.
That fatal mistake cost him his life; from Daniel, Chapter 5, v. 30 we read, "That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain." Paul says in Galatians 6:7, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will reap."
The lesson here is that Belshazzar should have learned from his grandmother and grandfather before he passed, that God is the God over the all the heavens and all mankind. Cyrus learned the lesson well after receiving a letter that was written over 150 years prior, by Isaiah, detailing his capture of Babylon. Another great story for another time.
Sources: Notes on the book of Daniel, Dr. Chuck Missler, Koinonia Institute Publications, 2009.
All articles on Northern Maine Christianity are written by Gary Hill. Gary and his wife Judy Ann, live in the far Northern Maine town of Madawaska, ME, where they have a ministry outreach to the Saint John's Valley.
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