Mar. 21, 2024

Daniel 5:1-30 Worksheet

When it comes to the “King of the heavens, … All his works are _______and his ways are just. He is able to ___________those who walk in pride. (4:37)

Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC, after a reign of ____years. 

Merodach (561-560 B.C.): Nebuchadnezzar’s son, followed his father on the throne. 

Neriglissar ruled for 4 years and was succeeded by his son: Labashi Marduk.

Nabonidus ruled (555-539 B.C.) 

Belshazzar, (553-539 B.C.) Nabonidus’ son. 

In the Church of Jesus Christ, His Word is final. It doesn't matter how you feel, it doesn't matter whether you like it, Christ is the final authority. Our role is to obey. ― Conrad Mbewe

God Sees Our Sin When We __________His Glory (5:1-4)

The last Babylonian king, a man named _____________, decided to throw a big party while Darius the Mede is at the door steps of the city ready for an invasion of Babylon. 

This type of party with nobles was abnormal for a king, to have them witness him “drink wine in their presence” (v.1).

Belshazzar and his lords, wives, and concubines drank their wine from the _________ vessels taken from Yahweh’s temple. 

Then they added idolatrous worship with the __________behavior as they “praised their gods made of gold, and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone” (v.4)

But there was nothing ________ about that night of debauchery and mockery.

Spiritual and theological significance of all of this cannot be overstated. The act is intended to mock the God of Judah and to celebrate the gods of Babylon as being _____. 

They were making a ______________of Judah’s God. Belshazzar takes holy vessels and treats them as nothing  more than common utensils.

We must remember to not make the sacred things of God and associate them with the ___________. (Proverbs 6:12-15; Isaiah 47:10-11) 

“There is no human wall so high, no human accomplishment so great, there it is secure against the judgment of God.” - Bryan Chappell

God Confronts Our Sins, and We Should _____________ When He Does (5:5-9)

This type of partying was completely out of touch with reality. This is what sin does. It makes us dull and stupid. 

Sinclair Ferguson: Blinded by the pursuit of lust, they were oblivious to the possibility that “this night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?”(Luke 12:20)

“In a ___________,” Immediately, meaning that the king is brought to his senses. He sobered up pretty quick.

Nothing short of an extraordinary event like a “hand writing on a wall.” 

The very ____________of God are what yanked Belshazzar back into reality.

The same fingers that wrote the 10 Commandments for the Hebrews (Ex. 31:18; Deut. 9:10) had now confronted Belshazzar’s blasphemous and sinful behavior with ____________judgment. 

Belshazzar’s response:

His __________color changed: red face flushed.

His _______went into a tizzy

He went slack.

His knees __________together

He attempted to regain his _____________ , although he was bumbling and stumbling in effort to shout for the mediums, astrologers, and diviners.

 He promised them ________(clothed in purple), _________(a gold chain), and _________(third highest position in the kingdom.”if they could read & interpret the writing on the wall. 

This tends to be God’s ___________- to aggravate our helplessness by exposing the uselessness of our favorite props, even our favorite religious props.

Human ____________couldn’t be more clear, but you might be wondering where the divine opportunity appears.

Precisely when Belshazzar is frightened, why?

Because religion has failed him, he is reduced to a shivering, sniffling mess with no support

He becomes the __________of God’s terror. God brings him to the ____ of himself and he is utterly helpless. 

God Exposes Our Sins, and We Are ______________Wanting (5:10-28).

We have arrived at the moment of truth. Aka “the turning point.”

Primary theme: Yahweh’s supremacy over all earthly powers and the importance for Jews to remain ________to their God even in exile.” 

Belshazzar’s mother comes to the banquet hall and respectfully addresses the king and tells him to get a grip of himself, for there is a man named Daniel who has knowledge and intelligence and the ability to interpret dreams…

What is she doing? She calls Daniel out of ______________(given that he is in his 80’s at this point) to give another interpretation.  

(v.17) Daniel _____________the king in recent history and biblical theology. 

God is referenced ___times in verses (18-28)

He is referenced as “the Most Hight God!”; the Lord of the heavens” (v.23, and “the God who holds your life-breath in his hand.”

You have blasphemed and mocked God with your revelry and idolatry.

You have not glorified the God who _______your breath in his hands and who controls the whole course of your life.

Therefore, the most high God has _________your sin, weighted your _____and wicked actions, and you are __________wanting.

What was written on the Wall?

“MENE, MENE, TEKEL and PARSIN”  - Aramaic

MENE - “____________” like a unit of money. Indicates the days of Belshazzar’s reign are numbered to end soon. (Jer. 50:18)

TEKEL - “___________,” signifying that Belshazzar has failed to measure up to God’s standards of righteousness.

PARSIN (Peres) - “___________” or various units of decreasing money. 

God has numbered the days of your life and brought it to an end. 

God’s measuring ________________prove that this king is a lightweight. Meaning that he challenged the Most High God and Lost.  (Phil. 2:10-11)

God Deals with Our Sins of Unrepentance with ____________________Judgment (5:29-31)

God takes Belshazzar out and sets up a new world monarch named Cyrus (Darius the Mede) 

 God’s judgment in this case was not ______________, it was immediate.

To those who knew their scriptures, this was no surprise. God’s prophets had already laid out Babylon’s destiny - this kingdom was a passing fad, here today and gone tomorrow (Is.21:1-10; Jer.50-51, Pro. 29:1; 1:22-26)

Belshazzar did keep his word to Daniel and clothed him in purple, gave him gold, and made him the third rule in the kingdom.

God honored Daniel for his ______________as His servant in the hostile and pagan world.

According to the Greek historians Herodotus (5th century BC) and Xenophon (434-355 BC), the Medo-Persian army did not attempt to storm the impregnable Babylonian walls, which were at least ____feet high and _____feet wide.

How did the Med-Persians get into the city?

They __________water from the Euphrates River (which ran under the walls of Babylon) into a marsh. With the level of the water lowered, the soldiers were able to wade in the river under the walls and enter the city.

Xenophon added that the city was invaded while the Babylonians were feasting in a time of drunken revelry, as a matter of fact Xenophon cited that it was because of the festival that the Persians chose to attack Babylon on that particular night.    

The dates were October 11-12, 539 BC