Daniel 5
Over the next few months, our morning gatherings will be working through the book of Hebrews, and our evening gatherings through the book of Daniel.
Readings for this week May 15 - 19
Click here for a pdf of this week’s readings
Day 1 – The Writing on the Wall
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 5:1-6
The narrative now skips ahead; we have a new king on the throne. Although verse 2 identifies Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar’s father, he is not his literal father; there have been several kings in between them, many of whom met grisly ends at the hands of their rivals. Whatever lessons Nebuchadnezzar had learned by the end of his reign were obviously not imparted to his successors. What we see displayed in Belshazzar’s actions here is an ostentatious display of irreverence towards the God of the Israelites. Bringing out the spoils of war – the looted contents of the Jerusalem temple, holy items in the Israelites’ worship – and drinking from them while praising other gods: this is mockery of Yahweh.
God will not be mocked. Belshazzar’s mistake is in thinking that because Yahweh’s people have been defeated, Yahweh himself has also been defeated and is thus powerless in the face of Belshazzar’s display of his own power. But when Yahweh does act, it pays to listen. Even Belshazzar involuntarily recognises this: he sees the hand and is shocked into fright. His assurance, his protection, his assumed safety – all are forgotten. The warning has been given; judgement awaits. But such warnings are not just for gluttonous kings. All of us need to heed the warnings God has given about how to live and how to love; the necessity of sharing what we have with others and the consequences that come with our selfishness and indifference. We see the writing on the wall all around us today – socially, economically, environmentally – but are we paying attention?
Questions to Consider
Who would you say the writing on the wall is for today? Why?
Prayer
Lord God, help us live generously and share what we have with others. Help us as a church to come together again to share with the two Afghani families arriving soon to new lives in our city. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 2 – The Old Ways Don’t Work
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 5:7-12
We’ve been here before. This seems to be a case of rinse and repeat. But we know the old ways won’t work. The same astrologers and magicians are called to interpret the message on the wall, offered the same rewards if they are successful – and completely fail to understand what the message means and thus satisfy the king’s command. Once again, a challenge emerges; once again no one can respond helpfully to the situation. When something new and unknown confronted them, they were powerless to act effectively; all they could do was fall back on their old tried, trusted – and failed – ways of acting.
The old ways of doing things, our patterns of living, our social systems – we know that so many of them are no longer working, no longer sustaining people, no longer allowing people to flourish and live with the dignity bestowed upon us by our creator God. What warnings are we failing to heed and correctly interpret? What destructive, demeaning, degrading ways of life are we failing to see around us – perhaps even deliberately choosing not to see? If we were to combine the scriptural exhortations and attendant warnings with the social and environmental signs and warnings around us now, what would we hear God saying to us? Would it require – demand – that we change our old ways of living and orient our lives around sacrificial care for the unloved and neglected, and make decisions based on what it means for people to be agents of their own freedom?
Question to Consider
What is the writing on the wall saying to us?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, show us how to change and give us the strength to do so. Help us, who have so much, to live our lives in faithful solidarity with those who have so little, no matter what it requires of us. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 3 – Forsaking Ambition
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 5:13-17
Daniel’s actions all those many years ago are still remembered. He has a reputation as a wise man who can determine the meanings of heavenly signs and wonders. The king even acknowledges the divine origin of Daniel’s abilities when he says, “the spirit of the gods is in you.” The integrity that Daniel showed early on and the fidelity that he showed to his God, even as he was pressured to discard his faith and conform to the ways of the new culture in which he was captive, was remembered and even admired. How he carried himself and how he served his God was a powerful witness in the alien landscape of captivity in Babylon.
And all these years later Daniel is still God’s man, his faithful integrity still intact, his head still unturned by the baubles and trinkets of high office and the promise of wealth and influence. If he was an ambitious man, the opportunity to further his career and his position is right here in front of him – again. But we know that Daniel is not ambitious. He did not compromise when Nebuchadnezzar dangled promotion and wealth before him; he does not do so now either, telling the king, for whatever reason, that he can keep his purple robe and the other enticements or give them to someone else. Daniel was humble enough to reject the attractive, yet decadent lifestyle and the powerful, yet corrupt – and corrupting – place in the ruling regime. Power and comfort were not his guiding lights. Instead, he was ruled by the Word and promised faithfulness of his God.
Questions to Consider
What ‘baubles of office’ do you either need to give up and hand back or turn away from and not accept? What life changes might this require?
Prayer
Gracious God, may our only ambition be to serve you and to love all people we come across each day, however you ask us to do so. Show us how to welcome the stranger and love them unconditionally. Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 4 – Weighed and Found Wanting
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 5:18-28
“You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting.” These are rather chilling words, especially when coming from God. Belshazzar, a foreign despot, ignorant of Israel’s scriptures and a mocker of their God, is nevertheless told that this God has found him lacking in humility and, even more troubling for the king, that he should have known better, considering the history of which he was well aware. Yes, there is a specific message for him in the writing on the wall, but considering all that was widely known to have happened to Nebuchadnezzar, it isn’t difficult to see the repetition of previous events as an implicit sign that what happened to Nebuchadnezzar was going to happen again…
Once again, Daniel is the only one who can interpret what this most recent sign from God means. And once again, it means destruction, a throne overturned, a king cast down. Weighed and found wanting – a message for the king then, and a warning for us today. Actions have consequences and not just for the people acting but for those affected by those actions. As antithetical as it may seem next to the (still true) idea of a ‘God of grace’ who wipes our sins away, God is weighing us. Are our words and actions compatible with the words and actions of his Son? Are we faithfully living transformed lives in the power of his gifted Spirit? Are we putting the needs of others first? Are we being faithful in helping build the kingdom? Or are we headed for destruction, building only our egos, mindful of only our comfort, hoping only to be saved “as if through flame”?
Question to Consider
How would your life hold up to being weighed in God’s scales?
Prayer
Almighty Father, help me bring life and light to your world. Grow my capacity to live for others and conduct myself in a way that brings hope and peace to those most in need of them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)
Day 5 – No Repentance this Time
Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)
Scripture Reading – Daniel 5:29-31
We might be tempted to think that the lesson here is ‘Be humble, Godly and self-effacing in the face of potential rewards and prizes and you’ll end up getting them anyway.’ After all, Daniel refused the proffered honours only to end up with them. But (even though this does sometimes happen in life) that is not the point. After all, the man who so honoured Daniel was dead later that same evening – and who knows what the next king will be like? What is more instructive is to look at the two men – Daniel and Belshazzar – and see what their fates tell us about life and how to live it.
The contrast is between a man, humbly and faithfully living each moment to the best of his ability in service to the God he allows to lead him, and an arrogant king who used his position and power for his own ‘glory’ and comfort. The former had been miraculously preserved time and again when faced with torture and death and had been placed in positions of influence and prestige; the latter had been weighed and found wanting and struck dead without any possible chance to repent. Even the flip-flopping Nebuchadnezzar was given the time and opportunity to repent. Life is short and can end at any time. Daniel knew this – his could have been ended multiple times before now, just like the king’s was. Who will we serve while we live, ourselves or God? Will we live aimlessly, acting on our own whims and fancies, doing what we want, or will we live each moment with faithful purpose, seeking to go where our King leads us?
Questions to Consider
What does this teach us about the ways of God versus the ways of humanity? What might you need to repent of and turn back from?
Prayer
Almighty God, thank you for your mercy and that you keep calling to me even as I wander. Forgive my sinful selfishness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)