Divine Word

    King Nebuchadnezzar eventually died in 562 BC.  He left his kingdom to his grandson, Belshazzar.  The new king gave a banquet to 1,000 nobles.  He wanted it to be super fancy, so he used some of the things from God's temple that had been taken from Jerusalem.  He had been drinking, so he wasn't thinking straight, but when he used God's Holy items to praise false gods, he really made God mad.

    Without warning a mysterious hand wrote on the royal wall in the great palace.  Belshazzar saw the event and went pale and soiled himself out of fear.  He was not able to read it, nor were his mystical guides or wisemen, so hos fear continued to grow. Belshazzar's mother, the queen mother and daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, encouraged him to send for Daniel.  She new Daniel would have the answers.

    I am sure that Belshazzar had grown up hearing mysterious stories of the Hebrew people and God.  The God that changed Nebuchadnezzar's life before he died.  The rest of his weren't Christians, but they knew enough.

    Daniel was probably close to 80 at this time.  Daniel of course came and gave the king a message about how he knew better than to become prideful.  He had dishonored God by using holy items for his banquet.  Be basically exalted himself above God.  The writing on the was was Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin which means the king's days were numbered, he was deficient,  and the kingdom would be divided.

    The king rewarded Daniel and let him go.  That very night Belshazzar was killed.  Darius the Mede took over at 62.  Belshazzar's kingdom would be divided between the Medes and Persians.  

Daniel 5