Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel in purple, placed a gold chain around his neck, and proclaimed him the third highest ruler in the kingdom. Then Belshazzar gave an orderThe phrase highlights the authority of Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, who despite the ominous prophecy delivered by Daniel, chooses to honor him. This act of giving an order reflects the king's immediate response to the interpretation of the writing on the wall. Historically, Belshazzar was a co-regent with his father Nabonidus, which is why he could only offer Daniel the position of third ruler. This moment underscores the transient nature of earthly power and the sovereignty of God over human affairs. and they clothed Daniel in purple
Purple was a color associated with royalty and high status in ancient times, often reserved for kings and nobles due to the expense of the dye. By clothing Daniel in purple, Belshazzar acknowledges Daniel's wisdom and the divine insight he provided. This act symbolizes the honor and recognition bestowed upon Daniel, even in a pagan court, and serves as a testament to God's ability to elevate His faithful servants in any circumstance. placed a gold chain around his neck
The gold chain is a symbol of authority and distinction. In ancient cultures, such adornments were often given as rewards for service or as signs of high office. This gesture signifies the king's acknowledgment of Daniel's role in interpreting the divine message. It also reflects the biblical theme that God honors those who honor Him, as Daniel's faithfulness and integrity are publicly recognized. and issued a proclamation concerning him
The issuance of a proclamation indicates a formal and public declaration of Daniel's new status. This act not only elevates Daniel but also serves as a witness to the Babylonian court of the power and wisdom of the God of Israel. It highlights the theme of divine justice and the fulfillment of God's purposes through His chosen instruments. that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom
The position of third ruler is significant, as it reflects the highest possible rank Daniel could attain under Belshazzar's co-regency. This appointment is a fulfillment of the king's promise and demonstrates the immediate impact of Daniel's interpretation. It also serves as a reminder of the temporary nature of human kingdoms, as the Babylonian empire would soon fall to the Medes and Persians, fulfilling the prophecy Daniel had just interpreted. This phrase underscores the biblical truth that God's kingdom is eternal, while earthly powers are fleeting. Persons / Places / Events 1. BelshazzarThe last king of Babylon, known for his pride and defiance against God. He hosted a great feast using the sacred vessels from the Jerusalem temple, which led to the divine judgment. 2. DanielA Jewish exile in Babylon, known for his wisdom and faithfulness to God. He interpreted the mysterious writing on the wall for Belshazzar, predicting the fall of Babylon. 3. BabylonThe powerful empire and city known for its grandeur and idolatry. It was the setting for the events of Daniel 5 and was soon to fall to the Medes and Persians. 4. The Writing on the WallA miraculous event where a hand appeared and wrote a message on the wall during Belshazzar's feast, interpreted by Daniel as a divine judgment against Babylon. 5. The Third Highest RulerThe position given to Daniel by Belshazzar as a reward for interpreting the writing. This title reflects the limited power Belshazzar had, as he was co-regent with his father, Nabonidus. Teaching Points God's SovereigntyGod's control over nations and rulers is evident. Belshazzar's reward to Daniel, though significant, was ultimately meaningless in the face of God's judgment. Faithfulness in ExileDaniel's consistent faithfulness to God, even in a foreign land, serves as a model for believers living in secular societies. The Futility of Earthly HonorsEarthly rewards and positions are temporary. Daniel's promotion was short-lived, reminding us to seek eternal rewards. Divine JudgmentGod's judgment is certain and just. Belshazzar's fate warns against pride and irreverence towards God. Wisdom and DiscernmentDaniel's ability to interpret the writing highlights the importance of seeking God's wisdom in understanding and responding to life's challenges. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Daniel's response to Belshazzar's reward reflect his understanding of God's sovereignty? 2. In what ways can we remain faithful to God in environments that are hostile to our beliefs, as Daniel did? 3. How does the account of Belshazzar's fall serve as a warning against pride in our own lives? 4. What are some modern-day "Babylons" that tempt us to prioritize earthly honors over eternal values? 5. How can we cultivate wisdom and discernment like Daniel in our daily decision-making? Connections to Other Scriptures Daniel 2Daniel's earlier interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, which also foretold the fall of kingdoms, including Babylon. Proverbs 16:18The principle that pride precedes destruction, as seen in Belshazzar's downfall. 1 Samuel 2:7-8God's sovereignty in raising and lowering rulers, as demonstrated in Daniel's elevation and Babylon's fall. Revelation 18The fall of Babylon as a symbol of God's judgment against worldly pride and idolatry. People Babylonians, Belshazzar, Belteshazzar, Daniel, Darius, Micah, Nebuchadnezzar, PersiansPlaces Babylon, JerusalemTopics Authority, Belshazzar, Belshaz'zar, Bracelet, Chain, Clothed, Command, Commanded, Daniel, Gold, Highest, Issued, Kingdom, Neck, Necklace, Order, Orders, Placed, Proclaimed, Proclamation, Public, Purple, Robe, Round, Rule, Ruler, Scarlet, Statement, ThirdDictionary of Bible Themes Daniel 5:29 4333 gold
5251 chains
5399 luxury
5915 ornaments
8404 commands, in OT Daniel 5:22-30 1310 God, as judge Daniel 5:22-31 5878 honour Daniel 5:25-30 5512 scales and balances Daniel 5:29-6:2 8031 trust, importance Library Mene, Tekel, Peres
'Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another: yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18. O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: 19. And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureThe Scales of Judgment
There has never been a deed of persecution--there has never been a drop of martyr's blood shed yet, but shall be avenged, and every land guilty of it shall yet drink the cup of the wine of the wrath of God. And especially certain is there gathering an awful storm over the head of the empire of Rome--that spiritual despotism of the firstborn of hell. All the clouds of God's vengeance are gathering into one--the firmament is big with thunder, God's right arm is lifted up even now, and ere long the …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859 "So Then they that are in the Flesh Cannot Please God. "
Rom. viii. 8.--"So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is a kind of happiness to men, to please them upon whom they depend, and upon whose favour their well-being hangs. It is the servant's happiness to please his master, the courtier's to please his prince; and so generally, whosoever they be that are joined in mutual relations, and depend one upon another; that which makes all pleasant, is this, to please one another. Now, certainly, all the dependencies of creatures one upon …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Human Government.
Human governments a part of the moral government of God. In the discussion of this subject I will,-- I. Inquire into the ultimate end of God in creation. We have seen in former lectures, that God is a moral agent, the self-existent and supreme; and is therefore himself, as ruler of all, subject to, and observant of, moral law in all his conduct. That is, his own infinite intelligence must affirm that a certain course of willing is suitable, fit, and right in him. This idea, or affirmation, is law …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology Eastern Wise-Men, or Magi, visit Jesus, the New-Born King.
(Jerusalem and Bethlehem, b.c. 4.) ^A Matt. II. 1-12. ^a 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem [It lies five miles south by west of Jerusalem, a little to the east of the road to Hebron. It occupies part of the summit and sides of a narrow limestone ridge which shoots out eastward from the central chains of the Judæan mountains, and breaks down abruptly into deep valleys on the north, south, and east. Its old name, Ephrath, meant "the fruitful." Bethlehem means "house of bread." Its modern …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Messiah Unpitied, and Without a Comforter
Reproach [Rebuke] hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. T he greatness of suffering cannot be certainly estimated by the single consideration of the immediate, apparent cause; the impression it actually makes upon the mind of the sufferer, must likewise be taken into the account. That which is a heavy trial to one person, may be much lighter to another, and, perhaps, no trial at all. And a state …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Sovereignty of God in Administration
"The LORD hath prepared His Throne In the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all" (Psa. 103:19). First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world. Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws (which men term "the laws of Nature"), and that He then withdrew, leaving the world to its fortune and the out-working of these laws. In such a case, we should have a world over which there was no intelligent, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision A. Reasons for Retiring to Galilee. ^A Matt. IV. 12; ^B Mark I. 14; ^C Luke III. 19, 20; ^D John IV. 1-4. ^c 19 but Herod the tetrarch [son of Herod the Great, and tetrarch, or governor, of Galilee], being reproved by him [that is, by John the Baptist] for Herodias his brother's wife, and for all the evil things which Herod had done [A full account of the sin of Herod and persecution of John will be found at Matt. xiv. 1-12 and Mark vi. 14-29. John had spoken the truth to Herod as fearlessly …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel The Eternity of God
The next attribute is, God is eternal.' Psa 90:0. From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.' The schoolmen distinguish between aevun et aeternum, to explain the notion of eternity. There is a threefold being. I. Such as had a beginning; and shall have an end; as all sensitive creatures, the beasts, fowls, fishes, which at death are destroyed and return to dust; their being ends with their life. 2. Such as had a beginning, but shall have no end, as angels and the souls of men, which are eternal …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity That Upon the Conquest and Slaughter of vitellius Vespasian Hastened his Journey to Rome; but Titus his Son Returned to Jerusalem.
1. And now, when Vespasian had given answers to the embassages, and had disposed of the places of power justly, [25] and according to every one's deserts, he came to Antioch, and consulting which way he had best take, he preferred to go for Rome, rather than to march to Alexandria, because he saw that Alexandria was sure to him already, but that the affairs at Rome were put into disorder by Vitellius; so he sent Mucianus to Italy, and committed a considerable army both of horsemen and footmen to …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in …
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners There is a Blessedness in Reversion
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Matthew 5:3 Having done with the occasion, I come now to the sermon itself. Blessed are the poor in spirit'. Christ does not begin his Sermon on the Mount as the Law was delivered on the mount, with commands and threatenings, the trumpet sounding, the fire flaming, the earth quaking, and the hearts of the Israelites too for fear; but our Saviour (whose lips dropped as the honeycomb') begins with promises and blessings. So sweet and ravishing was the doctrine of this …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 The Life and Death of Mr. Badman,
Presented to the World in a Familiar Dialogue Between Mr. Wiseman and Mr. Attentive. By John Bunyan ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. The life of Badman is a very interesting description, a true and lively portraiture, of the demoralized classes of the trading community in the reign of King Charles II; a subject which naturally led the author to use expressions familiar among such persons, but which are now either obsolete or considered as vulgar. In fact it is the only work proceeding from the prolific …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Greater Prophets.
1. We have already seen (Chap. 15, Nos. 11 and 12) that from Moses to Samuel the appearances of prophets were infrequent; that with Samuel and the prophetical school established by him there began a new era, in which the prophets were recognized as a distinct order of men in the Theocracy; and that the age of written prophecy did not begin till about the reign of Uzziah, some three centuries after Samuel. The Jewish division of the latter prophets--prophets in the more restricted sense of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible Meditations Before Dinner and Supper.
Meditate that hunger is like the sickness called a wolf; which, if thou dost not feed, will devour thee, and eat thee up; and that meat and drink are but as physic, or means which God hath ordained, to relieve and cure this natural infirmity and necessity of man. Use, therefore, to eat and to drink, rather to sustain and refresh the weakness of nature, than to satisfy the sensuality and delights of the flesh. Eat, therefore, to live, but live not to eat. There is no service so base, as for a man …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Chorus of Angels
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour and glory, and blessing! I t was a good report which the queen of Sheba heard, in her own land, of the wisdom and glory of Solomon. It lessened her attachment to home, and prompted her to undertake a long journey to visit this greater King, of whom she had heard so much. She went, and she was not disappointed. Great as the expectations were, which she had formed from the relation made her by others, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Daniel
Daniel is called a prophet in the New Testament (Matt. xxiv. 15). In the Hebrew Bible, however, the book called by his name appears not among the prophets, but among "the writings," between Esther and Ezra. The Greek version placed it between the major and the minor prophets, and this has determined its position in modern versions. The book is both like and unlike the prophetic books. It is like them in its passionate belief in the overruling Providence of God and in the sure consummation of His …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Daniel 5:29 NIVDaniel 5:29 NLTDaniel 5:29 ESVDaniel 5:29 NASBDaniel 5:29 KJV
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