Daniel 5:7 "The king cried aloud
to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. [And] the king
spake, and said to the wise [men] of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this
writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet,
and [have] a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the
kingdom."
This king is unfamiliar with Daniel.
He calls for all the wise men, to see if anyone can tell him what this means.
"Scarlet",
here, is speaking of purple. Purple symbolizes royalty. This robe would be
showing the wearer to be of very high rank. The third ruler of the kingdom is
saying he would rule over one-third of the kingdom.
This "chain of
Gold" shows the power of authority he would have. We must realize that
Daniel had been in the court of the kings for nearly 70 years at this point.
Daniel had been one of the first captives, and this happens near the end of the
captivity which was for 70 years.
Without God’s help,
the experts again failed as we see in the next couple of verses. But God’s man
Daniel would not.
Daniel 5:8 "Then came in all the
king's wise [men]: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the
king the interpretation thereof."
These wise men were speaking of the
sorcerers, and the astrologers, and the soothsayers. They had no real power, so
certainly they could not tell of this message from God.
Daniel 5:9 "Then was king
Belshazzar greatly troubled, and his countenance was changed in him, and his
lords were astonied."
It was surprising to them, that a hand,
just out of nowhere, could write a message like this on the wall of the King
Palace. Definitely, this message was for the consumption of the King and the
entire empire. Their astonishment was at the hand that wrote!
Daniel 5:10 "[Now] the queen by reason of the
words of the king and his lords came into the banquet house: [and] the queen
spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor
let thy countenance be changed:"
This is speaking of the queen mother,
who remembers the interpretations of the king's dreams by Daniel. Perhaps, this
king was unfamiliar with Daniel, since it was Nebuchadnezzar who had benefited
from the interpretations of Daniel. She, at least, brings hope.
Daniel 5:11 "There is a man in
thy kingdom, in whom [is] the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy
father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was
found in him; whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, [I say], thy
father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, [and]
soothsayers;"
Again, Belshazzar, the king is called
the son of Nebuchadnezzar, when, in fact, he is his grandson.
It appears from
this, Daniel had not been prominent in this king's court. This is, also,
different from interpreting dreams. Perhaps, this is why he did not call for
Daniel before. This queen recognizes the fact that Daniel is a man of God.
Daniel 5:12 "Forasmuch as an
excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and
shewing of hard sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same
Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will
shew the interpretation."
We see from this, that Daniel had done
much more than interpret two dreams for the king. He was in charge of the
eunuchs, after he had interpreted the first dream for Nebuchadnezzar.
Nebuchadnezzar had renamed him Belteshazar.
She has no doubt
that Daniel can tell them what this handwriting is. He has made a good
reputation, as being a man of God.
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