The Banquet of the "Little Big Man"
by Rev. Kirby Williams
King Belshazzar's bacchanalian banquet on the eve of the fall of Babylon.
Text: Daniel 5:1-17
Date: 12/03/2017, the Evening service.
Series: "Daniel: Divine Dominion and Deliverance" Part 13
Occasion: Advent
Description:
In this the fourth of Daniel's court tales, we are introduced to Nebuchadnezzar's grandson, Belshazzar. We will find that he is a "small" king who bears no resemblance to his illustrious predecessor and was responsible for the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persians. Since we will only look at the first half of the story in this message, we will spend time establishing the historical setting and the amazing circumstances that led to that downfall. But the focus of our study this evening will be on Belshazzar himself, his absolute lack of morals and character and his apparent hatred for all things Hebrew. But he goes too far when he mocks God by using the golden vessels stolen from the temple in Jerusalem to drink from in his opulent drunken banquet. Ultimately we will learn that God will not be mocked, and those who recklessly blaspheme and defile Him will sooner or later (in this case sooner!) suffer the consequences that all "little-big men and women" face who mock the all-powerful and all-knowing God.
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I. Introduction
II. Exposition of the text, Dan. 5:1-17.
A. Context
1. Identifying the "court stories".
2. God will humble the proud, Dan. 4:37.
B. Belshazzar's Bacchanalian Banquet, vs. 1-4.
1. Catching up on the history.
a. The succession of kings.
b. Controversy over Belshazzar.
c. The situation in Babylon.
2. Describing the feast, vs. 1.
3. Reckless blasphemy and defilement, vs. 2-4, Dan. 1:2.
a. Defiling sacred vessels.
b. A bacchanalian feast, Gal. 6:7.
C. The puzzling miracle, vs. 5-9.
1. The writing on the wall, vs. 5.
2. The impact on the king, vs. 6.
3. Calling all wizards, vs. 7.
4. The wizards fail, vs. 8.
5. Confusion in the banquet hall, vs. 9.
D. The queen mother, vs. 10-12.
1. Introducing the queen mother, vs. 10.
2. The queen mother's counsel, vs. 11-12.
a. Introducing Daniel, vs. 11a.
b. Nebuchadnezzar's chief wizard, vs. 11b-12.
E. Daniel appears before the king, vs. 13-17.
1. A hint of recognition, vs. 13-14.
2. A seemingly polite request, vs. 15-16.
3. Searching for a meaning, Dan. 4:30.
F. Daniel's undiplomatic response, vs. 17.
III. Application
IV. Conclusion
