Daniel 05: Freaky Fingers

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello everybody, welcome back to the Bible
Breakdown podcast with your host, pastor Brandon.
Today, daniel, chapter 5, andtoday's title is Freaky Fingers.
Freaky Fingers and I'm going tosay that because this is one of
the creepiest things I've everseen.
I mean, well, I've not seen it,but read in the Bible.
Okay, this is right up therewith.
Well, I mean, I don't know.
I mean, it's like the creepiestthing ever.

(00:21):
So we're going to get to thatand we're going to get down to
you.
Ever heard the phrase?
The writing is on the wall?
It's like just this phrase.
That means like it's almostover, right, like whatever
that's going to come from thischapter.
So we're going to get into thatin just a second.
So go and get your Bible out,get your coffee out.
We're going to jump into andthe podcast.

(00:44):
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Also, I want to say real quickthank you to some of our new
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Thank you so much and, if youdon't mind, I'd love for you to

(01:06):
comment on the Bible Breakdowndiscussion or on the YouTube
video and tell us who you are,tell us what part of Haiti you
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Actually, I know somebody whowas a missionary to Haiti for a
while, and just wonderful.
So thank you so very much.
Well, once again we are in thebook of Daniel and remember the

(01:26):
overall idea of Daniel is God isin control, and we've seen that
over the past several chapters.
In Daniel chapter 1, daniel andhis friends were like no, god
is still in control, even thoughI'm in enemy territory, because
they had been shipped off toBabylon as part of the
destruction of Jerusalem, andthey said we're still going to

(01:47):
serve God.
And then, in chapter 2, Godshowed he was in control again
by letting Daniel interpret adream.
Chapter 3, he saved the threeHebrew teenagers from this fiery
furnace Yesterday.
Chapter 4, he done made KingNebuchadnezzar lose his mind for
a season and then came backagain, just so he could prove he
could do it and just say hey,listen, man, I'm in charge, not

(02:10):
you, buddy.
And then today we're going tosee some freaky fingers.
And this is also one of the mostfamous chapters or stories in
the entire Bible.
And I was saying before, ifyou've ever heard the phrase,
the writing is on the wall, itcomes from this chapter in the
entire Bible.
And I was saying before, ifyou've ever heard the phrase,
the writing is on the wall, itcomes from this chapter.
And so, like someone would usethe writing on the wall, if
let's say that you know, it's abig game and someone is winning

(02:34):
100 to nothing and there's, likeyou know, two minutes left and
they're going, hey, thewriting's on the wall, I think
this other team's gonna win.
In other words, it's lookinginevitable at this point, it's
looking like it's going tohappen.
Well, it comes from this.
So we're going to read this andwe're going to see how, yet
again, god proves among all ofthese kings and leaders, I'm
still in charge.
So if you're ready, let's jumpinto this very famous story,

(02:56):
even though you may not haveknown that phrase come from here
.
So here we go.
Chapter 5, verse 1 says thisMany years later, king
Belshazzar gave a great feastfor a thousand of his nobles and
he drank wine with them.
Now pause Now notice whathappens, and that is
Nebuchadnezzar is now dead andKing Belshazzar has now taken

(03:16):
over, and so he invites allthese people together.
And how about this?
Daniel is still in charge.
So many times, you know, younever knew what was going to
happen when the new monarch tookover, but Daniel's still the
man, and so he's still there.
So here he goes.
Verse two while Belshazzar wasdrinking the wine, he gave
orders to bring in the gold andsilver cups from his predecessor
, nebuchadnezzar, who had takenthem from the temple in

(03:38):
Jerusalem.
He wanted to drink from themwith his nobles, his wives and
his concubines.
Pause again.
Why can't you just leave italone, buddy?
You had to take the holy stuff,you know.
Here it comes.
The writing is on the wall.
Here it comes, verse 3.
So they brought these gold cupstaken from the temple, the
house of God in Jerusalem, andthe kings and his nobles, his
wives and his concubines drankfrom them.

(04:00):
And while they drank from thempraising their gods or idols
made of gold, silver, bronze,iron, wood and stone, and
suddenly they saw the fingers ofa human hand riding on the
plaster wall of the king'spalace, near the lampstand.
The king himself saw the handas it wrote and his face turned

(04:23):
pale with fright.
His knees knocked together infear and his legs gave way
beneath him.
In my opinion that's their wayof saying Jokerdon wet his pants
.
And here's the thing, wouldn'tyou?
You're minding your business atKroger, you're eating dinner at
Qdoba or at McDonald's, and allof a sudden a hand, just a hand

(04:44):
, some fingers show up and startwriting into the wall yeah, me
too, buddy, me too.
All right, verse seven.
The king shouted of course hedid at the enchanters and
astrologers and fortune tellersthese guys just don't go away,
fortune tellers?
Did they be brought to him?
They can't do anything, butthey keep calling him right.
He said to these wise men ofBabylon whoever can read the

(05:06):
writing on this wall and tell mewhat it means will be dressed
in purple robes of royal honorand he will give a gold chain
placed around his neck and hewill become the third highest
ruler in the kingdom.
But when all the king's wise menhad come in, none of them could
read the writing or tell himwhat it meant.
The king grew more alarmed andhis face turned pale.

(05:27):
His nobles too were shaken.
In other words, everybody'speeing on themselves.
All right, verse 10.
But when the queen mother heardwhat had happened, she hurried
to the banquet hall and she saidto Belshazzar Long live the
king.
Don't be so pale and frightened.
There is a man in your kingdomwho has within him the spirit of
the holy gods.
During Nebuchadnezzar's reign,this man was found to have

(05:51):
insight, understanding andwisdom like that of the gods.
Your predecessor, the king,your predecessor, king
Nebuchadnezzar, made him chiefover all the magicians,
enchanters, astrologers andfortune tellers of Babylon.
This man, daniel, whom the kingnamed Belshazzar, has
exceptional ability and isfilled with divine knowledge and

(06:11):
understanding.
He can interpret dreams,explain riddles and solve
difficult problems.
Call for Daniel and he willtell you what the writing means.
So Daniel was brought beforethe king.
The king asked him are you,daniel, one of the exiles
brought from Judah by mypredecessor, king Nebuchadnezzar
?
I have heard that you have thespirit of the gods within you

(06:32):
and that you are filled withinsight and wisdom.
My wise men and enchanters havetried to read the words on the
wall and tell me their meaning,but they cannot do it.
I am told that you can giveinterpretations and solve
difficult problems.
If you can read these words andtell me their meaning, you will
be clothed in purple robes ofroyal honor and you will have a

(06:53):
gold chain placed around yourneck and you will become the
third highest ruler in thekingdom.
And Daniel answered the kingkeep your gifts and give them to
someone else.
But I will tell you what thewriting means.
Now, bible doesn't say this,but to me it looks like he has
absolutely no respect for this.
Predecessor of Nebuchadnezzar.
Verse 18,.
Your majesty, the most high Godgave sovereignty, majesty,

(07:16):
glory and honor to yourpredecessor Nebuchadnezzar.
He made him so great thatpeople of all races and nations
and languages trembled beforehim in fear.
He killed those he wanted tokill and spared those he wanted
to spare.
He honored those he wanted tohonor and disgraced those he
wanted to disgrace.
But when his heart and mindwere puffed up with arrogance,

(07:38):
he was brought down from hisroyal throne and stripped of his
glory.
He was driven from humansociety and he was given the
mind of a wild animal and helived among the wild donkeys.
He ate grass like a cow and hewas drenched with the dew of
heaven until he learned that theMost High God rules over the
kingdoms of the world andappoints anyone he desires to

(07:58):
rule over them.
You are his predecessor, oBaal-Shazar, and you knew all
this.
Yet you have not humbledyourself, for you have proudly
defied the Lord of heaven andhave had these cups from his
temple brought before you.
You and your nobles and yourwives and your concubines have
been drinking wine from themwhile praising the gods of

(08:18):
silver, gold, bronze, iron, woodand stone, gods that neither
see nor hear, nor know anythingat all.
But you have not honored theGod who gives you breath of life
and controls your destiny.
So God has sent this hand towrite this message, and this
message was written.
This is what the words meanMene numbered God has numbered

(08:44):
the days of your reign and hasbrought it to an end.
Tekel means weighed, whichmeans you have been weighed in
the balances and have notmeasured up.
And parsin means divided yourkingdom has been divided and
given to the balances and havenot measured up.
And parson means divided yourkingdom has been divided and
given to the Medes and thePersians.
Then, at Belshazzar's command,daniel was dressed in purple

(09:05):
robes and a gold chain was hungaround his neck and he
proclaimed that he was the thirdhighest ruler in the kingdom.
But that very night, belshazzar, king of Babylon was killed.
But that very night Belshazzar,the king of Babylon, was killed
and Darius the Mede took overthe kingdom at age 62.
Wow, there's so much in thatchapter.
First of all, that's creepy.

(09:25):
I mean, wow, but God sent it.
And there's so many things.
Let's see if I can unpack someof this.
First of all, how crazy is itthat a hand shows up and starts
writing on a wall and you startasking people and it almost
seems as though Daniel isretired because he wasn't there.
They called all these otherpeople and he at one point was

(09:48):
the leader, but he's not theleader anymore.
So it makes me think that maybehe's retired at this point,
because that would have alsomeant that you know he had lived
through the reign ofNebuchadnezzar.
But whatever, he brings them inthere and immediately Daniel's
had enough, like he's just mad.
And you find out why because hesees those golden goblets and
things that he knows exactlywhere those came from and those

(10:08):
don't belong to you, fool, thosebelong to the king of heaven.
And you dare to drink out.
I mean, daniel ain't messingaround.
And then he reads this language.
Now people have asked what thislanguage is.
There's different people whothink it's different things, I
don't know.
I can't help but wonder if it'sHebrew, because it was
something that Daniel could read.
But then it wasn't just thefact that he could read it, but
he knew what it meant, becauseeven if he could just read it,

(10:30):
it would have just meant hewould have just read you know,
mine, mine, tekel and parson,which would have meant numbered,
weighed, weighed, divided.
So that still doesn't meananything.
So God gave him the wisdom toknow what it meant.
And so then he says you've beenweighed, you've been measured,
and you don't measure up.
You're proud, you are not halfthe king your daddy was, or your
predecessor, whoever he was toyou, and so you're gonna lose.

(10:53):
And then how about this?
He tells belshazzar you aregonna be overrun.
And the guy's response is tohonor him.
Think about that, honor him.
So he must have highlyrespected and understood that
daniel's no fool and heunderstood exactly what he was
doing.
But then the Bible says thatthat very night Darius the Mede

(11:17):
took over.
This also helps you understandwhy Darius kept Daniel, even
though he was formerly in theBabylonian Empire.
He kept him because anybody whocan read a wall and knows the
word of God, you get to be oneof my friends, and so, once

(11:38):
again, god is saying if youdon't humble yourself, I can
help you with that, right.
And so what can we get out ofthis?
There's so many great things wecan get out of this.
We could talk about how, if youever see a hand run, I mean
there could be the whole thingof not defiling what God has
called holy.
There's that, but I want to goback to this idea of the

(12:02):
absolute courage that Daniel hadunder fire.
Daniel was called into that roomand when he saw what it was, he
had a choice to make.
He could have just refused toread it.
He could have read it and madeexcuses.
He could have read it, not madeexcuses, but then just tried to

(12:23):
water it down.
He didn't do that.
He realized that the messengerhas two things he has to do.
The messenger, he has to tellit and he has to tell it
straight.
Those are the two things that amessenger has to do.
The messenger, he has to tellit and he has to tell it
straight.
Those are the two things that amessenger has to do, and when
he did that, god used him tomake a difference, can I tell
you in our lives as a messengerof God, because God has made us

(12:46):
ambassadors into his kingdom.
We have two jobs To tell it andto tell it straight.
Tell God's word and to tell itstraight.
Tell God's word and to tell itstraight.
I don't know where God has putyou right now, what God is doing
in your life right now, but canI tell you that God has two
things he needs you to do.
He needs you to be faithful, totell it, tell his word, tell
his goodness, and to tell itstraight.

(13:07):
To be honest, love and truth gotogether.
And when he did that, did younotice how, instead of it
destroying Daniel, god honoredDaniel through these people?
I don't know what may be goingon in your life, but I do know
obeying God and telling thetruth is never going to put you
in a bad direction.
Let's pray, god.

(13:27):
Thank you so much for today.
I know there's a thousanddifferent things that could be
going on in people's lives rightnow, but I know you are still
in control of all of them.
God, give us the courage to dothe right thing at the right
time for the right reason, andtrust that you, god, are gonna
have your way.
In Jesus' name, we pray amen.
And then what God's word saysin Daniel chapter three?

(13:47):
It says that God is able tosave us.
But even if he doesn't, we willnever serve your gods.
My hope is that God will giveyou that kind of courage every
day to follow him.
I love you.
I'll see you tomorrow forDaniel, chapter six.