THE PROUD SHALL BE HUMBLED
I. INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF DANIEL
A. The name “Daniel” means “God is my Judge.” The book records the times from the first exile of the Jews in 605 B.C.
until the third year of Cyrus in 536/7 B.C. It covers the entirety of their exile from 605 B.C. until Cyrus’ decree in 537 B.C.
concerning the Israelites to return to their land under the leadership of Zerubbabel.
B. Daniel speaks to those generations in which God is revealing Himself to the nations as a judge and gives us a
glimpse of God’s discipline process to purify His people as well as His faithfulness to judge those who oppose His
sovereign purposes.
C. The book of Daniel consists of twelve chapters. These chapters are not in chronological order and are divided
into two sections based on the content.
1. The Palace Years of Daniel’s Life - Six Historical stories (1:1–6:28). The first section of Daniel is historical and
chronological. These chapters highlight six stories which speak to specific issues needed to prepare the Church in the
End-Times – 1) how the heart is prepared and sustained in the hour of crisis, 2) the specific Understandings of God
which sustain the heart in the day of suffering and tribulation, 3) how God deals with wicked kings and rulers on the earth,
and 4) how God delivers His people who are faithful to Him.
2. Four Prophetic Visions of the End-Times (7:1-12:13). Daniel sets forth four visions over a seventeen year period
relating to Israel, the nations, the Messiah, the purification of the saints at the hands of a wicked ruler, and the ushering in
of the everlasting kingdom by the Son of Man. Daniel gives us glimpses of the cosmic drama and the battle over the
hearts of humanity from a heavenly viewpoint and how prayer governs world affairs.
D. Daniel 4 & 5 highlights for us how God deals with wicked kings and rulers on the earth while fulfilling all of His
promises to His people.
II. SETTING FOR DANIEL 5
A. The date was 539 B.C. Daniel 5 was an hour when, as Daniel 7 portrays, the winds of heaven were blowing on the
great sea of the nations. Transition was in the air, Cyrus the Great is on the move, and Babylon is falling.
Nebuchadnezzar’s death in 562 B.C. was followed by the quick deterioration of the empire through corruption and
murder. The God who changes the times and the seasons was shifting the earth’s power base by removing the
Babylonian kingdom and establishing a Persian one.
B. Having defeated Nabonidus and his army the previous day, the Persian army led by Ugbaru approached Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar’s great and impenetrable city of Babylon manifested the depths of her pride and gloated over the
impotence of Persia’s advancing army to overcome her fortresses. Babylon’s outer walls spanned some seventeen miles
in length, twenty-five feet thick, and at least forty feet in height. The Euphrates River ran through the city from north to
south, giving them an endless water supply, and the food storage could last the city for up to twenty years.
C. Daniel introduces us to Belshazzar, serving as the coregent of Babylon with his father, Nabonidus (556-539 B.C.).
Nabonidus appointed his eldest son as coregent in 553 B.C. and primarily resided some 500 miles south of Babylon in
oasis city of Tema in Arabia. As we approach this chapter we must remember that the backdrop to Daniel 5 is
Nebuchadnezzar’s last statement in Daniel 4:37.
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice.
And those who walk in pride He is able to put down. (Daniel 4:37)
D. “Those who walk in pride He is able to put down.” The history of humanity is the history of nations in their pride
jostling for power.
E. Strength and pride are a dangerous combination. Strength gives pride the opportunity to manifest itself. Latent in
the heart of every man and woman is pride looking to manifest itself through strength. Paul calls it, “the mystery of
lawlessness” (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:7, “iniquity” in the KJV). In the core of humanity, something is wrong.
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10 The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only
labor and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away. 11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear of You,
so is Your wrath. 12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10-12)
2. “Homo Es” – “Only a Man” Illustration. The Caesar would send this message to a Roman general after a great
victory.
3. There is an important reason that God said, “I cannot contend with man any longer,” and reduced their life span
through the flood. This is God’s utmost grace to the human family. It is the kindness of God to reduce our frame in
weakness in order that we might not carry through on the evil intents of our own hearts.
4. Example of Hitler – Hitler revealed in his writings that due to his getting older, he had to begin his march to
conquest. The breaking down and weakening of his body kept him from a certain amount of wickedness. What would it
have been like, if at the age of fifty, Hitler took power and had 900 more years to perfect his plan for a final solution
and a Third Reich.
F. God both hates pride and is committed to opposing the strength and pride of humanity. God hatred of pride and
His ability to reduce the proud to nothing is one of the key characteristics of God. It is not enough that God is merciful.
He must also have the strength to oppose that which threatens love. This is why it states in Ps. 62:11-12, “God has
spoken once, Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God. 12 Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; For You
render to each one according to his work.”
You will save the humble people; But Your eyes are on the haughty, that You may bring them down. (2 Samuel 22:28)
8 “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? 9 Have you an arm like
God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? 10 Then adorn yourself with majesty and splendor, And array yourself
with glory and beauty. 11 Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, and humble him. 12 Look
on everyone who is proud, and bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. 13 Hide them in the dust together,
Bind their faces in hidden darkness. 14 Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you.
(Job 40:8-14)
16 The LORD is known by the judgment He executes; The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. 17 The wicked
shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God. (Psalm 9:16-20) . . . . 23 Oh, love the LORD, all you His
saints! For the LORD preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person. 24 Be of good courage, And He shall
strengthen your heart, All you who hope in the LORD. (Psalm 31:23-24) . . . . .The one who has a haughty look and
a proud heart, Him I will not endure. (Psalm 101:5)
16 These six things the LORD hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look… (Proverbs 6:16-17). . . . .
. 25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow. 26 The thoughts
of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant. (Proverbs 15:25-26) . . . . .
Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished. (Proverbs 16:5)
17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The LORD alone will be
exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the
caves of the earth, From the terror of the LORD And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.
(Isaiah 2:17-19)
11 “I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low
the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, A man more than the golden wedge of
Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, And the earth will move out of her place, In the wrath of the LORD of hosts
And in the day of His fierce anger. (Isaiah 13:11-13)
1 “For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the
day which is coming shall burn them up, “Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But to
you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat
like stall-fed calves. 3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that
I do this, “Says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 4:1-3)
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He
has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted
the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His
servant Israel… (Luke 1:50-54)
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6)
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For
all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the
world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17)
III. THE UNRESPONSIVE HEART – DAN. 5:1-4
A. Daniel 5 addresses the question, “What is God’s response when earthly kings grow strong and refuse to humble
themselves?”
B. Daniel 4 reveals to us the extravagant mercy of God displayed to Nebuchadnezzar when he allowed the inward
truth of Nebuchadnezzar’s heart to manifest openly. Even wicked kings Ahab and Mannasseh received mercy from the
Lord’s hands due to the humbling of themselves before the Lord (1 Kings 21:20-29 & 2 Chron. 33:10-16).
C. Unlike Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar refused to humble himself. As the Persian army advanced, Belshazzar
showed his contempt towards the opposing threat and displayed his confidence in the city and its gods. Trusting in his
own strength, he threw a great feast for a thousand of his lords. In fact, “Belshazzar” means, “Bel, protect the king.”
However, on the night of the 16th of Tishri (October 12, 539 B.C.) Bel would fail and Babylon would fall.
It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man. (Psalm 118:8)
5 Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from
the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:5)
IV. MOCKING THE GOD OF ISRAEL – DAN. 5:5-9
A. Belshazzar is the picture of the unrepentant king who mocks God. Daniel 7 and 8 forms the picture of a coming
end time king, the little horn, who will exalt himself above all that is called God. This little horn, also known as the
Antichrist, will blaspheme God’s name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. Belshazzar is a type of this little
horn who will defy God to the bitter end.
B. The Holy Temple Articles are summoned to be brought forth during the height of the drinking fest. Belshazzar
mocks the Living God by using sacred religious articles to display the power of the Babylonian gods. Just as the mighty
gods of Babylon overtook Jerusalem’s God, they will also overcome the gods of Cyrus.
Furthermore, in the third year of Belshazzar’s reign Daniel had prophesied Babylon’s fall to the Persians (cf. 8:1-4,15-20);
the prophet Isaiah had proph¬esied by name Cyrus, the Persian king, 150 years before he conquered Baby¬lon
(Isa 44:28; 45:1). Belshazzar could have heard of these prophecies and, in addition to the reason stated in the text, also
challenged Yahweh because he was the God who had predicted Babylon’s defeat by Persia.
C. The Hand Appears – Daniel describes a scene of sheer terror.
D. Belshazzar Trembles Exceedingly: There are two kinds of trembling. First, there is the trembling of humility that is
birthed in fascination with God. We tremble at His glorious splendor, His might, and His kindness. Second, there is the
trembling of the demons, who believe and they tremble. Being completely wicked, they cannot respond in repentance, but
they tremble because God is terrifying in His holiness. When He manifests His Holy Presence near wickedness, wicked
things tremble. Thus was the case for Belshazzar. Literally, “the joints of his loins were loosened.”
E. The magicians are called in to interpret the omen. Once again they offer no insight.
V. DANIEL IS REINTRODUCED – DAN. 5:10-12
A. The Queen Mother informs her son about Daniel.
1. He has the Spirit of the Holy God in him.
2. Light, understanding, and wisdom (like the wisdom of the gods) were found in him.
3. Nebuchadnezzar made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.
4. An excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining riddles were
found in him.
B. Why does Belshazzar fail to remember Daniel, and to where did Daniel disappear after Daniel 8:27? The answer
is found in the content of Daniel’s first two visions concerning the little horns of chapters seven and eight. Both visions
left Daniel troubled, without understanding, and sickened. At that point Daniel most likely left his governmental post to
give himself to intercession for understanding. God leaves Daniel in a troubled state in order to produce the cry of
intercession and the request for skill to understand.
VI. DANIEL’S REBUKE AND INTERPRETATION – DAN. 5:13-29
A. Belshazzar is still unrepentant.
B. Daniel, now in his eighties, refuses any rewards from Belshazzar.
C. Daniel rebukes King Belshazzar.
1. Daniel’s familiarity with Belshazzar’s heart is due to the revelation of the little horn in both of his visions.
2. Nebuchadnezzar’s Example Resisted
3. Interpretation:
25b MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.
26 This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; 27 TEKEL: You have
been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; 28 PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes
and Persians.” (Daniel 5:25b-28)
Daniel construed “mene,” “tekel,” and “parsin” to be Aramaic passive participles. Therefore “mene” means “numbered,”
“tekel” means “weighed,” and “parsin” means “divided.” “Mene” was written twice to stress that the divine decision was
certain of fulfillment. So the message literally read, “Numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided.”
D. “That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans was slain.” The Persians invaded the city by diverting the water
from the Euphrates and moving unsuspected under the wall. Herodotus gives the following account:
Hereupon the Persians who had been left for the purpose at Babylon by the riverside, entered the stream, which had
now sunk so as to reach about midway up a man’s thigh, and thus got into the town. Had the Babylonians been appraised
of what Cyrus was about, or had they noticed their danger, they would never have allowed the Persians to enter the city,
but would have destroyed them utterly; for they would have made fast all the streetgates which gave upon the river,
and mounting upon the walls along both sides of the stream, would so have caught the enemy as it were in a trap. But,
as it was, the Persians came upon them by surprise and took the city. Owing to the vast size of the place, the inhabitants
of the central parts (as the residents at Babylon declare), long after the outer portions of the town were taken, knew
nothing of what had chanced, but as they were engaged in a festival, continued dancing and reveling until they learnt the
capture but too certainly.
E. Darius the Mede is made king of Babylon as Cyrus the Great of Persia becomes the new world leader. The words
of Isaiah are coming to pass as the God of Israel transitions the season by tearing one king down and raising up another.
VII. CONCLUSIONS
A. Many things can be concluded
B. Another Belshazzar is coming and on a global scale (Dan. 7, 8:23-25, 9:26-27, 11:21-45; 2 Thess. 2:3-10;
Rev. 13:1-8, 16:12-16). Psalm 2 tells us in the end times the kings of the earth will resist the Lord. Terminal insanity will
grip the nations as they conspire together against the Lord and His Anointed One. They will cast off restraint and oppose
His rule as they give power to a demonized king who will stand in the holy place and proclaim himself as god, the true
anointed king of the earth.
1. God will chastise Israel by gathering them to their nation (Hos. 11:10), assembling the nations against her under
the leadership of a demonized world ruler empowered by Satan. This leader will do miracles, signs and wonders and
stand in the Holy Place, and claiming to be God, he will deceive the nations. He will worship the god of fortresses and
usher in a time of rule and oppression like no other time in human history. Dominance and oppression will characterize
his three and a half year rule.
2. The saints will be purified through persecution, the nations will gather against Jerusalem, God will unleash His
judgments, and Jesus will return to set up His everlasting Kingdom on earth.
C. God is sovereign over the nations. Acts 17:26 tells us clearly that God has determined the preappointed times
and boundaries of the nations. Nebuchadnezzar, after being humbled by the Lord, praised the Lord concerning four
realities:
1. His dominion is an everlasting dominion and His kingdom is from generation to generation.
2. All the inhabitants of the earth are nothing.
3. He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.
4. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have you done?”
D. Do not be discouraged when wickedness seems to triumph in the land. As Christians we endure to the end.
1. In the midst of tribulation know this: “the meek shall inherit the earth.” You have heard it said, “It always gets
darker just before the dawn.” Do not judge by what your eye sees and your ears hear. Hear the words of Jesus in
Luke 21:25-28.
"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the
sea and the waves roaring; 26 men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming
on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your
redemption draws near." (Lk. 21:25-28)
2. The very scenario creates the opportunity to be forged in fearless righteousness. “By your patience possess your
souls” (Lk. 21:19). We do not draw back in the hour of darkness. We follow in the path of the one who was faithful unto
death, and thus, we make the good confession in the face of radical evil.
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was
cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,"Now salvation,
and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who
accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. (Rev. 12:9-10)
3. We gain an eternal perspective and set our eyes upon the great hope of Christianity. He will come again and
make all things new. He will reduce the proud to nothing, even when it looks dismal. Jesus the Messiah, with the zeal of
a mighty King and the power of another world, will strike the nations with the rod of His mouth and will slay the wicked
with the brightness of His coming. He will throw the Antichrist into the Lake of Fire and bind Satan in the bottomless pit.
His rule is sure. The Father has decreed it from ages past.
E. God will fulfill His Word. All that which the prophets have foretold will come to pass in the nations. He will bring
about the climax of passions. Satan will rage, the nations will sin to the full, the Church will be purified, a great harvest of
souls will come into the kingdom, Israel will be saved through chastisement, and Jesus will set up His everlasting kingdom.
How do we navigate all the tensions? We watch and pray. We join Jesus as He intercedes at the Father’s right hand.
Between the sovereignty of God and the destiny of man, one finds the intercessor. There in the great chasm between
God’s blazing righteousness and man’s fallenness, an intercessor is found waiting. There love waits and wrestles for God
to be heard and man to be pitied. The courageous are found there fighting for God to be adored and man to be
accepted. In this holy place one enters into the suffering heart of the Mediator, Jesus, who vindicates His Father’s
glorious name and atones for the rebellion. This is a holy place, a divine meeting where doors open to deep caverns of
divine paradox, where God’s emotions and economy lead to groans and pleas for triumph and redemption. Blessed is
the man who waits here.
Blessed is the man who enters secret chambers where justice and mercy give birth to love in action. Blessed is the one
who enters into the divine unity of God’s own nature. Justice demands sentence on the trespassers. Blazing righteousness
zeroes in on the defiled. Mercy reaches to cover and kindness moves to adorn. In the swirl of God’s own passions the
intercessor is beckoned to where God prays to God, where the Son asks His Father to forgive them and the Father
agrees, crushing the Son with the burden of the masses. The intercessor meets the crucified Jesus at Golgotha’s triumph
and finds fullness there. God’s fullness! And our acceptance into it!