A reputation formed. The Bible is not a linear history book. It is a series of records that God has selected and wants us to learn from. These incidents recorded below cover a period of about fifty or so years around the time of the exiles in 600 BC. Nebuchadnezzar was the king of the very powerful city of Babylon which had raided Jerusalem several times and captured the sacred jewels from the temple and took captives men with potential. Among these captives were Daniel and his three friends. They were sent at royal expense, to the top Babylonian University which had an international reputation to develop their knowledge and skills. That gave Daniel a problem as the University meat rations were from animals sacrificed to Bel and other local idols, so he resolved to go vegetarian. The authorities were sceptical but gave him a three month trial and surprisingly found that he seemed to look better than other students. Daniel now had a reputation. Meanwhile Daniel’s three friends also gained a reputation when they did not bow down to a statue. As a punishment they were thrown into the local blast furnace. These furnaces were fed on tar and bitumen and were the source of much metal production, particularly iron and steel. When the three walked out without even the smell of burning tar on them, the king promoted them to senior government positions. Those three were called Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who I remembered as Shake-a-bed, Make-a-bed and A-bed-we-go some eighty years ago.
A reputation justified. The walls round Babylon city were so thick and wide that four chariots could drive side by side along the top. Huge gates. Absolute security. No worries, even when a small army under Darius the Persian came up and camped round the city. To demonstrate their confidence, Belshazzar who had succeeded Nebuchadnezzar as king got out the golden goblets that had been taken from the Jerusalem temple to show off at a big feast he was giving. (some politicians don’t change much do they?) In the middle of the feast a hand appeared and wrote four words on the wall which no one could understand. “Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin”. The king was so scared that, on the advice of his wife, he got his star student Daniel in to translate. The translation is simple “God has numbered your days and they don’t add up. You have been weighed and you don’t weigh much. Your kingdom has been divided”. (Message) Disaster is forecast. Belshazzar the king was amazed and Daniel and co were further honoured and rewarded, but the warning was ignored.A reputation resented. Meanwhile, Darius had not been idle and had dug a bypass for the river that flowed through the city. In the middle of the feast, he opened the sluices and the water stopped going through the city. All the water ran round the new bypass. The old riverbed became dry. Darius walked in with his army. The kingdom was certainly divided. The record is terse: “At that same night the Babylonian king Belshazzar was murdered and Darius the Mede succeeded him as king aged sixty two.” The new king divided the country up into admin areas and appointed governors for each. Daniel got one and did so well that the new king decided to appoint him supreme governor over all the others who were naturally jealous. They thought that the only way to get at Daniel was to pretend he was disloyal. They persuaded the king to issue a decree that all prayers for the next month must be made only to the king or be lion feed. These pet lions were kept on a diet of two sheep and a human prisoner every day according to Josephus.
A reputation tested. Daniel is undeterred and, as was his habit, made his daily prayers to God by the window. The other governors saw him and thought they had won and reported to the king who realised he had been tricked and objected but had to keep to the decree. In front of witnesses Daniel is sealed into the lion cage. The next morning Daniel is pulled out unharmed and the other scheming governors take his place to the delight of the lions who liked fresh meat. The king Darius issues a new decree that Daniel’s “God is the living God, world without end. His kingdom never fails. He is a saviour”. Daniel is treated well from then on and into the reign of Cyrus, who became king of all the Medes and Persians. Daniel does have another dream which forecasts accurately the great empires of the Persians, then the Greeks and finally the Romans. Perhaps for future articles.
Questions. Why are these incidences recorded for us now? What should we learn in 2026? Was Daniel’s capture a disaster or was it a part of God’s plan? Was Belshazzar wrong to use the sacred cups for a party? The promise of inevitable judgement is repeated from Genesis to Revelation. God is that judge, not us. The meaning of the inscription written on the wall at the feast is translated in our AV Bibles “You are weighed in the balances and found wanting”. That observation was scary. It must have worried the king yet all he did was to give Danel a promotion and go on with the feast. Jealousy and pride are very strong motivators of behaviour. Do we recognise them in international relations? Being a Christian is considered by some, a soft option. Works like feeding the poor, providing housing, making reparations, net zero, levelling up and other good works without faith may be as good as leaving Christ out of Christian behaviour. Is it like that now? Rules precedent over love? Jesus wept over Jerusalem saying that disaster would come on it “because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you”. He said nothing about good works. (Luke 21) But faith without works is dead we are told in the Epistles. Daniel must have had some faith when he prayed by the window and said, “My God is able”. He lived up to his reputation.
Quotes from AV and Message Bible
Bob