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Bible Teaching, Bible Study, Teaching, Verses, Sermons, online, mp3, classesA Bible Teaching Ministry of Galyn Wiemers


Daily Devotions, Evening and Morning Devotional

 

Sunrise on Temple Mount in Jerusalem; Back to Previous Devotion

August 29 - Evening

"King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem…
... Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote …The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers and diviners…but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant…The queen, hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall…she said.
‘Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners.
He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.’

- Daniel 5:1-2, 5, 7-8, 10-12

Sunset on the Sea of Galilee; Click to go to next devotion  
Belshazzar's Final Party    

Belshazzar is not recorded in history. Herodotus (400's BC) and Xenophon (300's BC) knew nothing of Belshazzar. If the book of Daniel had been written in the 200's BC then Nabonidus would be recorded as the last king instead of Belshazzar. Multiple sources in archaeology have now confirmed Belshazzar's existence and his position as king of Babylon along with his father. So, Daniel’s written account that we have today was written by an eyewitness of these events.

"Great Banquet" - Persian kings are recorded as entertaining 15,000, Alexander had 10,000 guests at a wedding, Xerxes had a large gathering from his empire for 180 days (6 months). Both Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon write about this same party the night Babylon fell.

The date is October 12, 539 BC according to the "Nabonidus Chronicle.” This Nabonidus Chronicle (Details HERE and HERE. Photo HERE and HERE) records the Babylonians had suffered a major defeat a few days before this party of October 12, 539 BC. One of the statements says, “The king (Nabonidus) was in Tema; the king’s son (Belshazzar), courtiers and army were in Babylonia.” The Nabonidus Cylinder also records King Nabonidus in these words: “Belshazzar the firstborn son, the offspring of my heart.”

The reason for the feast appears to be an annual celebration of the Babylonians/Chaldeans. While Belshezzar used this event to boost morale, the Persians took advantage of the opportunity to enter a city distracted by the celebration of a holiday. The city was protected by water which gave them a vast supply. Heroditus says they had enough stored food to last for several years.

Belshazzar’s command "to bring the gold . . . .from the temple in Jerusalem" would have been taboo in this culture because it violated holy things from another religion. Belshazzar was drunk.

The women were present and were being encouraged to drink. The holy vessels were used to toast the pagan gods. The king was showing his superiority over the gods (which included YHWH) whom Babylon had conquered

Belshazzar may have been mocking:
            a. Daniel's prophecy of Babylon's fall to Persia in 8:1-4 and 8:15-20
            b. Isaiah prophecy of Cyrus' coming in Isaiah 44:28 and 45:1

The word translated "hand" refers to the palm of the hand. The wall was "plaster" made of chalk or lime. Excavations of the throne room in 1899 revealed that the walls were washed over with white gypsum. This banquet room has possibly been located and excavated.

Mene - Numbered - Belshazzar's evil life and rule would soon be over

Tekel - Weighed - "wanting" or "lacking, deficient" in moral worth

Parsin - Divided - his kingdom would be divided into pieces or destroyed, dissolved

Herodotus and Xenophon tell us that the two sets of double walls extending for 17 miles and 40 feet high, but the water was diverted into a swamp and the soldiers waded through the river under the walls. The ancient historians also record that Gobryas, Cyrus' commander, led soldiers into the palace where they found the king (Belshazzar) holding a dagger to kill himself. The king and attendants were overpowered and killed. King Nabonidus was later captured and deported.

  Christian Quote from Church History

“Carnal weapons such as tradition, philosophy, mysticism, ritual and entertainment will not
penetrate the fortress of
false reality barricading
the human soul.”
- Galyn Wiemers

Something to Ponder??

These are some of the issues mentioned in Scripture that require church involvement:

1. Sinning against another member of the church (Matthew 18:15-20)

2. Divisiveness
(Romans 16:17; Titus 3:10)

3. Open sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

4. Teaching false doctrine (Romans 16:17;
Galatians 1:8, 9; 2:11-14;
1 Timothy 1:20; 6:3-5;
2 John 9-11;
Revelation 2:14-16)

 
Hebrew and Greek Word Study   Facts and Information

Phulake (Gr) – prison (Eng) – the Greek word phulake is translated as “prison” or “Imprisonment.” Phulake is used in these verses:
Matthew 14:10
Acts 5:19
2 Corinthians 11:23
Hebrews 11:36
Revelation 2:10
Revelation 20:7

 
    The Gold of Ophir is not only mentioned in the Bible (Isaiah 13:12), but a Philistine inscription from Tell Qasil (modern Tel Aviv) records the following: “Gold of Ophir, for Beth-Horon, 30 shekels.”
    (HERE, HERE and HERE)
     
Confession to Action   Facts and Information
I will be a honest friend, faithful citizen and a helpful neighbor.   "When the wicked thrive,
so does sin, but
the righteous will see
their downfall."

- Proverbs 29:16
     
Read the Bible in a Year; Bible Reading Program
Read one chapter each day to read through the narrative portion (or, the story line) of the whole Bible Genesis-Acts in one year. Read the General Text of the Bible Read the Complete Text of the Bible in a Year
(morning only) Nehemiah 4 (445 BC) Ezekiel 11-12
 
Prayer for Today
Personal Prayer Church Prayer Item National Prayer Concerns World Prayer Concerns

Neighbors

Experience God’s presence

IPERS

Mexico
 
Photo of Jerusalem; Pictures of Israel Bible Map and Diagram
Crushed pavement along the Western Wall. The falling stones from the Temple Mount above in the 70 AD broke through this pavement that covers a gutter below. The curb of the street and the shops along the street can be seen in the top left corner. Details of Monday of Jesus' Last Week on a map of Jerusalem of 30 AD. (More teaching here.)
Crushed pavement along the Western Wall. The falling stones from the Temple Mount above in the 70 AD broke through this pavement that covers a gutter below. The curb of the street and the shops along the street can be seen in the top left corner. (More details and photos of the street here and of the 70 AD destruction here. ) Details of Monday of Jesus' Last Week on a
map of Jerusalem of 30 AD. (More teaching here.)
  (click on images for larger size.)
Details and Explanation of Sets & Reps Devotional System Here Make a donation to support Generation Word Bible Teaching Ministry
   
 
 
 
Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening.
 

 
 
 
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Generation Word - Bible Teaching Ministry   Generation Word - Bible Teaching Ministry