“But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:” (v. 23)
Belshazzar seems to have been the son of Nebuchadnezzar, (vs. 2, 11, 13, etc.).
Notice the likeness in the names of Belteshazzar (Daniel) and Belshazzar, the king. King Nebuchadnezzar had named Daniel “Belteshazzar” (Dan 1:7) when he came over in the captivity, and it is more than coincidence that he named his son “Belshazzar”. Both names are similar in meaning. “Bel” was the main deity of Babylon, the “supreme god” of their gods, so both names give glory to a false god. Hitchcock gives the names as meaning “the master of the treasure” for Belshazzar, and “He who lays up treasure in secret” for Belteshazzar, the “treasure” being prosperity in all fields. Bel was the god of blessing, the god of prosperity and victory (which is prosperity in war), and all pertinent things. So we see the evidence that Nebuchadnezzar was the father of Belshazzar, since he seemed to like that name so much. Anyway, let us continue with our lesson:
Have you heard the expression “Like father, like son”? Belshazzar had a problem with pride, just as Nebuchednezzar had in the first phase of his life. It is proven that “what we do in moderation, our children will take to excess”, and we see the proof of that here. The revelry, and the pride were multiplied in the son, and he was about to meet with the God who is in control of kings and kingdoms. Authority is an awesome thing and can be overwhelming at times. Many men who have authority do not have the character to handle it, but it was inherited. Such, I believe, was the case here. Pride is pride in whoever it resides, and it is wicked in all men alike. Daniel told the king exactly what his problem was, and he knew that the king would not repent of it. His reign was short because his pride brought him down.
One must wonder how the son could be so prideful when the father was so humbled, but we seldom learn from others, we seem to think that we are different and life will take a different road with us. Belshazzar no doubt knew of his fathers’ malady (v. 22) and still had not “humbled” his heart. As the sin seems to grow larger in the following generations, so must the judgment of it. Belshazzar would soon meet his demise because he failed to humble himself to the God of gods. Though these things deal with kings, and men of stature, we too can be aware of the evil of pride, and humble ourselves before the Living God; in fact, we must. Humility is no respecter of person, but is a quality that is the same in every man, in every level of life. God loves a humble spirit.
