Last week we talked about King Belshazzar’s fateful decision to use the sacred objects of worship taken from the temple in Jerusalem 70 years earlier. He wanted to show how powerful the gods of Babylon were. This turned out to be a bad decision. When the handwriting on the wall occurred and none of his government advisers could explain it, he turned paler than the first time he saw it.
His mother gave him advice, but it did not produce the results he wanted. Instead of the good news he hoped for, the aging but godly Daniel slapped him down with God’s pending judgment upon him. But how could that happen? He lived in the most impregnable fortress ever built by man.
The fortified citadel of Babylon was a 15-mile by 15-mile square. The outer wall was 350 feet high, 87 feet wide on the top, and as much as 160 feet thick at the base. A second layer of defense was another wall 250 feet high and 50 feet wide on the top. The city had a moat around the walls 150 feet wide and over 30 feet deep. The Euphrates River flowed in and out of the city from north to south.
Brass grates allowed water to flow in and out but kept anyone from swimming through. There were 12 entrances to the city (three per side), each one 150 feet high; they acted as drawbridges. When danger approached, they were lifted up, sealing off the city. This is what the Persian King Cyrus faced when he arrived outside the city with his massive army of over 1,250,000 soldiers.
Belshazzar mocked the enemy threat outside. After all, his palace was safe, “So let’s eat, drink, and be merry.” Apparently, no one told him the rest of the quote: “because tomorrow we die!” The wheels of justice turn slowly but grind exceedingly fine. God would not be denied His justice on Babylon.
To solve the problem, God gave Cyrus a plan to conquer the city. Stop right there, you’re probably saying. God gave a pagan king a plan to conquer Babylon? Yep! Want more proof? Isaiah 45:1 says, “Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings [remember Belshazzar’s accident?], to open doors before him that gates [river gates] may not be closed…” It’s noteworthy that this prophecy was made over 100 years before Cyrus was even born.
Cyrus’s plan: build a channel out of sight of the city to divert the waters of the Euphrates River. Who knows how long they worked digging, building, and sweating until the day engineers came to Cyrus and said, “We’re ready.” It was the same day Belshazzar said, “Let’s have a party.”
While Daniel stood before the king, the water was diverted, the river began to fall, and the armies of Medo-Persia approached the city. But what about the river gates? That night, they forgot to close the gates, and Cyrus’s soldiers walked in unopposed, taking the city without a fight. They killed Belshazzar as he sat on his throne.
Judgment was at the very gate and Belshazzar never saw it coming. Are we in danger of the same thing? Are we living in our personal fortresses, comfortable with keeping God at arm’s length while ignoring His warnings? Warnings like 9/11 or the attempted assignation of President Donald Trump or the assassination of Charlie Kirk? Justice may be delayed, but justice will come.
Twenty-four years after the horror of 9/11, will New Yorkers elect a radical Islamic communist as mayor? We said, “Never forget.” Apparently, we did!
We deserve God’s judgment, but there’s still time to pray for His mercy.
Semper Fidelis
