God’s Word for You
Daniel 5:13-16 Daniel, Daniel, Daniel
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, October 19, 2025
13 So Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles that my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have enlightenment, insight and extraordinary wisdom. 15 These wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain the meaning of the writing. 16 But I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain around your neck, and you will rule as the third in the kingdom.”
Daniel, at this time an old man, was brought before King Belshazzar. Daniel had not been idle during this king’s time in office. In Belshazzar’s first year (which I think we would count as being 553 BC, the year that King Nabonidus his father went into a kind of exile to Arabia) Daniel had the vision recorded in chapter 7. Then in the third year of this king (551 BC), Daniel saw the vision recorded in chapter 8. Now, in about the fourteenth year that Belshazzar ruled Babylon, Daniel was brought forward to interpret the writing in the plaster behind the king’s seat.
As the prophet recounts the event for us, he seems to strip off his Babylonian name like a man scraping the filth from his boots as he climbs the steps to his front porch. Except for one parenthetical sentence in chapter 10, we have seen and heard the last of his name “Belteshazzar.” He records his name three time in verse 13: “Daniel was brought… The king said to Daniel, ‘Are you Daniel?’” The prophet delights that the title of the true God, “El,” is in his name, which means “God is my judge.” The meaning does not elude us. The king was also asking, “Is God my judge, too?” The answer, O king, is yes.
But the king clouds the real question behind polite banter. “Are you that boy my grandfather brought here to civilization from your burning backwater hill-fort in Judea, old man? Oh, yes, I’ve heard about you. My wise men and astrologers and everybody else has failed to tell me what this writing means. I’ve got prizes waiting for you if you can do it.” Belshazzar almost sounds like a game show host. “Johnny, let’s tell him what he can win! Purple robe, gold chain, and a promotion to the number three guy in government!”
All of this was true. Belshazzar’s re-telling of Daniel’s abilities was all true. His assessment of Daniel’s reputation was spot on. His gifts were not a fraud; he really did plan to give all that to this man as a reward.
Did Daniel think of Solomon’s last book? The last of the books of the Bible’s poetry, Ecclesiastes, is a reminder of the futility of life apart from faith. Without the fear of God, everything anyone does or achieves is meaningless (Ecclesiastes 12:13, 12:8). God is the one who will bring every deed of every person into judgment. The wicked deeds of the wicked will mean everlasting punishment (Ecclesiastes 12:14). The good deeds of those with faith will surprise them—they will already have the blessing of heaven through Christ, but God will bring out their good deeds anyway, not because they merit anything toward our salvation, but because God loves those things. He’s glad of them. Scripture says that those things will mean varying degrees of glory in eternity. And although we don’t fully understand this, it’s clear from the Word of God that this is the case. Daniel himself will say, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). And Jesus says many things like this (Matthew 19:28, 25:21; Luke 19:17).
As Daniel stood here before the king, with the Persians surrounding the city and enemies on every side, what did the king’s promises mean? What good did the king’s knowledge of Daniel’s service do for this king, who had no faith, no knowledge of the true God, and no time left? Daniel couldn’t do much besides tell him the truth.
There are times when that is the deed the Lord has given us to do. “I don’t need your God and I don’t need your church and I don’t need you,” said the man as he tore up my missionary business card out on his sidewalk in one of Seattle’s remote suburbs. It was the last day I would ever be canvassing or doing any mission work in the Pacific Northwest. What was there for me to tell this man? The truth; that was all. He had no hope of heaven, but I hoped and I prayed that someone else would reach him. Maybe someone has. The mission church I left behind didn’t even have a building to worship in apart from the pastor’s living room when I left. Today, more than 25 years later, it’s one of the larger churches in our fellowship in the region. That’s the work of the Holy Spirit, working through Christians like Daniel and like you and me, telling the truth to one person after another. Some don’t listen, but some do. We pray for the one group and praise God for the other. Remember, if you’re ever summoned like Daniel or just asked by a little child who wonders—tell them the truth. Jesus loves them. And watch them shine like the brightness of the heavens.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.