God’s Word for You

Daniel 5:17 The refusal

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, October 20, 2025

17 Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself, and give your rewards to someone else. But the writing I will read for the king, and tell him what it means.

Daniel omits the usual address, “O king, live forever” (2:4; 3:9; 5:10). This is certainly because Daniel believed that the king’s earthly life was at an end on account of the written message on the wall, and on account of the vast Persian army outside the city walls. Yet the prophet was not being rude or discourteous. He calls him “king.” Perhaps we should also remember Daniel’s position in the kingdom, and even his age.

But he refuses the gifts the king offered. First, this refusal was out of respect for God. It was God who gave the message and it was God who gave Daniel the interpretation; Daniel did not need any reward. It is the Lord who gives all good things (Numbers 10:29; Psalm 103:5; Romans 8:28).

Second, it’s more than likely that Daniel thought his own life would be forfeit just as soon as the Persians broke into the city. “Let me know how fleeting is my life” (Psalm 39:4). What good would a soft purple robe or a gold chain do for him if a Persian mercenary ran him through with sword, spear or knife to take them as the best kind of plunder?

Third, Daniel didn’t know where the robe or the chain had come from. “Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods, though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10). It is unwise to accept a gift that might have been stolen, and in Daniel’s case, the Babylonians were notorious for plundering the holy places of the nations they conquered. Would a Jew of Daniel’s faith (not to mention prominence) want to be seen wearing a gold chain around his neck that had perhaps held a lamp in the courts of the temple in Jerusalem? He would sooner have worn a millstone.

Fourth, Daniel was content with what he had. “The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in darkness,” Solomon said (Ecclesiastes 2:14). He didn’t need possessions or a promotion. If the king needed his services or advice, he was pleased to serve, because this is the path of the believer under the Fourth Commandment.

Fifth, we don’t always know what might come silently along with a reward or a gift. “A gift can open the way for the giver” (Proverbs 18:16). Luther said, “God alone has secret plans, and what he’ll do we’ll find out when it happens. We’ll leave things in his hands and cast all our cares on him, for it’s his cause that is at stake, and he will advance it. As for us, we will eat, drink, and sleep.” Therefore earthly rewards can be accepted or rejected. The Christian is free to do whichever he likes. He may consider that refusing a gift might offend the giver, but in some cases it is wiser to distance oneself from the giver. Abraham said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn an oath that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a single thread, or the thong of one sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abraham rich’” (Genesis 14:23).

What are rewards? Earthly rewards, in addition to payment for an honest day’s work, they are usually given in appreciation of something outstanding accomplished by a worker. Some tyrants do the opposite: they punish anyone who speaks their mind or who disagrees with the tyrant, but such a man cannot stay in power very long without showing his hand and shedding a lot of blood. Solomon also said, “A ruler who is a tyrant lacks judgment, but a man who hates ill-gotten gain will enjoy a long life” (Proverbs 28:16).

So Daniel had many reasons to turn aside these gifts from King Belshazzar. He didn’t deny the king his labor or his wisdom, but he didn’t want to accept any special treatment on this occasion, either.

So is this passage proclaiming law or gospel, justification or sanctification? It certainly shows how the believer lives his life of faith, the life of sanctification. He does not need rewards or gifts from a human ruler, and finds many reasons not to accept them. A Christian might also feel free to accept a human reward, especially if it will give glory to God.

But there is perhaps one last thing to consider. By refusing the king’s offer, Daniel was preparing the king to receive bad news. While there is life, there is the hope of repentance and of the unbeliever who hears the gospel to turn to the Lord in faith for forgiveness. The king had desecrated the items of the temple, but he had not refused to learn anything about the true God. His time was short. His time was running out very quickly. He may at this point have had only an hour or so to live. But while there is life, there is hope. We can still keep holding out the word of truth.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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