Daniel chapter 5 gives us the story of what was going on inside the city of Babylon the night of the stunning storied historic military take-over of Babylon by the Medes & Persians in 539 BC. We see again a mega theme in Daniel: Behind all that is observed in the seen realm is the hand of God moving in the unseen realm.

4 Things We Learn About God - Daniel 5:1-12

*1. God sees all sins of all the people happening all the time in all the earth. *

2. God’s divine patience is astounding.

3. God’s emotional capacity is mind-blowing.

4. God is a loving, patience, merciful God…who has a line you don’t want to find.

4 Things We Learn About Ourselves - Daniel 5:13-31

1. You are responsible for your own response to God.

2. Your Day is coming, and no one knows how much time they have left.

3. Even the most stable of earthly heavens we build can be overthrown overnight.

4. Your life will either end with God crashing your party, or God welcoming you into His Party.

The Good News is that the only One who could rightfully condemn and judge you is very One who offers to save you.

John 8 - Jesus writing on the ground…

*Jesus is the Better Daniel *
Jesus is the better Daniel, who didn’t merely interpret the message of judgment to a sinner, but who himself received the weight of judgment upon himself for every sinner.

Jesus is the better Daniel, who didn’t just see the hand of God write judgment on the wall, but offered his very hands to be nailed to a cross in judgment of our sin.

Jesus is the better Daniel, who didn’t just see a king drink from a cup of sin, but actually drank the cup of sin on our behalf.

Jesus is the better Daniel, who didn’t just hear of a king killed as a result of his sin, but offered himself as the King who would be killed in our place for our sin.

Daniel saw a king receive the wrath of God for his sin; King Jesus received the wrath of God for our sin.

God the Father wrote judgment on the wall; God the Son wrote mercy in the dirt.

Discussion Questions:

Getting to Know Me
1. What stuck with you from the sermon?
2. Has God ever “crashed your party”? If so, when & how?
3. Did you have a parent or grandparent “pass on the faith” to you? How did they do that?

Into the Bible

1. Compare Daniel 4:19-27 and 5:17-28. How would you describe the difference in these two responses from Daniel to a king of Babylon? What do you think might produce that difference in Daniel’s response?

2. What is prominent in the message for Nebuchadnezzar but missing from the message to Belshazzar? [hope] Where does hope show up in 4:19-27?

3. What does it mean to say “God is not mocked”? [Galatians 6:7] How could we be deceived on the subject? What did Belshazzar sow and what did he reap?

4. How does God’s amazing patience show up in the situation with Babylon? How does it show up in our present setting?

5. When our time of judgment comes, how will we fare on our own? What’s the alternative to being “weighed and found wanting”?

Application

1. What was your main takeaway from the sermon? What will you do about it?

2. Pastor Josh suggested we should “Be the best friend your friends have, so they will call you when they’re desperate.” How can we do that?

3. Each generation and each person is responsible for their own response to God, but how can we help them?

4. What’s your vision to see Jesus followers come after you in future generations of your family line?
   Josh pointed out that our lives will end either with God crashing our party or with God welcoming us to his party. What makes the difference? Are you ready?

5. What is one thing God is asking you to do, or one prayer God is calling you to pray, as a result of listening to this sermon?