The Writing on the Wall
Today’s Verse:
In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ~Daniel 5:5
The incident we are studying this morning is a lesson about the ability to see our fate unfolding before us. It is a prediction of our failure or fall. In one way, it is a message that is foreboding. In another way, it is a message that is a warning with a last chance. Let us see the writing on the wall.
We see the intemperate.
“They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.” Belshazzar the king invited his princes, wives, and concubines to a very large banquet of drinking and feasting. What he hosted was, in effect, a drunken orgy. His inflamed passions left nothing out of the imagination as to indulgences of the flesh. He commanded that the golden and silver vessels of the Lord that were taken from the temple of Jerusalem be brought out and that the wine be drunken out of them. It was a feast filled with blasphemy and illicit behavior. The uncontrolled desires of the sinner were manifested.
We see the interruption.
“In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.” Belshazzar saw the fingers of a man’s hand writing on the wall. This shook up the king greatly, even to the point that “the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another.” There comes a point when God crashes your party. It is when God wants us to know, in no uncertain terms, that He has had enough of our rebellion, rejection, and running. God knows how to get our attention. He is a God of mercy, but we must not push our limit on His patience, lest He send a message to shake us up.
We see the interpretation.
The king was told about Daniel and that he could interpret the writing on the wall. First, Daniel told him that what he saw was a message from the Most High God. Second, Daniel told him about how God had previously humbled Belshazzar’s grandfather, and how Belshazzar knew about this, but did not humble his heart as well. Third, Daniel explained to the king three things about the handwriting on the wall. He told him that his days were numbered and he was finished. He told him that he was weighed in the balances and came up short. He told him that he would lose his kingdom to the Medes and Persians. In effect, the king was told that the wages of sin is death. Bible preaching is God’s means of telling every sinner that he needs to repent towards God and have faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Heed the messages that you hear.
We see the invalidation.
That night, the king was slain and his kingdom was conquered by the Medes and Persians. God, as always, kept His word. The king saw the writing on the wall but did not seek the Lord for His mercy. When we live for our self-aggrandizement, glory, and pleasure, God will crash the party and our pride. A life without God is a life that is lonely, unfulfilling, and a failure. Humble yourself to God and seek to glorify Him.
Have a humble God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: 2 Kings 15-17