The Writing on the Wall
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Introduction
Introduction
So far in our study of Dainel we’ve seen:
The faith of young Daniel, who made the commitment not to defile himself - Dan 1
The first dream of Nebuchadnezzar, interpreted by Daniel - Dan 2
Prophesying the rise and fall of four world empires
Foretelling the establishment of the kingdom of Christ
The faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the face of fire - Dan 3
The second dream of Nebuchadnezzar and it is fulfillment, confirming that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men - Dan 4
This brings us to Chapter 5. Like the rest of Daniel, chapter 5 is a very familiar verse to many people. In fact, there’s a pretty common phrase that people use that comes straight out of this particular story. You know, people say “He can read the writing on the wall.” Actually many people use it, but don’t know where it comes from. Well, here it is for all to see and read.
The Old Testament stories are written not only for historical purpose, and not only to understand the nature of God better, but many are also written for our admonition.
1 Corinthians 10:11 (NKJV)
Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
And since I know how much Sherri likes definitions, I took the liberty of defining it for you as well.
ad•mo•ni•tion \ˌad-mə-ˈni-shən\ noun
[Middle English amonicioun, from Anglo-French amonicion, from Latin admonition-, admonitio, from admonēre] 14th century
1: gentle or friendly reproof
2: counsel or warning against fault or oversight
So, this story serves as a gentle or friendly reproof, counsel or warning against something... but what?
Wine, Food and Idolatry at the Palace
Wine, Food and Idolatry at the Palace
Our story pick up at the palace. Old King Neb has died and there is a new kid on the throne named Belshazzar, and that’s really annoying because Daniel’s other name is Belteshazzar and I keep getting the two of them mixed up when I’m reading the book of Daniel. King Neb was a strong king though! What happened to his son? Well, first of all, Neb’s kid did succeed his father to the throne, but Belshazzar is not Neb’s son. Neb died in 562 B.C. and it’s now 539 B.C, so a number of years has passed. In that time the following stuff happened:
Belshazzar the King
Belshazzar the King
Neb’s son Merodach became King, but he was a real dolt- the Bible says he was evil.
So, he gets assassinated after a couple of years because his brother-in-law Nergilissar couldn’t stand him, and so he took matters into his hands. Oh and guess who became King next?
If you guessed Nergilissar you’re right. Except he had really bad luck and died after only four years.
Not to worry though because he managed to get his wife pregnant and have a male heir, meaning the baby was now the king of the most powerful kingdom in the world!
We’re not gonna talk much about Nergilissar’s baby because soon after he became king, the country’s priests basically took over and the selected a guy by the name of Nabonidus to be their new king. Nabonidus was like, “Dude! This job sucks, I’d rather be studying and stuff.” and so he made his son king in his stead. He said, I know, “I’ll let my son be the co-regent, and I can go back to my studies, while he does all the king duties!”
And so that is how we got King Belshazzar.
You know, I saw an interview with a man the other day. The mat was asked, “so what are your feelings about today’s youth?” The man said, “today’s youth really has it made! Let me tell you something. My Grandfather used to walk 10 miles to work every day in order to put food on the table and make something of himself. Over time, he made enough money to move his family out of the neighborhood, so that when my father was growing up, he only walked 5 miles to work every day. I’ll tell you what, I’m so grateful for them. You know something? I drive a Cadillac, and my son he’s set by the time he starts working, he’s gonna be driving a Mercedes or BMW, and my grandson will probably be driving a Lamborghini, but you know my great-grandson will be walking 10 miles to work.” The shocked interviewer said, “How can you say that? What makes you so sure that will happen?” The man sat back in his chair and said, “Tough times make strong men and strong men make easier times. Easy times make weak men and weak men make tough times.” This was definitely the case with King Neb. So let’s pick it up here.
They Praised the Gods of Gold and Silver...
They Praised the Gods of Gold and Silver...
Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them.
Remember back to Daniel 1, not only were the people taken captive when the Babylonians sacked Israel, but all of the golden vessels of the Temple were also taken into captivity. These were the vessels that have come into play here. I mean, it’s one thing that the vessels had been taken - they were sacred and now they are being used as common vessels at a party! These are not red solo cups, these are God’s things! And if that wasn’t bad enough, they started to praise the gods of gold and silver with those vessels. Well God was pretty much done with Belshazzar at that point. But wait Pastor, you said this was here for our admonition. We’re not kings, we’re not idolators! Well are you so sure about that? Remember, this is meant to be a gentle warning a gentle rebuke. It’s not like Jesus is standing there yelling at you saying, stop being an idolater! But it’s a warning just the same. But Pastor, you haven’t said how? Well I’m about to.
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
There is a list there. Fornicators, unclean people or what? covetous! Hmm… let’s keep going.
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Look at that list! Look what’s at the end of that list covetousness!… so what’s my point? How does this tie in?
What does covetousness look like? Well it looks an awful lot like making material possessions our god.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
The taking captive the people of Israel did not get God’s attention. Trying to bake the three amigos did not get God’s attention, but something did. I mean think of all that other stuff that Babylon had done, and nothing. I mean, God did make Himself known by providing for and taking care of His servants. He did that whole make the king coo-coo thing, but things were about to get real now.
Panic and Humiliation at the Palace
Panic and Humiliation at the Palace
The Writing on the Wall
The Writing on the Wall
In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
He was shaking so badly that his knees were literally knocking together! What a sight that must have been one minute he’s full of himself talking all kinds of crap taking selfies with his besties and posting blasphemies on Instagram, and the next he looks like some ridiculous cartoon character - knees knocking together. But to be fair, if I saw a disembodied hand floating around writing stuff on my wall I’d be a little worried too! He’s freaking out to the point that he’s willing to make whoever can tell him what this means, third in command in the kingdom (remember, his dad made him co-ruler, so he’s second).
And think about this, all he saw was a man's hand. What if he had seen the face of God? If just a tiny manifestation of God's power had that effect, then what would be the effect of coming face to face with God? What about the coming Judgment? And if this story is meant to be an admonition, the next question to ask ourselves is will we be able to stand?
According to psalms we have two choices.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Or..
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation.
See saints? idolatry is one of those sins that is particularly odious to God, and covetousness is idolatry. Let’s continue.
King a la Chicken
King a la Chicken
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. Then King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were astonished.
Send in the Clowns
Send in the Clowns
Here we go again, send in the clowns because they have such a great track record of being able to answer questions for the king. But let’s go ahead and do this just so that we can’t be accused of not being consistent.
But once again, if this is an admonition, I have to ask you this. Where are you going when you get into a situation? Whose counsel are you seeking. Too often, people today, in times of crisis, do the same thing as Belshazzar. They go to the wrong place for help. They go to the wrong people, or they look to their own strength or wisdom When they need to trust in God first.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.
Honor the Lord with your possessions,
And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
So your barns will be filled with plenty,
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
And look at what Jesus said:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
God’s Man Arrives
God’s Man Arrives
A Queen’s Wisdom
A Queen’s Wisdom
The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Notice a few things. The queen came to the banquet hall, meaning she wasn’t already there. But we read back in verse two that the king’s wives and concubines were already at the feast. So remember, there are two kings, so this is in all likelihood his mom- the queen mother. Either way, we note something very important - she was not at the feast. Big party in her house, lots of people - thousands actually, and she’s not there. Interesting, but then again, we are going for admonition here, so let me toss this out to you. Could the one who knew where to turn in time of trouble, have also known the banquet was probably not going to be a place that she needed to be? I mean, she probably figured that there was going to be a lot of drinking and it was common for there to be all sorts of debauchery happening at these feasts, could it just be that she knew better than to be there? And so for the sake of admonishment, let’s consider too then, that those to whom we go for advice when we find ourselves in a mess, is those who avoid those messes by staying out of those situations to begin with. Let’s keep the analogy simple here because the king and his people were partying. Have you ever noticed that those who like to party and "live it up" are usually those who are lost in despair when trouble strikes!
Daniel on the Scene
Daniel on the Scene
Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and explain enigmas. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”
Something here astounds me. Twice the king says, “I have heard of you” He goes on to say what it is about Daniel he’s heard. Now think for a second, if you’re the king, wouldn’t you want a guy like that constantly in your ear? One of the things that Lizzie started doing when she found out I was a prophet was to constantly bug me, “What does God say?”. After a while I thought, doesn’t she want to know my opinion on everything? And at first it annoyed me, but then I realized, of course she wants to know what God says! Why wouldn’t she? Why wouldn’t everyone? And you know what? It really affected my walk with Jesus, it made me start asking that question of myself more and more. Remember back in the 90s and early 2000s the whole WWJD movement? Well Lizzie started a WDJS movement in our home. But for whatever reason, Belshazzar had not made much effort to know Daniel prior to this event, and you know what? People in the world today are not any different than he was. They make little effort to get to know the people of God But in times of sickness, trials, and death, where do they turn? To the church, of course. The time to get to know Jesus and His people is before you get into trouble, not after. And the time for the people of God to seek goldy wisdom is before they get into trouble, not after!
The Verdict
The Verdict
Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin
Mene Mene Tekel Upharsin
So what does it mean?
“And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
This is the interpretation of each word. Mene: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; Tekel: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; Peres: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”
That was pretty significant, and it was almost an impossibility. You see, Babylon was impenetrable, it was surrounded by a moat, and it had an abundant supply of food, and so a siege would have been useless because there was no way to starve them out. But the had of God had written it on the wall and there was no way of getting around that. And what the finger had written, and the message of Daniel's interpretation is that Belshazzar's kingdom had been numbered for destruction. The king himself is weighed and found wanting. The kingdom was to be taken away and given to the Medes and the Persians.
Third of Nothing
Third of Nothing
Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
At least Belshazzar was true to his word though. He did make Daniel third in the kingdom… for what that’s worth. I mean, a prom queen is queen for a night too right? And all the girls want to be the prom queen. Right? Well prom queens have a longer reign than Daniel did.
A Grim End
A Grim End
That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
That was fast! He went from boastful to dead in one night. Partying he was untouchable, only to be cut down that very night. The thing is that contemporaries say that Belshazzar heard the words of God but was unconcerned because remember, Babylon was impenetrable. But Herodotus indicates that Babylon fell as a consequence of the diverting of the waters of the Euphrates, allowing the enemy to enter under the city walls. The city had a weakness, and the Medes and Persians had found it (possibly as the result of espionage or betrayal from within the palace), but their hubris in thinking that they were untouchable allowed them to be taken totally by surprise. Does that remind you of anyone.
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
And again, there’s that word - covetousness! And look at his fate: Boasting one day, dead the next!
Putting it All Together
Putting it All Together
The announcement of doom in this story was provoked in part because the king misused and abused some pieces of metal. These pieces of metal were God's pieces of metal
-- For such disregard of what belonged to God, a kingdom would be buried!
Remember that we are the temple of God today.
Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
If God did not view lightly the misuse of His vessels then will He be casual about the impenitent abuse of His church today? Back then He destroyed someone who misused the vessels of God, how much more God’s living vessels?
But there’s good news Church. The same hand that wrote on the wall in Babylon also wrote something else.
This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Let's not wait for “the writing on the wall” to tell us it is too late, that judgment has been passed and the sentence is final. Let's instead heed the hand that wrote on the ground, while there is still time for mercy and forgiveness.